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Long-term solid waste management is a complex and difficult problem for local and county governments throughout Texas. Not only are elected officials obligated to provide for the proper treatment and disposal of waste generated by their constituents, but they also have a duty to make decisions based on the public’s current and long-term best interest.
In the Texoma area, waste disposal options have been severely limited in recent years. One significant contributing factor was that several public landfills were forced to close during the mid 1990’s. In fact, there were more than 1000 landfills operating in Texas prior to 1990, but today there are fewer than 200. These closures were due in large part to the passing of Subtitle D of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – which in turn generated new Federal and State rules regulating landfill design, construction and operation.
During 1995, the cities of Sherman, Gainesville and Denison recognized that their options for waste disposal were becoming severely limited, and they were determined to develop a better plan to provide long-term waste disposal service to their constituents. They asked Cooke and Grayson Counties to join them in forming what is now know as the Texoma Area Solid Waste Authority (or TASWA) to help identify long-term solutions to this problem. TASWA completed a number of studies and decided that a publicly operated solid waste facility would best serve the area’s needs, as well as maintain local control over costs, liabilities, and other critical issues. TASWA also knew that similar public initiatives were proving successful elsewhere in Texas.
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