Texas Toughens Concrete Batch Permits After EPA Ended Rights Probe

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) last week strengthened its standard permit for emissions from concrete batch plants (CBP), a move that prompted EPA to administratively close pending Civil Rights Act Title VI complaints that argued the earlier permit finalized in 2021 was discriminatory. TCEQ Jan. 24 issued its final permit that now requires a “protectiveness review to ensure emissions from facilities authorized by the standard permit are protective of human health and the environment.” The permit says the...