Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Google Maps
The US Department of Justice reached an agreement with Houston to settle a lawsuit over illegal dumping in Latino and African-American communitieswhich requires the city to conduct quick cleanups in those neighborhoods.
The One Clean Houston initiative it sees 11 new garbage trucks that can handle larger dumped items and 25 new security cameras to help catch illegal shooters.
The city will use more than $11 million in additional funds for equipment such as security cameras and to hire additional officers. The city has received 5,000 complaints about illegal dumping in the past year.
Join us as we Rally Against Illegal Dumping, part of the One Clean Houston initiative to fight illegal dumping. Individuals, families, business owners and organizations are welcome! Clean-up equipment will be provided. Registration➡️https://t.co/zywdXIaNH9 pic.twitter.com/NOLQZotNgn
— COH Solid Waste Mgmt (@HoustonTrash) June 8, 2023
The agreement, reached last Tuesday and announced today by the Texas Tribune newspaper, also requires the city to undertake an educational campaign in Latino and African-American neighborhoods, where for years health and quality of life have been affected by dumpsites.
“No one should have to live next to discarded tires, garbage bags, rotting corpses, infected soil and polluted groundwater, all caused by illegal dumping.said US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani, whose department conducted the investigation.
He added that for too long the Latino and African American communities, as well as those of low income in Houston, have had to put up with the city’s inaction. “My hope is that this agreement is an important step to remedy those errors,” she added.
The Justice Department launched its investigation in July 2022 after receiving a civil rights complaint alleging that the city discriminated against African-American and Latino residents of the Trinity-Houston Gardens area in the northeast of the city.
*With information from EFE
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