Oh, No!

Dear Friends,

We have some very dispiriting news to report. Due to a clerical error at the law firm of our attorney, the deadline to file the brief in our appeal of the misguided and illegal rezoning of the dump into farmland was missed.  As you can imagine, this is extremely upsetting. Our opponents will be filing a motion to dismiss the case. Our attorney is exploring every option to avoid having this happen.  Our case is very strong. We are confident that we would have prevailed in court.

Now we have to move forward and continue the fight in other venues. There are many decision points ahead that will provide us with opportunities of substance to achieve our goal of preventing expansion of Riverbend Landfill.  We still have great confidence in our attorney and know that he and his firm will be working very hard on this and all of the other arguments going forward.

We recognize that our latest fundraising letter specified that your generous donations were going towards our appeal to LUBA, the state Land Use Board of Appeals.  At this time, that appeal might not be possible. Instead we will be using the funds you contributed to pursue the other legal options available to us.

Please know that the fight is not over.  We have several strong opportunities to prevail.  We have been heartened by the groundswell of support in the community.  More and more people recognize that Riverbend landfill is not an asset to this vibrant and beautiful part of Oregon. 

With the continued help of all of you, we intend to win this struggle in order to insure the continued growth, prosperity, and safety of our County for generations to come.

Thank you for the confidence you have placed in us.  We truly regret this unfortunate -- but momentary -- setback.

Please contact Ilsa Perse, Stop the Dump Coalition President, with your questions and concerns, at ilsap@earthlink.net.

DEQ to Require Landfill to Submit Closure Plan

The state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has finally recognized that Riverbend Landfill is not expanding any time soon.

Since 2009, when the dump's current operating permit expired, DEQ has held off requiring Riverbend to file a closure permit application even though state law requires such a permit when a landfill is within five years of reaching capacity.  Instead, DEQ has administratively continued the existing operating permit year by year.

Without the MSE berm (still under construction), the landfill will reach capacity in fall 2014.  With the additional disposal space provided by the berm, capacity will be reached in 2016 -- still well within the 5-year statute.

Bob Schwarz, DEQ's permit writer for Riverbend, announced at the Air Quality meeting held in McMinnville on April 29 that Waste Management was asked to submit an outline for a closure plan by May 2.  Schwarz emphasized that filing a closure plan does not prevent the landfill from expanding.  A 2012 version of the dump's closure plans is posted on DEQ's Riverbend Landfill website, http://www.deq.state.or.us/nwr/RiverbendLandfill.htm.

Watch this site for more information!