4/25/2013 1:45:44 AM
The Oregon Court of Appeals has rejected landfill neighbors' request for a hearing on the dump's compliance with land use laws. The Court ruled that the County's 1992 decision upholding Riverbend's right to fill the entire PWS zone with garbage still applies today. The decision means that the County has abdicated any control over Waste Management's operation of the dump.
The County must issue a LUCS -- a Land Use Compatibility Statement -- before the dump can expand. In this case, the LUCS was issued for the 4-story high MSE berm Waste Management wants to build on the Highway 18 side of the dump. Although the berm would not expand the landfill's on-the-ground footprint, the tall wall will allow Riverbend to expand its capacity by an additional million tons of garbage. Assuming DEQ issues a permit as expected, Waste Management can proceed to construct the berm.
The Court cited a decision the County made in favor of the landfill in 1992. That decision in turn relied on the Board of Commissioners' 1980 reasoning in initially approving a landfill at the Riverbend site. The original 1980 decision contemplated a much smaller landfill (7-9 feet above Highway 18, not 135 feet!) that would be returned to farming one 20-acre cell at a time. The County's 1992 decision translated that original limited approval into a blanket approval for any landfill use within the PWS zone.
It is hard to believe that a landfill approved over 30 years ago can significantly expand and fundamentally change its operation without ever having those changes subject to land use review, but this is essentially what the Court of Appeals ruled.
Please contact the Commissioners to express your dismay over this result! Yamhill County residents and businesses deserve a hearing on landfill growth.
The Court cited a decision the County made in favor of the landfill in 1992. That decision in turn relied on the Board of Commissioners' 1980 reasoning in initially approving a landfill at the Riverbend site. The original 1980 decision contemplated a much smaller landfill (7-9 feet above Highway 18, not 135 feet!) that would be returned to farming one 20-acre cell at a time. The County's 1992 decision translated that original limited approval into a blanket approval for any landfill use within the PWS zone.
It is hard to believe that a landfill approved over 30 years ago can significantly expand and fundamentally change its operation without ever having those changes subject to land use review, but this is essentially what the Court of Appeals ruled.
Please contact the Commissioners to express your dismay over this result! Yamhill County residents and businesses deserve a hearing on landfill growth.
Kathy George: georgek@county.yamhill.or.us
Alan Springer: springera@county.yamhill.or.us
Mary Stern: sternm@county.yamhill.or.us
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