Hearing Wednesday on Guadalupe Co. landfill
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will be considering a proposed landfill application in Guadalupe County on Wednesday morning.
TCEQ will consider an application filed by Post Oak Clean Green for a landfill that would be located 12 miles east of Seguin, about 3 miles from the intersection of Interstate 10 and Farm-to-Market Road 1104. The cities of Seguin and Schertz, Guadalupe County, the groundwater district and other entities have been fighting the landfill for years, based on two major issues: the landfill’s location over the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer recharge zone and its proximity to Randolph Air Force Base’s Seguin Auxiliary Airfield.
State Rep. John Kuempel, who represents Guadalupe and Wilson counties, has sent a letter to TCEQ Chair Bryan Shaw urging him to deny Post Oak Clean Green’s application.
“As you are aware, this proposed landfill threatens two of the resources that are most precious to Guadalupe County: the Randolph Air Force Base and our Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer,” the letter reads in part. “We cannot risk the threat that the proposed landfill presents to our groundwater or our Air Force pilots.”
The landfill site’s proximity to the auxiliary airfield would create a significant risk of bird strikes, because large birds would be attracted to the refuse in the landfill.
“It is incumbent upon us to ensure that we continue to provide the safe airspace that the Air Force requires to remain part of our community,” Kuempel wrote. “... This risk is simply unacceptable, and should not be condoned.”
Moreover, the landfill would be located on top of the recharge zone for the aquifer that provides groundwater to the Seguin area, the San Antonio Water System and the Canyon Regional Water Authority. The Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer is also the intended source of water for the Alliance Regional Water Authority’s pipeline project that would move water into the Interstate 35 corridor.
“The landfill, however, is proposed to be sited in the sensitive recharge zone of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, and threatens the quality of our precious groundwater resources,” Kuempel wrote. “Again, this risk is simply unacceptable.”
The application that Post Oak Clean Green has filed is asking for a permitted area of 1,003 acres, of which 331 acres would serve as a waste disposal site. The maximum permitted height of waste would be about 232 feet above the surrounding land surface.
The TCEQ meeting regarding the landfill application will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Room 201S, Building E, at 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin. For more information, visit tceq.texas.gov.
