Chron: Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion Update!--follow the title link for more--

Group wants landfill operator to yield more

January 28, 2010 2:11 pm Zen T.C. Zheng, Houston Chronicle

Here is an update on a grassroots group’s fight against the proposed expansion of the Blue Ridge Landfill on the east side of Fort Bend County.

Last week, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a revised application for a permit to pursue the project by BFI, which is now Republic Services after a corporate merger.

The revision reflects the terms and conditions in an agreement reached between the company and the city of Pearland last year, which includes what municipal officials regarded as “substantial compromise” by the trash disposer.

Previously, three television stations opposed to the project had all struck undisclosed deals with the company, leaving the Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion the lone party still in the fight...

http://cabrle.spaces.live.com/

More From The Houston Chronicle On The Blue Ridge Landfill Near Missouri City--click here for more--

Residents' group opposed to landfill expansion tries to make deal with operating company
By ZEN T.C. ZHENG HOUSTON CHRONICLE

In a twist in a near four-year battle, a grassroots group fighting a landfill expansion plan in east Fort Bend County is seeking an out-the-court settlement with the company behind the project.

The negotiations between the Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion and Republic Services Inc. come on the heels of a string of compromises between the company and other opponents that included three local television stations — KTRK (Channel 13), KRIV (Fox 26) and KHOU (Channel 11) and the city of Pearland....(follow the link above for the full story)

MCC comment: This is the landfill expansion project that the mayor of Missouri City (Allen Owen) and our county commissioners (Bob Hebert) agreed not to fight for "tipping fees" some years ago.

Chronicle: Blue Ridge Landfill Gets Closer To Expanding!--click the title link for more--

Click the title link for this full story on how Missouri City council, our Fort Bend County Commissioners signed off on a contract deal (for tipping fees) to allow this expansion by this GFBCEDC corporate member in the areas of Missouri City, Arcola, Fresno, Sienna Plantation, Shadow Creek Ranch, etc...

5/26/09 CHRON UPDATE: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6440352.html

CHRON: Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion, Near Missouri City,...Update!

Landfill opposition group to get new attorney
Waste company makes deal with 2 TV stations

By ZEN T.C. ZHENG CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Jan. 2009,

A grass-roots group battling a landfill expansion plan in east Fort Bend County is expected to have a new attorney within a month now that Richard Morrison, their current lawyer, has decided to devote himself exclusively to his new county commissioner’s job.

“I will find a very capable counsel for my clients within 30 days and maybe sooner,” Morrison said on Jan. 7.
Morrison also said there is no truth to rumors that the group, Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion, has reached a settlement with the trash-disposal company, Allied Waste, which is now Republic Services, after the two companies merged late last year.

The two-year fight began after the company applied for a state permit to add 1,345 acres to the 599-acre landfill on the west side of FM 521 north of Fresno. With the plan, the landfill would rise in height from 58 to 170 feet in 40 years.
Strong community opposition resulted in opponents being granted a contested case hearing by Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, which had preliminarily approved the expansion. The contested case hearing to be conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings is essentially a civil trial.

In order to avoid the hearing, in early 2008, the company sought a settlement with the opponents that also include the city of Pearland and three local television stations — KTRK (Channel 13), KRIV (Fox 26) and KHOU (Channel 11).

Negotiations failed last year between the company and two opposition groups, including the city and the coalition, which comprises residents from numerous subdivisions near the landfill.

However, Gary McCuistion, a company spokesman, said on Jan. 8 that the company has struck a deal with two of the TV stations, KTRK and KHOU.

“We are still reaching out to the city of Pearland although we haven’t been talking to the citizens group,” McCuistion said. . .


Follow the title link above for the entire piece.

MCC Comment: This is the landfill near Missouri City that city council officials and county commissioners (except for Morrison) agreed to not oppose for "tipping fees" and recorded highly toxic Barium leaks in 2005.

MCC Exclusive: Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion Contested Case Hearing Set For October 16th!!!

Just In: BRLFE Contested Case Hearing Set For Oct. 16th!!!
Published on 09/01/07 - 15:12:24 by MCCNewsUpdates

The contested hearing for the hotly disputed Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion Permit Hearing is set for 10:00a.m. -- Oct. 16th 2007 in the Fort Bend County Commissioner's Courtroom on 309 South 4th Street, Suite 701 in Richmond Texas. This landfill is located near Missouri City, Arcola, Fresno & Pearland, TX. The permit seeks to expand this landfill to nearly triple its current height and double the land area despite recently reported Barium leaks.

This case gathered immediate attention when it was learned that elected officials from Missouri City (including the mayor) and Fort Bend County Commissioners accepted "tipping fees" in order not to oppose the expansion. These endorsements also included our own Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council, with little explanation ever given for this move. Several Houston t.v. stations have joined the opposition case with many area neighborhoods which may be impacted lead by state and national representatives, namely Dora Olivo. Some of the stations believe this height may block some of the doppler radar signals and create a potential threat to S.E. Texas when tracking major storms.

Background On This Case Can Be Retrieved Through Searching The Following Sites:

http://missouricitychatter.blogspot.com

http://www.fortbendweb.com

http://www.fortbendnow.com

& Other local media sources.

The official CABRLE website is also an excellent source:

http://cabrle.spaces.live.com/


Stay informed and keep in touch!

FBN: FBISD Approves November Record Bond Referendum To Address Excessive Growth!

FBISD Board Approves 3.25% Modified Salary Plan, $428M Bond Referendum
by Bob Dunn,
Aug 2007

Teachers at Fort Bend Independent School District will see annual raises in the coming school year of either $1,750, or 3.25% of their current salaries, whichever is greater.

According to a revised salary proposal, which the FBISD Board of Trustees voted to adopt Monday night, non-teaching employees at the district will receive a raise of either 3.25% of their current pay, or 3.25% of the mid-point salary within their district pay grade, whichever is greater.

Trustees also approved a $428 million bond referendum – which will be put to a vote of FBISD residents in November – that would allow the fast-growing district to build four elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school within the next three years or so, in addition to making more than $138 million in repairs, refurbishments and maintenance to existing campuses. . . (click title link above for more).