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Austin American-Statesman, June 2, 2008 By Melissa Mixon

Judge says controversial landfill contract is valid

A 2003 contract between Williamson County and its landfill operator, Waste Management of Texas, is valid, according to a district judge’s ruling released late Friday.

The county and Waste Management have been in a legal limbo since September, when the county sued the company, saying that the contract between the two was invalid because it was not put through a competitive bidding process.

Attorneys for Waste Management have argued that the contract was not subject to a bid, however.

The ruling by District Judge Burt Carnes comes at a highly significant time.

Waste Management and the city of Killeen are currently discussing plans to bring the city’s 100,000 tons of waste per year to the county’s landfill north of Hutto, which would almost double the amount of trash coming in. The plans were announced last week, upsetting residents and some county officials.

Commissioner Ron Morrison said last week that he would ask Waste Management not to take in the additional trash, but, he said, under the 2003 contract he and other commissioners probably would not have much power over what happens.