Weatherford Democrat
Heather Reifsnyder
Parker County residents opposed to a landfill expansion will now be able to have their side heard before the state’s environmental quality agency.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced Friday that it will consider during a public meeting petitions to overturn the landfill’s permit modification that would allow it to expand. The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Jan. 26 in Austin.
“We’re thrilled that we’ve gotten this far,” said Robin Schneider, executive director of the environmental organization Texas Campaign for the Environment, which is working with landfill neighbors.
The landfill, located southwest of Weatherford but within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, is owned by a company called IESI. In what some consider a shady move, TCEQ Executive Director Glenn Shankle approved IESI’s permit modification in November. This opened the door for IESI to expand its landfill by 22 acres.
Eleanor Whitmore of Texas Campaign for the Environment said IESI should be required to file for a permit amendment, a lengthier process than a modification and one that requires public meetings.
Subsequent to Shankle’s decision, some filed motions to overturn it, including TCEQ’s own Office of Public Interest Counsel. Texas Campaign for the Environment also filed.
Groups who filed motions will have 15 minutes among themselves to present their case. IESI will have 10 minutes and Shankle five. After two deadline extensions, TCEQ’s three ruling commissioners now have until 5 p.m. Jan. 28 to choose to act on the motions to overturn.
TCEQ required IESI to notify people within 500 feet of the landfill of its plans to expand. Some people living close to the landfill, but beyond 500 feet, only recently learned of the proposed expansion.
One of them, Ed Kramer, contacted Weatherford Rep. Phil King for help. One thing King’s office did was broker an upcoming meeting in Austin between IESI and some neighbors of the landfill. Also Friday, IESI gave neighbors a tour of the landfill and answered questions.
Shannon Pana, who is building a home east of the landfill, said IESI officials were cordial and willing to answer questions. But she said she felt no resolution afterward.
“For me, if anything, I had more of a sinking feeling when I could see my home [from the landfill],” she said.
Pana said she is most concerned not about the current proposed expansion, but what could happen farther down the line if IESI needs to expand again.
IESI purchased the landfill from the city of Weatherford in May 2003 for $4.9 million. It began trucking in waste from other Texas counties, greatly increasing the landfill’s intake.
Tags: problem waste facilities
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