Beneath the Austin Country Flea Market sits a former county landfill that has produced polluted liquid since it closed more than 40 years ago.
Travis County commissioners approved $5.65 million Oct. 6 to repair it and cover legal costs in three lawsuits over the site.
What's happening
Travis County ran the landfill from 1968 to 1982, according to a county budget memo in the Oct. 6 agenda. It is the county's largest closed landfill.
Since closing, the landfill has produced large amounts of leachate, the liquid that drains through trash. The memo says the landfill was most likely built in the wrong spot, “atop areas of natural groundwater seepage,” and that rain also soaks through its clay cap, the layer covering the trash. The county collects the leachate and pumps it into Austin’s sewer system to keep it out of creeks.
The flea market opened on the property in 1986. About 21 acres of it sit on top of the landfill, according to a February court filing by the county. In that filing, the county said some of the leachate may come from the flea market’s wastewater and septic systems.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has cited the county for problems at the site several times over the years, the county said in the filing. In March 2024, the agency found sinking, ponding and erosion in the parking lot and along the access road; trees that may be breaking through the cap; clogged drainage channels; and leaking leachate wells, according to the memo.
Dollars at work
The county has started repairs. The first phase is complete, and a second-phase assessment of the landfill was recently finished. It will be used to plan the next steps, according to the memo.
Most of the money will go toward repairs. The memo estimates $3.15 million to $5.65 million in costs this fiscal year for:
Designing repairs to the cap and drainage
Fixing and maintaining the leachate collection system
Tearing down structures on the property
Those estimates came before the latest assessment and will likely change. The legal money is for the county’s effort to take the property, according to a memo from the county’s Transportation and Natural Resources department.
How much of the money will go to legal costs is “unknown at this time,” said Yoojin Cho, a senior public information officer for Travis County. Cho declined to provide additional details, citing the ongoing litigation.
Zooming in
The county is in three lawsuits over the site, according to its February filing:
The state sued the county in May 2025 over its care of the landfill. The state is seeking fines and a court order requiring repairs.
The landowner sued the county in July 2025. Moo Moo Meadows LLC and Graham Development Corp., an affiliated company, sued in federal court, saying the county blocked their plans to develop the property.
The county sued the landowner in December 2025 to take the property through eminent domain so it can fix the landfill.
The companies say leachate has damaged their property and want money from the county, according to the county’s filing. The county says the companies have hampered its repairs.
What's next
A jury trial in the companies’ federal lawsuit is set for June 2027, according to court records.
The county may borrow to cover the cost. Commissioners will decide before the county’s spring 2027 debt sale, according to the memo.
Commissioners Court's next voting session is Oct. 20 at the Travis County Administration Building, located at 700 Lavaca St. in downtown Austin. Agendas are posted on the county’s meeting portal. Residents can comment in person or register online in advance.
