(TEXAS) Attorneys for Chambers County have filed a motion for summary judgment in a long-running case over the proposed TSP Development landfill in Baytown. The motion, filed with the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, requests that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality return the pending permit application for the proposed landfill to the company.

In October 1996, Kingwood, Tex.-based TSP filed an application to build an industrial waste landfill on 797 acres near Beach City in Chambers County. As originally envisioned, the landfill would have a capacity of 23.9 million cubic yards of industrial waste, and could handle up to 811,760 tons of waste per year. The landfill could accept lead, mercury, and arsenic, among other toxins.

As a result, the facility spawned protests and legal actions from several jurisdictions in the area. The permit application is currently pending in the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings.

In last year's session of the Texas Legislature, state Rep. Wayne Smith (R-Baytown) sponsored bills designed to oppose the TSP facility. One of those, which passed unanimously in the House and was later signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, required the state to suspend all pending permit applications, including the TSP application, until the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality drafted new rules for nonhazardous industrial landfills. The TCEQ completed those rules earlier this year.

Source: Baytown Sun

For more information, contact the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, (512) 239-1000, www.tceq.state.tx.us.