The Riverbend Landfill Fight Continues

by Sid Friedman of Friends of Yamhill County

We are battling the gigantic Waste Management corporation (WM) in its plans to expand what is already the largest regional garbage dump in western Oregon.  This huge Texas-based multi-national wants to dump an additional 15 billion pounds of waste on Yamhill County farmland next to the South Yamhill River near McMinnville.  Most of the garbage comes from out-of-county.  Portland Metro is the largest source.

As many of you already know, Friends of Yamhill County (FYC) and its partners in the Stop the Dump Coalition suffered a significant setback in May when our attorney’s office missed a key filing date.

FYC, the Coalition, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, and McPhillips Farms, Inc. had appealed the County’s rezoning of the dump from Public Works/Safety to Exclusive Farm Use (EFU).  The rezoning was part of a complex scheme to abet expansion of the growing mountain of garbage between Highway 18 and the riverbank.

WM wasted no time in requesting that the case be dismissed.  Now, at the urging of our attorneys, an appeal of the dismissal has been filed.  The argument to reinstate our appeal of the rezoning decision will be heard at the Oregon Court of Appeals in mid-August.

The Land Use argument was (and is) a very strong one, though, of course there was no guarantee of a reversal of the County decision. But the zone change appeal is only one way we are fighting expansion of this mountain of out-of-county garbage piling up at Riverbend.  The Department of Environmental Quality’s permitting process and the County’s review of the actual expansion application are other key leverage points that present additional opportunities to stop the expansion.

Despite this brief setback, we have extremely strong arguments and are slowly gaining traction and turning the tide.  With your help, your participation, and your support we and our partners will continue working as hard as ever to finally enter the 21^st century and close the dump.

Put Hauling Contracts Out to Bid

By Brian Doyle, former member and chair, Yamhill County Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC)

Renewal of the Waste Management Newberg hauling franchise is on the agenda for the SWAC meeting next Wednesday, July 16. I recommend against renewing the franchise at this time. 

Haulers pick up garbage from residences and businesses under a special license (franchise) from the County.  At present, Waste Management serves Newberg and the north County area, and Recology serves McMinnville and the south County.  In the past the SWAC has routinely renewed the 10-year hauler franchises even when the existing franchise contracts had several years remaining. This has effectively prevented any competitive bidding for the last 40 years. 

I know that SWAC keeps in touch with other counties and so is aware of their rates and hauling practices. This helps to assure that the rates in Yamhill County are reasonable. However, no level of monitoring or auditing can replace a competitive market place. Neither Waste Management (WM) nor Recology needs the sort of long-term financial assurance that the current system provided for the original local haulers in 1973. 

WM and Recology are both able and well-positioned to operate in a competitive environment. County residents will be best served when other companies can bid on hauling services. Rather than commit to another 10-year contract, I suggest the County use the time before the contract expires to review the structure of the current franchise system.

There are several elements that I think should be revised:

1. Hauling contract duration should be shorter. The 10-year length is not reasonable. Other jurisdictions put their hauling contracts out to bid every two years.

2. Granting exclusive rights to ALL commercial waste hauling stifles potential recycling/reuse of some wastes. While it makes sense to include weekly residential routes in the franchise, some other wastes or business categories don’t need to be included. For example, large containers that are hauled directly to disposal do not need to be included in a franchise system designed for residential routes.

3. I see no reason why irregular (on demand) hauling of unique wastes should be constrained by a single franchise system.

In short, I think it is appropriate for the County to suspend franchise renewals while it undertakes a review of, and potentially revises, its 40-year old franchise system.

If you agree, contact SWAC care of Sherrie Mathison at mathiss@co.yamhill.or.us and let them know you want the hauling contracts put to bid!

Note:  Columbia County, which previously disposed of its waste at Riverbend, went to bid earlier this year; now its waste will be hauled to Coffin Butte.