STOP THE DUMP COALITION Appeals Landfill Decision

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On July 8^th, 2016, LUBA, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, issued its second remand in less than 11 months of Yamhill County’s illegal approval of the expansion of Riverbend Landfill.  The remand returns the expansion to the County for further consideration.

LUBA ruled that County Commissioners Springer, Starrett, and Primozich had drawn conclusions “that no reasonable decision maker would conclude,” had once again improperly “shifted the burden of proof to the opponent/farmers,” and had voted to approve although many of their “key premises are not supported by substantial evidence.”

The dump, located in a seismically unstable area by the South Yamhill River subject to regular flooding, will reach capacity in mid-2017.  Waste Management (WM), the Texas-based corporate owner of the landfill, proposed to expand onto prime agricultural land despite the significant impacts to nearby commercial farms.

Jennifer Redmond Noble farms on her family’s 5th generation farm near the landfill.  She worries that her “children won't be able to continue to farm our property because of all the problems we have to deal with due to proximity to Riverbend Landfill.  Scavenger birds, horrific odors, and potential groundwater contamination all put the future of our farm in jeopardy.  We have already had to make changes in our farming practices because of the landfill."

While the latest ruling should clearly signal the end of the road for what is already the largest regional garbage dump in western Oregon, LUBA’s decision included new interpretations of law that need further clarification for future land use decisions as well as this one.

For example, LUBA suggested that a non-farm use in an exclusive farm use zone can cause significant harm to agricultural practices and farm production, so long as the corporation compensates the unwilling farmers.   “Oregon’s land use laws are designed to protect farm land and farm production; they are not a pay-to-harm-agriculture scheme,” said coalition attorney Jeff Kleinman.

For these reasons, the Stop the Dump Coalition, Ramsey McPhillips, who farms land adjacent to the landfill, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, and Friends of Yamhill County have appealed the decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

-- press release dated July 28, 2016.   For more information contact Ilsa Perse, President, Stop the Dump Coalition or Sid Friedman, spokesperson for Friends of Yamhill County.
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