The McMinnville City Council voted unanimously last Tuesday night to direct hauler Recology to divert city waste from Riverbend Landfill. Recology has proposed sending garbage from the City's residents and businesses to Headquarters Landfill in Washington State.
The new landfill will not need to expand in order to accommodate the extra garbage as it has a hundred years' capacity remaining. Riverbend is expected to reach capacity in mid-2019, according to landfill officials.
The change in destination comes with a rate increase, but the amount varies with the volume of waste a household has picked up each week. Residents can reduce the amount they pay by buying items with less packaging, reusing items, and recycling more, enabling them to use a smaller and cheaper waste container.
Recology can handle the change because earlier this year the City approved construction of a transfer station at its Orchard Avenue site. Recology can now transfer waste from city garbage trucks to semi trailers for the long haul to Washington. Previously the city garbage trucks went directly to Riverbend.
The new order will go into effect in January 2018.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
McMinnville Considers Diverting Waste from Riverbend
At 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 28th, the McMinnville City Council will hold a Public Hearing regarding a change to the way garbage collected from City residents and businesses is handled.
Under the proposed change, the City's waste hauler, Recology, will no longer take waste it collects in McMinnville to Riverbend. Instead, Recology proposes to haul the waste to Headquarters Landfill in Cowlitz County, Washington.
To comment on the proposal, one can attend the hearing at McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE 2nd Street, or email City Councilors and the Mayor ahead of the meeting. To find out who your Councilor is or to obtain their email addresses, go to https://www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil.
The change will require a proposed 10% rate increase, to take effect in January, 2018. A customer with a $22.00/month garbage bill (which is what at least one small business on Third Street pays) would see its bill rise to a little over $24 a month.
Moreover, as part of the City proposal, Recology would forego the CPI (inflation) rate increase normally due 2018, so the actual increase to customers will end up being somewhat less than the 10% projected.
The proposed destination dump, Headquarters Landfill, is owned by Cowlitz County, Washington. The County purchased the landfill from Weyerhaeuser in March, 2014, and proposed surrounding it with a community forest to buffer landfill activities from neighbors. At 380 acres, Headquarters is nearly 4 times larger than Riverbend and has about 100 years capacity.
At the time of purchase, the landfill was said to be "beautiful" and "well-kept" with no "bad smell." Moreover, the County was treating waste materials that contained hydrogen sulfide to further reduce odors. However, the landfill is in a watershed that drains into a lake, and nearby residents expressed concern about potential leaks.
Last month, Cowlitz County put the landfill up for possible sale due to changes in Washington State environmental laws that require reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Complying with new state rules could cost the County--which makes a profit of about $4million/year from landfill operations--up to $5million/year. Waste Management--of course--is one of those expressing interest in buying the landfill.
Under the proposed change, the City's waste hauler, Recology, will no longer take waste it collects in McMinnville to Riverbend. Instead, Recology proposes to haul the waste to Headquarters Landfill in Cowlitz County, Washington.
To comment on the proposal, one can attend the hearing at McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE 2nd Street, or email City Councilors and the Mayor ahead of the meeting. To find out who your Councilor is or to obtain their email addresses, go to https://www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil.
The change will require a proposed 10% rate increase, to take effect in January, 2018. A customer with a $22.00/month garbage bill (which is what at least one small business on Third Street pays) would see its bill rise to a little over $24 a month.
Moreover, as part of the City proposal, Recology would forego the CPI (inflation) rate increase normally due 2018, so the actual increase to customers will end up being somewhat less than the 10% projected.
The proposed destination dump, Headquarters Landfill, is owned by Cowlitz County, Washington. The County purchased the landfill from Weyerhaeuser in March, 2014, and proposed surrounding it with a community forest to buffer landfill activities from neighbors. At 380 acres, Headquarters is nearly 4 times larger than Riverbend and has about 100 years capacity.
At the time of purchase, the landfill was said to be "beautiful" and "well-kept" with no "bad smell." Moreover, the County was treating waste materials that contained hydrogen sulfide to further reduce odors. However, the landfill is in a watershed that drains into a lake, and nearby residents expressed concern about potential leaks.
Last month, Cowlitz County put the landfill up for possible sale due to changes in Washington State environmental laws that require reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Complying with new state rules could cost the County--which makes a profit of about $4million/year from landfill operations--up to $5million/year. Waste Management--of course--is one of those expressing interest in buying the landfill.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Riverbend Community Meeting Coming Up
Waste Management (WM), the Texas-based corporation that owns Riverbend Landfill, will hold a "community meeting" November 15 at Chemeketa Community College. The public is invited.
WM is required by the landfill's Title V Air Quality Permit to hold semi-annual meetings to inform the public about activities at the dump that affect our air. The McMinnville area has relatively clean air. This means, unfortunately, that industries like landfills are allowed to pollute it.
The waste decomposing at Riverbend emits a variety of gases. Some of these, like methane and carbon dioxide, are harmful to the environment (both methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, with methane being about 20 times more damaging than CO2). Others, like hydrogen sulfide, contribute to Riverbend's horrible odor. Though hydrogen sulfide makes up only about 1% of the gas produced by landfills, it is the primary culprit behind a landfill's foul, rotten egg smell. Another chemical, sulfur dioxide, is toxic, with a pungent, irritating smell.
Riverbend captures methane to burn, converting it to electricity that is sold to McMinnville Water & Light. For decades now, the landfill has tried to reduce the odor by capturing more gas with wells and pipes embedded throughout the waste. Anyone who lives or works nearby (ie, within, say two-plus miles) or who commutes past the dump knows how well Riverbend's efforts have worked: not at all.
In fact, Riverbend's odor is so bad that the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently investigating it. Yet, the landfill is about to begin installation of "additional gas collection infrastructure," which requires excavation of existing waste cells, allowing even more odor-producing gas to escape.
Come to the meeting to find out how WM plans to "control" odor this time! Bring your questions about other topics, too, including seagulls (yes, they are back!), the vertical expansion that DEQ just approved (the one that will add a year's worth of waste to the top of the original unlined, non-seismically engineered cells), the recent leak from the leachate holding pond, and so much more!
Title V Community Meeting
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at 7:00 PM (come at 6:00 for pizza and chitchat!)
Chemeketa Community College
Building 1, Room 105
288 NE Norton Lane
McMinnville, OR 97128
WM is required by the landfill's Title V Air Quality Permit to hold semi-annual meetings to inform the public about activities at the dump that affect our air. The McMinnville area has relatively clean air. This means, unfortunately, that industries like landfills are allowed to pollute it.
The waste decomposing at Riverbend emits a variety of gases. Some of these, like methane and carbon dioxide, are harmful to the environment (both methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, with methane being about 20 times more damaging than CO2). Others, like hydrogen sulfide, contribute to Riverbend's horrible odor. Though hydrogen sulfide makes up only about 1% of the gas produced by landfills, it is the primary culprit behind a landfill's foul, rotten egg smell. Another chemical, sulfur dioxide, is toxic, with a pungent, irritating smell.
Riverbend captures methane to burn, converting it to electricity that is sold to McMinnville Water & Light. For decades now, the landfill has tried to reduce the odor by capturing more gas with wells and pipes embedded throughout the waste. Anyone who lives or works nearby (ie, within, say two-plus miles) or who commutes past the dump knows how well Riverbend's efforts have worked: not at all.
In fact, Riverbend's odor is so bad that the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently investigating it. Yet, the landfill is about to begin installation of "additional gas collection infrastructure," which requires excavation of existing waste cells, allowing even more odor-producing gas to escape.
Come to the meeting to find out how WM plans to "control" odor this time! Bring your questions about other topics, too, including seagulls (yes, they are back!), the vertical expansion that DEQ just approved (the one that will add a year's worth of waste to the top of the original unlined, non-seismically engineered cells), the recent leak from the leachate holding pond, and so much more!
Title V Community Meeting
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at 7:00 PM (come at 6:00 for pizza and chitchat!)
Chemeketa Community College
Building 1, Room 105
288 NE Norton Lane
McMinnville, OR 97128
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Just Say No
The City of McMinnville is considering pulling its garbage from Riverbend Landfill. Not garbage already buried in Trash Mountain, but all garbage generated by the City and its residents and businesses going forward.
This Tuesday, September 26, the McMinnville City Council will hear a presentation from Recology about the possible effects of this anticipated City decision. Recology (formerly Western Oregon Waste) is the company that picks up McMinnville garbage and hauls it to the dump.
Although Recology is expected to tell the Council that garbage rates may rise (a little) if McMinnville follows through on its proposal to keep new garbage out of Riverbend, the City would actually benefit by no longer contributing to a current economic and liveability liability and a potential environmental disaster on its doorstep.
It would be a huge victory if McMinnville were to just say "no" to sending more garbage to Riverbend Landfill.
If you are a McMinnville resident or operate a business in McMinnville, please attend the City Council meeting! Tell the Council you support its plan to stop sending your garbage to the leaking, smelly, seismically unstable dump by the river.
WHAT: McMinnville City Council Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday September 26th, 7:00 PM
WHERE: McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE 2nd St
WHY: To support the plan to stop sending McMinnville's trash to Riverbend Landfill
If you can't attend the meeting, contact your Councilor at http://www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil to let her/him know the City should stop sending your trash to Riverbend Landfill.
THANK YOU for your help. We are making progress! If you have questions about this exciting new development, contact Ilsa Perse, President of the Stop the Dump Coalition, at info@stopthedumpcoalition.org.
This Tuesday, September 26, the McMinnville City Council will hear a presentation from Recology about the possible effects of this anticipated City decision. Recology (formerly Western Oregon Waste) is the company that picks up McMinnville garbage and hauls it to the dump.
Although Recology is expected to tell the Council that garbage rates may rise (a little) if McMinnville follows through on its proposal to keep new garbage out of Riverbend, the City would actually benefit by no longer contributing to a current economic and liveability liability and a potential environmental disaster on its doorstep.
It would be a huge victory if McMinnville were to just say "no" to sending more garbage to Riverbend Landfill.
If you are a McMinnville resident or operate a business in McMinnville, please attend the City Council meeting! Tell the Council you support its plan to stop sending your garbage to the leaking, smelly, seismically unstable dump by the river.
WHAT: McMinnville City Council Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday September 26th, 7:00 PM
WHERE: McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE 2nd St
WHY: To support the plan to stop sending McMinnville's trash to Riverbend Landfill
If you can't attend the meeting, contact your Councilor at http://www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil to let her/him know the City should stop sending your trash to Riverbend Landfill.
THANK YOU for your help. We are making progress! If you have questions about this exciting new development, contact Ilsa Perse, President of the Stop the Dump Coalition, at info@stopthedumpcoalition.org.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Monday, August 28, 2017
DEQ Asked to Reconsider Vertical Expansion Approval
Earlier this
year the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved a side-slope
modification (vertical expansion) of Riverbend Landfill (the dump). This vertical expansion will allow Waste
Management, the dump's owner, to pile approximately 500,000 tons of garbage on
top of the dump's three oldest, unlined, leaking cells.
On Monday, August 28th, the Stop the Dump Coalition and dump neighbors Susan
Watkins and Susan Meredith filed a Petition for Reconsideration formally asking DEQ and the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) to reverse
this approval.
The Petition for
Reconsideration focuses on three points:
1. DEQ did not make
complete plans for vertical expansion available to the public for comment. The public deserves an opportunity to comment
in detail on all of the materials submitted by the applicant, Waste Management (WM),
but WM did not submit most materials to DEQ until after the public comment period closed. In fact, as noted in #2 below, WM has still not submitted all required materials.
2. The expansion
design DEQ approved exceeds the "allowable slope gradient," in violation of
closure requirements for dump side slopes as spelled out in OAR
340-094-0120. That Rule is based on engineering concerns that steep side slopes may make dumps unstable. Waste Management claims
that the steeper slopes detailed in its plan will soften over time. Yet Waste Management has still not submitted the
required closure and post closure plans DEQ needs in order to make a fact-based
determination that the dump will -- eventually -- meet statutory side slope approval
criteria. In fact DEQ granted Waste Management's request to delay submitting these
plans. Without the plans, DEQ is basing
its decision purely on speculation about what will happen to the dump in the
future.
3.
The vertical expansion violates state requirements that all closed
landfills protect public health, safety, and the environment. The garbage to be added will go atop dump
cells that are actively under investigation for possibly leaking toxic leachate
into ground water beside the South Yamhill River. With approximately half a million tons of
garbage covering the likely source of the leaks, it will be impossible to
adequately study the problem, let alone remediate it. Until DEQ’s
investigation is completed, any approval of the vertical expansion is
premature.
Petitioners claim this expansion should not be approved
until the public has fully reviewed the proposed expansion and DEQ has substantial
evidence that the proposed side slope modifications will not violate the
requirements of the law or endanger the public health, safety, or the
environment. Petitioners are asking DEQ and the EQC to
hold a public hearing to allow the public to comment on all the materials submitted by Waste Management and that DEQ put its decision to on hold until its
investigation into possible leachate leaking is concluded.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Farm Bureau Weighs In
As previously reported, the Stop the Dump Coalition and its local allies will take to the Oregon Supreme Court their appeal of the Court of Appeals (COA) decision upholding some aspects of Riverbend Landfill's proposed expansion.
STDC has been joined in this appeal by some heavy hitters: the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, 1000 Friends of Oregon, and the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation. The Farm Bureau filed its brief today, succinctly laying out the issues.
The parties agree that state law prohibits non-farm uses (like landfills) in exclusive farm use zones if those non-farm uses impact neighboring farms by "significantly" increasing farming costs or "forcing a significant change" in farming practices. The COA upheld Yamhill County's determination that Riverbend could get around this "significant impacts" test by compensating landowners for lost crops and extra work required due to impacts resulting from landfill activities.
The County relied on a provision in the state law that allows a non-farm use to "mitigate" the impacts that normally result from its activities. However, the Farm Bureau points out that mitigation should apply to the non-farm use activities -- not the existing farm activities. The statute is clear that the applicant for a non-farm use -- in this case, Riverbend Landfill -- bears the burden, not the farmers. But in Riverbend's case, the County approved "mitigation" that requires farmers, not the landfill, to alter practices.
The Farm Bureau argues:
STDC has been joined in this appeal by some heavy hitters: the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, 1000 Friends of Oregon, and the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation. The Farm Bureau filed its brief today, succinctly laying out the issues.
The parties agree that state law prohibits non-farm uses (like landfills) in exclusive farm use zones if those non-farm uses impact neighboring farms by "significantly" increasing farming costs or "forcing a significant change" in farming practices. The COA upheld Yamhill County's determination that Riverbend could get around this "significant impacts" test by compensating landowners for lost crops and extra work required due to impacts resulting from landfill activities.
The County relied on a provision in the state law that allows a non-farm use to "mitigate" the impacts that normally result from its activities. However, the Farm Bureau points out that mitigation should apply to the non-farm use activities -- not the existing farm activities. The statute is clear that the applicant for a non-farm use -- in this case, Riverbend Landfill -- bears the burden, not the farmers. But in Riverbend's case, the County approved "mitigation" that requires farmers, not the landfill, to alter practices.
The Farm Bureau argues:
"...inherent in ORS 215.296(2) is the requirement that any conditions must apply to
the applicant’s proposal and must render the impact insignificant by altering the
applicant’s proposal to avoid the impact or render it insignificant. The local
governing body and the applicant cannot put this burden on a farmer and require
that farmers’ operations be altered to avoid the impact." Farm Bureau brief, p. 4.
Instead, "A correct interpretation of the statute requires that when a local governing
body finds that the proposed non-farm use will increase the cost of farming
practices significantly or force a significant change in those practices, the local
governing body must require the applicant to avoid or render insignificant any changes or costs through changes to its proposal, not through imposing new obligations on surrounding farms." Farm Bureau brief, pp. 6-7.
STDC's brief and those of the other appellants must be filed with the Court by August 10. The County and the landfill must file their arguments within 42 days after that. The Supreme Court is expected to hold oral argument in November and to issue a decision within a few months.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Supreme Court Accepts Stop the Dump Appeal
The Oregon Supreme Court this week agreed to review a lower court ruling in the Stop the Dump Coalition's suit to stop Riverbend Landfill's expansion. The state Court of Appeals had held that Riverbend could expand if Yamhill County Commissioners found sufficient evidence that the expansion would not impose significant cumulative impacts on neighborhood farmers.
After that ruling, but before the Commissioners could act, Stop the Dump, its allies, and other statewide organizations with an interest in preserving farm land asked the Supreme Court to review the COA decision. They worried that the wording of the COA ruling would put millions of acres of farm land in jeopardy by allowing non-farm uses to impinge on farming activities unless affected farms could show that farming would be significantly reduced statewide.
The Supreme Court has no legal obligation to take every appeal from the COA, so the fact that the Court has agreed to hear this case means that the Court agrees that the issues raised are significant.
Stop the Dump Coalition President Ilsa Perse is encouraged by the news. In a press release issued today, she wrote:
Friends,
After that ruling, but before the Commissioners could act, Stop the Dump, its allies, and other statewide organizations with an interest in preserving farm land asked the Supreme Court to review the COA decision. They worried that the wording of the COA ruling would put millions of acres of farm land in jeopardy by allowing non-farm uses to impinge on farming activities unless affected farms could show that farming would be significantly reduced statewide.
The Supreme Court has no legal obligation to take every appeal from the COA, so the fact that the Court has agreed to hear this case means that the Court agrees that the issues raised are significant.
Stop the Dump Coalition President Ilsa Perse is encouraged by the news. In a press release issued today, she wrote:
Friends,
BIG NEWS!!!
At last, some excellent news on the garbage front. The Oregon Supreme Court has just issued an Order Allowing Review of our appeal of the recent Court of Appeals decision that would have allowed Waste Management to harm local farmers, as long as they paid the farmers for the damage done to their farming practice, and their lives.
We knew that the Appeal Court's and Yamhill County's interpretation of Oregon Land Use law was novel and, we feel, incorrect. It would have serious and detrimental implications for the preservation of Oregon’s agricultural future. If the Court of Appeals decision is allowed to stand, farming in Oregon could be severely impacted by many different non-farm uses that are allowed on exclusive farm use land. The Supreme Court only agrees to hear 10% of the requests for review that they receive, so clearly they see the importance of resolving the issues that we raised in our appeal.
It is impossible to know if, in agreeing to hear the case, the Supreme Court will decide that the Court of Appeals made the right decision or, we hope, the wrong one. The Court will not be hearing oral arguments until November, and then it could take a year or two or three to issue a decision, But no matter how long it takes for the Supremes to decide, Waste Management's reckless expansion onto 29 additional acres is on hold.
This is VERY GOOD NEWS!
Monday, June 12, 2017
140 Letters About the Dump!
Paul Burns, trouble shooter extraordinaire for Waste Management (WM), Texas-based corporate owner of Riverbend Landfill, has been instrumental in shaping the dump's proposed expansion in Yamhill County. Now Burns has taken to the press to get his story out.
The local News-Register printed Burns' version of the landfill's troubled romance with Yamhill County in its Viewpoints section last Friday, June 9. (You can read the article online here.)
Burns describes the past "nearly eight years" as an effort by WM to work with and learn from Riverbend's neighbors. He can't go back farther than that because nine years ago, WM proposed a "twice as high, twice as wide" expansion that would have quadrupled the landfill's volume. In 2008, 135'-high Riverbend was already the tallest man-made structure in Yamhill County (the equivalent of a 13-story building).
The expansion WM proposed back in 2008 would have added an additional 13 stories and expanded the landfill by 96 football fields (99 acres). "Twice as high, twice as wide" meant a garbage mountain nearly as tall as the Portland skyline, a trash footprint as long and wide as downtown McMinnville, and a smell that would stink up 3rd Street.
Of course, compared to that, everything about the current 29-acre expansion seems puny.
Burns notes:
- the proposed expansion's design "goes beyond" M9.0 (Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake) standards. But not the existing portions of the dump.
- a "green tech" alternative to an even bigger landfill will be added. But not for seven years after the state approves the expansion and perhaps not even then; Dave Steiner, WM CEO, told Forbes Magazine last fall that the company was no longer investing in new technologies.
- Yamhill County will lose a strong revenue stream of $1,000,000/year. But WM paid that amount for only about three years, getting the right to pollute our river and our air for decades for a lot less. Moreover, the County can levy its fees on trash haulers instead of landfills and collect the same amount without affecting garbage rates.
- WM has made 450 acres surrounding the dump available for "projects that connect to community values." Although a portion of this land has been put into agricultural production with the goal of generating income for the local food bank, some of the "projects" are 50-year leases that enrich WM.
- the current expansion proposal is "community-driven." The sole reason WM moved away from its "twice as high, twice as wide" plan was community outrage. In the past nine years, Stop the Dump Coalition, its allies, and hundreds of citizen activists have raised their voices to protest WM's plans to exploit our County merely to enhance WM's bottom line.
You can continue this tradition of speaking out -- write the News Register a letter today (deadline for Friday's paper is noon Wednesday). Tell the paper, its readers, and WM what you think of proposals to expand Riverbend Landfill: http://newsregister.com/submit-letter.
PS. "140 letters" refers to the number of characters in a tweet. Can we submit 140 actual letters to the editor? Write now!
The local News-Register printed Burns' version of the landfill's troubled romance with Yamhill County in its Viewpoints section last Friday, June 9. (You can read the article online here.)
Burns describes the past "nearly eight years" as an effort by WM to work with and learn from Riverbend's neighbors. He can't go back farther than that because nine years ago, WM proposed a "twice as high, twice as wide" expansion that would have quadrupled the landfill's volume. In 2008, 135'-high Riverbend was already the tallest man-made structure in Yamhill County (the equivalent of a 13-story building).
The expansion WM proposed back in 2008 would have added an additional 13 stories and expanded the landfill by 96 football fields (99 acres). "Twice as high, twice as wide" meant a garbage mountain nearly as tall as the Portland skyline, a trash footprint as long and wide as downtown McMinnville, and a smell that would stink up 3rd Street.
Of course, compared to that, everything about the current 29-acre expansion seems puny.
Burns notes:
- the proposed expansion's design "goes beyond" M9.0 (Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake) standards. But not the existing portions of the dump.
- a "green tech" alternative to an even bigger landfill will be added. But not for seven years after the state approves the expansion and perhaps not even then; Dave Steiner, WM CEO, told Forbes Magazine last fall that the company was no longer investing in new technologies.
- Yamhill County will lose a strong revenue stream of $1,000,000/year. But WM paid that amount for only about three years, getting the right to pollute our river and our air for decades for a lot less. Moreover, the County can levy its fees on trash haulers instead of landfills and collect the same amount without affecting garbage rates.
- WM has made 450 acres surrounding the dump available for "projects that connect to community values." Although a portion of this land has been put into agricultural production with the goal of generating income for the local food bank, some of the "projects" are 50-year leases that enrich WM.
- the current expansion proposal is "community-driven." The sole reason WM moved away from its "twice as high, twice as wide" plan was community outrage. In the past nine years, Stop the Dump Coalition, its allies, and hundreds of citizen activists have raised their voices to protest WM's plans to exploit our County merely to enhance WM's bottom line.
You can continue this tradition of speaking out -- write the News Register a letter today (deadline for Friday's paper is noon Wednesday). Tell the paper, its readers, and WM what you think of proposals to expand Riverbend Landfill: http://newsregister.com/submit-letter.
PS. "140 letters" refers to the number of characters in a tweet. Can we submit 140 actual letters to the editor? Write now!
Note: Article updated 6-13-17 to reflect new information about the 450-acre "stewardship" lands.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Metro Dumps Riverbend
Today Metro sent a strong message to Waste Management when the Metro Council voted to prohibit sending waste to Riverbend Landfill after 2019.
Dump expansion opponents have been working toward this day for years and were gratified that the Metro Council voted "to do the right thing."
According to Stop the Dump Coalition President Ilsa Perse, Metro Councilors Stacey, Chase, Harrington, Collette, and Craddick all spoke eloquently about their belief that it was time Metro stopped contributing to current and future environmental issues at Riverbend. The Councilors acknowledged that landfilling may be the cheapest way to dispose of waste, but argued that cost savings don't make it right to dump that waste at a landfill in an environmentally sensitive location.
Councilor Harrington added that her vote reflected her values. She stated that her constituents in Washington County do not want to continue using Riverbend.
The new ordinance prevents Metro from sending waste to any landfill that must expand (or be built) in order to accept that waste. The prohibition goes into effect when Metro enters into new hauling contracts beginning in 2020, but applies to any landfill that expands or is constructed after today.
The Metro Council was convinced that its commitment to a "green" future was in jeopardy if it sent future waste to an expanded landfill, given that nearly 500 years of landfill capacity already exists within easy reach of Metro's boundaries.
Metro's decision may not keep Waste Management from pressing forward with its expansion at Riverbend. The company is on record as saying that without Metro's garbage an expanded landfill is not financially viable. However, at a meeting earlier this month, WM's lobbyist told the Metro Council that Riverbend would expand with or without Metro's garbage. The expansion, of course, is tied up in court.
Perse said Stop the Dump Coalition and its allies "are so thankful for the support of those five councilors." Stacey especially worked hard to develop information that would convince his fellow Councilors that continued use of Riverbend would undermine Metro's ideals. These Councilors deserve the hearty thanks of all who want to see Riverbend close. You can thank them at metrocouncil@oregonmetro.gov.
Dump expansion opponents have been working toward this day for years and were gratified that the Metro Council voted "to do the right thing."
According to Stop the Dump Coalition President Ilsa Perse, Metro Councilors Stacey, Chase, Harrington, Collette, and Craddick all spoke eloquently about their belief that it was time Metro stopped contributing to current and future environmental issues at Riverbend. The Councilors acknowledged that landfilling may be the cheapest way to dispose of waste, but argued that cost savings don't make it right to dump that waste at a landfill in an environmentally sensitive location.
Councilor Harrington added that her vote reflected her values. She stated that her constituents in Washington County do not want to continue using Riverbend.
The new ordinance prevents Metro from sending waste to any landfill that must expand (or be built) in order to accept that waste. The prohibition goes into effect when Metro enters into new hauling contracts beginning in 2020, but applies to any landfill that expands or is constructed after today.
The Metro Council was convinced that its commitment to a "green" future was in jeopardy if it sent future waste to an expanded landfill, given that nearly 500 years of landfill capacity already exists within easy reach of Metro's boundaries.
Metro's decision may not keep Waste Management from pressing forward with its expansion at Riverbend. The company is on record as saying that without Metro's garbage an expanded landfill is not financially viable. However, at a meeting earlier this month, WM's lobbyist told the Metro Council that Riverbend would expand with or without Metro's garbage. The expansion, of course, is tied up in court.
Perse said Stop the Dump Coalition and its allies "are so thankful for the support of those five councilors." Stacey especially worked hard to develop information that would convince his fellow Councilors that continued use of Riverbend would undermine Metro's ideals. These Councilors deserve the hearty thanks of all who want to see Riverbend close. You can thank them at metrocouncil@oregonmetro.gov.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Another Day - And Way - To Stop the Dump!
This Thursday, May 18, the Portland Metro Council will hold a public hearing on Ordinance 17-1401, which would prohibit dumping Metro garbage at Riverbend Landfill.
Metro is the agency that collects garbage in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties and then sends a hefty percentage of that waste to Riverbend. Metro prides itself on being "green." Ordinance 17-1401 targets landfills that must expand or be built in order to take Metro's waste. The Ordinance is based on the fact that already-existing landfills near Metro hold nearly 500 years capacity among them.
Current hauling contracts end in 2019. The Ordinance would prohibit new contracts that allow dumping at any landfill that expands or is constructed after May 25, 2017.
Texas-based Waste Management Corporation (WM), the owner of Riverbend, has paid lobbyists to vigorously oppose the ordinance. WM's hauling contract, which guarantees it gets to haul most of Metro's waste, expires at the end of 2019
Riverbend sits on prime EFU farmland along the banks of the South Yamhill River -- which flows to the Willamette and then on through Portland. The South Yamhill River contains listed runs of endangered steelhead and salmon and regularly floods. The oldest cells in the dump are unlined, leak, and extend below the winter water table. Most of the garbage in this leaking, regional dump on the South Yamhill River is from Portland Metro, especially Washington County.
If you live within the Metro boundaries, you can testify at the hearing in support of the ordinance. Tell Metro that, as a resident of the Metro area, you do not want your garbage going to Riverbend Landfill. Say you support Ordinance 17-1401 -- in fact, put that in your subject line. Ask your friends to do the same.
ATTEND THE HEARING IN PERSON: Thursday, May 18, at 2PM in Metro Council Chambers at the Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland.
CAN'T ATTEND THE HEARING?? Email your comments to: metrocouncil@oregonmetro.gov
Not a Metro Resident??? PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO METRO RESIDENTS YOU KNOW and URGE THEM TO EMAIL their support of Ordinance 17-1401.
Your email must be received before the hearing! So send it in right now!
Metro is the agency that collects garbage in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties and then sends a hefty percentage of that waste to Riverbend. Metro prides itself on being "green." Ordinance 17-1401 targets landfills that must expand or be built in order to take Metro's waste. The Ordinance is based on the fact that already-existing landfills near Metro hold nearly 500 years capacity among them.
Current hauling contracts end in 2019. The Ordinance would prohibit new contracts that allow dumping at any landfill that expands or is constructed after May 25, 2017.
Texas-based Waste Management Corporation (WM), the owner of Riverbend, has paid lobbyists to vigorously oppose the ordinance. WM's hauling contract, which guarantees it gets to haul most of Metro's waste, expires at the end of 2019
Riverbend sits on prime EFU farmland along the banks of the South Yamhill River -- which flows to the Willamette and then on through Portland. The South Yamhill River contains listed runs of endangered steelhead and salmon and regularly floods. The oldest cells in the dump are unlined, leak, and extend below the winter water table. Most of the garbage in this leaking, regional dump on the South Yamhill River is from Portland Metro, especially Washington County.
If you live within the Metro boundaries, you can testify at the hearing in support of the ordinance. Tell Metro that, as a resident of the Metro area, you do not want your garbage going to Riverbend Landfill. Say you support Ordinance 17-1401 -- in fact, put that in your subject line. Ask your friends to do the same.
ATTEND THE HEARING IN PERSON: Thursday, May 18, at 2PM in Metro Council Chambers at the Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland.
CAN'T ATTEND THE HEARING?? Email your comments to: metrocouncil@oregonmetro.gov
Not a Metro Resident??? PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO METRO RESIDENTS YOU KNOW and URGE THEM TO EMAIL their support of Ordinance 17-1401.
Your email must be received before the hearing! So send it in right now!
Sunday, May 7, 2017
One Day Left ... To Stop the Dump!
Comments on Waste Management's (WM) proposed 490,000 cubic yard vertical expansion of Riverbend Landfill are due to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in one day -- by 5:00 pm tomorrow, Monday, May 8.
The expansion -- variously called a "side slope modification" or "final grading plan" -- would allow Riverbend to remain open another year while WM awaits a decision from the Oregon Supreme Court on a much larger expansion (29 acres) and Portland Metro debates whether to prohibit its waste from going to landfills that are expanding.
If you don't know much about the proposed vertical expansion, Leonard Rydell, one of the dump's original engineers and surveyors, has neatly summarized the issues (below). Read and comment!
I have just spent several days reviewing engineering reports and construction plans for Riverbend Landfill. It should have never grown to 86 acres and 164 feet high. You can Google Earth Riverbend Landfill to see its location, 52% of which is in the original flood plain, and now 350' from the eroding river bank.
• It is located in a wet climate with 39" of rainfall a year. This is over one million gallons of water annually falling on each acre.
• It is located in a flood plain and floodway of the meandering South Yamhill River. Water laps up to the 5,200-foot perimeter berm every year.
• If the berm fails (it has been repaired several times), garbage has only a few feet to go to be in flood waters.
• It is located upstream of the water intake works for several cities.
• It is located upstream of water intakes for irrigation of food crops.
• Riverbend Landfill is located in Oregon’s premier Wine Country, next to a major tourist highway to the Oregon Coast
• The South Yamhill River is a 303(d) listed river for salmon (ie, the river is in bad shape).
• The original Cells 1, 2 and 3 are unlined and lack compacted clay bottoms; portions of these cells are below ground water levels. These three cells generated much of the 10,386,725 gallons of leachate collected from Cells 1/5P in 2015. Leachate is contaminated ground water that is pumped out of the landfill and treated.
• The proposal is to add 490,000 cubic yards on to of Cells 1, 2, and 3 at slopes greater than allowed by Oregon Administrative Rules.
• The expansion design is based on one earthquake every 2,400 years. We have had nineteen 9.0+ earthquakes in the last 10,000 years and forty-one 8.0+ earthquakes in the last 10,000 years.
• Each earthquake of that magnitude will have fore shocks and after shocks at a slightly lesser magnitude. Japan’s 9.1 March 2011 earthquake had five 7.1 to 7.2 fore and after shocks within a four month period.
• The proposed design is based on the upper limit of movement in the landfill being no more than 6" to 12", which is the 35-year-old “generally accepted practice in California,” which is prone to slip zone quakes. Riverbend is not is California, it does not have slip zone earthquakes, it has subduction zone earthquakes. As stated by Chris Goldfinger in a CNN report, “"You're going to have three to five minutes of shaking, and if you're used to earthquakes in California, they typically last 15 to 30 seconds and before you are really sure of what is happening, it is over” and “Cascadia can make an earthquake almost 30 times more energetic than the San Andreas....” The California standard should not be applied to Riverbend Landfill.
• Riverbend has no plan or funding to respond to earthquakes or damage from earthquakes.
• Riverbend generated 39,517,421 gallons of leachate in 2015 (the amount of leachate has increased every year). On average, a truck load of leachate was hauled from Riverbend to Salem or Hillsboro for treatment every one hour and 20 minutes, every day during 2015. Funding set aside for leachate management is woefully inadequate; the funding model anticipates the landfill generating only 296,958 gallons of leachate requiring treatment in 2044.
• Cities downstream that may be affected are McMinnville, Dayton, Newberg, Wilsonville, Oregon City, West Linn and Portland.
Comments should be e-mailed to DEQ care of Bob Schwarz, Riverbend's permit writer, at schwarz.bob@deq.state.or.us by 5:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time, May 8, 2017. Unfortunately DEQ will not answer your questions before then. You can, however, ask that your questions be made part of the record.
The expansion -- variously called a "side slope modification" or "final grading plan" -- would allow Riverbend to remain open another year while WM awaits a decision from the Oregon Supreme Court on a much larger expansion (29 acres) and Portland Metro debates whether to prohibit its waste from going to landfills that are expanding.
If you don't know much about the proposed vertical expansion, Leonard Rydell, one of the dump's original engineers and surveyors, has neatly summarized the issues (below). Read and comment!
I have just spent several days reviewing engineering reports and construction plans for Riverbend Landfill. It should have never grown to 86 acres and 164 feet high. You can Google Earth Riverbend Landfill to see its location, 52% of which is in the original flood plain, and now 350' from the eroding river bank.
• It is located in a wet climate with 39" of rainfall a year. This is over one million gallons of water annually falling on each acre.
• It is located in a flood plain and floodway of the meandering South Yamhill River. Water laps up to the 5,200-foot perimeter berm every year.
• If the berm fails (it has been repaired several times), garbage has only a few feet to go to be in flood waters.
• It is located upstream of the water intake works for several cities.
• It is located upstream of water intakes for irrigation of food crops.
• Riverbend Landfill is located in Oregon’s premier Wine Country, next to a major tourist highway to the Oregon Coast
• The South Yamhill River is a 303(d) listed river for salmon (ie, the river is in bad shape).
• The original Cells 1, 2 and 3 are unlined and lack compacted clay bottoms; portions of these cells are below ground water levels. These three cells generated much of the 10,386,725 gallons of leachate collected from Cells 1/5P in 2015. Leachate is contaminated ground water that is pumped out of the landfill and treated.
• The proposal is to add 490,000 cubic yards on to of Cells 1, 2, and 3 at slopes greater than allowed by Oregon Administrative Rules.
• The expansion design is based on one earthquake every 2,400 years. We have had nineteen 9.0+ earthquakes in the last 10,000 years and forty-one 8.0+ earthquakes in the last 10,000 years.
• Each earthquake of that magnitude will have fore shocks and after shocks at a slightly lesser magnitude. Japan’s 9.1 March 2011 earthquake had five 7.1 to 7.2 fore and after shocks within a four month period.
• The proposed design is based on the upper limit of movement in the landfill being no more than 6" to 12", which is the 35-year-old “generally accepted practice in California,” which is prone to slip zone quakes. Riverbend is not is California, it does not have slip zone earthquakes, it has subduction zone earthquakes. As stated by Chris Goldfinger in a CNN report, “"You're going to have three to five minutes of shaking, and if you're used to earthquakes in California, they typically last 15 to 30 seconds and before you are really sure of what is happening, it is over” and “Cascadia can make an earthquake almost 30 times more energetic than the San Andreas....” The California standard should not be applied to Riverbend Landfill.
• Riverbend has no plan or funding to respond to earthquakes or damage from earthquakes.
• Riverbend generated 39,517,421 gallons of leachate in 2015 (the amount of leachate has increased every year). On average, a truck load of leachate was hauled from Riverbend to Salem or Hillsboro for treatment every one hour and 20 minutes, every day during 2015. Funding set aside for leachate management is woefully inadequate; the funding model anticipates the landfill generating only 296,958 gallons of leachate requiring treatment in 2044.
• Cities downstream that may be affected are McMinnville, Dayton, Newberg, Wilsonville, Oregon City, West Linn and Portland.
Comments should be e-mailed to DEQ care of Bob Schwarz, Riverbend's permit writer, at schwarz.bob@deq.state.or.us by 5:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time, May 8, 2017. Unfortunately DEQ will not answer your questions before then. You can, however, ask that your questions be made part of the record.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Stop the Dump Appeals to Supreme Court
The Stop the Dump Coalition and its allies, McPhillips Farms, Willamette Valley Wineries Association, and Friends of Yamhill County, have asked the Oregon Supreme Court to weigh in on whether Riverbend Landfill can expand.
State law bars a non-farm use like a landfill from expanding onto farmland if the expansion will have "significant" impacts on area farms. In approving Riverbend's proposed expansion, Yamhill County found that the landfill could mitigate any impacts by compensating farmers for any harm to their farms. The state Land Use Board of Appeals agreed, and last month, the state Court of Appeals (COA) did, too.
The COA based its decision on a new and unique interpretation of state law, holding that the law forbade only those impacts that "will significantly decrease the supply of agricultural land, the profitability of the farm, or the provision of food." Relying on this standard, the COA ruled that Riverbend could legally buy its way out the law's prohibitions.
In other words, nonfarm uses with deep pockets now have free license to adversely impact farms in Oregon, but cash-poor nonfarm uses do not.
In documents filed today, STDC advised the state Supreme Court that this interpretation of the law flies in the face of long-established land use principles in Oregon. Lawyers for STDC pointed out that there are at least eighteen other nonfarm uses identified in state law that could take advantage of this "pay-to-play" loophole in the law, from mining to private parks to destination resorts. If the COA ruling is allowed to stand, each of these uses would also be able to buy their way onto farmland in the state.
As the lawyers state in their brief, "This changes everything."
STDC's brief points out that the legislature considered the pay-to-play option when it adopted the "significant impact" standard. One legislator, Representative Throop, noted that "We shouldn't be setting up a situation where we're going to be requiring that farms get into compensation with their neighbors. ...this draft is to prevent those situations from occurring in the first place.... If it was going to have an impact on that farming practice, then that nonfarm dwelling wouldn't be allowed."
The Supreme Court does not have to hear an appeal. STDC expects to hear whether the Court will take this case within a few weeks.
State law bars a non-farm use like a landfill from expanding onto farmland if the expansion will have "significant" impacts on area farms. In approving Riverbend's proposed expansion, Yamhill County found that the landfill could mitigate any impacts by compensating farmers for any harm to their farms. The state Land Use Board of Appeals agreed, and last month, the state Court of Appeals (COA) did, too.
The COA based its decision on a new and unique interpretation of state law, holding that the law forbade only those impacts that "will significantly decrease the supply of agricultural land, the profitability of the farm, or the provision of food." Relying on this standard, the COA ruled that Riverbend could legally buy its way out the law's prohibitions.
In other words, nonfarm uses with deep pockets now have free license to adversely impact farms in Oregon, but cash-poor nonfarm uses do not.
In documents filed today, STDC advised the state Supreme Court that this interpretation of the law flies in the face of long-established land use principles in Oregon. Lawyers for STDC pointed out that there are at least eighteen other nonfarm uses identified in state law that could take advantage of this "pay-to-play" loophole in the law, from mining to private parks to destination resorts. If the COA ruling is allowed to stand, each of these uses would also be able to buy their way onto farmland in the state.
As the lawyers state in their brief, "This changes everything."
STDC's brief points out that the legislature considered the pay-to-play option when it adopted the "significant impact" standard. One legislator, Representative Throop, noted that "We shouldn't be setting up a situation where we're going to be requiring that farms get into compensation with their neighbors. ...this draft is to prevent those situations from occurring in the first place.... If it was going to have an impact on that farming practice, then that nonfarm dwelling wouldn't be allowed."
The Supreme Court does not have to hear an appeal. STDC expects to hear whether the Court will take this case within a few weeks.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
New Location for Vertical Expansion Hearing
The state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has reissued the public notice for the upcoming hearing on a permit that would allow Waste Management (WM) to increase the height of Riverbend Landfill.
The new notice moves the May 2nd information meeting and public hearing to the Falls Event Center (aka Evergreen Aviation Museum campus), 510 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way, Main Hall, McMinnville. A short informational meeting on the proposal will begin at 6 p.m., to be followed by the formal public hearing.
The proposed permit would modify WM's existing landfill operating permit by allowing WM to change the final grading plan for a 20-acre portion of the 87-acre landfill. If the permit is modified as proposed, WM will be able to add an additional 400,000 tons of garbage to the landfill and to remain open about another year before reaching capacity. The 20 acres affected include the original three landfill cells, which are not lined and which lie in the floodplain of the South Yamhill River and fill with water each year when the river floods.
A larger, 29-acre expansion proposal remains in the courts. That expansion would bring a 90-foot high swath of the landfill to within 50 feet of Highway 18 and also cover the original three cells.
To comment on the proposed vertical expansion, you can testify at the public hearing or you can submit written comments for the public record by mail, fax, or email to the Riverbend DEQ permit writer:
Bob Schwarz
Oregon DEQ
400 E. Scenic Drive, Suite 307
The Dalles, Oregon 97058
Email: schwarz.bob@deq.state.or.us
Phone: 541-298-7255, ext. 230
Fax: 541-298-7330
Written comments are due not later than 5:00 pm, May 8, 2017.
The new notice moves the May 2nd information meeting and public hearing to the Falls Event Center (aka Evergreen Aviation Museum campus), 510 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way, Main Hall, McMinnville. A short informational meeting on the proposal will begin at 6 p.m., to be followed by the formal public hearing.
The proposed permit would modify WM's existing landfill operating permit by allowing WM to change the final grading plan for a 20-acre portion of the 87-acre landfill. If the permit is modified as proposed, WM will be able to add an additional 400,000 tons of garbage to the landfill and to remain open about another year before reaching capacity. The 20 acres affected include the original three landfill cells, which are not lined and which lie in the floodplain of the South Yamhill River and fill with water each year when the river floods.
A larger, 29-acre expansion proposal remains in the courts. That expansion would bring a 90-foot high swath of the landfill to within 50 feet of Highway 18 and also cover the original three cells.
To comment on the proposed vertical expansion, you can testify at the public hearing or you can submit written comments for the public record by mail, fax, or email to the Riverbend DEQ permit writer:
Bob Schwarz
Oregon DEQ
400 E. Scenic Drive, Suite 307
The Dalles, Oregon 97058
Email: schwarz.bob@deq.state.or.us
Phone: 541-298-7255, ext. 230
Fax: 541-298-7330
Written comments are due not later than 5:00 pm, May 8, 2017.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Vertical Expansion, Air Quality Set for Hearings
The next few weeks promise to be busy for Waste Management, Riverbend Landfill's Texas-based corporate owner (WM), and the Stop the Dump Coalition (STDC).
First up is another court hearing, this one in Yamhill County Circuit Court in McMinnville. STDC has asked the Court to void a land use compatibility statement (LUCS) the County issued in support of Waste Management's effort to expand the dump vertically. The hearing is set for 8:30 AM on Wednesday, April 12. Audience members cannot testify, but STDC would certainly appreciate your support!
The very next day, Thursday, April 13, WM will host the dump's semi-annual Air Quality meeting at Chemeketa Community College in McMinnville. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm (or come earlier for pizza). Although WM will lead the meeting, representatives of the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) usually attend and will answer your questions. As you know if you read this blog, DEQ is in the midst of a year-long investigation into odors at the dump.
Then on Tuesday, May 2, at 6:00 pm at the McMinnville Senior Center there will be an actual "hearing," held by DEQ, regarding the proposed vertical expansion. STDC has so far stymied WM's plans to expand on 29 acres next to Highway 18, so WM is now trying to grow "up." DEQ is prepared to approve this expansion, which will add 400,000 tons of waste to the top of the existing dump, including atop the original three unlined cells. No word on how adding this additional garbage will protect neighbors or the South Yamhill River when the M9 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake strikes.
Everyone can weigh in on the proposed "up" expansion, and we encourage you to. Attend the meeting to speak in person or submit written testimony or send your comments in. The deadline to comment is May 8 at 5:00 pm. To learn more about this hearing, read the DEQ notice. To learn more about the vertical expansion (which WM has convinced DEQ to call a "final grading plan"), read our March 20 comment below.
The LUCS at issue in the April 12 Circuit Court hearing is required before DEQ can approve a permit for the vertical expansion. If the Circuit Court rules against the County, DEQ might have to reschedule or even cancel the May 2nd hearing.
STDC and WM have also been busy in Salem. You may have heard about the legislative bill WM proposed to exempt landfills from having to "reclaim" land they strip from the vicinity of their dumps in order to cover the waste (daily and permanently). If the bill passes, Waste Management can mine the heck out of the land around the dump, including the wetlands between the dump and the river, without restoring the area.
Many members of Stop the Dump Coalition and others testified against this bill. You can learn more about this at https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Measures/Exhibits/SB1036, where you can read testimony that has been submitted against this measure by Friends of Yamhill County, the Yamhill County Soil and Water Conservation District, and others. A work session on this bill is scheduled for April 13 at 1:00 pm, but no testimony will be taken.
First up is another court hearing, this one in Yamhill County Circuit Court in McMinnville. STDC has asked the Court to void a land use compatibility statement (LUCS) the County issued in support of Waste Management's effort to expand the dump vertically. The hearing is set for 8:30 AM on Wednesday, April 12. Audience members cannot testify, but STDC would certainly appreciate your support!
The very next day, Thursday, April 13, WM will host the dump's semi-annual Air Quality meeting at Chemeketa Community College in McMinnville. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm (or come earlier for pizza). Although WM will lead the meeting, representatives of the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) usually attend and will answer your questions. As you know if you read this blog, DEQ is in the midst of a year-long investigation into odors at the dump.
Then on Tuesday, May 2, at 6:00 pm at the McMinnville Senior Center there will be an actual "hearing," held by DEQ, regarding the proposed vertical expansion. STDC has so far stymied WM's plans to expand on 29 acres next to Highway 18, so WM is now trying to grow "up." DEQ is prepared to approve this expansion, which will add 400,000 tons of waste to the top of the existing dump, including atop the original three unlined cells. No word on how adding this additional garbage will protect neighbors or the South Yamhill River when the M9 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake strikes.
Everyone can weigh in on the proposed "up" expansion, and we encourage you to. Attend the meeting to speak in person or submit written testimony or send your comments in. The deadline to comment is May 8 at 5:00 pm. To learn more about this hearing, read the DEQ notice. To learn more about the vertical expansion (which WM has convinced DEQ to call a "final grading plan"), read our March 20 comment below.
The LUCS at issue in the April 12 Circuit Court hearing is required before DEQ can approve a permit for the vertical expansion. If the Circuit Court rules against the County, DEQ might have to reschedule or even cancel the May 2nd hearing.
STDC and WM have also been busy in Salem. You may have heard about the legislative bill WM proposed to exempt landfills from having to "reclaim" land they strip from the vicinity of their dumps in order to cover the waste (daily and permanently). If the bill passes, Waste Management can mine the heck out of the land around the dump, including the wetlands between the dump and the river, without restoring the area.
Many members of Stop the Dump Coalition and others testified against this bill. You can learn more about this at https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Measures/Exhibits/SB1036, where you can read testimony that has been submitted against this measure by Friends of Yamhill County, the Yamhill County Soil and Water Conservation District, and others. A work session on this bill is scheduled for April 13 at 1:00 pm, but no testimony will be taken.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Legislature Asked to Exempt Landfills from DOGAMI Permits
The Oregon legislature is holding a hearing on April 3 to consider a legal change that would greatly benefit Waste Management (WM). WM is the Texas-based corporate owner of Riverbend Landfill.
Under existing law, landowners must obtain a permit from the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) before engaging in "surface mining." Surface mining is exactly what it sounds like -- stripping away the top of the earth in order to use that material or to reach what's underneath.
WM, you might recall, has frequently engaged in surface mining in the floodplain between the dump and the South Yamhill River. WM is presumed to use the soil from this area for daily and permanent cover on the landfill and for landfill construction work such as the perimeter berm.
At least once previously, WM mined this area without first obtaining the necessary DOGAMI permit. WM received a slap on the hand for that error because DOGAMI's website hadn't been updated to reflect the latest permit requirements (and because nobody expects a multi-national corporation like WM to pick up the phone and call).
Permit requirements include restrictions on the amount of material that may be extracted as well as the total area in which mining may occur. Currently DOGAMI limits mining to 5,000 cubic yards of excavation or disturbance of no more than one acre in any 12-month period unless an Operating Permit is obtained or the activity is exempt.
To obtain an Operating Permit, the landowner must have local land use approval (in Riverbend's case, a Land Use Compatibility Statement, or LUCS, issued by the County) and pay a fee (currently $1,750). The applicant must also submit a reclamation plan for the land being mined and security to ensure the reclamation occurs. Operators must renew permits annually and must file reports with DOGAMI until mining and reclamation are complete.
Operations in a floodplain, such as that around Riverbend, require additional studies.
Riverbend's current DOGAMI permit (called "Old River") allows unlimited material extraction and requires both a reclamation plan and reclamation security. If this new legislation passes, Riverbend will be exempt from these rules. In other words, Riverbend will be able to extract as much soil as it wants without having to reclaim the site.
It's been estimated that Riverbend will need as much as 540,000 cubic yards of soil to cover the landfill. Some experts have questioned whether that much soil can be removed from the floodplain without threatening the channel of the South Yamhill River.
You can stop this free give-away to Waste Management. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 1036, will be heard by the Senate Committee On Environment and Natural Resources at 3:00 pm Monday, April 3, in Hearing Room C in the State Capitol in Salem. You can attend the hearing and sign up to testify (though the numbers of people allowed to testify may be limited). And you can submit comments in writing to the committee at senr.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov. Michael Dembrow of Portland is the committee chair. Learn more about the bill here.
Under existing law, landowners must obtain a permit from the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) before engaging in "surface mining." Surface mining is exactly what it sounds like -- stripping away the top of the earth in order to use that material or to reach what's underneath.
WM, you might recall, has frequently engaged in surface mining in the floodplain between the dump and the South Yamhill River. WM is presumed to use the soil from this area for daily and permanent cover on the landfill and for landfill construction work such as the perimeter berm.
At least once previously, WM mined this area without first obtaining the necessary DOGAMI permit. WM received a slap on the hand for that error because DOGAMI's website hadn't been updated to reflect the latest permit requirements (and because nobody expects a multi-national corporation like WM to pick up the phone and call).
Permit requirements include restrictions on the amount of material that may be extracted as well as the total area in which mining may occur. Currently DOGAMI limits mining to 5,000 cubic yards of excavation or disturbance of no more than one acre in any 12-month period unless an Operating Permit is obtained or the activity is exempt.
To obtain an Operating Permit, the landowner must have local land use approval (in Riverbend's case, a Land Use Compatibility Statement, or LUCS, issued by the County) and pay a fee (currently $1,750). The applicant must also submit a reclamation plan for the land being mined and security to ensure the reclamation occurs. Operators must renew permits annually and must file reports with DOGAMI until mining and reclamation are complete.
Operations in a floodplain, such as that around Riverbend, require additional studies.
Riverbend's current DOGAMI permit (called "Old River") allows unlimited material extraction and requires both a reclamation plan and reclamation security. If this new legislation passes, Riverbend will be exempt from these rules. In other words, Riverbend will be able to extract as much soil as it wants without having to reclaim the site.
It's been estimated that Riverbend will need as much as 540,000 cubic yards of soil to cover the landfill. Some experts have questioned whether that much soil can be removed from the floodplain without threatening the channel of the South Yamhill River.
You can stop this free give-away to Waste Management. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 1036, will be heard by the Senate Committee On Environment and Natural Resources at 3:00 pm Monday, April 3, in Hearing Room C in the State Capitol in Salem. You can attend the hearing and sign up to testify (though the numbers of people allowed to testify may be limited). And you can submit comments in writing to the committee at senr.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov. Michael Dembrow of Portland is the committee chair. Learn more about the bill here.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Court of Appeals Upholds LUBA
Landfill Expansion to Return to County Commissioners Yet Again
Last Wednesday, March 22, the Oregon Court of Appeals (COA) released its decision affirming the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruling from last July. In that opinion, LUBA found that Yamhill County had improperly determined that cumulative impacts from the proposed expansion of Riverbend Landfill would not significantly affect area farmers. First LUBA, and now the COA, have directed the County to reconsider the effects of multiple impacts on local farms.
While this is good news for area farmers and other neighbors of the landfill, the COA also upheld the County's findings that Riverbend's expansion plan successfully mitigated any negative individual farm impacts in a decision that was confusing and contradictory.
Expanding Riverbend will have multiple impacts on multiple farms. Farmers complained about litter in their fields, birds (especially seagulls) damaging their crops and animals, noise frightening poultry and horses, and customers staying away due to odors and perceived effects on water and air quality. In approving expansion, the County dismissed these complaints, saying that farmers could be fully compensated for any losses from these impacts by cash payouts from Waste Management, Riverbend's multi-national, Texas-based corporate owner.
This time, the COA also cited ORS 215.243(2) and Statewide Planning Goal 3, which provide:
Stop the Dump Coalition, Friends of Yamhill County, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, and McPhillips Farms are reviewing the decision to see if there are any grounds for appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. If not, then it is back to the County for a new review of cumulative impacts.
Last Wednesday, March 22, the Oregon Court of Appeals (COA) released its decision affirming the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruling from last July. In that opinion, LUBA found that Yamhill County had improperly determined that cumulative impacts from the proposed expansion of Riverbend Landfill would not significantly affect area farmers. First LUBA, and now the COA, have directed the County to reconsider the effects of multiple impacts on local farms.
While this is good news for area farmers and other neighbors of the landfill, the COA also upheld the County's findings that Riverbend's expansion plan successfully mitigated any negative individual farm impacts in a decision that was confusing and contradictory.
Expanding Riverbend will have multiple impacts on multiple farms. Farmers complained about litter in their fields, birds (especially seagulls) damaging their crops and animals, noise frightening poultry and horses, and customers staying away due to odors and perceived effects on water and air quality. In approving expansion, the County dismissed these complaints, saying that farmers could be fully compensated for any losses from these impacts by cash payouts from Waste Management, Riverbend's multi-national, Texas-based corporate owner.
Although the COA laid out a strong argument that the purpose of Oregon
land use law in EFU zones is to preserve agricultural land and to prevent that
land from being hijacked for nonagricultural uses, the Court ultimately agreed with the County.
In earlier decisions, the COA had held that "state
and local provisions [defining nonfarm uses permitted in farm zones] must be
construed, to the extent possible, as being consistent with the overriding
policy of preventing agricultural land from being diverted to non-agricultural
use."This time, the COA also cited ORS 215.243(2) and Statewide Planning Goal 3, which provide:
ORS 215.243(2): "The preservation of a maximum amount of the limited supply of
agricultural land is necessary to the conservation of the state’s economic
resources and the preservation of such land in large blocks is necessary in
maintaining the agricultural economy of the state and for the assurance of
adequate, healthful and nutritious food for the people of this state and nation."
Goal 3: "Agricultural lands
shall be preserved and maintained for farm use, consistent with existing and
future needs for agricultural products, forest and open space and with the
state’s agricultural land use policy expressed in ORS 215.243...."
Based on this state law, the COA concluded, "[w]hether a change in an accepted farm practice or the cost of that
practice is 'significant,' then, is determined by whether the change affects
the preservation of agricultural land for productive use."
In the end, however, the COA paid only lip service to these maxims, looking instead to an entirely different statute to determine that the most important factor in preserving EFU land was for a farm "to obtain a profit in money." The Court reasoned, therefore, that where a nonfarm activity merely imposes additional
costs on a farmer, even where those costs are tantamount to removing land from
productive agricultural use, the impact of that cost increase, no matter how
significant, can be mitigated by cash payouts to the farmer.
This is true, according to the COA, even when a farmer cannot sell any of her crop on the open
market due to impacts from the proposed nonfarm use. Such intense impacts can be successfully
and legally mitigated, in the COA's view, by payments equal to the market value of the crop -- the same result as paying the farmer not to farm.
Similarly, under the COA's ruling, where impacts render a field impossible to harvest without
extensive additional work, payments for the cost of the additional work are
acceptable.
In effect, the Court is telling nonfarm uses that, if their
pockets are deep enough, they can buy their way onto EFU land.
The COA also ruled that a second litter fence would be adequate to control litter from the landfill even though the evidence showed that the first litter fence did not work. The Court had a similar opinion of increasing days of falcon use to haze seagulls, despite evidence that the 2-3 days a week falcons were now used did not keep birds off fields in crucial winter months. Said the Court, "any temporary effect of nuisance birds on farm practices has no
long-term effect of inhibiting the use of agricultural land for profit. The
issue is not whether the effects of nuisance birds are significant, but rather
whether those effects will force a change in farm practices that significantly
inhibits the use of agricultural land for profit."Stop the Dump Coalition, Friends of Yamhill County, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, and McPhillips Farms are reviewing the decision to see if there are any grounds for appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. If not, then it is back to the County for a new review of cumulative impacts.
Monday, March 20, 2017
DEQ to Process Riverbend Vertical Expansion Despite Lack of Court Ruling
DEQ, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, is proceeding with its review of Waste Management's proposed vertical expansion despite a court order requiring Yamhill County to justify its assessment that the expansion meets current zoning requirements.
Bob Schwarz, DEQ permit writer for Riverbend Landfill's operating permit, wrote on March 17:
"Regarding the final grading plan modification application that you mentioned, we will get that application and supplemental information provided by the applicant on the website in the next week or so.
"DEQ reviewed this application with the help of our seismic consultant, and we have concluded that it meets state and federal regulatory requirements, including those for seismic stability. We therefore plan to schedule a public comment period for this proposal in the near future which will include a public hearing.
"The application was accompanied by a Land Use Compatibility Statement dated November 16, 2016, which was subsequently challenged in Circuit Court under a Writ of Review. DEQ is moving forward with this permitting action as required under OAR 340-018-0050(2)(a)(G), which states that 'the Department shall continue to process the action unless ordered otherwise by LUBA or a court of law stays or invalidates a local action.'"
The "final grading plan modification" is Waste Management's euphemism for adding an additional year's worth of garbage to the existing landfill by flattening out its more or less hill-shaped structure. The website Schwarz references is DEQ's program/project web page for Riverbend Landfill. The November 16, 2016, "Land Use Compatibility Statement" (LUCS) is the document the County issued affirming that the proposal satisfied County land use requirements.
Landfill neighbors and expansion opponents sued to stop the County from issuing the November 16 LUCS while the larger expansion question is still under consideration by the Court of Appeals (COA). (The COA is reviewing LUBA's 2016 ruling that the landfill can expand provided the County Board of Commissioners finds that the expansion will not have significant adverse cumulative impacts on area farming.) The COA's decision will determine whether the landfill can legally expand up in the same area covered by the November 16 LUCS.
Lawyers for expansion opponents argue that neither the County nor DEQ can approve deposit of waste in this area until the COA rules. The COA could issue its decision at any time.
The initial hearing in Circuit Court on the November 16 LUCS is scheduled for April 12, 2017.
Bob Schwarz, DEQ permit writer for Riverbend Landfill's operating permit, wrote on March 17:
"Regarding the final grading plan modification application that you mentioned, we will get that application and supplemental information provided by the applicant on the website in the next week or so.
"DEQ reviewed this application with the help of our seismic consultant, and we have concluded that it meets state and federal regulatory requirements, including those for seismic stability. We therefore plan to schedule a public comment period for this proposal in the near future which will include a public hearing.
"The application was accompanied by a Land Use Compatibility Statement dated November 16, 2016, which was subsequently challenged in Circuit Court under a Writ of Review. DEQ is moving forward with this permitting action as required under OAR 340-018-0050(2)(a)(G), which states that 'the Department shall continue to process the action unless ordered otherwise by LUBA or a court of law stays or invalidates a local action.'"
The "final grading plan modification" is Waste Management's euphemism for adding an additional year's worth of garbage to the existing landfill by flattening out its more or less hill-shaped structure. The website Schwarz references is DEQ's program/project web page for Riverbend Landfill. The November 16, 2016, "Land Use Compatibility Statement" (LUCS) is the document the County issued affirming that the proposal satisfied County land use requirements.
Landfill neighbors and expansion opponents sued to stop the County from issuing the November 16 LUCS while the larger expansion question is still under consideration by the Court of Appeals (COA). (The COA is reviewing LUBA's 2016 ruling that the landfill can expand provided the County Board of Commissioners finds that the expansion will not have significant adverse cumulative impacts on area farming.) The COA's decision will determine whether the landfill can legally expand up in the same area covered by the November 16 LUCS.
Lawyers for expansion opponents argue that neither the County nor DEQ can approve deposit of waste in this area until the COA rules. The COA could issue its decision at any time.
The initial hearing in Circuit Court on the November 16 LUCS is scheduled for April 12, 2017.
Hazardous Waste Drop-Off May 20 in Newberg
Yamhill County Solid Waste will hold its semi-annual household hazardous waste collection Saturday, May 20, 2017, at the Newberg Transfer Station (2904 Wynooski Street in Newberg). Waste will be accepted from 9am to 1pm. The event is for household, not business, waste.
These events are extremely popular and lines are often long, so plan to expect some delay in dropping off your waste.
Hazardous waste can include pesticides, paints, solvents, and other household poisons -- anything with the words "Caution, Warning, Poison, or Danger" anywhere on the label. Note that 80% of the material Yamhill County collects during these events is paint, though paint can now be taken at any time during regular business hours to any PaintCare facility, including Sherwin-Williams paint stores in both McMinnville and Newberg, Parr Lumber in Newberg, and the Habitat ReStore in McMinnville. For more information about paint recycling, including locating PaintCare sites, visit PaintCare online.
According to YCSW coordinator Sherrie Mathison, unneeded and outdated medications will also be accepted on May 20, though, as with paint, unwanted medications can always be taken to any local police department or to the Amity Fire Department or Carlton, Dayton, Lafayette, and Sheridan City Hall, at any time during regular business hours.
Thanks to Ms. Mathison for details on this important event.
Spread the word!
These events are extremely popular and lines are often long, so plan to expect some delay in dropping off your waste.
Hazardous waste can include pesticides, paints, solvents, and other household poisons -- anything with the words "Caution, Warning, Poison, or Danger" anywhere on the label. Note that 80% of the material Yamhill County collects during these events is paint, though paint can now be taken at any time during regular business hours to any PaintCare facility, including Sherwin-Williams paint stores in both McMinnville and Newberg, Parr Lumber in Newberg, and the Habitat ReStore in McMinnville. For more information about paint recycling, including locating PaintCare sites, visit PaintCare online.
According to YCSW coordinator Sherrie Mathison, unneeded and outdated medications will also be accepted on May 20, though, as with paint, unwanted medications can always be taken to any local police department or to the Amity Fire Department or Carlton, Dayton, Lafayette, and Sheridan City Hall, at any time during regular business hours.
Thanks to Ms. Mathison for details on this important event.
Spread the word!
Friday, January 27, 2017
Riverbend Vertical Expansion Up In Air
Last November, Waste Management (WM), Riverbend Landfill's Texas-based corporate owner, asked the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to approve a "grading plan modification" at the dump.
This "modification" would add 490,000 cubic yards of waste to the top and side slopes of the landfill -- nearly a year's worth of garbage. (According to WM personnel, each cubic yard at Riverbend equals about one ton of garbage.) This waste would mostly be added to cells 1, 2, and 3 -- the original landfill cells, which are unlined and improperly compacted and which flood each winter when the South Yamhill River overflows.
DEQ is not interested in these flaws in the landfill's construction, however. But by law DEQ must have evidence that the proposed "modification" (ie, vertical expansion) comports with Yamhill County land use law. This evidence comes in the form of a "Land Use Compatibility Statement," or LUCS, signed by County planners.
Sure enough, the County issued a LUCS for the vertical expansion. Without giving notice to the landfill's nearest neighbor (and most vocal expansion opponent), the County concluded that any expansion within the landfill's approved footprint as of 1991 meets County land use requirements.
Stop the Dump Coalition (STDC) promptly went to Circuit Court for an order requiring the County to withdraw the LUCS. The Court issued a stay, meaning the County cannot continue to assert that the proposed vertical expansion satisfies County land use law until there is a full hearing on the matter. WM responded with a motion to "quash" (throw out) STDC's suit. That motion must be decided before the Court can hold its hearing. The Court will consider the motion to quash in April.
There are at least three glaring flaws in the County's reasoning that should require the County to withdraw the LUCS. They are:
1. County Planning Director Ken Friday relied on a 1991 memo by former County Counsel John Gray that laid out the rationale behind the "footprint" argument. Gray argued:
This "modification" would add 490,000 cubic yards of waste to the top and side slopes of the landfill -- nearly a year's worth of garbage. (According to WM personnel, each cubic yard at Riverbend equals about one ton of garbage.) This waste would mostly be added to cells 1, 2, and 3 -- the original landfill cells, which are unlined and improperly compacted and which flood each winter when the South Yamhill River overflows.
DEQ is not interested in these flaws in the landfill's construction, however. But by law DEQ must have evidence that the proposed "modification" (ie, vertical expansion) comports with Yamhill County land use law. This evidence comes in the form of a "Land Use Compatibility Statement," or LUCS, signed by County planners.
Sure enough, the County issued a LUCS for the vertical expansion. Without giving notice to the landfill's nearest neighbor (and most vocal expansion opponent), the County concluded that any expansion within the landfill's approved footprint as of 1991 meets County land use requirements.
Stop the Dump Coalition (STDC) promptly went to Circuit Court for an order requiring the County to withdraw the LUCS. The Court issued a stay, meaning the County cannot continue to assert that the proposed vertical expansion satisfies County land use law until there is a full hearing on the matter. WM responded with a motion to "quash" (throw out) STDC's suit. That motion must be decided before the Court can hold its hearing. The Court will consider the motion to quash in April.
There are at least three glaring flaws in the County's reasoning that should require the County to withdraw the LUCS. They are:
1. County Planning Director Ken Friday relied on a 1991 memo by former County Counsel John Gray that laid out the rationale behind the "footprint" argument. Gray argued:
"It is our opinion that the proposed
elevations and final grade reference in the DEQ letter are
permitted uses which do not require site design review. We believe
that the original 1980 plan amendment and zone change for the
landfill contemplated the natural and progressive development of
the landfill cells. Further, the county's action did not restrict elevations. In our opinion, issues related to the safety or appropriateness of elevations and final landfill grades are
technical engineering issues properly addressed by DEQ in its
review of the operations plan for permit renewal."
The problem with this logic is that the County Commissioners changed the rules in the very action they took in reliance on Gray's memo. In Board Order 92-280, adopted in 1992, the Commissioners did indeed approve a LUCS for the landfill. But they also directed County staff to prepare amendments to the County Zoning Ordinance that would make "future solid waste permit renewal applications subject to Site Design Review to the extent that the applications propose expansions, increases or enlargements of the following aspects of landfill operations...: a. Volume control...c. Height of cells and final cover...."
Indeed, landfill expansion is now subject to site design review. Gray's opinion no longer applies.
2. Gray's memo has become irrelevant for a second obvious reason. When he wrote back in 1991, the landfill was located in the Public Works Safety (PWS) zone, which had its own rules for site design review. Now, however, the landfill's zoning has been changed to Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), a zone with markedly different requirements. Gray's opinion relied heavily on the fact that Riverbend was zoned PWS before the Zoning Ordinance required site design review in that zone. But Riverbend was zoned EFU with the specific proviso that the "maintenance, expansion or enhancement" of the dump "must satisfy the standards set forth in ... Site Design Review."
As noted above, landfill expansion is now subject to site design review. Gray's opinion no longer applies.
3. Even more significant, however, is the fact that adding waste to the landfill via a vertical expansion is currently under consideration by the Oregon Court of Appeals (COA). The expansion WM proposed in 2014 was both vertical and horizontal. Both aspects were challenged by neighbors, County businesses, and concerned citizens. Whether the County has, or even can, approve a vertical expansion is very much in question.
The COA gave itself extra time to decide the landfill case, and no one knows when a ruling will come down. If the COA decides the County must reconsider its approval of the vertical expansion, then STDC contends that the LUCS must be withdrawn.
In the meantime, STDC has asked DEQ to withhold approval of the vertical expansion so long as the LUCS issue remains "up in the air."
UPDATE: STDC and its partners have asked the Circuit Court to compel the County to produce the materials WM submitted in support of the LUCS. So far, only a single diagram has materialized.
The problem with this logic is that the County Commissioners changed the rules in the very action they took in reliance on Gray's memo. In Board Order 92-280, adopted in 1992, the Commissioners did indeed approve a LUCS for the landfill. But they also directed County staff to prepare amendments to the County Zoning Ordinance that would make "future solid waste permit renewal applications subject to Site Design Review to the extent that the applications propose expansions, increases or enlargements of the following aspects of landfill operations...: a. Volume control...c. Height of cells and final cover...."
Indeed, landfill expansion is now subject to site design review. Gray's opinion no longer applies.
2. Gray's memo has become irrelevant for a second obvious reason. When he wrote back in 1991, the landfill was located in the Public Works Safety (PWS) zone, which had its own rules for site design review. Now, however, the landfill's zoning has been changed to Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), a zone with markedly different requirements. Gray's opinion relied heavily on the fact that Riverbend was zoned PWS before the Zoning Ordinance required site design review in that zone. But Riverbend was zoned EFU with the specific proviso that the "maintenance, expansion or enhancement" of the dump "must satisfy the standards set forth in ... Site Design Review."
As noted above, landfill expansion is now subject to site design review. Gray's opinion no longer applies.
3. Even more significant, however, is the fact that adding waste to the landfill via a vertical expansion is currently under consideration by the Oregon Court of Appeals (COA). The expansion WM proposed in 2014 was both vertical and horizontal. Both aspects were challenged by neighbors, County businesses, and concerned citizens. Whether the County has, or even can, approve a vertical expansion is very much in question.
The COA gave itself extra time to decide the landfill case, and no one knows when a ruling will come down. If the COA decides the County must reconsider its approval of the vertical expansion, then STDC contends that the LUCS must be withdrawn.
In the meantime, STDC has asked DEQ to withhold approval of the vertical expansion so long as the LUCS issue remains "up in the air."
UPDATE: STDC and its partners have asked the Circuit Court to compel the County to produce the materials WM submitted in support of the LUCS. So far, only a single diagram has materialized.
Friday, January 13, 2017
First Federal Community Voting Opens
Vote for Waste Not of Yamhill County!
Every year First Federal Savings and Loan asks customers to vote for the nonprofit organizations they think contribute the most to quality of life in Yamhill County.
Organizations receiving at least ten (10) votes receive a donation from First Federal. The bank has a long history of supporting Yamhill County organizations, giving more than $2.4 million to County charities since 1999. First Federal has pledged to distribute $40,000 in this year's voting.
You can support the Stop the Dump effort by voting -- for Waste Not of Yamhill County.
The Stop the Dump Coalition was originally known as Waste Not of Yamhill County, and that is how the organization is listed on the ballot. "Stop the Dump" more closely communicates the organization's mission, so the name was changed. Waste Not has received a donation every year it has appeared on the First Federal ballot.
Every dollar Waste Not/Stop the Dump receives pays for legal advice and expert scientific analysis to guide the fight to keep Riverbend Landfill from expanding. For example, Riverbend's most recent attempt to add 29 acres to the landfill and creep closer to Highway 18 is currently on appeal in the Oregon Court of Appeals, led by Stop the Dump attorneys -- who have also taken the County to Circuit Court for issuing a Land Use Compatibility Statement for another expansion atop the existing dump, even though that issue is part of the Court of Appeals case. Meanwhile, Stop the Dump's hydrology and seismic experts are reviewing the landfill's current and potential impacts on river and ground water quality.
This is an easy way to support the Stop the Dump effort. If you have an account with First Federal, you are eligible to vote. If you did not receive a ballot in the mail, ask for one at the bank!
Organizations receiving at least ten (10) votes receive a donation from First Federal. The bank has a long history of supporting Yamhill County organizations, giving more than $2.4 million to County charities since 1999. First Federal has pledged to distribute $40,000 in this year's voting.
You can support the Stop the Dump effort by voting -- for Waste Not of Yamhill County.
The Stop the Dump Coalition was originally known as Waste Not of Yamhill County, and that is how the organization is listed on the ballot. "Stop the Dump" more closely communicates the organization's mission, so the name was changed. Waste Not has received a donation every year it has appeared on the First Federal ballot.
Every dollar Waste Not/Stop the Dump receives pays for legal advice and expert scientific analysis to guide the fight to keep Riverbend Landfill from expanding. For example, Riverbend's most recent attempt to add 29 acres to the landfill and creep closer to Highway 18 is currently on appeal in the Oregon Court of Appeals, led by Stop the Dump attorneys -- who have also taken the County to Circuit Court for issuing a Land Use Compatibility Statement for another expansion atop the existing dump, even though that issue is part of the Court of Appeals case. Meanwhile, Stop the Dump's hydrology and seismic experts are reviewing the landfill's current and potential impacts on river and ground water quality.
This is an easy way to support the Stop the Dump effort. If you have an account with First Federal, you are eligible to vote. If you did not receive a ballot in the mail, ask for one at the bank!
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Hazelnut Grove Near Dump Contaminated
Schmidt Farm hazelnuts have been contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium, according to Oregon Live and the Salem Statesman Journal.
This type of salmonella can make people who eat the nuts ill. According to the two news sources, "Most people who get salmonellosis become sick in one to five days after exposure. Salmonellosis can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps that can last up to seven days. Most people recover without treatment, but in some cases the diarrhea is so severe hospital care is needed." Death can also result but is rare.
People who bought nuts this fall at the farm stand on Highway 18 are advised to throw them away. Schmidt Farm nuts processed and sold elsewhere appear not to be affected.
The Schmidt Farm's hazelnut and walnut groves lie directly across Highway 18 from the entrance to Riverbend Landfill. The farm is widely believed to be the unnamed farm mentioned frequently in the dump's expansion application as experiencing no adverse affects from its proximity to the landfill.
While the source of the salmonella outbreak has not been determined, nuts and other crops can be contaminated by contact with birds, including seagulls, carrying salmonella. The hundreds of seagulls and other birds that visited the landfill this fall could well carry salmonella from rotting food and animal corpses across the street to the Schmidt Farm orchards.
Alternatively, trucks dumping waste at the landfill could carry the organism away on their tires. Neighbors and commuters have long complained about the dust that accumulates at the landfill entrance to be kicked up by passing vehicles. The hazelnut and walnut trees along the highway are in the path of these dust clouds.
For more information about the health hazard posed by salmonellosis, check the Oregon Health Authority website.
This type of salmonella can make people who eat the nuts ill. According to the two news sources, "Most people who get salmonellosis become sick in one to five days after exposure. Salmonellosis can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps that can last up to seven days. Most people recover without treatment, but in some cases the diarrhea is so severe hospital care is needed." Death can also result but is rare.
People who bought nuts this fall at the farm stand on Highway 18 are advised to throw them away. Schmidt Farm nuts processed and sold elsewhere appear not to be affected.
The Schmidt Farm's hazelnut and walnut groves lie directly across Highway 18 from the entrance to Riverbend Landfill. The farm is widely believed to be the unnamed farm mentioned frequently in the dump's expansion application as experiencing no adverse affects from its proximity to the landfill.
While the source of the salmonella outbreak has not been determined, nuts and other crops can be contaminated by contact with birds, including seagulls, carrying salmonella. The hundreds of seagulls and other birds that visited the landfill this fall could well carry salmonella from rotting food and animal corpses across the street to the Schmidt Farm orchards.
Alternatively, trucks dumping waste at the landfill could carry the organism away on their tires. Neighbors and commuters have long complained about the dust that accumulates at the landfill entrance to be kicked up by passing vehicles. The hazelnut and walnut trees along the highway are in the path of these dust clouds.
For more information about the health hazard posed by salmonellosis, check the Oregon Health Authority website.
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