Texas City Calls for Cleanup of Scrap Yard

The Greenville, Tex., City Council has voted to give a AAA Scrap, a local scrap metal recycling company, four months to make changes at his facility to comply with the city’s ordinance. However, if the company fails to take care of the problems, the city will look to revoke the company’s conditional use permit, essentially putting the company out of business. The City Council made the decision at its most recent meeting, Jan. 27.

Despite the imposition of the deadline, Philip Sanders, director of Greenville’s Community Development board, said the two sides have not been adversarial, and he expects the company to meet the requirements to keep operating.

According to local press reports the owner of the business said the Council's reprieve will also give both sides a chance to find some apparently missing paperwork which, if recovered, will clear up one of the most serious allegations against him. The company originally received the conditional use permit six years ago.

City officials have said the business was out of compliance in a number of areas, including storing the scrap metal in an area that was not designated for storage; the facility was not properly screened, and there was an accumulation of debris around the facility.

Additionally, Sanders said there was some discussion on whether or not the company filled out the proper paperwork for storm water runoff.