From KERA News:
When Austin Bridge and Road wanted to move an asphalt plant close to a mostly Black community in southern Dallas called Joppa, it needed a permit. And that meant giving the state’s environmental agency some idea of what would come out of the smokestack.
The very same plant had been operating elsewhere in Texas for years. But the company instead chose to submit data from a plant it didn’t own. It was located in rural South Texas mostly surrounded by ranchland and pastures. State regulations allow for that.
A 2-month investigation by KERA News found that the state’s regulatory practices allow asphalt plants like the one in Joppa to operate for years without providing detailed information on the pollution they produce. People who live nearby struggle to find out what they are being exposed to. They’ve repeatedly claimed that the asphalt plant poisoned their air and threatened their health.
Similar concerns about asphalt plants have been raised across the state, from other North Texas communities like Frisco and Denton, to El Paso to the San Antonio area, to Central Texas and East Texas as well.