The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is hosting a meeting in West Dallas to hear residents’ concerns about GAF as the shingles company renews its air permit.
Some residents say GAF is the biggest polluter in West Dallas, and they want the plant closed. GAF has already announced it will cease operations and move to Kansas in July 2029, but for West Dallas residents, that’s not soon enough.
The meeting will allow residents to speak about GAF, but it is not a contested case hearing. Since GAF is renewing its permit, a public hearing is not necessary if no emissions or production changes have been made.
Public meetings enable the community to learn about the application, ask questions of the applicant and the TCEQ and offer formal comments. No decision to approve or deny an application is made at a public meeting.
State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, requested TCEQ hold the meeting over the summer after Janie Cisneros, the leader of Singleton United/Unidos, a neighborhood group fighting to close GAF, asked him to do so on behalf of the West Dallas community.
“Based on a 2020 Emission Inventories Report, GAF is West Dallas’ most prominent source of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter pollution,” Jones wrote to the TCEQ director in a June 28 letter obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
On Thursday, October 24 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will be holding a public meeting to consider public comments and concerns regarding issuing a renewal permit for the GAF shingles plant located on Singleton Blvd in West Dallas.
— State Rep. Venton Jones (@VentonJonesTX) September 30, 2024
This is your opportunity… pic.twitter.com/BmR8chlTwg
“Such contaminants lead to higher health issues like asthma and lung disease and have been known to cause other lung-related diseases,” the letter states. “Residents of West Dallas deserve better.”
The meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday in the West Dallas Multipurpose Center, 2828 Fish Trap Road.
Thomas Richardson, GAF’s vice president of operations, said via email that GAF representatives are looking forward to the meeting to present its work to reduce emissions over the past two years.
“We remain committed to being a cooperative member of the West Dallas community, as evidenced by voluntarily amending our air permit to lower our maximum emissions and by continuing to provide high-quality jobs for our 160 employees until the day we close,” Richardson said.
Lawrence Castillo is a local representative of the United Steelworkers, the national union for steelworkers. It includes 113 members who work at GAF in West Dallas.
Castillo said via email GAF has consistently demonstrated its commitment to operating responsibly in compliance with the law and keeping its union members and the community safe.
“Closing any earlier is unnecessary, unrealistic and would inflict severe harm upon the hardworking men and women who depend on these jobs, the local economy, and the broader community that benefits from the labor of our union members,” said Castillo.
The nearly 80-year-old factory needs to close now to avoid damages to West Dallas residents’ health and future outcomes, said Cisneros, who lives next to the facility.
“It doesn’t matter how much they reduce their emissions. At the end of the day, they are polluting our neighborhood,” Cisneros said. “People are getting sick. People are choosing to stay indoors to avoid the disgusting smells. We can’t continue to live like this.”
As of Oct. 23, more than 15 comments opposing GAF’s air permit renewal had been submitted to the TCEQ, including from District 6 council member Omar Narvaez; Kathryn Bazan, chair of the Dallas Environmental Commission; and vice chair Esther Villarreal, who represents West Dallas.
“The community’s involvement has long been a catalyst for impactful change in West Dallas, especially as it relates to the health, vibrancy, and economic development of the area. I encourage TCEQ to listen to these voices,” wrote Narvaez, who represents the area.
Narvaez did not confirm with The News whether he would attend the meeting.
Cisneros said the West Dallas community is committed to exploring as many avenues as possible to get GAF out of their neighborhood as soon as possible.
“Enough is enough,” said Cisneros, who, along with four other community activists, is scheduled for a court hearing Oct. 29 after they received misdemeanor citations and were accused of blocking the entrance to GAF during a protest to draw attention to pollution on Earth Day 2024.
Community leaders are also awaiting the results of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study announced late last year. The study, which ran from December 2023 to July 2024, focused on the quality of air, water, fish tissue and soil in West Dallas to determine whether residents are exposed to high pollution levels.
