Deadline to Comment on Proposed Landfill Closure Plan Extended to July 11

At the request of neighbors of Riverbend Landfill, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has agreed to extend the time for commenting on a draft closure permit for the landfill by two weeks. Previously, the deadline was this coming Monday, June 27; the actual deadline will now be Monday, July 11, at 5:00 PM.

Ramsey McPhillips, whose farm abuts the landfill, and Susan Watkins, who also lives in the area, called on DEQ to extend the deadline after they learned that some documents DEQ relied on in drafting the closure permit had not been made available to the public. Most of those documents have now been posted on DEQ's Riverbend web page, https://www.oregon.gov/deq/programs/pages/riverbend-landfill.aspx.

DEQ asked Riverbend to apply for a closure permit after the landfill's request to expand was turned down by Yamhill County and the landfill subsequently closed its doors to community waste. According to Riverbend, the remaining permitted capacity at the landfill is about 395,000 cubic yards. The landfill once took in that much waste in a year, but under its new "curated" waste policy, has accepted only about 5,000 cubic yards since last July.

DEQ estimates it will take about 8 years for Riverbend to close and cap the remaining uncapped 59 acres of the landfill.

The closure permit will be written for 10 years, with the condition that Riverbend finish capping the landfill in 8 years. Subsequently, DEQ intends to issue a post-closure permit to Riverbend.  Post-closure permits typically run for 30 years but can be extended.

According to DEQ, Riverbend can request a permit modification at any time during the 8, 10, or 30-year periods. Modification could include expanding the current landfill, though the existing cells would still have to be closed and capped within the original 8-year period.

Information about the permit can be found on DEQ's Riverbend web page, cited above.  Comments can be sent to DEQ at any time before 5:00 PM Monday, July 11, at deqwr.solidwastepermitcoordinator@deq.oregon.gov.