DEQ to Take Berm Comments at March 28 Hearing

by Susan Watkins

3/21/2013 12:18:19 AM

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will take comments from the public regarding a proposed expansion of Riverbend Landfill at a hearing Thursday, March 28, in McMinnville.  The hearing will be held at the Senior Center, 2250 McDaniel Lane (near Hwy 99W).  Sign-ups to speak will begin at 5:30 pm.  A Q&A session with DEQ staff will take place from 6:00-7:00 pm with public comment to follow.

The expansion at issue involves construction of a 40-foot high "mechanically stabilized earthen" (MSE) berm that Waste Management, the landfill's Texas-based owner, wants to build on the Highway 18 side of the landfill.  Without expansion, the landfill will reach capacity in mid-2014.  The MSE berm will allow the landfill to accept an additional 1,000,000 tons of garbage and remain open an additional two years.

Waste Management's long-term plans include expanding onto an adjacent 60 acres of high-value farmland zoned EFU.  The two extra years of operation that the berm will provide will give Waste Management the time it needs to apply for the 30-year expansion it really wants.

A key issue with the proposed berm is its seismic stability.  Waste Management's engineers have designed the berm to withstand an 8.5 earthquake despite the widely-accepted expectation that a magnitude 9.0 quake will strike the region.  An 8.5 quake is bad enough, but an M9 event ismore than 5 times more powerful.

Moreover, local engineers have questioned the accuracy and sufficiency of data relied upon by Waste Management and DEQ.  Even at 8.5, they say, the berm as designed has a safety factor of only 1.0, which in engineering-speak means it will fail if even the tiniest calculation is too optimistic.

Adding a million more tons of solid waste to the 13,000,000 tons already in the landfill will only increase the pressure on the lower, river end of the dump.  That end is held in check by a much lower earthen berm whose stability has been questioned by experts familiar with the early days of Riverbend construction.  Segments of the lower berm have already failed at least once.

Allowing any expansion also means more trucks tearing up County roads, more stink on our main tourist roadway, and more air, water, noise, and light pollution.  Construction of the berm alone will result in 9,000 round trips for a truck & trailer hauling 20 cubic yards of MSE material -- 30 truck trips a day, 6 days a week, for a year!

In addition to testifying at the March 28 hearing, members of the public may also comment via email, fax, or US mail.  The comment period ends at 5:00 pm Friday, April 5.