SETTLEMENT DEAL ON WALLER COUNTY LANDFILL NEAR COMPLETION

  

A proposed controversial Waller County landfill deal settlement that would, if approved, would end a dispute over a company’s plan to locate a landfill near the Hempstead city line, is nearing approval.

The settlement had originally been expected Wednesday morning, but due to what the court considered some procedural hurdles, it did not occur.

The deal comes after a jury found that Waller County commissioners violated transparency laws when they agreed to the landfill’s construction.

The settlement is expected to include a void of Waller County’s 2013 landfill ordinance and agreement to host the 250 acre waste site. Also in the settlement is the County’s agreement to pay plaintiff’s attorney’s fees of $570,000, a reduction of $800,000 that the plaintiffs were originally asking.

Also included in the settlement was the release of the county from any contractual obligation with Pintail, the landfill developer.

An attorney for the citizen’s group was confident that a settlement would be reached, but the deal would leave the future of the landfill in question because the Texas Commission on Environment Quality has final say on whether the landfill gets final landfill in the future.

Hempstead attorney Corey Ouslander expects the terms of the agreement to be presented for approval to the city council on Monday, and if both sides agree to the terms, a vote would occur on February 11 for final approval.