sand mining - HoustonNewMedia.org https://houstonnewmedia.org/tag/sand-mining/ Building "Bridges" Across the Bayou City! Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:40:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://i0.wp.com/houstonnewmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-cropped-Houston.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 sand mining - HoustonNewMedia.org https://houstonnewmedia.org/tag/sand-mining/ 32 32 103504436 Triple PG Sand-Mine Lawsuit Slides to Year 7 as Problems Get Worse https://houstonnewmedia.org/triple-pg-sand-mine-lawsuit-slides-to-year-7-as-problems-get-worse/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=triple-pg-sand-mine-lawsuit-slides-to-year-7-as-problems-get-worse Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:40:11 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=53055 8/14/25 – A State of Texas lawsuit against the Triple PG sand mine that began in 2019 will now be tried, at the earliest, in 2026. Meanwhile problems at the mine have gotten worse. Breaches in their dikes that triggered the lawsuit have recurred. And five pipelines carrying highly volatile liquids (HVL) are now exposed […]

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]]> 1006740 Reduce Flood Risk from Sand Mining in Two Minutes https://houstonnewmedia.org/reduce-flood-risk-from-sand-mining-in-two-minutes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reduce-flood-risk-from-sand-mining-in-two-minutes Wed, 22 Jan 2025 21:55:15 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=48788 1/22/25 – The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has proposed new Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Sand Mines. But they do nothing to address flood risk from sand mining here in the Lake Houston Area. Sediment pollution from upstream sand mines has contributed to flooding more than 13,000 homes and businesses in the Lake […]

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]]> 886853 Kings Harbor Now Harborless After Flood https://houstonnewmedia.org/kings-harbor-now-harborless-after-flood/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kings-harbor-now-harborless-after-flood Mon, 27 May 2024 20:20:34 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=45339 May 27, 2024 – A sweeping line of sand deposited by the early May 2024 flood has left Kings Harbor harborless. Kings Harbor is one of Kingwood’s most popular destinations for eating out – whether you arrive by car, foot or boat. The lakefront side of restaurant row is now shut in by sand collecting […]

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]]> 774292 Past Catching Up With Montgomery County https://houstonnewmedia.org/past-catching-up-with-montgomery-county/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=past-catching-up-with-montgomery-county Thu, 23 May 2024 04:34:59 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=45169 5/23/24 – The past may be catching up with Montgomery County. Heavy rains earlier this month may have flooded more homes in Montgomery County than Harris. For decades, many Montgomery County leaders refused to acknowledge that they had a flooding problem. Neither, for that matter, did they seem exceptionally concerned about the downstream impact that […]

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]]> 772415 All River Levels Falling, Flood Danger Over, But… https://houstonnewmedia.org/all-river-levels-falling-flood-danger-over-but/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=all-river-levels-falling-flood-danger-over-but Tue, 21 May 2024 18:01:34 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=45142 May 21, 2024 – After a second round of May floods (and the third this year), all river levels are falling today. The East Fork, West Fork and main stem of the San Jacinto River are finally falling this morning. So are the water levels in Lake Conroe and Lake Houston. But sedimentation will likely […]

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]]> 772003 Flood Photos Raise Disturbing Sand-Mining Issues Again https://houstonnewmedia.org/flood-photos-raise-disturbing-sand-mining-issues-again/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=flood-photos-raise-disturbing-sand-mining-issues-again Wed, 08 May 2024 01:08:45 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=44811 Photos taken during last week’s flood raise disturbing questions all over again about sand mining so close to the San Jacinto. Are: Can: Will: The sand mining photos below show dramatically that the river breached dikes, flowed through pits, stirred up sediment and carried it downriver. I have hundreds more, but these make the point. […]

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]]> 765630 Breach at Hallett Mine Expanding https://houstonnewmedia.org/breach-at-hallett-mine-expanding/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=breach-at-hallett-mine-expanding Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:35:38 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=44543 A breach at the giant Hallett Mine on the San Jacinto West Fork that began in late January or early February is still open and expanding. Two Pairs of Pictures, Two Weeks Apart I first reported the breach on April 10. Below are pictures taken then and today. In the pictures above, note the difference […]

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]]> 760647 River Bank Collapses, Taking Half of Sand Mine Road https://houstonnewmedia.org/river-bank-collapses-taking-half-of-sand-mine-road/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=river-bank-collapses-taking-half-of-sand-mine-road Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:29:39 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=43680 At the abandoned Williams Brothers sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork, a strip of land – approximately 400 to 500 feet long and up to 50 feet wide – collapsed into the river during the flood in late January. The dramatic erosion, during a relatively minor (2-5-year) rain event, dramatizes the destructive power […]

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]]> 726922 Sand Mine Leaks Upstream from Blocked Drainage Ditch https://houstonnewmedia.org/sand-mine-leaks-upstream-from-blocked-drainage-ditch/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sand-mine-leaks-upstream-from-blocked-drainage-ditch Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:02:15 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=43542 Just upstream from the blocked drainage ditch at Northpark Drive and the San Jacinto West Fork, Hallett Materials operates the biggest sand mine between I-69 and I-45. The mine complex sprawls across several square miles and has several leaks. During the last flood in January, those leaks likely contributed to sedimentation in the West Fork […]

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]]> 723748 2023 Legislature Scorecard on Flood Issues: 2 Wins, 4 Losses, 1 Toss-up https://houstonnewmedia.org/2023-legislature-scorecard-on-flood-issues-2-wins-4-losses-1-toss-up/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2023-legislature-scorecard-on-flood-issues-2-wins-4-losses-1-toss-up Sun, 02 Jul 2023 20:40:41 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=39978 The 2023 legislature scorecard, just five years after Hurricane Harvey, shows that flooding is fast becoming forgotten in Texas. Of the seven issues I tracked, the Lake Houston Area had two wins, four losses, and one that could be ruled a coin toss depending on your point of view. In the Win Column Let’s look […]

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]]> 622892 Cunningham Sponsors Bill to Ensure Restoration of Abandoned Sand Mines https://houstonnewmedia.org/cunningham-sponsors-bill-to-ensure-restoration-of-abandoned-sand-mines/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cunningham-sponsors-bill-to-ensure-restoration-of-abandoned-sand-mines Sat, 04 Mar 2023 01:17:03 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=38061 Newly elected State Representative Charles Cunningham has introduced a bill aimed at restoring sand mines to productive use after operators cease production. Cunningham filed HB1093 in December and it was referred to the House Natural Resources Committee on 3/2/2023. Aimed at Protecting Water Supply for 2 Million People HB1093 amends Section 28A of the Texas […]

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]]> 561246 One of the Prettiest Places in Texas https://houstonnewmedia.org/one-of-the-prettiest-places-in-texas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-of-the-prettiest-places-in-texas Wed, 10 Aug 2022 22:37:33 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=34427 When I first started exploring the forests north of Houston 40 years ago, I thought they were among the prettiest places in Texas. The towering pines had a quiet beauty. They wrapped you in a blanket of solitude. Surrounded you with silence. Calmed the soul. Enabled a retreat from workday worries into a world of […]

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]]> 396588 The Hand of Sand Miners on the San Jacinto https://houstonnewmedia.org/the-hand-of-sand-miners-on-the-san-jacinto/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-hand-of-sand-miners-on-the-san-jacinto Wed, 27 Jul 2022 19:03:37 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=34088 The hand of sand miners weighs heavily on the San Jacinto watershed. Not all miners. But many. While exploring the river basin by helicopter last week, the contrast between two scenes struck me: 1) The natural blanket of green in Lake Houston Wilderness Park. 2) Sand mines that lined the banks of the East and […]

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]]> 385310 Bayou Land Conservancy Raises Concerns About SJRA Sand Trap Proposal https://houstonnewmedia.org/bayou-land-conservancy-raises-concerns-about-sjra-sand-trap-proposal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bayou-land-conservancy-raises-concerns-about-sjra-sand-trap-proposal Sat, 09 Apr 2022 23:18:55 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=32090 The Bayou Land Conservancy has added its voice to those raising concerns about the SJRA’s sand trap proposal for the San Jacinto River watershed. The pilot project began out of a desire to reduce sediment buildup in the mouth bar of the West Fork. But it has morphed into something very different – a trench […]

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]]> 295302 Price of Progress? https://houstonnewmedia.org/price-of-progress/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=price-of-progress Thu, 06 Jan 2022 21:37:09 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=30468 Some say that mining sand from our rivers and flood plains is the price of progress. Pros and Cons Sand has its benefits. We need it to make concrete. And we need concrete to accommodate a growing population. And a growing population creates income for builders, tradesmen and other businesses. But mining sand also has […]

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]]> 230616 Top Stories of 2021 in Review https://houstonnewmedia.org/top-stories-of-2021-in-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=top-stories-of-2021-in-review Fri, 31 Dec 2021 16:48:38 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=30380 Below are my personal picks for the top flood-mitigation stories of 2021. The Fight for Funding In 2019, Commissioners Court established “equity” guidelines that prioritized projects in Low-to-Moderate Income watersheds. Then this year: Harris County won no US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Grants in the first round of Harvey competition. To compensate […]

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]]> 227250 TCEQ Approves New Best Management Practices for San Jacinto Sand Mining https://houstonnewmedia.org/tceq-approves-new-best-management-practices-for-san-jacinto-sand-mining/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tceq-approves-new-best-management-practices-for-san-jacinto-sand-mining Thu, 16 Dec 2021 04:18:43 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=30115 This morning, the TCEQ approved new Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Sand Mining in the San Jacinto Watershed. The effort to inventory, establish and publish BMPs for sand mining began shortly after Harvey. This web site contains thousands of pictures and 210 posts about area sand mine operations. But the real credit for today’s agreement […]

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]]> 218943 TCEQ Approves New Best Management Practices for San Jacinto Sand Mining https://houstonnewmedia.org/tceq-approves-new-best-management-practices-for-san-jacinto-sand-mining-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tceq-approves-new-best-management-practices-for-san-jacinto-sand-mining-2 Thu, 16 Dec 2021 04:18:43 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=30115 This morning, the TCEQ approved new Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Sand Mining in the San Jacinto Watershed. The effort to inventory, establish and publish BMPs for sand mining began shortly after Harvey. This web site contains thousands of pictures and 210 posts about area sand mine operations. But the real credit for today’s agreement […]

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]]> 218945 One-Click Submittal for Suggested Public Comments on Proposed Sand-Mining BMPs https://houstonnewmedia.org/one-click-submittal-for-suggested-public-comments-on-proposed-sand-mining-bmps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-click-submittal-for-suggested-public-comments-on-proposed-sand-mining-bmps Thu, 19 Aug 2021 01:03:34 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=27863 For those wishing to submit comments about sand-mining Best Management Practices (BMPs), but who may feel daunted by the technicalities, I’ve compiled a list that you can submit with one click. To automatically submit those suggestions, click this link. It should address and title an email for you and automatically insert recommended text shown below. Don’t […]

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]]> 155154 TCEQ Proposes BMPs for Post-Mining Phase, But Is There Any Incentive to Comply at That Point? https://houstonnewmedia.org/tceq-proposes-bmps-for-post-mining-phase-but-is-there-any-incentive-to-comply-at-that-point/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tceq-proposes-bmps-for-post-mining-phase-but-is-there-any-incentive-to-comply-at-that-point Mon, 16 Aug 2021 20:05:17 +0000 https://reduceflooding.com/?p=27796 This is the seventh in a series about Best Management Practices (BMPs) proposed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for sand mines in the San Jacinto watershed. This post will focus on post-mining activities – what should happen after the mine ceases operations. The six previous posts have talked about: Scope and Need […]

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