TX Passes New Landfill Laws - 21 Cities, Companies Grandfathered, Exempt

State officials approved sweeping changes to Texas' garbage rules Wednesday, but environmentalists charged that some last-minute alterations weakened provisions aimed at protecting the environment and public health.

The final rules, which update 10-year-old regulations governing waste facilities in Texas, expand buffers between landfills and communities, set new requirements for the spacing of monitors to detect groundwater contamination and allow local governments to be notified of problems at landfill sites.

The three Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners deleted provisions Wednesday that would have required solid waste permits to undergo a review every five years, and exempted landfills that accept construction and demolition waste from the new buffer-zone and groundwater-testing requirements.

"The package was adopted ... but it was not adopted as it was pending before the commissioners," said Steve Shepherd, a lawyer with the commission. As expected, the 21 companies and cities with pending applications to expand or build new landfills will be grandfathered, making them exempt from many of the new rules.


EDIT

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3695211.html