Opponents 64, Landfill 1

64 to 1:  That's the "score" following the December 31 deadline for submitting evidence and comments about Riverbend Landfill's proposed expansion to the Planning Commission.  According to the Yamhill Valley News-Register, as of the deadline the County had received 64 written comments asking the Commission to reject the expansion, 1 in favor, and 1 neutral.

The Commission will consider the comments, receive a recommendation from the Planning staff, and vote at its January 15 meeting.  The public is invited to attend, but cannot testify as the hearing itself is considered closed except for a final rebuttal from the landfill, due January 8.

What that rebuttal includes will be interesting indeed.  To date, Riverbend Landfill Co. (RLC), the landfill's owner, and its corporate parent Waste Management have offered little by way of substantive data to support their claim that there is a need for the landfill to expand.

In fact, at the initial Planning Commission hearing in December, RLC claimed the County had already approved the expansion!  RLC cited the County's 2014 decision to rezone the land the existing landfill sits on from Public Works Safety (the only zone that allows landfills in the County) to Exclusive Farm Use (EFU).

That rezoning positioned RLC to request an expansion by allowing the landfill to try to take advantage of a state rule that lets landfills in the EFU zone expand under some circumstances.

RLC, however, has yet to actually request permission to expand.

Moreover, many of the "facts" RLC submitted in favor of expansion contradict statements Waste Management officials have publicly stated in past years, such as how much waste is collected from SP Newsprint in Newberg (WM reps have told the public that it diverts most of that waste to other landfills) and whether the landfill attracts birds to the area (WM reps have publicly blamed previous managers for allowing birds to congregate at the dump and get used to wintering in the vicinity).

Nearly half of the waste dumped at Riverbend comes from the Portland Metro area.  Another 20% comes from other counties.  Only about a third of the waste originates in Yamhill County.

The January 15 Planning Commission meeting will be held at McMinnville Civic Hall, corner of 2nd and Baker, beginning at 7:00 pm.