Residents in the predominately Black community of Joppa have long complained to the City of Dallas about an asphalt plant they say is polluting their air. But what they apparently didn鈥檛 know is that the city has spent millions buying asphalt from the company that owns it.
Since 2016, the City of Dallas has paid more than $16 million for 鈥渁sphaltic concrete鈥� to Austin Industries and its subsidiaries, including Austin Bridge and Road, which operates the plant in Joppa. And the city has paid almost $50 million more for other products and services, such as engineering and construction services.
It鈥檚 unclear how much asphalt was purchased specifically from the Joppa plant 鈥� Austin Bridge and Road operates another plant in Dallas and several others in North Texas.
But a company spokesman says the Joppa plant supplies materials for many different projects and customers, including the City of Dallas.
Alicia Kendrick is the head of the Joppa Environmental Health Project and is fighting to see the batch plant removed from her southern Dallas community.
She says she didn鈥檛 know about the city鈥檚 dealings with the asphalt company 鈥� and doesn鈥檛 think many in her community know either.
鈥淒allas is not on our side honestly in this, is what it seems like to me鈥ecause they鈥檙e consuming a product that is, for lack of a better term, killing us,鈥� Kendrick said.
A frequent customer
Austin Bridge and Road is one of a handful of companies that supplies asphalt and other construction materials to the City of Dallas. It鈥檚 a subsidiary of Austin Industries, which is described as one of the largest construction companies in the country.
Eric Schranz is the general plants manager for Austin Bridge and Road. In a statement sent by Schranz, he says the company supplies building materials to various projects and customers.
鈥�...Including the City of Dallas, Dallas County and Texas Department of Transportation, among others,鈥� the statement said.
The City of Dallas paid out more than $24 million to vendors for 鈥渁sphaltic concrete, hot laid and other bituminous materials鈥� since 2016, according to financial records. And according to those records, the majority of that 鈥� more than $16 million 鈥� was paid to Austin Industries and its subsidiaries. The plant has been operating in Joppa since 2009, but city financial records for earlier years were not immediately available.
Jim Schermbeck is the director of Downwinders at Risk, a nearly 30-year-old environmental justice advocacy group that is focused on air pollution in Dallas. He says city officials are complicit in the very behavior they鈥檙e also condemning.
鈥淭his...stands out as a huge hypocritical example of how the city preaches one thing and practices another,鈥� Schermbeck said.
Yet another chapter
The plant has been the center of a back-and-forth controversy between community members and city officials for years. But despite the violations, the nearly fourteen-year-old facility is still in operation.
Joppa residents angrily accused city officials of not doing enough at a raucous 鈥渃ommunity meeting鈥� in early April. Not long after that meeting, Council Member Adam Bazaldua released a statement announcing the facility鈥檚 permit renewal would be subject to a public hearing due to the discovery of the violations. Bazaldua represents District 7, which includes Joppa.
Bazaldua鈥檚 office said Joppa residents 鈥渉ave legitimate concerns about the plant that must be addressed.鈥� The statement said it was his 鈥減riority is to listen to the residents within the Joppa community鈥� to resolve the issue.
Joppa residents and activists had worked months 鈥� or even years 鈥� to get a public hearing. But within 24 hours, it was postponed. That鈥檚 because the city code gave Austin Asphalt that option.
鈥淚 felt like the date they set originally was really rushed,鈥� Kendrick said. 鈥淭o be quite honest, I was okay with them postponing the hearing so we have time to gather community input, get people involved and invested.鈥�
A company representing Austin Asphalt said the city never notified the facility of the violations prior to being found out of compliance.
Andrea Udrea, an assistant director for the city鈥檚 Planning and Urban Design department, said that鈥檚 not true.
鈥淲e did send an email with a list of our findings,鈥� Udrea said in an interview with 四虎影院 in late April. 鈥淭hey knew what they applied for. And we did our due diligence to do a site visit.鈥�
四虎影院 reached out to Bazaldua鈥檚 office for comment about city funds going to the asphalt company but did not get a response before this article was published.
Alarm bells
Schermbeck says the city鈥檚 links to the Joppa asphalt plant is yet another example of why every city department needs to place more emphasis on environmental concerns. That includes where the city gets its building materials.
鈥淭his is done all the time,鈥� Schermbeck said. 鈥淭hey can write specs that exclude places that are environmentally unsound.鈥�
For Kendrick, finding out that the city has been buying asphalt from what she sees as a major source of pollution is disheartening. She says the city is not making good on promises to address racial and environmental issues.
鈥淚s that racial equity plan actually for everyone?鈥� Kendrick said. 鈥淥r is it just for the neighborhoods that they deem worthy, or the neighborhoods that they don鈥檛 have any economic stakes in.鈥�
The city has drafted ordinances that would change the process for how batch plants are approved for permits in Dallas 鈥� to align with the city鈥檚 environmental justice plan. But that鈥檚 still a work in progress.
Kendrick says she is still working to get Joppa residents to speak at the plant鈥檚 permit renewal hearing scheduled for mid-June. But her mindset over what鈥檚 next has changed.
鈥淚t really does ring a lot of alarm bells for me,鈥� Kendrick said. 鈥淭his is not just a fight with a company this is a deeply rooted issue of economic growth for Dallas.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter .
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