DEQ Issues Public Hearing Notice for Riverbend Closure Permit

DEQ, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, informed Yamhill County and other interested parties yesterday that it intends to issue a closure permit for Riverbend Landfill.

 

DEQ has invited the public to read and comment on the proposed permit (which can be found at Notice). The hearing itself will be held virtually on June 22 at 6:30 PM, with written comments due by 5 p.m., Monday, June 27. Links to the hearing and to the address to send comments are given at the end of this post.

 

The closure process is typically started by the landfill operator, though County Planning Director Ken Friday told the County Commissioners that he was not sure who initiated Riverbend's permit. The Notice itself refers to "a permit application dated Jan. 27, 2022," which would seem to indicate that Riverbend and/or its parent company, WM (formerly known as Waste Management, the world-wide garbage behemoth) did, indeed, ask DEQ to move forward with closure. The News-Register of McMinnville stated in today's edition that DEQ asked Riverbend to request the permit.

 

The Notice describes the closure process as follows:

 

"Given the reduction in waste flow over the past several months, DEQ is proposing to issue a closure permit for the landfill. This permit is based on a closure plan last updated in 2017 and a permit application dated Jan. 27, 2022.

 

"Under the proposed closure permit, Riverbend Landfill will continue accepting waste until it has used all its permitted capacity. The landfill will also install an impermeable final cover on uncapped portions of the landfill once they are full. The draft permit requires that final closure be completed within eight years of the date of permit issuance. 

 

"The closure permit does not prevent the landfill from continuing to accept waste in the approximately eight years prior to closure and does not prevent the applicant from applying for a permit modification for an expansion in the future."

 

The "permitted capacity" referenced in the Notice is not a specified volume but rather is based on an approved slope leading up from the permitted landfill footprint. Riverbend acknowledged a year ago that the dump as then structured had reached capacity; in response, the landfill shut its doors to the public and to haulers other than WM's Newberg hauling subsidiary. Riverbend's intention was to restructure the slopes of the dump to create platforms on which to pile more garbage. Though it is not clear to what extent that strategy has been successful, the proposed closure permit would give the company six more years to continue the process, using contaminated soils and curated garbage.

 

The proposed permit is good for ten years, through June 30, 2032.  DEQ estimates that closure at similar landfills takes a minimum of 30 years. Landfill owners are expected to pre-fund all anticipated costs associated with closure. Documents accompanying the proposed permit cite several past escapes of leachate from the landfill, its leachate ponds, and/or trucks hauling leachate off-site.

 

A cursory review of the proposed permit revealed no requirement for oversight by, or even for sharing information with, the public.

 

To read the Notice in full, go to Notice.

 

To register for the June 22 Zoom public hearing, go to: 

https://ordeq.org/Riverbend-closure-permit-public-hearing 

Alternatively, join the hearing by calling 877-853-5257 or 888-475-4499, using meeting ID 865 1813 7706 and passcode 651889.

 

DEQ will accept written public comment on the proposed permit until 5 p.m., Monday, June 27, 2022, at deqwr.solidwastepermitcoordinator@deq.oregon.gov 

or by mail at Solid Waste Permit Coordinator, Oregon DEQ, 165 E. Seventh Avenue, Suite 100, Eugene, OR 97401.

 

For further information, contact Denise Miller, Permit Coordinator, at 541-687-7465 or deqwr.solidwastepermitcoordinator@deq.oregon.gov.

 

 

Riverbend Closing?? Is DEQ Crying "Wolf"?

DEQ, the Oregon state Department of Environmental Quality, is in the process of writing a closure permit for Riverbend Landfill, according to DEQ permit writer Bob Schwarz.

A closure permit is required for authorized landfills in Oregon in order to ensure they are properly monitored over the life of the waste (or the period DEQ specifies in the permit).  Closure permits dictate the type of final cover, including soil cover (typically three feet of compacted soil) and vegetative cover.  The permit may also specify water diversion methods or other requirements for the particular site to be closed.

The permit will likely allow for inspections by DEQ personnel during the permit's life and may mandate maintenance activities deemed necessary to keep surface and ground water safe during closure. In Riverbend's case, since emissions have been an on-going issue, some monitoring of emissions and gas wells will likely also be required.

Before the permit is finalized, DEQ will issue a public notice that will presumably allow the public to comment on the particulars of the Riverbend permit.  Watch this space for further developments!

Landfill Fined -- Again

The Oregon state Department of Environmental Quality has fined Riverbend Landfill more than $17,000 for "failing to collect and control" leachate on multiple occasions in 2021.

This comes on top of more than $100,000 in fines levied by the federal Environmental Protection Agency for methane leaks beginning in at least 2017.

Both leachate and methane are seriously harmful to the environment.

Leachate from landfills may contain large amounts of organic and inorganic contaminants, heavy metals, and toxins derived from drugs, food additives, and pesticides that have been thrown in the trash.  When these compounds seep into the water supply, they can poison crops as well as drinking water for livestock, wildlife, and humans.

Because at least three of Riverbend's oldest, deepest cells are known to be unlined--and because the dump sits on the South Yamhill River--leachate leakage has long been feared.  Riverbend attempts to divert leachate from the landfill into ponds, from which it must be pumped and hauled away in tanker trucks.

DEQ's Notice of Civil Penalty Assessment and Order (dated March 25, 2022) cites leaks from both the landfill proper and a tanker truck.  To correct the leaks, Riverbend had to dig up and "dispose" of the contaminated soil (more than 16 cubic yards or eight truckloads).  The Order does not explain what "disposal" consisted of, but the landfill regularly accepts soils contaminated in other ways (eg, from gasoline leaks) for use as "daily cover."

DEQ's Order notes that Riverbend had previously been cited for similar violations at least three times, in 2014, 2019, and earlier in 2021.

As a potent greenhouse gas, methane is similarly damaging to the environment.  The EPA not only fined Riverbend, but also prescribed a detailed series of steps the landfill was required to take to correct the problems, which included failures in both the physical condition of the landfill and its cover and the processes Riverbend was using to identify and repair those physical failures.  According to statements made by landfill manager Nicholas Godfrey at the semi-annual Title V Air Quality public meeting in April, Riverbend has complied with each of those steps.