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.
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