Oregon’s U.S. senators are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to finish investigating the Coffin Butte landfill.
The site is located in Benton County, near Adair Village and the Soap Creek Valley community. Residents living there have reported odor and fire hazards.
In 2022, the EPA found significant methane leaks at the site. However, the results of a follow-up inspection from this June aren’t yet public.
At a press conference in Springfield Friday, Senator Ron Wyden told KLCC he doesn't think the EPA is fully utilizing its authority.
“We aren't going to let this priority get buried," said Wyden. "It's, not on our watch, gonna get second shrift status, and be allowed to fester in inaction.”
Last week, Wyden and two other Democrats, Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle, wrote to the EPA to ask that they expedite the investigation.
Hoyle said Benton County officials need more data before they decide whether to allow the landfill to expand.
"Transparency is the most important thing we can have," said Hoyle, "so that people who live near the landfill, people who use the landfill, can know exactly what they're dealing with."
Landfill representatives previously said the unreleased EPA inspection found emissions above the legal limit.
