Residents rally to fight proposed landfill expansion
BFI plans draw opposition from Olivo, support from Stavinoha
By ZEN T. C. ZHENG
Houston Chronicle
Some east Fort Bend County residents have formed a committee to raise funds to fight a proposed landfill expansion, though an environmental lawyer says the odds are against them.
Scores of residents from more than a dozen neighborhoods gathered at Willowridge High School Thursday to denounce the landfill plan by Allied Waste, which does business in Houston as BFI. They brainstormed with state Rep. Dora Olivo, D-Missouri City, and Sugar Land attorney Richard Morrison on strategies to battle the expansion.
"The meeting was requested by my constituents to bring the people together to make a decision on what they have to do to fight the expansion," said Olivo, who did translation for Spanish-speaking residents during the meeting.
"People are determined. They are ready to move," she said.
State sets public meeting
At issue is the Blue Ridge Landfill that BFI operates at 2200 FM 521 south of McHard Road, about one mile north of Fresno.
The company is seeking permits from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to expand the 599-acre facility to include 1,345 more acres to the north and west. The company also wants to increase the landfill's height from 58 feet to 170 feet to enlarge its capacity to accommodate waste for 40 years.
The commission is reviewing the application with comments taken from residents during a town hall meeting in July. It will conduct a second public meeting on Dec. 7 at 7-9 p.m. at Blue Ridge Elementary School, 6241 McHard Road.
Support for the project has come from Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha, Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council CEO Herbert Appel and municipal officials in Missouri City.
But Olivo said Fort Bend's east end is densely populated with minority residents and called the landfill expansion proposal an "injustice."
Raymond Franks, BFI's Houston region manager of business development, was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.
In July, Franks said the proposed expansion would not harm the environment because the company has a plan to establish a ground-water monitoring system, set up a buffer zone and contain gas from decomposing trash.
Neighborhood concerns
As residents streamed out of the school Thursday, they described their frustration.
Tommie Johnson, a resident of East Ripple Ridge subdivision, said once the landfill is expanded, it would be one block from her home.
"I don't want this thing in my backyard," she said. "God knows who could sell their houses anymore. If I could, I would sell mine and I'm gone."
Green Valley Estate resident Eric Bryant, who attended the meeting with his 3-year-old son, said he feared possible health hazards to children if the landfill expands. He also worries that property values will drop.
"How did they even name the landfill 'Blue Ridge?' That's the name of our elementary school. It's ridiculous," he said. "This is where I raise my family. Ain't they gonna mess up my neighborhood."
"You are going to have a huge mount filled with garbage for 40 years," said Morrison, who was invited by Olivo to give a presentation at the meeting to outline his perspective on the issue. "It's going to be 17 stories high. There is nothing in Fort Bend that's 17-story high."
BFI called "good neighbor"
Stavinoha defended BFI as "a good neighbor" and "the most community-minded garbage company I've seen." He called on residents to let the state regulatory agency make the decision whether to issue an expansion permit.
BFI has a safe record of operating landfills in the county, he said.
Stavinoha said Blue Ridge is one of three landfills in the county, including one that is closed.
"It'll be very difficult for the state to approve another site in the county now that we've already had three," he said. "I think we should let TCEQ to handle this issue."
Both Stavinoha and Appel have cited a "tipping fee" BFI has contributed to the county since 1991. Through an agreement between BFI and the county, half of that money, up to $200,000 a year, now will be directly used for community improvements near the landfill, Stavinoha said.
Franks has said his company contributed about $3.1 million for the county over the past decade.
Some residents called the "tipping fee" an insult to the community.
"The $200,000 is gonna do nothing if people get sick from that landfill while the company is making millions of dollars at the expense of our community," said Donna Thomas, president of Green Valley Estate subdivision's homeowners association.
Missouri City resident Aurore-Denise Ragston, one of the participants of the meeting, who are predominantly black and Hispanic, described BFI's plan as "environmental racism."
"Is this a way to get rid of us?" said Ragston, who is black.
Sizing up the odds
Morrison is not optimistic about residents' odds of winning.
"This is a fight against a billion-dollar giant," he said. . .(click title link for full story)
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Comment: How can an expansion of this magnitude (double in size and triple the height limits) be an economic gain for this area of Fort Bend County as asserted by the FBEDC and Mo-City officials? With all the new subdivisions and businesses moving to this end of the county, why is this landfill expansion being pushed now (what about air & water quality)?
