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.
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