SAN ANTONIO — Residents in a southwest-side neighborhood claim their health is being compromised by a nearby recycling facility that's seen its fair share of chaos.
Since 2019, six massive fires have ignited at Monterrey Iron & Metal off Frio City Road. Neighbors say the most recent fire in September burned for more than 10 hours.
On Thursday evening, affected residents came together for the first time to discuss their concerns. Emotional testimonies filled Arizona Café, as neighbors directed their grievances toward a table in front of the restaurant, where Texas Sen. José Menendez, Rep. Liz Campos and Roxy Ramirez, zoning supervisor for the City of San Antonio's code enforcement division, sat and listened.
Neighbors want to ensure the recycling company is following health and safety rules. They're also eager to learn what has been causing the multiple fires at the facility.
Meanwhile, city and state leaders want to learn why a court date to discuss violations at the facility keeps getting rescheduled.
A repeating issue
Larry Garcia, who grew up in the Thompson Neighborhood, started research on salvage yards more than a decade ago.
"We saw [Thompson] go from a nice neighborhood to salvage yards everywhere," said Garcia. "District 4 and District 5 have the majority of salvage yards in their districts."
On Sept. 21, neighbors watched as plumes of smoke filled the air above Monterrey Iron & Metal. Winds pushed smoke into nearby neighborhoods for the sixth time in four years.
Rudy Lopez, vice president of the Thompson Neighborhood Association, says he and Garcia had to take action. They organized Thursday's community meeting, and Lopez went door-knocking to inform his neighbors beforehand.
"I learned there's a lot of children in our neighborhood do have breathing problems. Hence, when the fire starts, parents have to leave with their kids for the day or two when the smoke is lingering around," Lopez explained. "A lot of our residents are Spanish-speaking. They feel that because they speak Spanish that that's a hindrance and they wont' be listened to. So they just don't speak up at all."
Right now, San Antonio city ordinance prohibits salvage yards to operate in the middle of a residential area. However, Ramirez acknowledged that those rules don't apply to Monterrey Iron & Metal.
Since the company opened more than 100 years ago, they were grandfathered in. That means the business is allowed to follow prior laws or rules.
"They've got acres with tons and tons and tons of industrial waste," Garcia explained. "It's the same violations from ten years ago as today and we're still in the same spot."
At Thursday's community meeting, neighbors pleaded with state and city leaders for a solution. They want the site cleaned up.
"Right now, we need y'all to help us fight!" said Herlinda Perez Bocanegra.
"They had to leave their homes because they couldn't breathe for the sixth time in four years. How is that acceptable?" asked Joey Cipriano, a community leader in the Thompson Neighborhood. "Our brothers and sisters in Quintana, they've been dealing with this for years also. They can't seem to get help either."
"If this was on the north side, this would not be allowed! I guarantee that!" exclaimed Tricia Fayadh, who lives one yard away from Monterrey Iron & Metal. "I am tired of this poor quality of life. We want a solution. Please help us!"
Menendez said that, as of Nov. 9, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reported all code violations found at the recycling facility have been resolved. He plans to conduct a site visit along with the city and TCEQ to see operations firsthand.
"Six significant fires since 2019? That's not acceptable," said Menendez. "Being here for 100 years doesn't excuse being a bad neighbor... What you don't have the right to do is endanger the neighborhood."
Officer Ramirez, who supervises the team that oversees all salvage yards, says code enforcement records show three active violations at the recycling plant: prohibited piles, improper rodent control and the lack of a proper fire safety path.
Ramirez says the court date on the matter was rescheduled for December. While this case remains high priority for her team, Ramirez was not informed why the court date keeps getting pushed back.
A spokesperson for the San Antonio Fire Department says HAZMAT teams did air and water monitoring after the Sept. 21 fire and didn't find any "reportable quantities" of harmful chemicals. Right now, fire officials say they're working with the city's Development Services Department and the fire marshal to see what they can do to mitigate the fire issue.
Jordan Vexler, Chief Operating Officer for Monterrey Iron & Metal, sent KENS 5 the following:
Another community meeting to follow progress on the matter is expected to take place before the end of the year.
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