Benton County Commissioners are taking a second look at their decision to allow the Coffin Butte landfill to expand. This time, they’ll have new information to consider from Oregon’s environmental regulators.
The commissioners voted 2-1 in November to approve the expansion, but withdrew their decision the next month, to discuss it further before the proposal heads to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
This move came after the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced plans to take enforcement action against the landfill’s owners.
In its pre-enforcement notice, the DEQ described poor covering, incomplete monitoring practices, and an undersized gas collection system at the current landfill application.
On Tuesday, Benton County commissioners re-opened the record on the Coffin Butte letter to add the DEQ's letter, which was released shortly after the previous record closed.
The county is also accepting outside testimony related to the letter until next Tuesday at 4 p.m.. There will be another seven-day period for the public to rebut or respond to any evidence submitted, followed by seven days for the landfill's owners to submit their final arguments.
The commissioners have until mid-March to reach a final decision on the landfill expansion. So far, none of them have indicated whether they’ve changed their minds since the previous vote.
DEQ spokesperson Dylan Darling told KLCC Tuesday that the matter of Coffin Butte has been has been forwarded to the department's Office of Compliance and Enforcement, and a formal order and penalty assessment would come "in the coming months."
