The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is weighing how to implement two new state laws that could tighten regulations on concrete batch plants.
Senate Bill 763 requires the TCEQ to review air quality permits for concrete batch plants every eight years. Previously, these reviews were optional and occurred every 10 years.
Senate Bill 2351 allows the commission to require batch plants to meet new, stricter air quality standards if they haven't begun construction and ask for an extension of the permit to begin construction at a later date.
Concrete plants are known to emit particulate matter, which can be harmful to human health, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
State Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, authored both bills. She said while she's glad to see more oversight, there's still work to be done.
"It is not completely where we want to go, but it is getting us to a better place," she said.
RELATED: Harris County secures legal win against TCEQ over grace period for concrete plants
Genesis Granados, the environmental justice programs manager for local nonprofit Air Alliance Houston, said advocates are pushing for stronger oversight of concrete plants.
"We are asking the TCEQ to, overall, use its authority to ensure that communities are protected," Granados said.
Air Alliance Houston brought residents to Austin in November to advocate for increased regulations during a TCEQ public hearing about how to implement the new rules.
Gavin Linley-Elwell and Esteban De La Rosa, both eighth-graders from the Houston area, were among them.
RELATED: Awty International School parents protest concrete plant operating near Spring Branch campus
For both boys, the location and regulation of concrete batch plants is a matter of equality.
"I didn’t know that people that didn’t look like me or Esteban, or stayed in my neighborhood had to go through having concrete batch plants in their neighborhoods and less than a couple miles away, which is dangerous," Linley-Elwell said.
De La Rosa echoed similar thoughts.
"I don’t think it’s right that other people have so many concrete batch plants, but we have one and it’s not even that close to us," De La Rosa said.
The Texas Aggregate & Concrete Association, an industry group, supported the new laws during the legislative session.
"TACA recognizes that both measures preserve the standard permit system – a streamlined, predictable regulatory mechanism that enables efficient permitting for concrete batch plants across the state – while also ensuring that evolving scientific data and environmental protections remain integrated into the regulatory process," Andrew Pinkerton, the association's president and CEO, said in a statement.
The TCEQ must adopt new rules to implement SB 763 by March 1. The agency is also in the process of conducting rulemaking for SB 2351.
The TCEQ referred Houston Public Media to its website for more information about the status of the new rules.
Copyright 2026 Houston Public Media News 88.7
