Mostly, when government officials act, some folks will see their decisions as absolutely peachy and others will think they stink. Reasonable minds can disagree. But in the instance of the Benton County Board of Commissioners’ decision to okay an expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill, the stink is undebatable.
The place has a reek all its own, and even now, one can catch a whiff of the public health and environmental crisis future generations of locals will be facing whenever the dump’s owner finally skedaddles for trashier pastures.
We can see the future, and it includes leakages into the earth and air, and none of it will be good for anyone. Benton County’s children of tomorrow will be left holding the bag.
Republic Services, a nationwide trash conglomerate owns the local dump, or more conveniently, their nicely bankrupt-able in case of environmental emergency subsidiary owns it, Valley Landfills Inc. We’re guessing future Republic Services lawyers will notice this. They may also notice some statutes of limitations that are applicable to certain landfill impacts as well.
But none of that may ultimately matter. It is questionable if anyone with any authority will actually know what the dump’s impacts will be in the future, let alone the damages it may be doing, until it is too late, probably after clusters of human health impacts are noticed.
Our fair podunk of a County is, in a word, small. Even if Benton County had the know-how to adequately monitor the landfill and its impacts, it doesn’t have the resources to put that know-how to work. The County probably won’t be able to monitor the myriad potential impacts the landfill will have as it grows. And it’s not like the County has any meaningful track record for doing that sort of work proactively.
Worse, federal and state regulators have also already proven to be inadequate checks on Republic’s operations. They are only now dealing with air quality violations dating back to 2022. Oregon’s DEQ acknowledges the violations are ongoing. And for reasons we’ll leave to your imagination, the DEQ only disclosed all of this two days after Benton County’s Board of Commissioner’s voted to approve the landfill’s expansion.
Is that timing just coincidental. Who knows, we don’t. But for sure, inertia is a thing, and most of the state’s leaders are more likely content to continue the status quo dumping of the region’s trash in our backyard than prospectively their own.
In any event, regardless of our state’s leadership, or what state and federal regulators are or aren’t doing, the Benton County Board of Commissioners vote to approve stands, at least for now.
So, what can you do
You can help support a legal appeal of the Commissioners’ decision. An appeal stops the expansion for now, and possibly permanently. It is the only option that does both those things. And fortunately, a group is filing with Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA, on the community’s behalf.
You can help this group, and we hope you will. Valley Neighbors for Environmental Quality and Safety, or VNEQS, are the folks filing the appeal. They are also the folks that have been the go-to clearinghouse of information for people opposing the dump’s expansion.
They have said they will file the appeal Friday, December 5. But that will just be the beginning. After that, there will be a lengthy and technical process that means lawyers and ongoing legal bills. If you have the means, even small contributions are a huge help.
VNEQS has already raised over $27,000. But on their GoFundMe page, the group says they expect to need up to $50,000 by the time the LUBA process concludes. We think that’s a worthwhile investment in our shared community’s future.
The way we see it, this is a David and Goliath moment. VNEQS is a small and informal group, and they are going to need help paying for the expertise and legal talent required for this fight.
We also know there has been talk about recalling the commissioners who voted to approve the landfill’s expansion. Time will tell if a campaign like that comes to fruition. But even if it does, a recall won’t stop the landfill’s now approved expansion. Likewise, it may be too late for a referendum or initiative. An appeal, like what VNEQS is filing, is the best option now.
Click here to donate to the VNEQS’ appeal. You can also mail a check to VNEQS at PO Box 175, Corvallis, OR 97339-0175.
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