While the state Court of Appeals (COA) continues to mull over dump appeals filed by Waste Management (WM -- Riverbend Landfill's Texas-based corporate owner) and the Stop the Dump Coalition and allies, WM has been quietly securing Yamhill County's sign-off on related land-use issues.
Specifically, since the appeals were filed in August, WM has at least twice asked the County Planning Department to sign official statements asserting that the dump complies with County land use law. At least twice, County Planning Director Ken Friday has signed those statements.
One of the statements, called a "Land Use Affidavit," accompanied an application WM made to the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) and the federal Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). The application seeks permits WM needs in order to proceed with its proposed 29-acre dump expansion.
The problem is, that expansion is on appeal. Until the Court of Appeals rules, the County has no idea whether the expansion complies with its land use laws. Planning Director Friday, who signed the affidavit, apparently tried to hedge his claim by checking the box that says the proposed work will comply when the landfill obtains its site design review and floodplain development permits -- which would of course be "never" if dump opponents win the lawsuit.
The second statement is a "Land Use Compatibility Statement" (LUCS) WM submitted to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in November when WM asked DEQ to allow it to dump 490,000 tons of additional garbage on top of the waste already in place, including in the three original unlined cells.
The problem is, under state law, an existing landfill cannot be enlarged unless the County first finds that the enlargement will not cause a significant adverse impact on local farming practices or costs. Yamhill County made no attempt to examine this issue before issuing the LUCS. Moreover, adding waste atop existing cells also is part of the expansion currently on appeal.
It's not clear whether the County Planning Department is trying to mislead state agencies or merely doesn't understand state law. Stop the Dump has asked its attorney to investigate.
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