FBN:Allied Waste Requests Time From Court For Settlement Talks On Landfill Expansion

Government action on a controversial proposed expansion of Blue Ridge Landfill has been postponed for 90 days, apparently so landfill owner Allied Waste can try to settle differences with opponents of the project.

Allied Waste operates Blue Ridge Landfill at 2200 F.M. 521, a mile north of Fresno in Fort Bend County. Allied wants to increase the landfill “waste footprint” from the current 302 acres to 784 acres, and increase the maximum height at which refuse can be piled, from the current 58 feet to 170 feet.

But at that height, say officials with Houston TV stations KTRK Channel 13, KHOU Channel 11 and Fox affiliate KRIV, the giant mound of garbage would block weather radar signals from the stations’ towers, 3 miles or less away to the northwest, hampering efforts to track hurricanes, tornadoes or other severe weather.

The TV stations – along with the City of Pearland and a citizens group called Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion – gained the right to participate in what’s known as a contested hearing against Allied and the Blue Ridge Landfill expansion plans last year.

An administrative law judge in Austin ruled last week to defer proceedings in the contested hearing until June 6. Richard Morrison, an attorney representing the CABRLE group, said Allied has indicated it would use the 90 days to try to reach a settlement with the three groups opposing the expansion.

However, Morrison also suggested that Allied conceivably could settled its differences with one or two of the opponents of the expansion – but not all. . .

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MCC comment:

Looks like a number of possible reasons for this tactic. One could be to try and get the major players to settle and out, that way only individual residents would be left giving the company an even more unfair advantage. Hopefully this is not the case!