Landfill is a tall concern for some residents

(4/02/07 - KTRK/FORT BEND COUNTY, TX) (KTRK) -- A trash company is looking at expanding a landfill from the current 40 feet limit height to a proposed 170 feet.

The landfill expansion proposal would happen on FM 521, just south of McHard Road, but it's not just the extra landfill that's a concern.

The landfill sits inside the Fort Bend County lines, but it's just across the street from a major Pearland neighborhood. Besides worries about the environmental impact, there is a new concern. Will a bigger and higher landfill affect how you get your weather information?

Along the fort bend and Brazoria County lines, the Blue Ridge Landfill is already in operation, but plans to expand the dump site is causing nearby Pearland city officials plenty of concern. That's especially with the growing Shadow Creek Ranch subdivision just across FM 521.

"It's right across the street from the fastest growing master planned community in the Houston area," said Kevin Cole of the Pearland City Council. "We have a lot of concerns from the people across the street from here."

For the people who live in the area, it's not just the sight and smell that worries them. If the landfill expansion is approved, it could eventually grow to 230 feet high. That level is much higher than the Doppler radar towers of several TV stations, situated nearby.

"It's a flat area, it's got great visibility, so it happens to be where a lot of the TV stations have put up their radars," said ABC13 Chief Meteorologist Tim Heller. "Unfortunately the landfill is also in that same spot."

Heller says while the concerns are not immediate, it could affect several TV stations including KTRK. When a local resident raised the issue with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the agency said, "Municipal solid waste rules do not address the effect a landfill will have on Doppler or other radar facilities. The effect of this facility on the Doppler radar tower is therefore unknown."

Homeowner Joseph Deleon says it's just one more reason he's fighting against the landfill expansion.

"It's not just the Doppler that are back there, it's communication towers and other things back there," said Deleon. "It's pretty sad they won't even take that into consideration, especially the Doppler system."

We just spoke on the phone with Allied Waste, the parent company of Blue Ridge. The company says the landfill will follow all laws, and it's been a good neighbor since the late 1990s. However, homeowners are asking for a contested case hearing before any permits are granted by the state.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

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