1 week Ago By ALEX POWERS [email protected]
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Land use officials in Benton County are once again reviewing an Arizona-based trash hauler’s application to expand Coffin Butte Landfill, its third attempt since 2021. Although 95 pages longer, the physical plans are largely the same as those submitted in July. The additions include estimations of smells, sights and sounds emanating from the dump north of Corvallis, operated locally under Republic Services' subsidiary, Valley Landfills “(Valley Landfills) believes the revised application addresses each issue the county asked us to address,” Jeffrey Condit, a Portland-based attorney, said in the application's cover letter.
A hydraulic lift hoists a trailer into the air above Coffin Butte Landfill in August. In its latest filing, Republic Services proposes taking actions to cut back dump scent and visibility in exchange for county approval. The ideas include planting and maintaining rows of trees to block view of Coffin Butte and measuring odor with a precision olfactometer called a Nasal Ranger.
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30 to Benton County restarts a potentially months-long review amid an ongoing labor strike . The clock started ticking on the second attempt when the landfill owner's submitted a new expansion application in July . But Benton County in August deemed it incomplete just before the close of a 30-day vetting period, reporting “deficiencies” in the corporation’s paperwork.
Planners called on Republic to include more, and more detailed information after a consultant — Portland-based Winterbrook Planning — found the local government didn’t have the reports it needed to assess Republic’s application. “The county will once again utilize the expertise of an outside consultant for technical support to ensure all aspects of the application are thoroughly reviewed,” county officials said in an Oct. 31 news release.
A tanker trailer takes on trash-imbued runoff called leachate in August at Coffin Butte Landfill, north of Corvallis. Planning officials anticipate the local government will expend the full month provided under state law to check whether Republic’s application now contains the reports and assessments that could show how dump operations impact surrounding properties. If deemed complete, the application then would go before the Benton County Planning Commission — an appointed body that approves how owners use their property and advises the local government’s elected leaders on complex decisions, such as this one.
The first time around, in late 2021, it was the Planning Commission that rejected Republic's expansion plans . The company initially responded with an appeal of that decision but months later withdrew the challenge . Oregon typically leaves cities and counties to regulate development size, sewage and water access, number and capacity of roads, signs and lights, and more.
A truck painted in Republic Services livery hauls a dumpster across a sealed face of Coffin Butte Landfill in August north of Corvallis. That means while landfill contents are beholden to federal environmental regulations meant to tamp down on leaking greenhouse gasses or toxic storm runoff , its expansion is subject to state land use laws dictating how development encroaches on farms and forests. Republic Services-owned landfill south of Coffin Butte Road, near Adair Village, accepts about 1.
1 million tons of trash each year, mostly from numerous other counties, a sticking point for opponents of the expansion. Residents in neighboring Adair Village and the Soap Creek community regularly appear at regional government meetings in Corvallis to say they believe regional landfilling practices unfairly burden locals with the fallout of burying trash from faraway places. The company hired biologists and geologists to study how the landfill can better answer some criticisms in its July filing, when plans called to halve new landfill volume.
Republic plans to construct an 1,800-square-foot building for workers, site a sump pump, and relocate a pond where water imbued with toxins, called leachate, pools after seeping out of the dump. In its revised expansion plans, the corporation includes five conditions that Republic would have to meet before expansion and 12 ongoing conditions that Republic would have to meet after expansion. “Applicant shall designate two site personnel to be trained to detect odors,” according to the application.
County officials now have until late April to approve this third attempt. Related stories: Benton: Coffin Butte Landfill expansion application incomplete Alex Powers Federal politicos urge EPA to act on Coffin Butte Landfill methane issues Alex Powers Benton officials want landfill report to include methane concerns Alex Powers Benton County takes dump expansion application Alex Powers More Benton County news More Corvallis news Alex Powers (he/him) covers agri-business, Benton County, environment and city of Lebanon for Mid-Valley Media. Call 541-812-6116 or tweet @OregonAlex.
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