LIMESTONE COUNTY — Limestone County commissioners held a special meeting Thursday to clear a few hurdles in their opposition to the proposed site of Waco's new landfill.
The commissioners unanimously re-passed an order to make clear they don't want any landfill in Limestone County unless it is approved by them.
On Sept. 11, 2018, commissioners made an order prohibiting any new landfills from entering Limestone County. However, for it to be legal they had to have a public hearing about the issue, put it in the newspaper for two weeks and pass it all over again.
"It’s not integrity just to all of a sudden say 'Boom. We're bigger than you, and we're about to to run over you and give you a landfill,'" Rita Jones, who lives near the proposed landfill. said.
While the proposed 502 acre landfill would sit in McLennan and Hill County most of it will be in Limestone County. In addition to passing a resolution opposing the landfill in August, commissioners also passed an order stating their approval would be necessary to put a landfill in Limestone County in the future.
“They're going to get a fight from Limestone County, and we're going to do everything we need to stop it," Limestone County Judge Richard Duncan said.
Duncan said one the biggest challenges the county faces in this fight is money.
"One of the things we don't have is the money that Waco has,” Duncan said. “Waco is a lot bigger. They have a lot more money than we do in our county. I don't know financially what we can do.”
Duncan said they are at a disadvantage because the city off Waco has already submitted its application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
"One of our hopes is that TCEQ will look at it and say 'You know what? We're not going to pass it as presented. We're sending back to you,” Duncan said. “At that point in time we are hoping that our order will step in and prevent them from coming back"
Residents who live near the landfill said they plan to write letters to TCEQ to let the commission know they do not want a landfill near their home.