Riverbend Designated Vaccination Clinic Site

The operators of Riverbend Landfill are not sitting idle while waiting for LUBA, the state Land Use Board of Appeals, to decide whether Yamhill County was wrong to reject its expansion application.

The landfill has taken the laudable step of offering its 96 acres as a mass vaccination site.

"We want to do the right thing for the County," a Riverbend spokesperson explained, "just as we did in the mid-2000's with our failed Stewardship Lands project.  And since Metro stopped sending its waste our way in 2020, we have plenty of open space," the spokesperson added.

According to a Riverbend press release, eligible people will register as usual with the state (at Getvaccinated.Oregon.gov).  When vaccines become available, those who have indicated an interest in getting shot at the dump will be contacted to sign up for a time slot.

"Everyone coming in will be given a mask and a clothespin," the spokesperson explained.  "The mask is for the protection of our staff as much as for the vaccinatee.  The clothespin is our own invention.  Not only does it help keep the mask in place, but it also reduces the ambient smell."

The spokesperson added, "Some in the community may have heard about our leaking methane, the powerful greenhouse gas that's been escaping through our faulty landfill cover.  But nobody should be worried just because the federal EPA is investigating our failure to live up to our operating permit.  Methane emissions only hurt the planet, not people."

As the press release says, "The landfill looks forward to serving the people of Yamhill County with the same disinterest we've shown for the past forty years..." or they would, if this weren't an APRIL FOOL!

Whatchamacolumn: Bladine Gets It Right!

Jeb Bladine's Whatchamacolumn in the October 31st News-Register exposes Waste Management's latest shenanigan:  offering funds to cash-strapped County governments shortly before those communities will have to weigh in on dump expansion.

The national company just "happened" to choose Yamhill County for $150,000 in grants to be doled out this fall -- just weeks before the company submits its plans for expansion of Riverbend Landfill.

According to Bladine, WM and the County have created a joint partnership to parcel out the funds to deserving local projects.  Our County Commissioners may not see their actions this way, but from here it appears that County government is working hand-in-hand with a private corporation to buy support for the expansion plan.

This is only the latest in a series of efforts by Waste Management that could be perceived as "buying community support" for extending the smelly, noisy, water-threatening life of its dump on the banks of the South Yamhill River.  The Stewardship Lands effort and the fund the County set up to channel WM license fees directly into projects favored by influential County leaders are two others.  (For details on the Stewardship projects, see "Stewardship Land Projects:  The Right Move? below.)

Of course, the County has already approved a rezoning that was widely viewed as a prerequisite to any expansion.  But other jurisdictions will have the chance to file objections or propose conditions when the plans come before the County Planning Commission (which could be as soon as December or January).  We trust those agencies won't allowed their good sense to be swayed by Waste Management's dollars.

We're told that communities within Metro are also being offered cash by Waste Management.  Metro of course must soon decide whether to extend contracts with Waste Management that allow a percentage of Metro waste to come to Riverbend.

Local governments aren't the only parties with an opportunity to weigh in on expansion soon.  Individual residents and businesses can also participate -- even if they don't get any Waste Management money!  First up, a "community meeting" to be held by Waste Management at 6:15 pm, Tuesday, November 11 in the McMinnville Grand Ballroom (see related story below, "Witches and Goblins and Landfills, Oh My!").

Stewardship Land Projects: The Right Move?

by Kris Bledsoe, Upper Island Farm, Grand Island

Waste Management has offered 450 acres near Riverbend Landfill to the community and established a Stewardship committee of hand-picked locals to help make future plans for that land.

One of the immediate projects is the establishment of a collaboration of small farmers to farm a portion of that land adjacent to the old Whiteson dump. In return Waste Management is using the names of these organizations to help them along in the application process for a proposed expansion of the Landfill.

We have consistently declared that the existence and expansion of the dump is now and will continue to be harmful and is inconsistent with surrounding farms, land value and our local vineyards. Some of the small farmers who are planning to take on the dump land are relatively new to our area and do not fully understand how they are being used.

I encourage you to make your concerns known to each organization. Some of you are probably members of these organizations and do not realize the plans and commitments that are being made. Ask questions and decide for yourself if taking on dump land is consistent with the vision you have for the farming community. The farm groups that are involved are wonderful groups; I fully support their visions. They have much to add to our County. I just wonder if this is the right property to use.

The farm groups involved should not be vilified, rather they should be admired for their willingness to take on new ventures. They are being used because of their deep-seated passions for farming and their strong desire to start up some very useful programs. I suggest that the community should gather together and help these groups find another location.

The farm groups are:

GROW International will provide administration and project management under the leadership of farming advocate Jerry Tindall, who founded GROW International to "encourage global stewardship of land, food, and family." GROW International works with non-profits, governments, and others to educate and empower individuals and communities to nurture land, food and family.

Yamhill Valley Grown will help the farmers market and sell their food, under the direction of Heidi Lindell. Yamhill Valley Grown is an aggregator and online marketplace of food grown and produced in the Yamhill Valley. The group has membership options that allow people to support the local food system and has developed a local food resource guide for the community.

Yamhill Valley Farmers Network, managed by Beth Satterwhite, will provide the farmers access to information and education as part of the group's mission to foster a strong and supportive local farmer community. The Network was established in response to farmer feedback gathered through the Nourish Yamhill Valley Food System Assessment Process held in 2012, which identified challenges facing local farm businesses and the farming community.

Barbara Boyer envisioned the overall project and assembled the project partners. She will serve as mentor to the farmers. Boyer is also working through the Oregon Farm to School Council to strengthen the farm-to-school movement by creating infrastructure needed to provide local food to local children.

Each of these folks has a Facebook presence. If you think what they plan to do is great, let them know. If you have concerns, let them know.

Waste Management Stewardship Committee Update

by Susan Watkins
 
Earlier this summer, Waste Management asked local residents and business owners to join a "Stewardship Committee" to advise Waste Management about appropriate uses of lands surrounding Riverbend Landfill.

Though the committee takes its work seriously, it's unclear how much deference WMI will give to the group's decisions. Three committee members are paid by Waste Management. Moreover, WMI has told the committee that it retains the right to reject the committee's recommendations, and, moreover, that WMI has no intention of funding any of the proposals, even if approved!

So why did WMI create this committee? For the same reason it holds monthly "community meetings" (fourth Tuesday of each month, usually at the McMinnville Senior Center) and that it touted a new design for the dump's recycling area with great fanfare last winter: to distract us from their real purpose, ie, to expand Riverbend Landfill onto an adjacent 60 acres of farmland, keeping the dump open and the big trucks rolling through our small towns for another 25 years.

That said, some real good may come from the Stewardship Committee. At the committee's September 6, 2012 meeting, farmer Clarke Ellingson spoke eloquently about his role as a local farmer who knows the land around the dump and then offered a BRILLIANT suggestion: to offer the land for rent/lease to YOUNG (new generation) farmers, who would have to submit a business plan to qualify. According to Clarke, young people can access capital for farming; however, they cannot access land because land is too expensive for them to purchase. Clarke was given this same opportunity when he was young and he made a lifetime career from that generous beginning.

Waste Not member Susan Meredith, who serves on the Stewardship Committee, quickly embraced this idea. Said Susan, "If WMI doesn't want to farm the land, they should sell it to someone who will!"

Landfill neighbor Ramsey McPhillips, a former Waste Not board member, offered yet another option: In exchange for closing Riverbend Landfill, he would donate land to build whatever the community wanted. With the landfill closed, even the 60-acre parcel WMI has set aside for expansion could stay in farming.

The next Stewardship Committee meeting has not yet been set; we will post the date and time when available. The public is welcome, and there is an opportunity to address the committee.