The Benton County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to allow the Coffin Butte landfill to expand.
Audience members wearing “STOP the Landfill Xpansion” stickers sat stunned in a meeting room at the Kalapuya Building in Corvallis on Tuesday afternoon.
Commissioner Nancy Wyse cried as she explained why was choosing to let the expansion move forward, despite her personal belief that the landfill hasn’t been a good neighbor.
“Nancy does not want to expand the landfill,” she said. “Commissioner Wyse must be impartial and follow the laws of Oregon and the Benton County code, as I swore to do at the beginning of my term.”
Coffin Butte landfill is located north of Corvallis, near the rural town of Adair Village. Its owner, Republic Services, has said it wants to add around six years to the site’s lifespan.
But local political leaders, neighbors, and environmental watchdog groups have raised concerns about noise, fire risks, litter and odor. The Benton County Planning Commission unanimously rejected the expansion application in July.
However, county staff recommended last month that the expansion should be approved, with conditions meant to reduce the impact on the local community, including odor and noise monitoring requirements.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Wyse and Commissioner Pat Malone found that with the county’s conditions in place, the application could meet legal requirements, and wouldn’t seriously interfere with uses on adjacent properties.
“It is a fact that the expansion portion of the landfill will have much more stringent conditions and requirements than the existing portion of the landfill,” said Malone.
Wyse said she didn't believe that Republic Services would behave without significant leverage and the threat of revoking its permit.
At the meeting, commissioners voted to add additional conditions for better litter management, overnight firefighting services, water testing, and more.
In an email to KLCC Tuesday, Republic Services spokesperson Melissa Quillard celebrated the board’s decision.
“We thank the Commissioners and Benton County staff for their hard work and thoughtful interpretation of the code,” said Quillard. “This decision supports safe, reliable and cost-effective waste disposal services across the county.”
Meanwhile, County Commissioner Gabe Shepherd was the sole “no” vote against approving the expansion.
He said the plan for mitigating odor wasn’t sufficiently improved from the current site, and nearby livestock could be at risk from litter from the landfill.
The Board is scheduled to vote on the final written findings on Nov. 17.
Landfill critics react
After the decision came down, some audience members who opposed the expansion cried or hugged each other, while others huddled together to talk about their next moves.
Mark Yeager, a resident of the Soap Creek Valley, said he doesn’t believe the conditions for approval in place are enough to keep the community safe, since they lack tools for punishment.
He said even if Republic breaks the rules, it could take years and significant legal expenses for community members to get justice.
Yeager said it's too early to know what the community’s next steps are. They could appeal this decision to the Land Use Board of Appeals, but he said it may be costly.
"There's a ton of energy in this community to stop this expansion," said Yeager. "Once this conditional use permit is approved, then the door is open, and they can continue to do other expansions."
Soap Creek Valley resident Ken Ecklund told KLCC he was been frustrated by the hearing process, which he called unfair.
“The planning staff has been very much not objective in how they have treated testimony from the public, from beginning to end,” he said. “There seems to be a faction in the county that really wants this landfill expansion to proceed.”
Corvallis resident George Hutchinson said he felt betrayed.
"Our county chair has says she's voting for her integrity, but a very thoughtful, articulate Commissioner voted completely opposite of her, and she could have adopted that point of view," said Hutchinson. "This is not a forced vote."
Hutchinson said the decisions won't be forgotten. He said Malone and Wyse may face recall attempts from the community.
“That two of them have voted to betray the environment and our lives here is significant,” said Hutchinson. “There will be political consequences.”
