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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.