At the regular meeting of the Bowie County Commissioners Court last week, the court agreed to accept a donation that will potentially help with future county road maintenance.
The court approved a donation of paper mill fly ash by Graphics Packaging International in Domino. The agenda item was requested by Mike Carter, Precinct 4 commissioner.
“As I’ve been researching it, this fly ash is supposed to be amazing for county roads as far as getting rid of the dust and turning the roads almost into concrete,” Carter told the court. “I’m excited about the opportunity to improve our county roads without having to spend millions of dollars resurfacing them with paving.”
According to a study by the Federal Highway Administration, fly ash produced by paper mills can be used in road maintenance to make roads stronger.
“The primarily granular nature and mineral composition of paper mill boiler ash make it a good candidate for road stabilization,” the study said. Carter told the court fly ash had been used in the mix for a small county road prior to his first term as commissioner.
“To this day, that section still doesn’t need any maintenance. It is as smooth and hard as can be,” he told the court.
Fly ash is the residue created from burning waste and rejected woods in the incinerators to create additional energy at paper mills.
It is not biodegradable and therefore unable to be taken to the landfill for disposal.
Graphics Packaging currently has 10,000 tons of fly ash they are unable to discommunity pose of. More is produced each day as they burn additional wastes which makes the donations perpetual, Carter said.
The donation will allow the county to save money on road maintenance. The fly ash will be added to the resurfacing materials purchased for dirt roads.
“One load of oil sand that we pick up in Paris, which is 90 miles, is $4,000 for one load. And that does 40 to 50 feet of road,” Carter added.
The county has about 441 miles of gravel and natural roads the commissioners are responsible for maintaining.
The county’s annual road maintenance budgets for each precinct comes from a $10 per vehicle registration fee reimbursement from the state.
The only cost the county will incur would be the labor costs and fuel to drive to and from the paper mill in Domino.
Fly ash has been used in other areas in Texas but Carter told the court he has found its usage has not been predominant because of the distance precincts are from availability.
“Their transportation costs are exorbitant to pick up this stuff at the mills and carry it to the roads. Because we’ve got a mill, what 15 or 20 miles down the road is very fortunate,” Carter said. “Transportation costs was the only concern that I could find anywhere with using this supply.”
The donation is pending Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approval and other legal agreements between the county and the paper mill.
In other business, the Court approved joint Democratic and Republican primary elections.
