08 Oct WMI Press Conference Report
Thank you for the picture from: www.stopwmx.org/
Greetings Friends, Neighbors, and Supporters of Environmental Health,
This is a letter of sincere thanks for those of you who took time out of your busy
lives and, in some cases, taking time off work, to attend yesterday morning’s press event and demonstration at the TCEQ. Your attendance warmed our heart, energized us, and accomplished our goal of being a force behind the Mayor.
Mayor Leffingwell, SWAC Chair Gerry Acuña, TCE organizer Stacy Guidry, and long-time neighbor Jean Breazeale should all be commended for a job well done. They were each factual, insightful, and inspiring.
We had media representation from KVUE, KEYE, and Fox News 7, as well as The Daily Texan, KUT, and the Statesman.
Yesterday was somewhat expected. TCEQ tends to lean towards industry but the Indians left the reservation. Jim Blackburn, attorney for NorthEast Neighbors Coalition remarked that in his 30 years going before the state, he has never seen as biased a proceedings as he saw this day. The opposition was not only slapped in the face but the entire process was a mockery. Despite a completly unified front by the City of Austin, Travis County, the neighbors and the Council of Governments all the objections such as land use compatibility were ignored or dismissed. Commissioners Buddy Garcia, Bryan Shaw and Carlos Rubinstein bent over backwards to accommodate Waste Management….to the point of telling the Administrative Law Judge to alter his fact findings that were in any opposition to Waste Management. They finally voted to remand to the ALJ for further proceedings to allow WMI to fix the record so that operating hours would not be restricted. Protestants are never allowed a second bit of the apple to fix problems that they did not address correctly the first time. According to Jim Blackburn, this was pure raw politics at work to the point that it should be scary for all citizens of the State having to interact with the TCEQ.
CAPCOG’s year long efforts and recommendation were dismissed as if they were some incidental, ad hoc group. There was no mention of why they would dismiss their own regional council of governments so easily except to look for their legal loop hole to do so.
The opposition will be looking closely at this mockery of the proceedings. Sunset hearings on the TCEQ will be happening in the near future and this is a case each and every legislator should know about. How can citizens trust their government or have any faith in the system with examples like this? There is also district court that can look at issues of fairness. The battle is far from over. Thank you again for standing with us.
We will Soldier On,
Melanie & Birdie with NorthEast Neighbors Coalition and Austin Zero
Waste Alliance
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