MSW Permit No. 2412 - View Permit Docs

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Circle Lake Drive, Pinehurst?

Circle Lake Drive is uniquely situated for a transfer station for the following reasons:

  • Dead-end street bounded by high-pressure gas pipelines and/or rail lines
  • All current companies on the drive are industrial
  • Truck traffic will not impede residential thoroughfares, and trucks have easy on-off access to 249 and 149
  • The property is unsuitable for non-industrial use now and in the future
  • The facility can be positioned such that tipping floor operations will not be viewed from any side
  • The only other waste disposal sites in Montgomery Co. are located far to the east
  • Circle Lake Drive provides more efficient service to the west side of the county
Stats

Why Circle Lake Drive, Pinehurst?

  • Trucks that move along Circle Lake Drive do not impede or block non-industrial thoroughfares
  • Truck traffic will be consolidated to reduce the number of garbage truckloads in the county
  • Transfer trucks get more than twice the range of municipal garbage trucks and carry more than three times the payload
  • Transfer stations reduce the number of garbage trucks hauling long distances to landfills, and they reduce the amount of emissions produced by garbage trucks
  • All four of the existing companies on Circle Lake Drive will benefit from a new traffic light to improve safety
  • A traffic study has been conducted to show the need for a traffic light regardless of whether a transfer station is approved

Why not just build a landfill?

  • No waste remains in a transfer station, so there won’t be any of the environmental impacts of a landfill
  • Transfer stations have a smaller footprint — only 5.5 acres versus hundreds of acres needed for a landfill
  • Transfer stations are covered — there’s no water runoff or other environmental impacts caused by rain and the elements

How will Montgomery County benefit from Circle Lake Transfer?

In addition to an increase in tax revenue, the company will create 30-50 full time, permanent jobs, including:

  • Truck drivers
  • Scale operators
  • Heavy equipment operators
  • General laborers
  • Accountants
  • Managers and supervisors

It also meets TCEQ State Regulations and H-GAC recommendations for long-term planning and disposal. On the efficiency side, it will be less expensive and require less fuel to haul waste to Pinehurst rather than hauling it 20 to 50 miles to the closest landfills.

Transfer stations also provide flexibility for current and future solid waste solutions. Landfill design trends are moving toward landfills that are located further and further from population cores. With a transfer station, waste can be routed to any future solid waste locations, no matter where future disposal options exist.

Will it smell bad?

No odor emissions permit is needed for a transfer station, because smell is not typically an issue.

  • Waste does not sit in the facility long enough for odors to build up
  • The facility is designed to minimize odors that naturally exist with garbage
  • Truck entrances face away from neighboring buildings
  • Trucks are required to be covered when entering or leaving the facility and are fined heavily if non-compliant
  • Any surfaces that come into contact with waste are scrubbed down once per week
  • Most waste only sits in the transfer station for minutes or hours, not days

What about water runoff?

  • Waste is under roof at all times in the transfer station
  • Trucks and semi trailers are unloaded and loaded inside the station and not exposed to the elements
  • Grading of the facility directs rainwater away from buildings so water won’t come into contact with waste
  • Wash water and incidental water from vehicles pass through floor drains and are collected into storage receptacles
  • Liquid from receptacles is tested and hauled to an appropriate waste water disposal site for treatment

What kind of waste is transfered?

  • No hazardous waste
  • No liquid waste
  • Municipal solid waste from commercial and residential properties (MSW)
  • Construction and demolition waste(C&D)
  • Waste will be accepted as defined by TCEQ