HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 24-1815INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 24-1815
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
March 5, 2024
Page 1 of 2
SUBJECT: SITING OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE FACILITIES
The purpose of this Informal Report is to provide information on the siting of Municipal Solid
Waste Facilities (MSWFs) such as landfills.
Background
All communities work to ensure that waste streams are managed successfully and that there are
disposal options for municipal solid waste generated by residents, commercial businesses, and
industrial facilities. Approximately 11 to 14 years remain before the City's Southeast Municipal
Solid Waste Landfill is expected to reach its capacity. Long-range planning for waste disposal
options to allow the City to meet long-term solid waste management needs at reasonable rates
must be identified. As Fort Worth and the North Texas region considers future options, a diverse
network of types of MSWFs may be considered.
Types of Municipal Solid Waste Facilities
To ensure that a MSWF is properly designed, constructed, and operated, the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requires certain types of facilities to obtain a registration or
permit, including those listed below:
• Type I: a landfill that may accept all types of municipal solid waste, special waste, and
some nonhazardous industrial waste. The Southeast Landfill is a Type I MSWF.
• Type IV: a landfill that may only accept brush, construction/demolition waste, and rubbish.
Putrescible wastes are not allowed to be disposed of in a Type IV landfill.
• Type V: a solid waste processing facility - including those that transfer, incinerate, shred,
grind, bale, salvage, separate, dewater, reclaim, and/or provide other storage or
processing of solid waste.
• A transfer station is a processing facility used for transferring solid waste from
collection vehicles to long -haul vehicles for transport to a landfill. A long -haul vehicle
is more fuel efficient and can carry the load of five (5) collection vehicles.
• MSWF Type V go through a similar permitting process as landfills.
Federal and State Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
The TCEQ is the lead state agency for regulating and permitting MSWFs; facilities are required to
follow a number of minimum design and operational requirements, as promulgated in Title 30
Texas Administrative Code Chapter 330. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
establishes the minimum national standards for MSWFs pursuant to the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA). Standards include: location restrictions, operating criteria, design
criteria, groundwater monitoring and correction action, closure and post -closure, and financial
assurance.
Locating Type I and Type V Muncipal Solid WasteFacilities
Proposed sites must also satisfy regulatory location restrictions for airport safety, floodplains,
wetlands, fault areas, seismic impact zones, and unstable areas. Stakeholders that must be
included in the site selection process are municipal and county officials, regional planning
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 24-1815
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
March 5, 2024
Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: SITING OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE FACILITIES
agencies such as the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas Regional Water
District, additional city departments, neighborhood associations and others.
The TCEQ MSWF Permitting
Applying for a TCEQ MSWF permit is a complex technical and legal process requiring information
on the applicant, site geology, site development and operating plans. The process of preparing
and submitting an application can be expected to take atleast one year.
After the TCEQ receives a permit application, it undergoes an administrative review to determine
whether or not the applicant has provided all the necessary information. Once the application is
determined to be administratively complete, TCEQ will issue a public notice which describes the
location and nature of the proposed activities, how to obtain additional information, and where the
completed application can be viewed. The notice also provides instructions for being included on
mailing distribution lists, submitting comments, and requesting public meetings.
In addition to administrative review, a permit application undergoes a technical review to ensure it
complies with both state and federal regulatory requirements. TCEQ will issue a preliminary
decision on the permit; this decision is published in the newspaper and distributed through the
mailing distribution list. This process affords an additional opportunity for interested parties to
submit comments or to request a public meeting.
Public Participation in Environmental Permitting
If there is significant interest in an application or if a state legislator makes a requests, the TCEQ
will hold a public meeting for the purpose of allowing the public to learn about applications, to ask
questions of both the applicant and TCEQ, and to offer formal comments. Once the TCEQ makes
the decision to issue a permit, there are still three possible ways to contest the decisions: by
requesting a contested case hearing, filing a request for reconsideration, or filing a motion to
overturn the decision.
After the Southeast Landfill completes its useful life, it is expected that the City's municipal solid
waste and waste streams from across the region will be transported to future, permitted disposal
sites throughout the region. The City and the region may also need to employ transfer stations in
the future to serve neighborhoods that are most distant from landfill facilities.
For questions regarding this information, please contact Cody Whittenburg, Interim Environmental
Services Director, at 817-392-5455.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS