Cameron County officials have given a resident at Green Valley more than enough time to clean up piles of trash on his property.
Emergency Management Coordinator Humberto Barrera said inspectors have classified the piles of concrete, dry palm tree leaves and wood an illegal dumpsite. They add the property owner is possibly reaping the rewards from the hazardous lot.
"The allegations are that the gentleman is charging by the truck load to come dump here," Barrera said. The problem has been ongoing for about three years and neighbors are complaining the man makes room for more trash on his lot, by constantly burning what’s already there at all hours.
Barrera said it sometimes happens at two, three or four in the morning.
Area resident Nelson Trujillo said although he can smell the smoke when the man burns trash, most of the time the wind carries the smoke away from his home. However, he's concerned about the ripple effects of this illegal dumpsite.
"It doesn't affect me too much that's why I don’t complain, but I do see it,” Trujillo said. “The trucks pass by and mess up the road. That’s the only thing I’m concerned by - the trucks passing by because this road is not meant for trucks."
Janet Treviño also lives nearby and has a 4-year-ol son who suffers from asthma.
Still, she thinks every property owner has the right to do as they please on their land.
"It's not my concern really,” Treviño said. “Whatever has to do with the neighbor, (it’s no big deal).”
Barrera agrees with property owners having rights on their land, but he said this time the trash is a public nuisance.
"Environmentally, it's bad for the birds, it's bad for the animals, it's bad for the water table below us and it's really bad for people that have breathing problems," he said.
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