The October and November "community" meetings staged by Waste Management will focus on air quality in the neighborhood of the dump. Both meetings will begin at 7:00 pm at the McMinnville Senior Center on McDaniel Lane in McMinnville.
The meeting on Tuesday, October 23 is the semi-annual meeting required by the dump's DEQ Title V emissions permit. Gary Andes from DEQ will attend to hear reports from the community about odor and other air emissions (such as wind-blown soil coming off the top of the dump). Waste Management's PR rep, Jackie Lang, has been telling city councils and civic groups that the dump doesn't smell--neighborhood residents just can't tell the difference between landfill odors and rotting cabbage. You can tell her how you feel about that at the meeting!
On November 27, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the Stop the Dump Coalition will present a report on air monitoring by Don Gamiles of Argos Scientific (http://www.argos-sci.com). Don has volunteered to assist the community in assessing air quality in the dump vicinity and in communicating concerns to Waste Management. Argos Scientific has extensive expertise in developing and enforcing "good neighbor agreements" between odor sources and their neighborhoods. This should be an enlightening evening!
In the meantime, you can register your complaints or comments about odor and other air quality issues with DEQ (andes.gary@deq.state.or.us) or with Waste Management (855-888-6800). See you at the meetings!
