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.
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