Burnet County officials recently expressed guarded approval soon after they heard of the Texas Materials decision to put on hold its plans for a restored railroad to carry massive loads through nearby rural areas.
“I am happy Texas Materials has put the process on pause,” County Judge Bryan Wilson told the Bulletin. “But our community and region still needs to have more discussion about natural resources in our area.”
Last March, the private firm Texas Materials and subsidiary Broken Stone Railroad LLC submitted an application to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB), seeking permission to reconstruct 13 miles of railroad abandoned for decades, also to add 13 miles of new track to the old track, to restore a rail system that would transport several piles of heavy quarry rock north through Burnet County past Lake Victor to Lampasas County.
Immediately, because of numerous environmental impact concerns and several other issues, Burnet County Pct. 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle and many more local officials and residents voiced determined objections to the railroad restoration project, particularly during a town hall meeting last month in Burnet at the Hill Country Fellowship auditorium.
Soon after STB received the Texas Materials application, the request went to the federal agency’s Office of Environmental Analysis for review.
Then, recently, according to the e-mail Washington attorney Thomas W. Wilcox sent May 22 to STB official Adam Assenza, Texas Materials directors decided to put the project “on hold for the time being” because of “decisions being contemplated by the corporate affiliates of Texas Materials.”
Beierle indicated he welcomed the pause.
“I cannot say for certain, but I feel the public outcry and concern had a major impact, as well as the surface transportation board process being more than what they (Texas Materials and its affiliates) anticipated,” Beierle said.
He maintains contact with John Shogren, the Texas Materials President, Beierle added.
“I will keep my door open to discuss future transportation issues and include them in future transportation discussions moving forward,” Beierle said. “My hope is we can work together to find solutions that do not have such drastic negative impacts.”
Also, during its May 27 session, the Burnet County Commissioners plan to discuss an update of the county thoroughfare plan with the Capital Metropolitan Planning Organization, Wilson said.
