Proposal for Comprehensive Post-Mining Plan Could Help Avert Future Tragedies
6/29/26 – Forming a Montgomery County Lake District could create a unified post-mining plan for dozens of individual sand mines along the West Fork, benefiting industry, residents and government at all levels. Here’s how.
Roaring Through the Cracks
In August of 2025, I documented the massive breach in the dike of an old sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork. The 130-acre pond dropped at least 10 feet in less than an hour. All that water rushing out was like a dam breaking. It caused tremendous erosion.
Rushing water destroyed everything in its path and washed a tremendous amount of sediment into the river. 1300 acre-feet of fresh water weighs approximately 3.5 billion pounds! The force of that water enlarged a nick in the dike to an opening approximately 150 feet wide to 1000 feet long in minutes.
A year later, they still haven’t fixed the damage. See this one-minute video on YouTube of the devastation left behind. I shot the video on 6/27/26.
Tragically, it was all preventable.
How It Happened
Hanson Aggregates stopped mining the pond in 2021. Just months later, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) instituted new best management practices for mining in the San Jacinto River Basin. The new rules called for miners to develop a post-mining/abandonment plan, but TCEQ says that never happened in this case because of the timing.
A group called Ags Unlimited LLC later bought the abandoned mine in 2023 and still owns it today, according to the Montgomery County Appraisal District.
It’s not clear what Ags Unlimited planned for the property. At various points in a conversation with the manager, he mentioned building a boat launch, a kid’s camp, a recreational amenity for an adjacent residential community, and selling wetland-mitigation credits. He later told investigators from the TCEQ that he hoped to build a “recreational pond for livestock management.”
John McKinney, the Montgomery County Floodplain Manager, says the County cited the new owners for non-compliance on December 19, 2024. The issue: Repairing the berm around the pond and installing overflow pipes.
On August 24, 2025, the berm blew out when a contractor with a small backhoe tried to install overflow pipes. According to one account, he dug too deep into the sandy soil and a trickle quickly enlarged into a torrent.
Vision for the Future: Montgomery County Lake District
Regardless of what were perhaps good intentions, a disaster resulted. And the present owners seem incapable of fixing it.
The lower water levels have contributed to headcut erosion on adjoining properties, now threatening one widow’s home. So, how do we prevent such harm in the future?
I propose a cooperative effort of cities, counties, Texas Parks & Wildlife, TCEQ, Texas General Land Office (GLO) and industry to designate the areas where sand has been mined along the San Jacinto West Fork, along with floodways, as “The Montgomery County Lake District.” The concept: Turn a network of abandoned mines into publicly owned green space connected by trails.
The Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association (TACA) could help lead the way. It is one of the most powerful lobbies in Austin.
TACA members on the West Fork now have an obligation to provide abandonment/post-mining plans to the TCEQ. Selling their land when mining is complete to the MoCo Lake District could relieve mine owners of the need to develop their own individual abandonment plans. It could also create a positive, lasting legacy for the industry.
From the standpoint of residents, proximity to green spaces enhances surrounding home values and provides healthy, outdoor recreational space. Preservation of floodways and floodplains also reduces flooding.
Governments at All Levels Could Benefit
Former mines along the West Fork could become a new state park under the auspices of Texas Parks and Wildlife, which already has responsibility for rivers in Texas. Land is scarce in urban areas. But abandoned mines sell at a steep discount.
Undeveloped land deep in floodplains and floodways, such as the Scarborough property, just downstream from the Hanson mine, might also be included.
The General Land Office (GLO) has partnered with Scarborough and may be looking for a way to back out of the deal. A state park might be an honorable and popular way to do that.
Cities and counties could reduce water purification and dredging costs. They could also eliminate headaches such as the one above that damage their residents.
The state has resources to address such issues. Small private groups like Ags Unlimited rarely do. Collectively, we can create something far larger than any one group could by itself.
If it works, this could become a model for responsible aggregate production in Texas and the country.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/29/26
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