Benton County officials are pressing Republic Services, the operator of the Coffin Butte Landfill north of Corvallis, with a formal list of 13 questions after the company’s 2024 annual report raised red flags over fire safety, data accuracy, and financial transparency.
In a Wednesday, May 13 letter from Benton County Solid Waste Program Coordinator Bailey Payne, the County demanded clarification on a striking anomaly in the report: the landfill’s 2024 intake figure — 1,032,214 tons of solid waste — is identical to the number reported for 2023, down to the last ton. Benton County’s Board of Commissioners and County staff seem to question that number, and are asking Republic Services to confirm the data is accurate. But that’s not all.
Fire Risks Draw Scrutiny
Perhaps the most urgent concern involves fire safety. The County’s Disposal Site Advisory Committee had previously urged Republic Services to implement enhanced fire monitoring on “red flag days” — periods of extreme fire weather flagged by the National Weather Service — and to install thermal imaging (FLIR) cameras at the facility year-round. Republic Services declined both recommendations.
The County’s letter points to a troubling comparison. Lane County operates the Short Mountain Landfill in Eugene which accepts approximately four times less than the Coffin Butte Landfill’s annual intake. Maya Buelow, a Lane County Waste Reduction Specialist, noted that improper disposal of lithium-ion batteries “sparked nearly 60 ‘thermal events’ at Short Mountain last year.” That is more than one per week. Lane County Solid Waste Supervisor Keith Hendrix stated that flammable materials like batteries, propane tanks, and charcoal “have been known to start as many as four fires in a single day at the Glenwood Transfer Station and Short Mountain Landfill.”
Payne’s letter demands, “The Board of Commissioners would like to know more about the frequency of fires at the Coffin Butte Landfill, how these types of fires originated, how Republic Services staff responded and how often the Adair Rural Fire and Rescue were called to assist.”
As no small aside, lithium-ion batteries, increasingly embedded in consumer electronics, have become a growing hazard at landfills and recycling facilities nationwide. Oregon has responded with legislation — House Bill 4144 — requiring manufacturers to fund and manage a statewide battery recycling program. But, consumer participation is maybe not keeping pace with the need.
Leachate Mystery
The County is also seeking answers about where the landfill’s leachate — contaminated liquid that percolates through buried waste — is being sent.
Republic’s report stated that 43.2 million gallons of leachate were treated in 2024. The County is demanding to know how many gallons went to the City of Salem versus Corvallis in 2024.
The letter also signals expectations for upcoming reports from the company, noting Republic’s 2024 report said, “Coffin Butte Landfill will no longer send leachate to the City of Corvallis wastewater treatment plant after December 2025. Leachate that was previously going to Corvallis is now headed to a private third-party treatment plant.”
The County is demanding to know who the private third party is, and how much leachate is being sent.
Capacity Questions
Commissioners are also questioning conflicting statements about how much usable airspace remains at the landfill. The 2024 report simultaneously projects 12.9 years of capacity remaining and approximately 10 years — a nearly three-year discrepancy on the same page. Meanwhile, measured airspace appears to have increased by more than 584,000 cubic yards compared to 2023, which the County suspects may be related to the excavation of a new cell at the site.
A Pattern of Missing Data
Beyond those headline issues, County staff flagged a range of missing or incomplete reporting, including breakdowns of waste received from private versus commercial haulers, attendance and tonnage data from Household Hazardous Waste and Spring Recycle events, historical fund balances for the Landfill Environmental Trust Fund, and a decade-long intake and sales chart for the Price-Recovery Center.
The County is also asking whether aerial LiDAR surveys — used to precisely measure the volume of waste buried at the site — have continued since 2021, and if so, how many flights have been conducted.
Deadline Set
Republic Services has been given until June 15 to respond. The County noted the company may submit its answers as an appendix to the existing 2024 annual report. Staff will be updating the Benton County Board of Commissioners this Tuesday, May 19.
For a copy of the staff letter to Republic Services and staff memo to the Benton County Board of Commissioners, click here.
To contact Chris Evenson about this story, email office@corvallisadvocate.com
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com