An environmental attorney contends in a document filed with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality that an application for the expansion of Blue Ridge Landfill is deficient because it relies on a flawed analysis of transportation issues.

Richard Morrison represents a group of area residents - known as Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion - opposed to expansion of the facility, at 2200 F.M. 521, a mile north of Fresno in Fort Bend County.

In a public hearing on Thursday, Morrison revealed through questioning of landfill officials that a “statistically significant” increase in barium was detected at one monitoring well at the landfill in November 2005.

Morrison said in written comments to TCEQ Executive Director Glenn Shankle that the barium spike is evidence the landfill in its current state is leaking, posing a risk to 80 water wells a mile and a half away in Fresno, as water-soluble barium compounds are poisonous.

The issue Morrison raises over Blue Ridge Landfill TX L.P.’s transportation analysis may represent a more serious threat to the Allied Waste subsidiary’s attempt to expand the landfill and extend its useful life for another 40 years.

However, a project manager for Allied indicated Morrison failed to account for the fact that trucks other than those owned and operated by Allied will enter and leave the landfill, and Allied has little control over the routes they take.

Also, Project Development Manager Gary McCuistion reiterated his statement from last week on the increased levels of barium, saying “we feel very confident” it represents a naturally occurring event.

At stake for Allied is the continued operation of one of only two major landfills in Fort Bend County. Without being able to expand the facility from its current 302-acre “waste footprint,” where refuse is permitted to be piled up to 58 feet high, the landfill will be full in 13 years. The company has applied to increase the footprint to 784 acres, and to pile refuse up to 170 feet high.

Many residents of surrounding neighborhoods, such as Shadow Creek Ranch and Fresno, say what’s at stake for them is maintaining the value of their homes or their ability to obtain clean drinking water, and to maintain an acceptable quality of life in the face of what some believe will become at best a stinking nuisance.

An extensive monitoring system is in place currently, and would be expanded along with the landfill, designed to detect gas leaks and any seepage from the landfill into ground water. The landfill’s general manager, Mitch Noto, said last week he moved into Shadow Creek Ranch, near the landfill, in part because of his complete confidence of the facility’s monitoring systems.

But residents raised a variety of objections to the expansion on Thursday, and Morrison showed up at the hearing on CABRLE’s behalf.

A Democrat who once ran against Tom DeLay for Congressional District 22, Morrison raised 11 issues in the comments he filed with the TCEQ. His intent is to convince the agency it should call a contested-case hearing over the landfill expansion application.

As Morrison noted in his comments, Both Fort Bend County and Missouri City entered into similar settlement agreements with Blue Ridge Landfill. Under both agreements, the landfill height is limited to 170 feet.

Also, under the Missouri City agreement, trucks hauling waste to the landfill are directed to “avoid” roads passing through the city, including Lake Olympia Boulevard, F.M. 2234 (Texas Parkway) west of F.M. 521, Lexington Boulevard, Independents Boulevard, University Boulevard, Buffalo Trail, Sienna Parkway, Trammel-Fresno Road and an “unnamed ‘ring road’ that will come out of the Riverstone development to connect to the toll road, Lake Shore Harbour Drive and Cartwright.”

Instead, trucks are directed to use State Highway 6, Beltway 8 or the toll road to drive to and from the landfill, the agreement states.

However, Morrison says the landfill application expansion identifies secondary access routes to the landfill as including F.M. 2234, F.M 3345 and Trammel-Fresno Road.

“Because the settlement agreement requires trucks controlled by the applicant to use Highway 6 and not use F.M. 2234, F.M. 3345 and Trammel-Fresno Road, the applicant’s analysis is flawed,” Morrison said in his comments to the TCEQ. “The application is deficient.”

McCuistion said Allied had to do its best in its state application “to look at the total traffic impacted” by the landfill operation. That includes trucks belonging to other companies, which haul waste into Blue Ridge Landfill.

He said Blue Ridge Landfill reached agreements with Missouri City and Fort Bend County, but other waste haulers who user the landfill did not. Thus other companies’ trucks are not bound by those agreement terms.

The TCEQ has been working with Allied on its application for months. It found the application to be “administratively complete” in February, and “technically complete” in October. TCEQ has issued a “draft permit” already, but Allied can’t begin work on the expansion until and unless the three TCEQ commissioners vote to issue a final permit.

McCuistion said the company itslf actually has been working on the expansion plans since 1999, when presented a proposal to the county and Missouri City. That proposal originally included a stipulation that the landfill be allowed to pile refuse more than 200 feet high, he said, but city and county officials extracted an agreement to limit the height to 170 feet.

Officials from the TCEQ conducted last week’s hearing mainly to obtain public comments - such as what Morrison submitted - to be added to the public record. That process could take months, officials said, and if the agency finds a contested-case hearing is warranted, a final decision on the application could be as much as two years away.

Other points Morrison raised as representative of the opposition group of residents include:

→ “If the landfill expansion creates or maintains a nuisance condition, will the issuance of a land use compatibility determination be inconsistent with the laws, rules and policies of the state of Texas?”

→ “If the area surrounding the expansion is residential and agricultural, and it is likely that the landfill will interfere with the use and enjoyment of the surrounding lands; can it be compatible with surrounding land uses?”

→ “If the area surrounding the proposed expansion is experiencing some of the highest residential growth rates in the country, can the proposed expansion be compaitble with growth trends in the area?”

→ “If the site will be in proximity to at least 5,000 residents, three schools and three churches, can it be compatible with surrounding land use?”

→ “If the application has not addressed the transportation issues that will arise because of the agreement with Missouri City, how will an increase in traffic adversely affect surrounding landowners, residents and others who work in the area?”

→ “If the proposed expansion will be visible for miles and the proposed buffer and screening are woefully inadequate given the height, can the proposed expansion by visually compatible with its surrounding?”

→ “The applicant has identified over 80 water wells within one mile of the expansion. If the site is already experiencing a leak, should the application be granted?”

→ “If the operator has a history of noncompliance at this and other facilities, should the application be denied or should the application require close cruitiny of the proposals and information submitted by the applicant?”

→ “If the surface water controls are inadequate to protect surrounding land use and flood plains, should be application be granted?”

→ “If the expansion violates the restriction on height set forth in the settlement agreements with Missouri City and Fort Bend COunty, should the amendment be granted?”

→ “If the daily operations at the current landfill fail to control odors and vectors, is the site operating plan for the expansion sufficient?”

Richard Morrison represents a group of area residents - known as Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion - opposed to expansion of the facility, at 2200 F.M. 521, a mile north of Fresno in Fort Bend County.

In a public hearing on Thursday, Morrison revealed through questioning of landfill officials that a “statistically significant” increase in barium was detected at one monitoring well at the landfill in November 2005.