Iesheia Ayers-Wilson has spent all 46 years of her life in Carverdale, about a block from the Hawthorn Park landfill.
“We’re just tired of it being here. And we’re ready for a change,” Ayers-Wilson said.
She calls the landfill an eyesore and says truck traffic and noise are daily frustrations. But her biggest questions involve her family’s health — and whether the site could be contributing to illnesses among relatives and neighbors.
“Let’s start getting these tests done. Let’s start seeing if this has an effect on our health,” Ayers-Wilson said.
Now, Harris County is suing in federal court to permanently close the landfill and require additional testing and long-term environmental monitoring.
County Attorney Abbie Kamin says records show methane above allowed limits at the property line and metals and chemicals in nearby groundwater. She also says the county has never been allowed onto the property to conduct its own pollutant testing.
The county is pursuing the lawsuit under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, asking a judge to require the operator to address alleged hazards and move the site toward closure.
Waste Management told KPRC 2 it does not comment on pending litigation. The company has previously said the facility is monitored, inspected and tested by both the company and state regulators under applicable requirements.
Standing near the landfill, Ayers-Wilson pointed to the surroundings she says neighbors encounter daily.
“This is what people see every day,” Ayers-Wilson said.
She said trucks can back up along the road when gates to nearby operations are closed.
“It’s constant. It’s noise pollution as well,” Ayers-Wilson said.
Her connection to Carverdale spans generations. Her parents are in their 70s, and her grandparents lived there when the roads were still red dirt, she said.
She welcomes improvements to the neighborhood but says residents have spent too long waiting for answers about the landfill. She also worries about water moving through neighborhood ditches and wants testing to determine whether pollutants are reaching areas where families live.
Those unanswered questions are also a concern for Kamin.
“But Harris County, I want to be clear, has never been allowed on to the property to test for pollutants,” Kamin said.
Ayers-Wilson says residents need information they can trust — and action based on what testing finds.
“After you give us the transparency, we would like accountability in some kind of resolve,” Ayers-Wilson said.
For her, the fight extends beyond her own household.
“These people in the community are my family,” Ayers-Wilson said.
Pastor Calvin Smith, who leads Saint James Missionary Baptist Church in Carverdale, said residents have spent years trying to get their concerns taken seriously.
“For years we’ve been fighting against this dump,” Smith said. “We’ve been living under harsh circumstances, and it seemed like we didn’t have a voice.”
Smith, a lifelong resident, raised concerns about water in neighborhood drainage ditches and illnesses among community members. Asked whether those illnesses had been linked to the landfill, he acknowledged that a connection had not been established.
He wants residents’ concerns investigated and their neighborhood treated with the same care as other communities.
“The thing about it is we have a right to raise our children healthy like anybody else,” Smith said.
Years of complaints have left him frustrated.
“I found myself, you know, in getting frustrated because I’m like, no one is hearing us,” Smith said.
He recalled a reporter asking why he did not move if he was so unhappy living near the landfill.
“I shouldn’t have to move,” Smith said.
He said he remains proud of Carverdale and wants the generations growing up there to be protected.
“I have grandkids I want to make sure when they go outside they’re not inhaling no toxins,” Smith said.
Kamin said the landfill was first permitted in 1977, although dumping occurred at the site before that. According to the county, it covers more than 150 acres in the northwest Houston neighborhood.
The facility is operated by USA Waste of Texas Landfills Inc., a Waste Management subsidiary.
The county’s concerns include a history of methane readings at the property boundary.
“We know that test results at the property line have regularly exceeded methane limits,” Kamin said.
She also identified chlorobenzene, barium and arsenic among substances found in testing near the property. The county believes landfill operations are contributing to groundwater pollution and wants more testing to understand the potential impacts.
“Residents, those standing behind me, their children and their grandbabies deserve to know if these pollutants are present on site and if they have any potential offsite impacts,” Kamin said.
Sarah Utley, managing counsel for the affirmative and environmental divisions of the Harris County Attorney’s Office, said perimeter testing is required under the landfill’s permit. Additional testing sought through the lawsuit could guide further analysis, she said.
“We’ll have to see what that data says,” Utley said.
Kamin also alleged that the operator has kept the facility running with minimal activity.
“We’re alleging for over a decade, they’ve been doing just the bare minimum to keep it open with maybe an eye towards expansion, which we’ve stopped once, but they could still try to do again,” Kamin said.
The county’s allegations have not been adjudicated.
The federal lawsuit follows a notice of intent to sue announced in July. It also builds on an earlier challenge to a proposed expansion that would have increased the landfill’s footprint and height.
The company withdrew its expansion request after opposition from Harris County, residents and a developer. cao.harriscountytx.gov
“Stopping the expansion was an important step, but today we are pursuing something more permanent by shutting the landfill down once and for all,” Kamin said.
She credited residents with sustaining the fight.
“Our residents did that, but they should not have to shoulder this burden alone,” Kamin said.
The county now wants a federal judge to require the operator to address alleged hazards and move the landfill into post-closure care — environmental safeguards that continue after a landfill stops accepting waste.
TCEQ records document an alleged violation involving denial of access to Harris County investigators at the Hawthorn Park facility.
Investigation 2117248, conducted Nov. 12, 2025, lists the alleged violation as denying county agents the ability to inspect and investigate the facility. The record identifies the investigation as a data maintenance file review.
The agency lists the allegation as resolved Aug. 5, 2026. Its explanation cites the county’s request to voluntarily dismiss a claim against USA Waste of Texas Landfills Inc. “without prejudice.”
That generally allows a claim to be brought again. It does not establish that the allegation was proven or that the company was cleared.
The entry does not indicate whether county investigators subsequently gained access to the property or conducted testing. It also does not explain why the county dropped that claim.
Waste Management declined to comment on the pending litigation when contacted by KPRC 2.
In its July response, the company said the facility is governed by state regulations and a site-specific permit issued by TCEQ. It said the facility “is monitored, inspected, and tested by both WM and TCEQ in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.”
The company’s current website describes Hawthorn Park as a Type IV construction and demolition landfill. It lists nonhazardous construction debris, yard waste, lumber, brick and concrete among accepted materials. It says hazardous waste, household garbage, food scraps and medical waste are not accepted.
KPRC 2 also asked TCEQ, the state agency that regulates the landfill, about its investigations into the site.
A spokesperson referred us to online investigation reports. The response did not address the county’s allegations directly or explain why the earlier case over access to the property was dropped.
Kamin outlined the safeguards the county is seeking if it wins.
“So if we succeed, there would be groundwater sampling, capping and covering the landfill and monitoring for any current or future impacts to this very special and proud community,” Kamin said.
County officials said the operator would be responsible for closure and monitoring costs if the county prevails.
“It would also make it much harder for the company to reopen or expand a permit on this site in the future,” Kamin said.
The land would remain private property. Any future use would depend on regulatory requirements, testing and the owner’s decisions, county officials said.
Kamin cautioned that the court fight will take time.
“This is not an overnight process,” Kamin said.
But she told residents the county intends to keep pursuing the case.
“Do not give up. We are here with you, alongside you and we are not giving up,” Kamin said.
For Ayers-Wilson, the desired outcome is straightforward.
“Close it down for good,” Ayers-Wilson said.
