Northeast residents protest landfill growth

By Ivory Mayhorn
Nearly two dozens members of the Northeast Houston community went to Austin on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 to make a loud statement to the Commission that its residents are no longer willing to tolerate the continued expansion of the mountainous dumpsites in the area.
The residents are complaining about the long term health hazards and illnesses such as cancer, upper respiratory diseases and contaminated water, air and soil that they have suffered over the years.
Allied/BFI filed with the State Commission to get approval to increase the height of the McCarty Road landfill by an additional 300 feet.
In addition, Allied/BFI attempted to get the community group NE Environmental Justice Association removed as a organization with standing and get the Commission to dismiss all the Requests for a Contested Case Hearing and approve their application for the 300ft high expansion permit.

If approved it would be the highest permitted landfill in the country and open the way for Allied to vertically expand Whispering Pines (Little York and Mesa) and about a dozen other landfills that they own in the state.
After hearing from the community, the Commission voted UNANIMOUSLY to grant the Contested Case Hearing AND the Hearing will be in Houston, Texas. They also approved an extension in time for the Hearing to 11 months. “We really need it because we have a lot of work to do,” said Robin German Curtis, President for the NE Environmental Justice Association.
Weingarten Real Estate Investment, et al has joined the community in its efforts and were approved as an interested party as well. In addition, Harris Commissioner Sylvia Garcia sent a representative to speak on her behalf and express her support for the NE Environmental Justice Association and the East Houston community efforts to contest the issuance of Allied’s vertical expansion permit. Commissioner Garcia is the only commissioner to publicly express support for our efforts. However, the majority of the landfill is in Commissioner El Franco Lee’s precinct.
Representatives from Superneighborhood 47, E. Houston Civic Club, NEEJA, and Northeast community traveled from Houston to Austin to participate.
If these measures pass, the Northeast community would in effect have an overexpanding mountain of trash on the North and South end of the community, not withstanding the fact that other landfill operators, i.e. Waste Management on the north end of the community as well, would probably move forward with a similar expansion request.
The community is coming together for a better quality of life in Northeast Houston. For more information, contact Betty at NEEJA, 713.635.2812.