Massive illegal dump site being cleared in Fort Worth

“I mean, look at this place, it’s a beautiful rainforest in the middle of the city," said Ramsey Shufi as he looked over his fence into his neighbor's yard.

It's been a serene backdrop for Shufi and his family, blighted with trash--tons of it.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality first started investigating Shufi's neighbor's property off Randol Mill Road on May 31, 2022.

NBC 5 got ahold of the investigation reports, which indicate that crews found 11 piles of debris in 2022.

Those piles included metal, shingles, cardboard, foam, wood, plastic, and scrap tires, according to the report.

"Worse than anything I've seen in a double manner," said Garett Gallo, City of Fort Worth illegal dump team senior code officer. "I mean, [I've] never seen anybody do it this long and just continuously dumping and not caring about anything around it. So, it's been pretty bad on this one."

Gallo said the potential threat of something like that is severe.

"Basically, everything that was dumped into the hole is petroleum-based, so you're basically dumping oil into like a flood plain, so to speak," he said.

"It kills all the trees around, it kills as it leaches into the water, and eventually, the Trinity [River is] not far from there, It will eventually make its way. It's going to be in groundwater, which will affect wells in the area," he added.

Cleanup didn't start until June 25 of this year, said the city.

"After a lengthy investigation and several coordination meetings with the owner and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality," explained Cody Whittenburg, Environmental Services Director for the City of Fort Worth.

He said that based on the city's investigation, so far, the property manager was operating an illegal dumping business on the vacant land, without the owners' knowledge.

"Allowing vehicles to enter the property to dump material illegally outside of any scope of a permit or any type of proper landfill-type operations, if you will, and was doing that probably under the table... and probably was receiving some compensation to allow for this dump access unbeknownst to the owner and the city at this time," Whittenburg said.

He said there was a warrant out for the property manager's arrest.

The property owners, he said, are cooperating, and have been leading cleanup efforts. So far, he and Gallo said 51 tons have been taken to an authorized disposal site.

But, they said, more work is still to be done-- NBC 5's helicopter still saw a pile of tires and, Gallo said, cleanup needs to happen underground, too.

"It's really important that the property owners not only remove the items that are still on the surface, but they also have to excavate the material that has been buried and remove that as well, and to restore all of the soil, if you will, to an appropriate level so we don't have those [contamination] issues moving forward," Gallo said.

That's what Shufi and his neighbors are worried about.

“All of that waste and byproduct and stuff that’s just been sitting, in general, tire dust, in general, is a hard pollutant," he said. “The last thing I want is tires, sitting, rotting in the sun, only to be washed, have materials washed into the river.”

NBC 5 asked if the city has tested the quality of nearby groundwater and the Trinity River, or will be doing so.

"At this point, the city continues to do monitoring testing from time to time, and if we see the need to do some testing here, we will absolutely do that," Whittenburg said.

He said at this stage of cleanup, "there doesn't seem to be any direct runoff" or impacts.

"But of course, there'll be some additional testing most likely required before the case is closed with TCEQ," Whittenburg said.

He said it's unclear right now how long the illegal dumping might have been going on before they got the first complaint in 2022-- it could have been happening for months or years before then.

NBC 5 got ahold of the property owner who confirmed he's cooperating with the state on cleanup.

TCEQ said they not only investigated the property in May of 2022 but also on April 12, 2024, and July 1, 2024.

The first two investigations, the agency said, are finished, and violations issued. The agency's July investigation is still ongoing.

According to TCEQ documents, the property manager and property owner were slapped with a $15,000 fine in April 2024.

The case was published in the Texas Register on Friday, and the public can comment on it until August 26. The case is listed under the company Dorex, which was the company listed as operating at the property until this year, according to TCEQ documents.

According to published TCEQ rules, the public can submit their comments in writing to enforcement coordinator, Tiffany Chu, at P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087.

Written comments can also be faxed to Chu, the enforcement coordinator listed for this case, at (512) 239-2550.

All comments, according to TCEQ rules, have to be in by 5:00 p.m. on August 26, 2024.

The TCEQ states that enforcement coordinators are available to discuss the Agreed Orders and/or the comment procedure at their listed phone numbers but formal comments have to be submitted to the commission in writing.

Chu's listed phone number is (817) 588-5891.

According to the TCEQ, after the comment period closes, the case will be presented to TCEQ commissioners, kicking off the timeline for compliance actions, and the owner will have to submit proof that he disposed of the waste at an authorized facility within 30 days.

Leaders say the TCEQ and the City of Fort Worth will continue to monitor the site and review compliance proof as it's submitted to make sure all the waste is disposed of properly.