GRAYSON COUNTY, Texas (KTEN) — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick met with residents Monday night to hear their concerns about a proposed cement kiln in Dorchester, Texas.

The tech industry has resulted in a boom in Grayson County's population and job market.

"We are very pro-business; that's why all the business are moving to Texas," Patrick said. "But there's also a public interest you have to balance."

Black Mountain has purchased more than 600 aches of land to build a cement kiln in Dorchester.

"When you have a company that could really impact other companies, jobs, the economy... that gets to the level of, 'Okay, we want business, but is it in the best public interest?'" Patrick asked.

The Republican lieutenant governor heard about the kiln after residents and lawmakers protested the proposal at a meeting with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

If the plant is approved, not only will it affect the people of Dorchester living in its backyard, but high tech industries that have spent billions of dollars to be there — like GlobalWafers and Texas Instruments — may have to move somewhere else.

"Any time you have an industry that's degrading your air quality, it's always of a great concern to these companies, because they have to take additional measures in order to protect their products," said Sherman Mayor David Plyler.

GlobalWafers in Sherman may have to isolate their production facilities due to the precision required in its manufacturing.

"Part of GlobalWafers' process, they have an area of their plant that's specifically designed to be separated from the rest of their plant," Plyler said.

That's because the manufacturing is susceptible to any type of vibrations.

"At that point, it's the same equivalent of hanging a grand piano from a show string," a GlobalWafers representative said at the meeting.

"And a blasting industry located nearby obviously makes that impossible," Plyler added.

Lt. Gov. Patrick said he hopes to be educated by the people in Grayson County,

"I've been there; I visited the plants; I've toured the city; I've talked to the people," he said.

Patrick said he will be taking all he's learned to the TCEQ, the regulatory agency with a stated mission to reduce and prevent pollution.