The state Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying (OSBEELS) may soon decide whether DEQ permit writers who are engineers must follow engineering standards and ethics when approving projects such as the expansion of Riverbend Landfill.
As some of you may recall, local engineer and surveyor Leonard Rydell filed a complaint with OSBEELS charging the permit writer who approved construction of the MSE berm at Riverbend with "engineering malpractice" in violation of engineering and ethical standards. The Board will consider Mr. Rydell's complaint at its May 5 meeting in Salem. The public is invited.
The permit writer, who inspects the landfill monthly for permit compliance, appears to have admitted to Mr. Rydell that he is not familiar with the design standards approved by DEQ for the landfill's construction. Mr. Rydell is concerned that the landfill is being constructed higher, with steeper slopes, than originally designed.
For example, Cells 4 and 5 of the landfill were originally approved at a side slope ratio of 4 horizontal to 1 vertical with a height of 240 feet above mean sea level. However, the landfill is currently being constructed to a steeper side slope ratio of 3.5 horizontal to one vertical with a height of 286 feet. The side slope ratios are important to the stability of the dump; a steeper slope will slough off more readily in an earthquake, for example.
OSBEELS meeting:
Thursday, May 5, 2016, at 1:00 PM
707 13th Street SE, Suite 114, Salem, OR 97301.
For information, contact 503-566-2837 or osbge.info@state.or.us.
For a copy of the agenda, click here.
Note: "MSE berm" stands for "mechanically stabilized earthen berm" and means
basically that the "berm" -- or outer wall of the dump -- is made up of
blocks of dirt enclosed in cages; DEQ is the state Department of
Environmental Quality.
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