Hawthorn Park Landfill is applying to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for an amendment to its existing Type IV landfill permit for the facility located at 10550 Tanner Road within the city limits of Houston in Harris County. They are seeking an amendment to increase the height and footprint of the landfill, as well as change the name of the facility to the Hawthorn Park Recycling and Disposal Facility. The Hawthorn Park Landfill is owned and operated by USA Waste of Texas Landfills, Inc.
Area Affected
The site is located in central Harris County, approximately 0.2 miles east of the intersection of Beltway 8 and Tanner Road.
Synopsis
Life Span
The expansion would extend the life span of the facility 46.3 years.
Site Entrance
Access to the site will be provided via the existing entrance off of Tanner Road, which is accessed via Beltway 8, Gessner Road, or West Tidwell Road.
Acreage and Height
The existing landfill permit boundary will increase from 171.6 to 210.2 acres. The disposal area will increase from 129.8 to 171.6 acres. The maximum permitted final cover elevation will increase from 139.4 to 227.2 feet mean sea level. The portion of the landfill closest to the residences will have a final cover elevation of about 155 feet mean sea level. Surface elevation at the facility is approximately 100 feet mean sea level.
Land Use
Land use within a one-mile radius of the site is shown in the following table
| Land Use |
Percentage of Total Area |
| Industrial |
45.6% |
| Commercial |
16.0% |
| Single Family Residential |
11.8% |
| Undeveloped/Vacant |
8.1% |
| Highways, Streets, and Railroads |
7.0% |
| Detention Ponds, Canals, and Creeks |
4.9% |
| Government Facilities |
1.9% |
| Electrical Substation/Utility Corridor |
1.7% |
| Educational/Institutional |
0.8% |
| Church and Cemetery |
0.8% |
| Multifamily Residential |
0.7% |
| Parks and Recreational Open Space |
0.5% |
| Unbuilt Right-of-Way |
0.2% |
| Total |
100.0% |
There are fifteen churches, two cemeteries, one school, and one daycare within one mile of the permit boundary, but no schools or daycare facilities. The nearest residence is about 70 feet west of the permit boundary and about 400 feet from the waste footprint on Tanner Road.
The facility is not located within the limits of the 100-year flood plain.
Waste Types Accepted
Waste accepted at the facility is limited to brush, construction-demolition waste, rubbish free of putrescible and household waste, inert material, non-regulated asbestos-containing material, Class 3 industrial solid waste, Class 2 industrial solid waste, and scrap tires that have been split and quartered or shredded.
When clean loads of recyclable materials such as white goods, wood, brush, metal, brick, concrete, or aggregate are brought to the landfill the materials will be set aside for processing and recycling. Salvaging of these items will not happen if it will interfere with prompt disposal.
Hours of Waste Acceptance
The facility is open Monday through Saturday 6:00 am to 7:00 pm.
Traffic and Roadway Conditions
Access to the site will be provided via the existing entrance off of Tanner Road, which is accessed via Beltway 8 or Gessner Road. According to TxDOT traffic counts approximately 17,000 vehicles travel on Tanner Road between Beltway 8 and Gessner Road during each 24-hour period. When the landfill first begins operating at full capacity landfill traffic will account for about 130 total vehicles per day. This includes waste haulers and landfill employee vehicles. By 2068 this number is projected to have increased to 280 vehicles per day. This represents a very small portion of traffic on the road.
The condition of Tanner Road and the roadside ditches are in need of improvements to address street flooding. According to the H-GAC 2045 Regional Transportation Plan Tanner Road is proposed to be widened from two lanes to a four-lane divided roadway, although the exact date for this is unknown.
Buffer Distances
Buffer distances between the permit boundary and the permitted limit of waste will be a minimum of 50. The previous permit allowed for a buffer of less than 50 feet.
Visual Screening
The landfill is visible from Beltway 8, intermittently visible along Tanner Road, and visible from Okanella Street to the north of the landfill a very limited amount.
Drainage
Currently runoff from a very small portion of landfill property drains to Tanner Road. Once the new permit takes effect, drainage improvements will be made and at that time all runoff will flow to the onsite detention pond.
Conformance to Review Criteria
A primary goal and supporting objectives of the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan (adopted by TCEQ June 2007) are relevant to this application, specifically; the following goal and objectives of the plan are affected:
Goal: Promote the planning for adequate municipal solid waste disposal, handling and management facilities.
- Advocate aerial buildup with consideration of surrounding topography and screening.
- Encourage the development of facilities that reduce, reuse, or recycle waste.
- Encourage the expansion and redevelopment of existing municipal solid waste facilities, where feasible, over siting of new facilities.
Local Government Notice and Comments
As part of the review process for solid waste management permits, H-GAC asks for local government comments. In June 2021, H-GAC contacted elected officials and employees of Harris County, Harris County Attorney’s Office, Harris County Pollution Control Services, and the City of Houston. H-GAC received comments from Harris County Pollution Control which included concerns about the proposed vertical expansion, the removal of some landfill gas monitoring devices as a result of the lateral expansion, the increased waste acceptance rate, and a recommendation to use an odor control system when conducting an odor survey or responding to an odor complaint.
Staff Comments & Recommendations
In addition to the standard actions related to odor, litter, and vector control, USA Waste is making efforts to minimize the impact to the surrounding residences in several ways. They are changing the drainage, keeping the landfill closest to the residences at a lower final elevation, and filling that portion of the landfill first to visually screen the working face from the residences once that portion is at final cover elevation.