With Closure Hearing Less Than a Week Away, Questions Mount

As previously reported, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold a public hearing next week to consider issuing a closure permit to Riverbend Landfill.

The landfill abruptly closed its doors to community garbage last summer, and now takes in only soils and "waste by appointment" as it tries to fill all the nooks and crannies in its giant mound.

Outraged citizens immediately sought DEQ's help in figuring out what was happening. Had the dump closed? Could it keep its doors shut but the landfill itself open indefinitely? Fueling these questions was another lurking issue:  Riverbend's operating permit expired in 2009. DEQ has extended the permit administratively ever since, citing uncertainties about the landfill's numerous expansion applications.

With the County's definitive rejection of Riverbend's expansion plans in 2020, citizens were ready for DEQ to act. As far as the public knows, DEQ did nothing, even when the landfill closed its doors last June. Finally, in January 2022, DEQ asked Riverbend to apply for a closure/post-closure permit; the landfill filed the permit on January 27, DEQ drafted a proposed permit, and the hearing is set for next week.

But what will the hearing address? The Notice of Hearing says the draft closure permit is based on a closure plan last updated in 2017 and a permit application dated Jan. 27, 2022. The draft permit itself says the permit is based on that January closure permit application plus a solid waste permit renewal application received Aug. 19, 2009, and a Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) from the Yamhill County Planning Department dated Nov. 16, 2016.  Which is it?

To complicate things, the 2017 closure plan has been modified by Riverbend, at least twice. So which version of this "last updated in 2017" plan is DEQ relying on?

Finally, financial assurances are a huge part of the closure permit; landfill owners must agree to manage their dumps for at least thirty years post-closure. Yet DEQ has not yet revealed the criteria by which it judges the sufficiency of financial bonds and set-asides. And Riverbend's 2022 assurance letter, due in April, has not been posted by DEQ on its Riverbend web page.

In fact, only some of these documents are available on the web page. You can find the "public notice, draft closure permit and permit evaluation report," the January 2022 "Riverbend Landfill Closure Permit Application" form, the 2009 "Riverbend Landfill Solid Waste Permit Renewal Application" form, the 2017 "Closure and post-closure plan," and 2021 "Closure and post-closure financing" documents (which include the 2021 update to the never-modified 2017 plan) on the web page--but not the 2016 LUCS or other documents supposedly attached to the January 2022 application.

All of these contradictions and missing documents beg the question whether DEQ has figured out what it is doing.

Which means the Department needs your help in closing Riverbend! Don't miss out on all the fun -- register for the hearing now!  On the Riverbend web page, of course.

Hearing: Wednesday, June 22 at 6:30 PM only on Zoom!

Comments: Submit at the Hearing or email to:DEQWR.SolidWastePermitCoordinator@deq.oregon.gov

 

 

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.

 

Waste Management To Open "Riverbend Shopping Mall"

Waste Management, ginormous Texas-based owner of Riverbend Landfill, has decided to one-up the City of McMinnville and open its own "scenic" shopping mall, atop the garbage dump. The company (now know as "WM," having finally admitted it knows nothing about either waste or management) has given up on expanding the landfill and is seeking other ways to turn a profit at the site.

An upscale shopping mall appears to be WM's ticket to success.

The company has already begun construction on the first phase: an EV-charging station, to be powered by excess methane leaking from the dump. The station will sit at the southwest corner of the property, where WM has recently torn down an old tumble-down house that once served as living quarters for landfill employees.

Explained a company spokesperson, "Riverbend has always produced more methane than we can process at our landfill gas-to-energy plant. In the past, we have just let that excess gas leak into the air--I mean, what harm can a little more methane do to our already ravaged atmosphere? Now we will harness that gas to make electricity to fuel all the Teslas, Rivians, and Ioniq 5s that will soon flood our winery-fixated neighborhoods. What's not to like?"

WM believes those upscale cars will bring shoppers with full pocketbooks to its new Riverbend Shopping Experience.  Said the spokesperson, "We don't fear competition from Mac's proposed big box center. We have the better site by far--a gently curving hill overlooking a wide bend in the South Yamhill River. Goats and orchards and of course vineyards wherever you look. Yes, shoppers might occasionally see a raven peck out a sheep's eyes or a falcon carry off a prize-winning pheasant, and they might smell sulfur leaking out with the methane, but that's all part of country living, right?"

When pressed to identify some of the establishments that might open their doors atop the landfill, the spokesperson turned coy. "We can't name names just yet. We need to see what kind of businesses our Commissioners favor.  Of course, there will be at least one gun shop."

Like you, we can't wait to go shopping on the dump! Though that may take longer than you might expect, given that this whole idea is just an April Fool's!