4/5/2013 3:37:22 PM
Update: According to the News-Register, more than 300 people contacted DEQ about the berm, half of them after the hearing. A decision is expected by May 6. Thanks to you all!
On March 28, more than 100 people attended a formal comment hearing to let the state Department of Environmental Quality know what Yamhill County residents think about expanding the dump.
DEQ reps first told the meeting that the proposed MSE berm has only one purpose: to allow another 1,000,000 tons of garbage to be dumped at the landfill, extending Riverbend's life by 2 years - through 2016. Over 200,000 cubic yards of dirt, rocks, and gravel will be required to construct the wall. More than 60% of this material will come from off-site, requiring 9,000 tractor-trailers to travel Yamhill County's already beat-up roads.
The remaining 40% of material will come from “on site.” No one is saying from where on-site the material will be sourced. From the vulnerable lands between the dump and the river? From the surrounding high-value farmland that Waste Management owns? DEQ is not concerned. Monitoring this additional degradation of the land is not DEQ's problem.
Moreover, DEQ did not require Waste Management to engineer the wall to meet Oregon's highest seismic building standards.
More than 35 speakers voiced opposition to the proposed wall; no one spoke in favor. Members of the Grand Ronde and other tribes spoke eloquently about the destruction of land that has belonged to their ancestors since time immemorial. This was the first time these local residents have spoken publicly about the landfill. They scheduled another rally at DEQ headquarters in Portland today.
Before the formal hearing March 28th, dozens of citizens demonstrated on Highway 99W near the McMinnville Senior Center, waving signs, beating drums, and wearing costumes to draw attention to DEQ’s lack of interest in regulating Waste Management’s practices at Riverbend Landfill.
On March 28, more than 100 people attended a formal comment hearing to let the state Department of Environmental Quality know what Yamhill County residents think about expanding the dump.
DEQ reps first told the meeting that the proposed MSE berm has only one purpose: to allow another 1,000,000 tons of garbage to be dumped at the landfill, extending Riverbend's life by 2 years - through 2016. Over 200,000 cubic yards of dirt, rocks, and gravel will be required to construct the wall. More than 60% of this material will come from off-site, requiring 9,000 tractor-trailers to travel Yamhill County's already beat-up roads.
The remaining 40% of material will come from “on site.” No one is saying from where on-site the material will be sourced. From the vulnerable lands between the dump and the river? From the surrounding high-value farmland that Waste Management owns? DEQ is not concerned. Monitoring this additional degradation of the land is not DEQ's problem.
Moreover, DEQ did not require Waste Management to engineer the wall to meet Oregon's highest seismic building standards.
More than 35 speakers voiced opposition to the proposed wall; no one spoke in favor. Members of the Grand Ronde and other tribes spoke eloquently about the destruction of land that has belonged to their ancestors since time immemorial. This was the first time these local residents have spoken publicly about the landfill. They scheduled another rally at DEQ headquarters in Portland today.
Before the formal hearing March 28th, dozens of citizens demonstrated on Highway 99W near the McMinnville Senior Center, waving signs, beating drums, and wearing costumes to draw attention to DEQ’s lack of interest in regulating Waste Management’s practices at Riverbend Landfill.
Waste Not and Stop the Dump Coalition want to thank everyone who participated in this difficult and emotional evening.
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