Bill would keep Austin residuals out of Cedar Park quarry

Bill would keep Austin residuals out of Cedar Park quarry

Written by Rachel Youens Monday, 07 May 2007

Residents in the Carriage Hills neighborhood of Cedar Park thought their troubles were ending. In December, the lease would expire for the excavation company which was blasting twice daily in the quarry a half mile from their homes along FM 1431 and Lakeline Boulevard.

What residents didn’t understand was that the end of one problem would be the beginning of another, leaving them with the choice of loud blasts or daily waste dumps in their neighborhood. Now another option is sought through legislation and negotiation.

In 1987, the city of Austin bought 215 acres of land on the outskirts of the city to dump waste generated in the water treatment process. There was already a quarry on the property and the company running it, Ranger Excavation, had a lease on the land. Austin planned to wait until Ranger’s current lease expired and then in 2013 would begin dumping there.

Six years later, Cedar Park began its explosive growth and neighborhood developers began plotting subdivisions up to the edge of the quarry property. The noise of quarry blasts became a problem for residents, but the city of Cedar Park had no recourse because the quarry was not within its city limits. In 1994, Cedar Park annexed the land.

“We have had a lot of nearby residents complaining about blasts and noise, and Cedar Park has been in conversation with Austin about not renewing the (excavator’s) lease or minimizing blasts,” said Melanie Kliebert, Cedar Park communications and public relations manager. “But then we realized that if Austin doesn’t renew the lease, it would become a disposal site. We just weren’t comfortable proposing a plan to our residents that involved sludge disposal.”

Defining sludge

In nearly all official documents, political statements and articles written about the waste being dumped into the quarry, the waste is referred to as “sludge.”

Austin Water Utility Engineer Judy Musgrove, however, wants citizens to understand the material is not sludge.

“No sludge is going into the Cedar Park quarry. It is not biological waste,” Musgrove said.

The material to be dumped is the residual from water treatment plants, mainly powder calcium carbonate or lime that softens the water by raising the pH.

“It is not sludge. A lot of water treatment plants have other types of stuff they use in treatment, but ours is a very different process.”

The irony of it all is that the residuals that would be dumped into the Cedar Park quarry actually originated in a quarry. The calcium carbonate Austin Water Utility uses in their water comes from limestone harvested from Austin White Lime Company in Round Rock.

Residuals from current water treatment go to a quarry near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Musgrove said. The city chose the Cedar Park quarry because it was closer to the new Northwest Austin water treatment plant at Lake Travis, cutting down on the cost of transportation.

In response to other concerns of noise and trucking, Musgrove said the dump site would be an improvement over the current quarry situation.

“In comparison with the blasts and trucks they have now, what we would be doing is nothing,” Musgrove said. “Now there are 200 trucks a day. It would be six with us and would go up from there with a max of 20 a day.”

Looking toward the future

The city of Austin has already approved an extension of Ranger Excavation’s contract for another ten years. It would include some of the provisions neighbors have been looking for, such as a natural noise and dust buffer. However, all of the City of Austin’s plans could be put on hold if new legislation is approved.

A bill already passed through the House that would require a larger city owning a quarry inside a smaller city to get the smaller city’s consent before extending any leases on the land or disposing of residuals.

Although the bill does not specifically mention Cedar Park, it is sponsored by Rep. Dan Gattis, whose district covers Cedar Park.

“The issue ultimately came down to the city being able to control things that affect their citizens from an environmental and health standpoint. It seemed a little disingenuous of Austin to say a city couldn’t do that,” Gattis said. “For one city to come over and say ‘I want to dump my waste in another city’ is uncalled for.”

If the bill is signed into law, Cedar Park will gain control over some of the uses of the land, but the property will still belong to the city of Austin.

“The ball is in their court and we’re exploring other options with more benefits for our residents,” Kliebert said. “One thing mentioned is letting Cedar Park buy that land to use for recreational use. We’re open to ideas. It’s Austin’s, so we’re just trying to find compromise.”

If the land cannot be used for excavating or for dumping, Austin is likely to sell the land and begin looking for another dump site, Musgrove said.

However, the city is required to sell to the highest bidder, and there is no guarantee that would be Cedar Park. She said Austin has not received a bid from Cedar Park.

What could happen to Cedar Park’s quarry?

Possibility 1 — If House Bill 2910 passes, Cedar Park could gain control of the quarry’s excavation and dumping. If this happens, Austin would likely sell the land to the highest bidder, possibly Cedar Park.

Possibility 2 — Austin could decide to begin dumping residuals from the water treatment processes as soon as the excavation company’s current lease expires, although they are not planning to do so until 2013.

Possibility 3 — Austin could decide to find another area to dump residuals or hold off on dumping and continue to let the excavation company harvest stone. Nearby neighborhoods would still experience explosions and dust. The City of Austin has said the excavation company could extend their contract.