Your virtual presence/questions/oral/written comments are needed on September 28, 2021, 7 pm, to protect from contamination, Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF), local farms (Wood Duck Farm, WDF), and ground/surface waters used by the City of Houston and Harris and Montgomery Counties, due to the proposed, Type I, Peach Creek Municipal Landfill (PCML).
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will hold a public meeting for the PCML (proposed permit #2406) on September 28, 2021, 7 pm.
We need your presence and participation at this meeting to send a strong message to TCEQ that this landfill isn’t welcome in our communities. Read on and participate!!!
The proposed high-rise, generations-lasting, PCML would be constructed next/near to over 4,000 acres of SHNF, WDF, many private residences and landowners in San Jacinto and Montgomery Counties, the City of Cleveland, and on Fostoria, Jayhawker, and Pine Valley Roads, and streams/creeks/rivers that flow into Lake Houston.
Municipal Solid Waste Landfills accept garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, slaughterhouse waste, contaminated soil, asbestos-containing material, sludge, brush, construction waste, demolition waste, grease trap waste, grit trap waste, municipal source liquid waste, empty pesticide containers, oil/gas/geothermal waste, medical waste, nonindustrial solid waste, electronic waste, X-ray/other radiation-producing equipment, and waste generated outside of Texas that contains industrial waste, waste associated with oil/gas/geothermal exploration production/development activities.
You can stop this landfill by participating in several ways:
1. Send a letter or electronic comment (see below, submitted by September 28th) to TCEQ that opposes proposed Permit #2406 and states that you want protection for SHNF, small, private, sustainable farms/homesteads, and that issues that must be addressed include road access, water, air, noise, odor, litter, and scenic pollutions, flooding, fires, road overuse/damage, and other PCML problems.
2. At the meeting, there will be an Informal Discussion Period (ask questions/make comments).
3. At the meeting, there will be a Formal Comment Period (orally provide comments). Your comments/questions provided during the Formal Comment Period will be considered/responded to by TCEQ in writing.
4. Attend the virtual public meeting via this link: https://www.gotomeeting.com/webinar/join-webinar and by entering Webinar ID 695-776-027. Join/register the meeting at least 15 minutes before it begins.
5. If you don’t have internet access, call 512-239-1201, at least one day prior to the meeting (September 27th) to register/obtain information about how to participate via telephone.
6. If you want to listen only to the meeting, call 914-614-3221, and enter access code 365-674-558.
7. The permit application can be viewed online at https://peachcreekep.com/resources/ or at the Shepherd Public Library, 30 North Liberty Street, Shepherd, Texas 77371.
What’s at Stake!
SHNF provides clean drinking water via ground/surface waters for local citizens and the City of Houston. The beautiful forests and wetlands of SHNF or surrounding private lands are called San Jacinto Flatwoods and have numerous streams like Whiskey Branch, Jayhawker Creek, Blue Branch, Gum Branch, Shell Branch, Boggy Creek, and Peach Creek
Water percolates through sandy soils which feeds streams/aquifers/water tables/gravel beds. The federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, White-tailed Deer, Gray Squirrel, Pileated Woodpecker, and other wildlife are found in Loblolly and Shortleaf Pine, Bottomland Hardwood-Pine, and other forest habitats in SHNF and the area.
WDF is an 87-acre sustainable farm that grows specialty greens for Houston/Austin/Dallas restaurants. WDF sells produce at Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market including sweet potatoes, spinach, potatoes, peppers, radishes, corn, carrots, arugula, strawberries, blackberries, beans, basil, broccoli, cabbage, onions, eggplant, kale, lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower, and more.
How You Can Comment by September 28th!
You can comment via: 1. Mail: Office of Chief Clerk, MC 105, TCEQ, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087; 2. Electronically: https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/.
Say in your comment that you want Permit #2406, PCML: amended to include the access road; you support a contested case hearing; include your contact information (mailing address/phone number/email); state you are concerned about unacceptable environmental impacts that PCML may have on SHNF and WDF; state you are concerned about road access, water, air, noise, odor, litter, and scenic pollutions, flooding, fires, road overuse/damage, and other impacts PCML may have. Say you oppose the PCML. Your comments, in your own words, may look like the following:
Date:
Office of Chief Clerk
MC 105
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, Texas 78711-3087
Dear Chief Clerk,
I urge you to amend Permit #2406, Peach Creek Municipal Landfill (PCML), to include the access road and hold a contested case hearing on this proposal because:
1. I am concerned that unacceptable environmental impacts will occur on Sam Houston National Forest, Wood Duck Farm, and private homesteads due to PCML. (if you have visited SHNF tell TCEQ this, why you visit, and what it means to you; if you have bought WDF produce state why you did so and what this means to you; if you live near the PCML site, tell TCEQ and describe how close you are).
2. I am concerned about road access, water, air, noise, odor, litter, and scenic pollutions, flooding, fires, road overuse/damage, and other environmental impacts that PCML may have. (expand on these environmental concerns or add other issues that you are concerned about). Because of these problems I oppose Permit #2406.
I look forward to hearing from you soon about my request to amend Permit #2406 to include the access road and hold a contested case hearing. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your name, mailing address, phone number, and email
Please send your comment now! For more information, contact Brandt Mannchen at: 281-570-7212 or brandt_mannchen@comcast.net.