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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Riverbend Files for DEQ Permit

Riverbend Landfill has wasted no time moving forward.  The company, which received its Yamhill County expansion permit April 23, has already asked the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for an environmental permit to allow it to expand.

The County permit depends on issuance of a DEQ permit and also depends on DEQ to enforce many of the most important provisions the County wants to see in the expanded dump, including earthquake safety and water quality protection.

But DEQ has proven in the past that it is loathe to enforce rules against the landfill.  Permits requiring preservation of air and water quality are loosely drafted, allowing Riverbend to police itself as well as to decide how to comply in many cases.  When an apparent violation occurs, DEQ allows the landfill to redraw the rules.

This Thursday evening you can see for yourself how lax DEQ oversight of the dump actually is.  DEQ will be holding a hearing on the landfill's Air Quality permit.  Anyone can review the permit and offer comments to make it more stringent and reasonable.  In fact, DEQ needs to hear from you!

Hearing details

When:    Informational session at 6 p.m. Hearing at 7p.m., Thursday, April 30
Where:   McMinnville Public Library Carnegie Room, 225 NW Adams St. McMinnville, OR 97128

Send written comments by mail, fax or email to (Comments due 5 p.m., Friday, May 8):

Patty Hamman, Permit Coordinator DEQ Western Region, Salem Office, 4026 Fairview Industrial Drive, Salem, OR 97302
Fax:    (503) 378-4196 Email:    hamman.patricia@deq.state.or.us

Get a copy of the hearing notice, which explains what the permit is supposed to cover, here.




Monday, April 20, 2015

This Just In!

At 7:20 PM tonight (Monday, April 20) Waste Management sent out this meeting notice:


Bring questions to Riverbend air permit meetings April 21 and 30:
Riverbend's Title V air permit will be the topic of two public meetings in April:

  • Riverbend Community Meeting - Tuesday, April 21, 6 pm free pizza, 7 pm program, McMinnville Senior Center. This meeting is a regulatory requirement. There will be time for questions and input.
  • DEQ Public Hearing - Thursday, April 30, 6 pm information session, 7 pm public hearing, McMinnville Public Library. The DEQ has conducted a preliminary review of our air permit renewal application. This meeting is part of the public comment process. For information, call 503.378.8240.
Nice of them to give the community notice of a meeting required by their permit!  But don't feel bad if this notice didn't come to you personally.  Many people on the air quality meeting community mailing list didn't receive it, either.  Think WM really wants to hear from you?

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

One Meeting Changed, Another Coming Up

Landfill Expansion

The Board of Commissioners were supposed to sign off on findings to support their 2-1 decision favoring landfill expansion at the Board's regular meeting Thursday, April 16, but the findings aren't ready (ie, Waste Management hasn't finished writing them).  The Commissioners will instead consider the proposed findings at their April 23rd meeting.

Once the Commissioners approve the findings, they can adopt an ordinance approving expansion.  In the past, such ordinances have always been adopted as "emergency" measures, meaning citizens can't seek a voter referendum to repeal the ordinance.

Voters' only option when a bad emergency ordinance is adopted is to appeal.  Because the landfill measure is a land use issue, any appeal would be to the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).  Notice of intent to appeal to LUBA must be filed within 21 days after the ordinance becomes effective (May 14, if an immediately-effective emergency ordinance is approved on April 23). 

Landfill Air Quality Permit Renewal

In the meantime, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has scheduled a hearing on Waste Management's request to renew the landfill's Air Quality permit.  That hearing will be held Thursday, April 30, in the Carnegie Room at the McMinnville Public Library, 225 NW Adams Street in McMinnville.  The hearing begins with an informational session at 6:00 PM followed by the hearing itself at 7:00 PM.


You do not have to attend the hearing in order to comment on the proposed permit. DEQ will accept comments by email, mail, or fax as well as testimony at the hearing.  The proposed permit itself can be found at http://www.oregon.gov/deq/docs/043015riverbend.pdf

To compare with the existing permit, go to http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/permit/alphalist.htm#qr and scroll down to Riverbend Landfill.  Or contact Patty Hamman of DEQ at the address below for information.
 
Send written comments by mail, fax, or email to:
 
Patty Hamman, Permit Coordinator
DEQ Western Region, Salem Office
4026 Fairview Industrial Drive
Salem, OR 97302
Fax:        (503)378-4196
Email:    hamman.patricia@deq.state.or.us

To consider comments, DEQ must receive them by 5:00 PM, Friday, May 8, 2015.


Thursday, April 9, 2015

Commissioners To Finalize Expansion Ordinance April 16

The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners (BOC) will meet Thursday, April 16, to adopt findings in support of its decision to allow Riverbend Landfill to expand.

Despite misgivings about the landfill's impacts on neighborhood farming activities, the BOC voted 2-1 last week to approve an expansion that will keep the landfill open another dozen or so years.  Without the approval, the dump would reach capacity and close sometime in 2017.

Commissioner Allen Springer, whose close ties to Waste Management caused many to question his impartiality, cast the lone vote against expansion.  (Waste Management operates the dump through wholly-owned subsidiary Riverbend Landfill Co.)  Springer offered no explanation or support for his vote.

The Stop the Dump Coalition and other County organizations are already discussing a possible appeal.  Over the years, hundreds of County residents and businesses have called for the County to let the dump close.  They cite Waste Management's importation of millions of tons of waste from outside the County as well as the dump's close proximity to the South Yamhill River and acres of fertile farmland as strong reasons to see the landfill close.

Though some have expressed concern over a possible rise in garbage rates if the local landfill closes, expansion opponents point out that (1) the County has never put garbage hauling out to bid and so there is no way to know what the real cost should be, and (2) garbage rates have gone up anyway even though the dump is still open.  A survey of neighboring counties showed that even some without local garbage dumps offer lower rates to customers.

Ex parte contact rules prohibit people, for or against expansion, from contacting the Commissioners before the findings are adopted and the ordinance approving expansion is approved.  To see the BOC in action once again, attend the meeting, Thursday, April 16, 2015, at 10:00 AM in room 32 of the County Courthouse (in the basement) on 5th Street between Evans and Ford in McMinnville.






Friday, April 3, 2015

Commissioners Approve Expansion 2-1

Friends,

Yesterday the Yamhill County Commissioners voted to approve the expansion of the dump.  The vote was 2-1, but the big surprise was that the no vote came from Allen Springer, who gave no reason for his vote, and did it in such a way that many didn't realize he had actually voted in opposition.  Let's hope news organizations press him for his reasons to vote no....

Mike Brandt made clear in his staff report that ORS 215.296 was a reason to deny the application.  This ORS prohibits non-farm practices (like a dump) on farm land if there is a negative impact on farmers. Commissioner Starrett seemed to understand that farmers were being seriously impacted. Then she argued against herself that the impacts were not a legal reason to vote no; she appeared not to realize that the legal threshold for ORS 215.296 had certainly been met and that was all the legal reason she needed.  As many of you know, she is very concerned about the impacts on farmers' lives from a bike trail. Those impacts pale in comparison to the impacts of 15 million tons (and growing) of putrescible waste bordering peoples' farms.  Commissioner Primozich gave no reason for his vote.

In addition to ORS 215.296, Mike Brandt told the commissioners that OAR 660 was also a legal reason to deny the application. They appeared not to want to wander into more complex laws, so avoided all mention of it.   We were very impressed by the Planning Department's thorough report.  We are, of course, disappointed that two of the commissioners did not pay attention to the legal reasons to deny the application.

The Commissioners heaped blame on previous commissioners, thereby justifying continuing the same bad policies.Commissioner Starrett acknowledged that the dump is in a "lousy location" but  that was not their doing. Voting to expand in that same lousy location makes no sense.

There are hundreds of pages of expert testimony that provide strong legal arguments to deny Waste Management's  application.  All that is needed is the political will to take the county in a new direction.  We did not see that political will today.

Thank you for the huge turnout.  We'll keep you posted on further plans.

- Stop the Dump Coalition

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Commissioners To Try Again

The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners will try again tomorrow, Thursday, April 2, to reach a decision on whether to allow Riverbend Landfill to expand.

A decision was originally expected a week ago, but questions about the propriety of ex parte contacts with individual Commissioners sidetracked that process.  Those questions focused on Chair Allen Springer's extensive contacts with Waste Management employees on matters tangential to the landfill and Commissioner Stan Primozich's conversation with an appraisor whose opinions on the devaluing impact of the landfill on the price of adjacent lands had already been entered into the record.

Whether the Commissioners' earlier unnoticed visits to the landfill itself (singly, but with some participation by WM personnel) violated County rules has also been raised.

In addition, the News-Register newspaper has been trying to obtain copies of correspondence between Commissioners and County Counsel about ex parte contact law.  The paper wants to learn whether that legal advice has been consistent and whether Commissioners have been following it.

Last week the Board decided to give all parties an opportunity to "rebut" "charges" of improper contact.  Expansion opponents have questioned whether that is the proper way to cure problems they believe are interwoven into the entire expansion decision process.

The Board hearing is scheduled for 10:00 AM in Room 32, basement of the Courthouse, 5th and Evans in McMinnville.  Last week, Chair Springer felt it necessary to ask the Sheriff's office to deploy deputies to monitor the meeting room.  Perhaps he fears an ex parte outbreak.