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.