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.