Wither Riverbend?

As the dust settles, it appears that Waste Management, Riverbend Landfill's Texas-based corporate owner, is scrambling for ways to keep the landfill open even as its options dwindle.

The latest is, of course, the "pause" in normal operations, set to begin July 1st.  This "pause" was put in place on the spur of the moment with little notice to hauling contractors accustomed to bringing their waste to Riverbend and apparently no notice at all to Yamhill County, the public body that licenses the landfill to begin with.

Under this "pause," the dump will stop accepting waste from self-haulers and hauling companies alike.  Instead, Riverbend will accept only "soils," which it needs to build up a bench on which to place more garbage later.  Per the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the change will look like this:

 

Waste Management seems to think this modification to the dump's side slope will keep the landfill open -- never mind that Yamhill County has rejected its expansion plans, the rejection was upheld by the state Land Use Board of Appeals, and Riverbend did not appeal that decision.  In other words, the dump's expansion plans are dead.

Moreover, even were Riverbend to come back to the County with a new expansion plan, it would face the very likely insurmountable barrier of having to demonstrate that it can control litter wafting off the landfill onto adjacent farms.  By allowing LUBA's expansion decision to stand, Riverbend conceded that its high-tech, multiple litter-fence solution will not work.  Short of completely enclosing the dump in a vent-less building, expansion appears dead in the water.

This hasn't kept Waste Management from claiming that its closure would result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars to Yamhill County.  As reported in our June 27 post below, the company contends that it has "provided a strong and steady revenue stream of more than $1 million/year to Yamhill County."

County records show otherwise.  In fact, in 2018 and 2019 Riverbend paid the contractual minimum -- about a quarter of the million it claims it paid each year.  In 2017, the dump paid only a little more.  Records for early 2020 show the trend continuing.

Fudging its financial numbers isn't the only route Riverbend is taking as it scrambles to stay relevant.  The landfill has never been honest about its remaining capacity.  While it's obvious that capacity is related to the amount of waste disposed at the site, landfill spokespersons have bandied about different useful lives and volumes for years.  Most recently, per DEQ, Riverbend is projecting a remaining lifespan of 8.3 years, based on 200 tons per day, the approximate waste flow in 2019 and 2020.  [Note:  DEQ uses tons and cubic yards interchangeably, as one cubic yard of municipal solid waste weighs about 1 ton.]  The landfill could, of course, reduce its waste intake to one ton a day -- or none, as will happen beginning in July -- and thereby "extend" the landfill's life indefinitely.

Riverbend is pursuing at least one more gambit.  Although it failed to appeal LUBA's order denying expansion, the dump did appeal the County's denial of its flood plain permit.  The state Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case one day before Waste Management announced its "pause."  The Court seemed inclined to remand the matter back to the County -- but only so the County could put findings denying the permit into the record.

Why would having an active flood plain permit without a viable expansion permit matter?  That's a mystery, given that under County law, the flood plain permit expires if substantial construction doesn't occur within 180 days after issuance.  With no expansion permit, there's nothing to construct, substantial or otherwise.

DEQ doesn't seem to realize how it's being played.  Let's hope the County figures this out. 

Landfill Closing? Pausing? Messing with Us?

 It's Thursday, June 17th, and the rumors are flying:  The landfill has closed!  For good!  The landfill is turning away "self-haulers," who bring their own household waste to the dump.  The landfill has broken its contract with Recology, refusing to let the south County hauler dump its garbage there.

What is going on?

The City of Amity tried to alert its citizens on the 18th, but had little to go on:

Good morning Amity business owners and operators,

I spoke with Recology today. They state that Riverbend Landfill will close beginning June 19th. Although this closure is supposed to be "temporary," when asked for a duration, Recology said the closure may be for "multiple months or years." During this closure, no vehicles public, commercial, or private will be authorized to dump there. So, private parties and contractors seeking to use the dump should go to either Coffin Butte (if able) or to their transfer station on Orchard Ave in McMinnville.  However, expect traffic and processing delays at the transfer center as Recology adjusts to the new demand. Recology will continue curbside trash pickup in Amity.

This may result in rate increases for all Recology customers throughout their entire service area. Further information will be forthcoming from Recology and presented to our City Council.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Thomas, City Administrator

Unfortunately the County was not able to do the same, as Riverbend did not bother to notify the entity that granted its license to operate!

Eventually, Waste Management released two "officials" letters,

one unsigned on June 18 and another a week later directed to the state Department of Environmental Quality by Jim Denson, Waste Management's Environmental Protection Manager,

 

 

 

In its letters, Waste Management asserts that it is "pausing" acceptance of waste other than soils until it can build up a side slope to create a bench for deposit of additional garbage.  Waste Management blames this "pause" on "delays" in its expansion, with no acknowledgement that the County has denied its expansion request or that the denial has been upheld by the Land Use Court of Appeals and not appealed by Riverbend.  In other words, expansion denial is FINAL.

Could it be that Waste Management is just a poor loser?

Riverbend Hit with Fines, Violation Notices

Riverbend Landfill has been hit with a flurry of violation notices and fines from federal and state environmental agencies.

In October 2019, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) found the landfill in violation of its permit for failing to measure harmful emissions from one of its landfill gas wells. According to DEQ, Riverbend had failed to monitor the well for at least two years. This failure resulted in use of inaccurate data to determine whether the landfill's overall gas collection system complied with federal law. DEQ referred the matter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency for action.

Two months later, in December 2019, DEQ again chastised Riverbend for failure to properly monitor and maintain two other gas wells. DEQ issued a "pre-enforcement notice" to the landfill and again referred the matter to the EPA.

In January 2020, the EPA issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Riverbend regarding not the wells DEQ had called out, but the landfill's failure to identify and capture methane leaks from cracks, seeps, and "areas of distressed vegetation" in the material covering the landfill. This failure continued for at least two and a half years.  The NOV also noted that Riverbend had failed to operate and maintain good air pollution control practices for at least five years.

Finally, DEQ recently fined Riverbend $8,400 for failure to collect and control leachate. Leachate is created when rainwater falling onto the landfill becomes contaminated from garbage and subsequently flows into ground water or nearby streams and rivers and becomes a hazard. This was not the first time the dump had allowed leachate to escape collection.

Landfill opponents have for years pointed to lax attention to regulatory duty at the landfill as a threat to area farms, water wells, irrigation sources, and recreational opportunities.

Opponents have also frequently chided the landfill and regulatory agency for failing to keep the County apprised of its violations.

Riverbend's license from Yamhill County expressly requires the landfill to "advise the County" whenever it receives notice of "any intent" from a governmental agency to "initiate a process leading to the issuance of a regulatory order." However, County Commissioners were shocked to learn about the EPA's NOV during the May 2020 hearing on Riverbend's expansion request. Certainly the citizens advisory committee on solid waste (SWAC) had never received notice of the violation.

The County cannot properly oversee the landfill if Riverbend continues to violate its license by withholding required information. The County needs to call Riverbend to account.