Distribution Plant that supplies sand to Oil and Gas industry causes problem for Fort Worth resident

Dust and sand from TexSand Distributors is invading Steve Menchaca's property and the rest of the neighborhood. Even though he has filed three complaints with the TCEQ, the problem still exists. Sounds like Mr. Menchaca may be getting the "run-around." Read the paragraphs below from the article.

In January, a commission investigator visited the neighborhood and reported seeing no dust leaving plant property.

But in April, two state investigators watched trucks pull out of the plant onto Terminal Road with sand falling off the top, according to an investigator’s report.

"It was also noted that as traffic increased, the sand that had fallen onto the road from the trucks was blown toward the complainant’s property," the report said.

However, the commission regulates only emissions from the plant itself. The sand that falls off trucks on Terminal Road is considered to be from a mobile source, so the complaint was referred to Fort Worth, the road’s owner, the report said.

Jimmy McClurg, an environmental specialist for the city, said he visited the neighborhood more than a dozen times after receiving Menchaca’s complaints and never saw much sand in the street.

Sometimes Menchaca would call him on a Friday evening to complain about the sand, McClurg said. By the time he could visit the plant on Monday morning, the street had been swept.

To cite the company for illegally discharging sand, McClurg would have to witness sand falling off a truck or prove that the sand came from the plant, he said.

Complicating matters is the fact that a railroad yard and a trucking company near Menchaca’s home could be a source of dust, he said. Also, while Fort Worth owns the street, the plant is in Saginaw.

Imagine breathing in this dust everyday!