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The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) over potentially discriminatory tactics related to concrete batch plant permitting.

What's happening: The investigation centers around a 2021 rule change to how concrete batch plants are permitted. Local officials say the change wasn't communicated to non-English-speaking communities.

Why it matters: Harris County has the largest share of concrete batch plants in the state.

Flashback: In 2021, TCEQ changed its permitting rules to exclude crystalline silica reporting from the permitting process.

Driving the news: In April, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and Lone Star Legal Aid filed separate, but similar, complaints to the EPA, which prompted the investigation.

What they're saying: More than a dozen dignitaries, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, praised the EPA for opening the investigation.

The other side: TCEQ declined to comment on the investigation.

What's next: The EPA will issue its preliminary findings within 180 days.

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