West Fork Sand-Mining Problems Persist Despite Legislative Efforts

3/19/25 – San Jacinto West Fork sand-mining problems persisted this morning, even as the House Natural Resources Committee met to discuss legislation intended to deal with them. With one exception, the miners seemed blissfully unaware of the problems they were causing. And at least one committee member seemed to be a ringer for the sand-mining industry. He reportedly argued that the TCEQ had everything under control.

Do they? You be the judge.

Cunningham Bills Under Consideration

Three bills by Rep. Charles Cunningham discussed this morning included:

HB1532 which creates a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District to help deal with sediment from the mines.
HB1163 which requires miners to develop a restoration plan and post a bond to guarantee they would do it.
HB1177 which puts more teeth in the state water code provision that prohibits flooding neighbors by creating criminal penalties.

Photos Taken During Committee Hearing

As the committee discussed merits of the bills, this is what the West Fork sand-mining problems looked like.

*South end of pit sold by Hallett to Riverwalk Porter LLC.* *Dike has been breached since January 2024.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*North end of same pit.* *River has flowed through pit since May 2024 instead of following its original course.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*Closer shot shows sandbar now blocking original river channel* *which flows left to right.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*Farther upstream, the river now flows through another pit that Hallett still owns*. *River flows from bottom to top. Note abandoned river channel on right.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*Closer shot of exit breach in same pit.*

*Abandoned dredge pipe at an abandoned mine immediately south of Hallett*. *This pipe has been there for years. The original operator should have removed it long ago. TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*Another pit open to the river since May 2024.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*Same pit from different angle. Note river starting to cut through neighbor’s property.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*More abandoned equipment at another abandoned mine. Should have been removed years ago.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

*For years, sediment flowed through this breach from the left and filled the channel on the right with silt. Now water in the channel is flowing back into the pond.* *TCEQ seems unconcerned.*

One Exception

All in all, things this morning looked much the way they have since the May flood last year…with one exception. Remember that 800-foot wide river of sludge from the Hallett settling basin (right), that flowed through the woods (left) for more than a year?

*Hallett is finally raising the road to staunch the flow.*

Putting It All in Perspective

Of Cunningham’s three bills, two focus on prevention. But the dredging bill focuses on correction.

Ironically, one observer of today’s committee hearing felt that the members looked most favorably on the dredging bill. That makes sense. This is a business friendly state. And…

There’s more money to be made by letting companies pollute and then paying other companies to clean it up than there is by just preventing the pollution.

But it’s too early to know how the committee will vote. Check back soon to see how or if Natural Resources will address our West Fork sand-mining problems.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/19/25

2759 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Cunningham Bills Under Consideration

Photos Taken During Committee Hearing

One Exception

Putting It All in Perspective

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