Turner after Houston, DOJ reach illegal dumping agreement: 'I believe we have made signification step in improving the quality of life for everyone who lives in our city'

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the City of Houston reached a settlement agreement in a case pertaining to alleged illegal dumping in minority neighborhoods, per reports from Houston-based media outlets. 

Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that the development comes close to a year after the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division launched an environmental justice investigation.

According to KHOU, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that the city’s One Clean Houston initiative factored into a 75% decline in illegal dumping calls from 49 days last year to 11 days so far this year. 

The mayor added that the city collected over 20,000 tons of debris and 110 have been filed since the start of 2023, the station reported. 

"Collectively, I believe we have made signification step in improving the quality of life for everyone who lives in our city," Turner said, KHOU reported. "Things don't have to be contentious. Sometimes by working together, we can end up with a better product."

Per Houston NBC affiliate KPRC, black and Latino neighborhoods across the city were where a majority of the illegal dumping took place on a constant basis.

Established back in March, the One Clean Houston initiative provided the foundation for the agreement.

City hall earmarked $18 million to combat illegal dumping for the next two years, KPRC reported.

Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said the illegal dumpsites posed quality-of-life problems for Houston’s “historically under-resourced neighborhoods.”

“I appreciate Mayor Turner’s leadership in addressing these concerns and his resolve in developing One Clean Houston,” Clarke said, per KPRC. “This agreement will ensure that Houston fully addresses chronic illegal dumpsites, provides access to adequate waste management services and improves quality of life in communities of color.”

Reuters reported that the agreement calls for more federal monitoring, obligated reporting of data and better outreach with the residents of the affected neighborhoods.