Texas Floods Show Health Risks of Allowing Toxic Dump to be Built in Floodplain

If permitted by TX, floodplain dump could accept 10k tons/day of coal ash, pollution sludge and toxic waste from Mexico and beyond 

 JUNE 6 – Historic Texas rains and flooding prove why state leaders should kill a massive toxic waste dump planned for a South Texas floodplain just miles from regional water supplies.  The 953-acre toxic landfill proposed by Rancho Viejo Waste Management (RVWM), is now being considered for final approval by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).  The floodplain dump would be permitted to import nearly 4 million tons of waste per year, or 10,000 tons per day, and accept waste 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

According to TCEQ, “Approximately 60% of the landfill will be in the 100-year floodplain as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”   The agency also acknowledges that tributaries running through the floodplain “run through the landfill and from there into the Rio Grande…”

The RVWM dump would be allowed to import toxic, combustible, disaster and medical waste including coal ash and pollution control sludge from Mexico and other states, according to TCEQ landfill permit #2374 and state regulatory officials.  The Laredo City Council and Webb County Commissioners Court have voted to oppose the landfill permit at public meetings citing water, health and environmental concerns.

“Building a landfill in the middle of a floodplain is a flagrant and reckless disregard of the health and safety of both humans and the environment,” said Laredo City Council Member George Altgelt.  “The fact that the proposed dump will be upwind (with volatile heavy metal laced coal ash) and bringing its toxic supply of trash over the fabled “streets [and rail] of Laredo” is a risk we have decided is not something we can expose our constituents to.”

The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) says, “The Rio Grande is a major water supply for the border communities of Texas and for Mexico.   It is projected that municipal use will increase by one-hundred percent over the next fifty years and industrial use will increase by forty percent.”

In recent days, Texas rains and flooding have overwhelmed well-built retention and drainage systems, causing sewage overflows and 400,000 gallons of wastewater spilled in Corpus Christi and six sewage spills in San Antonio, including over 50,000 gallons of sewage.  Today’s El Paso Times reports, “As floods and severe weather swept through Central Texas, the state Railroad Commission last week reported that it was dealing with 21 oil spill incidents – some of which dumped hundreds of barrels of oil and fracking fluid into Texas waterways.”

“In Texas, the enormous amount of stormwater has overwhelmed some treatment facilities, washing chemicals and toxic substances into the mix, including raw sewage, crude oil, and pesticides,” National Geographic reported on May 28th.  “A wastewater treatment plant in Houston that was damaged by the flooding released more than a 100,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the bayou.”

Failed toll road developer Carlos “C.Y.” Benavides III wants to build the dump located near Highway 359 in Laredo.  The San Antonio Express News reported that Benavides wants his waste dump to receive waste from an 800-mile radius via rail and truck, a swath that includes most of Mexico, Texas and portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued a draft permit for Mr. Benavides’ massive binational waste dump several weeks ago.  However, the permit is not finally approved and still pending further review and analysis.  Texas leaders, citizens and Laredo area residents will have an opportunity to object to the toxic waste importation facility at an upcoming public hearing.