Houston, TX – Air Alliance Houston applauds the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for its recent decision to void the air permit application  for the Julpit concrete crushing plant proposed in Fort Bend County. The move follows years of community organizing, public outcry, and mounting evidence of the serious health risks posed by the proposed facility.

The Julpit site, located at 2715 Appelt Drive, is less than one mile from over 700 residential homes and within three miles of more than 70 sensitive-use facilities, including schools, health clinics, and places of worship. Residents, health professionals, and environmental justice advocates have long raised concerns about the dangers of particulate matter and other pollutants generated by concrete crushing operations.

“This decision is a step in the right direction for communities that have been historically overburdened by pollution,” said Thelisa Lavergne, Program Manager at  Air Alliance Houston and a lifelong resident of the area. “TCEQ’s denial validates what residents have been saying all along: this facility poses a real threat to public health.”

Air Alliance Houston has collected air quality data throughout the region, revealing levels of harmful pollutants—including PM2.5, NOx, and VOCs—that frequently exceed federal safety standards. These pollutants are linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and premature death, especially in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods disproportionately located near industrial corridors.

Air Alliance Houston calls on elected officials and state regulators to make this kind of protective decision the norm and not the exception by adopting more protective review standards for all new air permit applications.