Amended Regional Solid Waste Management Plan

According to §363.062 of the Texas Health & Safety Code, each of the state’s twenty-four (24) Councils of Governments (COGS) is required to develop a regional solid waste management plan that conforms to the state solid waste management plan.

The Texas Legislature enacted a new solid waste management plan, Solid Waste Management in Texas – Strategic Plan 2001-2005 (SFR-40) in December 2000. The revised state plan outlined policy goals, objectives and recommendations for action by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ, formerly TNRCC) and regional/local entities. It also included direction and priorities to be incorporated into the regional solid waste management plans. TCEQ determined that all regional solid waste management plans needed to be amended to comply with the revised state plan.

Accordingly, as a condition of receiving state solid waste grant funds under the FY 2002-2003 Regional Solid Waste Grants Program, each regional COG was required to amend it’s regional plan. The amendments had to comply with Subchapter O of the TCEQ rule adoption regulations that outlines the standards for the contents of regional solid waste management plans while focusing on information and policy that are important to the needs of the individual COG. Of major importance, the COG s should focus policy direction toward those mechanisms that are available for their use to implement the regional plan. Subsequently, GCRPC contracted with Dr. Robert Larsen, Southwest Texas State University, to complete the Amended Plan for the Golden Crescent Region.

Dr. Larsen and the GCRPC staff mailed out a survey questionnaire to all the Golden Crescent Region officials, private industry representatives and other interested parties for their opinions. This information was condensed into the following five (5) chapters that will compose the GCRPC’S Amended Regional Solid Waste Management Plan proposal:

            ►        Chapter 1        Regional Analysis of Demographic, Economic and Land

                                                Use Characteristics

►        Chapter 2         Review Existing Goals, Strategies, Priorities,

                                    Recommendations and Actions from the “Old Plan”

►        Chapter 3        Evaluate Past and Current Waste Management Systems,

                                    Facilities and Services                    

►        Chapter 4        An Assessment of Needs: What Are the Problems and

                                    Opportunities in Managing Municipal Solid Waste For

                                    the Golden Crescent Region?

►        Chapter 5         What Needs To Be Done—Goals, Objectives and Actions

The five completed chapters have been sent to TCEQ for their comments and/or approval. If no revisions are necessary, TCEQ will notify GCRPC and Dr. Robert Larsen of the final approval of the Amended Regional Solid Waste Management Plan, which includes the GCRPC Closed Landfill Inventory. A copy of the complete and final approved Closed Landfill Inventory was to be given to each local governmental entity within the region.

However, TCEQ recently informed all COGS that with the approved Amended Plan in place and in an effort to conserve resources, the GCRPC will provide each local governmental entity only the inventory of closed landfills located within the county or counties in which the local authority resides.  GCRPC will have a complete set of the Regional Closed Landfill Inventories at the regional office located at 568 Big Bend Drive at the Victoria Regional Airport in Victoria, Texas.