Maverick County Landfill Cell No.2 Completed and Ready for Operation
By: Jose G. Landa
Copyright 2013 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
The Maverick County Solid Waste Authority (MCSWA) expansion of its facility by adding a second cell to store solid waste was completed after several months of design and construction in November 2013, announced Mike Castillo, General Manager of the Maverick County Solid Waste Authority.
Cell No.2 was required to be built earlier than originally planned because the lifespan of the initial Cell No. 1 was quickly filled before its projected lifespan of five to ten years due to a growth of waste intake stemming from an overload of waste coming from the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas industry and other communities from southwest Texas such as the City of Laredo and the County of Dimmit.
The construction of Cell No.2 was approved on January 2013 and the Maverick County Commissioners Court approved the issuance of $3,090,000 in 2013 Maverick County Tax Bond Series to finance the design and construction of the second cell of the Maverick County Landfill operated by the Maverick County Solid Waste Authority at a special meeting held on Monday, April 29, 2013.
Oppenheimer Company agreed to do the issuance of the $3,090,000 bonds at a rate of eight (8%) percent interest for a term of seven years with the first payment commencing in September of 2013. A lower interest rate was unavailable due to Maverick County not having completed its financial audits for 2011 and 2012. Consequently, Maverick County taxpayers are having to pay a higher interest rate because of Maverick County’s financial problems and the lack of filing its state-law mandated annual Audits and Financial Statements on a timely basis. The 2012 Maverick County Audit and Financial Statements have yet to be presented and approved by Commissioners Court and filed of record.
Earlier this year in February, MCSWA’s civil engineer Dan Hejl of Hejl, Lee & Associates of Austin, Texas advised the Maverick County Solid Waste Authority Board of Directors that the Maverick County Landfill Cell No. One would not reach full capacity until November of 2013 instead of the previously advised February of 2013 date. However, Maverick County Solid Waste Authority General Manager Mike Castillo told the Eagle Pass Business Journal in an exclusive interview that construction work on Cell No.2 was completed in late November and is ready for operation. Castillo also stated that Cell No.1 has not yet filled-up to capacity as anticipated and is still receiving solid waste until its engineers and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) determine it has filled-up. Castillo further stated that Cell No. 2 is ready to receive solid waste and transition into full operation once Cell No. 1 is determined to be full.
Today, the Maverick County Landfill has over 35 clients, including the City of Laredo and many Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas drilling and service companies operating in the South Texas shale.
