Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Wetlands to be preserved with fine money from fire

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Thursday, September 28, 2000

Wetlands to be preserved with fine money from fire
TNRCC will allow city to donate $83,000 fine to Coastal Bend Bays Foundation to buy land
By Chris Neely
Caller-Times
Environmental violations by the city that led to a landfill tire fire more than a year ago have been resolved with an agreement that will help preserve wetlands.
   The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission fined Corpus Christi $83,300 on Wednesday for the infractions at J.C. Elliott Landfill that led to the fire in August 1999.
   Instead of paying the TNRCC, though, the state agreed to allow the city to donate the money to the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation for the purchase of buying and preserving wetlands along Oso Creek and Oso Bay.
   The state approved the deal, which was worked out in June, so that the fines would directly benefit the area environment, said Patrick Shaughnessy, a TNRCC spokesman.
   "Fines and penalties go into the general fund of the state and can be used for anything," Shaughnessy said.
   "These supplemental environmental projects are more targeted. You can't go back and make it right, but it helps the community in which it occurred."
   Kim McGuire, Corpus Christi's director of environmental programs, said he was glad the issue had been resolved.
   "Basically, the city has worked with all parties and stakeholders to make something good come of this," McGuire said.
   Once the TNRCC commissioner signs off on the arrangement, which Shaughnessy said should be within the next few days, the city will have 30 days to pay the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation. The group has said the money likely will pay for 10 to 100 acres of land.
   The fire, which took nearly a week and $1.2 million to extinguish, started when a smoldering pile of tire chips burst into flames.
   Earlier in the same month, inspectors had warned landfill officials that the pile did not meet storage regulations.


Staff writer Chris Neely can be reached at 886-3794 or by e-mail at neelyc@caller.com

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