Williamson County Needs a Better Landfill
Waste Management (WMI) and the Williamson County Commissioners Court are seeking to expand the size of the county-owned landfill near Hutto from 200 to a massive 525 acres, and double its height to 140 feet. This would increase the amount of space available for garbage five-fold. It would potentially allow Waste Management to build the landfill as high as 750 feet, according to the company!
In addition, County officials are in the process of renegotiating the contract with Waste Management to operate the landfill. Neighbors and community groups have urged them to build strong environmental and taxpayer protections into the new contract.
Click here to urge your County officials to work toward a better landfill!
Whose Landfill is This Anyway?
Waste Management acts like they own the landfill, but it's really owned by the County - which means it should be run for the benefit of County residents - not the benefit of Waste Management. Although the proposal to bring 100,000 tons of trash per year from Killeen has been stopped, County officials have stated that the current contract would allow WMI to import trash from anywhere.
To their credit, the County Judge and Commissioners have taken initial steps to temporarily suspend the expansion plan. They can do more! The current expansion plan has no long-term solid waste plan, and no significant recycling, diversion or composting plans. The current recycling center has a diversion rate of less than 1%, according to County officials. This certainly doesn’t pass the smell test, and county residents should demand a better plan and the best facilities to support it.
There are Better Alternatives
County officials have several options to make this a better landfill. Since the County owns the landfill, they can significantly improve the current expansion plan and contract with better recycling, composting and waste reduction measures. In other cities and counties, landfill companies offer far more recycling than proposed here; Williamson County residents should be offered the same services.
Local governments in Austin and Travis County are designing plans for "zero-waste." Williamson County should work with cities here to do the same. Better proposals have already been detailed to County officials by residents and organizations, such as the Hutto Citizens Group (www.huttocitizensgroup.org).
New Contract Sould Protect Taxpayers, Environment
Last fall, the County Commissioners Court rejected a bad new contract with Waste Management and initiated a lawsuit to get the County out of the current contract. Although this legal effort has not yet been successful, the County can and should exercise its power to protect its residents. In order to get the best possible landfill plan, the County should build specific terms into any new landfill contract such as limits to its height and size and requirements for recycling and composting.
Developing the facility in the correct way could be very beneficial to county residents, creating new tax revenues and jobs for decades to come. However, a poor expansion plan that ignores community input could do much harm – ultimately, ALL Williamson County taxpayers will be responsible. Since the County owns the landfill, all residents have a stake in these issues!
Current Expansion Plan Awaits Decision
The expansion application process has gone through a “contested case hearing” in which thirteen individuals and organizations legally protested the expansion plan.
The two judges hearing the case will recommend that the state environmental agency grant the expansion permit. However, citizens and protestants did win several major changes and improvements to the expansion plan. The three Commissioners of the state environmental agency will make the final decision on the expansion.
To read more about the contested case hearing, click here.
To read the story in the Austin American-Statesman, click here.
Williamson County Commissioners Reject Flawed Contract
In August 2007, three of the five members of the County Commissioner's Court (Long, Covey and Morrison) expressed concerns with the draft contract and voted not to approve it at this time. This was a huge success for the residents and organizations that have opposed the flawed contract. Our thanks go out to all those who contacted your County officials -- and to the Commissioners who stood up for their constituents.
Click here to read the Taylor Daily Press article.
Even with this victory, the bad expansion proposal still remains in the permitting process at the state environmental agency. We need to keep the pressure on the Commissioners to consider better alternatives for expanding the landfill.
Landfill Expansion a Controversial Issue
County officials have so far refused to consider alternative expansion plans or seek competitive bids to get the best possible deal for county taxpayers.
County officials have stated that this will not be a regional landfill. However, the expansion application states that trash will be accepted from the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) region, which consists of ten counties in Central Texas. Left unchanged, this expansion could turn the landfill into a major trash repository for the greater Central Texas area, which would be detrimental to Williamson County’s overall development and long term financial health.
Additional Background
The expansion would be located at the edge of Mustang Creek, which has flooded local roads during heavy rains. Truck traffic on CR 1660 and on State Highways 29 and 79 could increase dramatically. The County admitted to the state environmental agency that the landfill has contaminated Mustang Creek in the past. Neighbors have complained of awful odors from the landfill.
On October 11, 2004 the TCEQ held a public meeting on the proposed expansion. Many folks from the community came out to ask tough questions and voiced many concerns about the expansion plans.
TCE working with local neighbors won a public hearing on the expansion plans last year and forced Williamson County and Waste Management to stop using a two-step process to push through the expansion. Neighbors' complaints have also resulted in better litter pick-up along the routes to the landfill. Waste Management was supposed to do this but wasn't. In addition, the landfill has installed a flare to address some of the odor complaints.
On February 11, 2005, Texas Campaign for the Environment, the local neighbor group Mount Hutto Aware Citizens, landowners in the vicinity of the landfill, and sportsmen who enjoy the nearby San Gabriel River filed appeals at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in response to approval of the expansion by the agency's Executive Director. Click here to read the press release. This opposition led the County and Waste Management to abandon their original plan to use a two-step (bifurcated) permitting process.
A new permit application was submitted and a hearing on that application was held in August 2005. Again, the landfill operators, Williamson County and state environmental agency representatives were asked tough questions. Audience members became quite frustrated because very few straight answers were provided.
Campaign Press
Wilco landfill vote expected; Length of contract long has been under scrutiny (Round Rock Leader)
Hutto group now backs landfill sale; Williamson commissioners say they're interested but are also looking to negotiate new contract with operator. (Austin American Statesman)
More Trash in Hutto (KUT Radio)
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Links
Founded by Lois Gibbs who fought toxic contamination in her Love Canal community in the 1970s, CHEJ works with local groups to win environmental justice is from the bottom up through community organizing and empowerment.
Center for Health Environment and JusticeBlog of the Fort Bend and Brazoria County group opposing the expansion of the BFI landfill in their area.
Citizens Against the Blue Ridge Landfill ExpansionEnvironmental engineer Dr. Fred Lee has been working since the 1960's on landfills and has written extensively on many topics.
Dr. Fred Lee's Scientific Research on LandfillsLocal Organizers in Williamson County, working on the Hutto landfill and other community issues
Hutto Citizens Group
zero-waste solutions- NE Travis County landfill
Williamson County landfill
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