Riverbend Designated Vaccination Clinic Site

The operators of Riverbend Landfill are not sitting idle while waiting for LUBA, the state Land Use Board of Appeals, to decide whether Yamhill County was wrong to reject its expansion application.

The landfill has taken the laudable step of offering its 96 acres as a mass vaccination site.

"We want to do the right thing for the County," a Riverbend spokesperson explained, "just as we did in the mid-2000's with our failed Stewardship Lands project.  And since Metro stopped sending its waste our way in 2020, we have plenty of open space," the spokesperson added.

According to a Riverbend press release, eligible people will register as usual with the state (at Getvaccinated.Oregon.gov).  When vaccines become available, those who have indicated an interest in getting shot at the dump will be contacted to sign up for a time slot.

"Everyone coming in will be given a mask and a clothespin," the spokesperson explained.  "The mask is for the protection of our staff as much as for the vaccinatee.  The clothespin is our own invention.  Not only does it help keep the mask in place, but it also reduces the ambient smell."

The spokesperson added, "Some in the community may have heard about our leaking methane, the powerful greenhouse gas that's been escaping through our faulty landfill cover.  But nobody should be worried just because the federal EPA is investigating our failure to live up to our operating permit.  Methane emissions only hurt the planet, not people."

As the press release says, "The landfill looks forward to serving the people of Yamhill County with the same disinterest we've shown for the past forty years..." or they would, if this weren't an APRIL FOOL!

LUBA Delays Landfill Decision

The state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) has notified attorneys for Yamhill County, landfill opponents, and Riverbend Landfill that its decision in Riverbend's appeal will likely not be released until April 9.  That decision had been expected today.

LUBA is considering Riverbend's appeal of the County's rejection of its application to expand the dump.   As previously reported here, the landfill contends that its elaborate plan to contain litter will satisfy state law that prohibits projects like the expansion from negatively impacting farming practices.

Opponents counter that, if the plan is so great, Riverbend should be using it now, thus creating real-world evidence of the plan's efficacy.

Litter has proved to be a huge obstacle to Riverbend's expansion plans.  Even small amounts of plastic in nearby fields can damage expensive machinery and foul crops.  Without a way to control litter, the expansion cannot go forward.