Phase out Controversial Landfill

Yamhill County should negotiate to phase out controversial landfill, report says

By Scott Learn, The Oregonian

October 12, 2009, 12:01PM

Yamhill County should cut a deal with Waste Management to phase out its controversial landfill along the banks of the Yamhill River and replace it with an alternative technology that burns, recycles or turns trash into fuel instead of dumping it, a consultant says.

The long-awaited report from Zia Engineering stops short of recommending that the county deny Waste Management's request to expand Riverbend Landfill, which the company predicts will fill up by 2014. Instead it recommends a "balanced compromise" that keeps the landfill open but sets the county more firmly on the course of replacing it.

Yamhill County commissioners' decision on Waste Management's expansion request has consequences for the Portland area, which sends a fifth of its trash to Riverbend and is responsible for much of the growth in the landfill's waste stream. The landfill sits near McMinnville on Oregon 18, a popular route to the coast.

Landfill opponents, organized as Waste Not of Yamhill County, want the commission to deny the 87-acre expansion request. They say it makes more sense environmentally to truck the waste 150 miles to Waste Management'sColumbia Ridge landfill in relatively arid Gilliam County, rather than dumping it so close to the river in rainy western Oregon.

Opponents also argue that aggressive pursuit of alternative technologies -- from burning waste to generate energy to converting trash into compost or ethanol -- can make the landfill obsolete and prevent expansion on farmland and in a flood plain.

Waste Management says its advanced landfill liners and leachate collection system will stop pollution of groundwater or the river. Continued operation of the landfill will keep costs lower for Yamhill County, the company says, and allow operation of a planned facility that will turn landfill methane into electricity.

Zia's report estimates the cost to Yamhill County residents and businesses if the waste goes to Columbia Ridge, where most of the Portland area's trash ends up now. Those cost increases range from 10 to 40 percent for residents, depending on their location and service, and 15 to 30 percent for businesses. Were the landfill closed, the county would also lose $800,000 in annual "host fees."

The report doesn't address the consequences for Portland-area residents and businesses whose waste goes to Riverbend, though costs would likely increase. In 2008, 43 percent of Riverbend's waste came from Washington and Clackamas counties.

Zia also evaluated alternative technologies to dumping. Burning trash to generate energy is further along, they said -- Marion County already has a waste-to-energy plant. But a new plant would take years to develop and relies on a continuing steady trash stream, the consultants said, so closing the landfill could actually thwart its development.

Other technologies are promising, but it's "difficult to predict" when they'll be ready to handle the 630,000 tons a year that Riverbend takes now, the report says.

In November, county voters shot down a measure that would have prevented landfill expansion within 2,000 feet of a floodplain, after Waste Management spent more than $300,000 to oppose the measure.

Expansion opponents include the county planning board, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District and United Steelworkers Local 8378 in McMinnville, which believes landfill alternatives would provide more jobs.

The Yamhill County commission is scheduled to resume its hearings on the landfill expansion Wednesday morning. A hearing on Waste Management's request for an air quality permit from the Department of Environmental Quality is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 20.

-- Scott Learn

United Steelworkers Local 8378 Against Expansion

United Steelworkers Local 8378 has reviewed the issues surrounding the application by Waste Management INC of Houston, Texas for an expansion of their Riverbend Landfill in Yamhill County, Oregon and they have issued a letter to the Yamhill County Commissioners stating that they do not believe Riverbend’s expansion is in the best interest of the county and community.

The unions are adding their voice to a long list of community groups and individuals who have taken a stand against this expansion: the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District, the Yamhill Farm Bureau, Waste Not of Yamhill County, and the Yamhill County Planning Board.

Chemicals in the soil!

7% of the annual tons going in to the landfill is contaminated soil. That is 43,908 tons of toxic soil in 2008. This goes on the top of the landfill for cover!

Published September 30, 2009

State Avenue cleanup at midway point

JOHN DODGE; The Olympian

OLYMPIA – Environmental cleanup of a property owned by the city of Olympia on State Avenue reached the midway point this week.

What the city will do with the property when the cleanup is complete is still somewhat up in the air, but it’s emerging as a preferred site for a downtown parking garage, city officials said.

In the past three weeks, approximately 6,500 tons of contaminated soil have been removed and shipped to a hazardous waste disposal site in McMinnville, Ore., from the property between Franklin and Adams streets next to the Intercity Transit Center.

Chemicals in the soil requiring removal under state toxic cleanup standards included arsenic, heavy metals, solvents and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are cancer-causing byproducts from the burning of fossil fuels and wood.

The contamination occurred over more than 110 years of property use as a foundry and later a state Department of Transportation materials testing lab and auto and machine shed, explained Sheri Zinny, project manager for the city of Olympia.

In 1936, the then-state Highways Department building burned down on site, but was rebuilt.

“The PAHs are probably from the debris from the burned building,” Zinny said.

The city purchased the roughly 1-acre lot from the DOT in 2008 for $1.28 million. The money was placed in escrow pending completion of a cleanup overseen by the city and conducted by Cowlitz Clean Sweep Inc. of Longview.

If the cleanup cost doesn’t exceed the sales price, the state highway agency will pocket the difference.

But there is a chance the cleanup cost could exceed the purchase price, Zinny said.

In that case, the purchase agreement gives the city the right to seek reimbursement from the state agency, city attorney Tom Morrill said.

The cleanup has moved from soil removal to gravel and soil replacement in the gaping hole along State Avenue that is about 10 feet deep.

The State Avenue soil cleanup, along with the nearby East Bay Redevelopment Project, has led to traffic delays and sidewalk and parking closures in the vicinity since early September.

Letters to the Editor-October 10, 2009-News Register

Pull the reins on dump

As long as there is land to expand upon, Riverbend Landfill will resist green alternatives. Burying garbage is quick, convenient and profitable. If it was financially green, Riverbend would have changed long ago. They know the bottom line.

The time has come to pull in the reins on this runaway dump. Our county needs to gain some control. We do not have to approve their application for expansion, nor do we have to renew the disposal permit that expires in 2014.

Riverbend is on a blitz to enhance its green image. A lot of smoke will be blown in our faces so we cannot see their path of destruction. To win us over, many airs of good intentions will be displayed. And they would like us to be in fear and dread of higher garbage rates. Sounds like a bully on the block.

If Riverbend’s feigned goodwill fails, their parent company, Waste Management Inc. of Texas, will fly in their best lawyers with a bottomless war chest and confront us in the courts. It’s then that Waste Management Inc. will expect us to cower and roll over and play dead. Waste Management Inc. will become as stinking ugly as their dump.

Yamhill County government’s first priority is the wellbeing of its citizens and environment. We need to challenge Waste Management Inc. and deny expansion. Walking arm-in-arm with Riverbend Landfill is not in our best interest.

Marci Christian
McMinnville

Plant still needs permit

Although the report delivered to the County Commissioners by Zia Engineering on Oct. 2 focused only on “landfilling” as an alternative to Riverbend expansion and did not include alternative waste disposal technologies currently in use elsewhere, it included a very thorough cost analysis of transporting the solid waste that currently comes to Riverbend from other area landfills.

The report identifies four area landfills that have long-term capacity available. These are Coffin Butte in Corvallis and Arlington, Roosevelt and Wasco County in the Columbia Gorge.

For example, the cost increases that would be implemented for delivery of waste by WOW and Newberg Garbage to Coffin Butte, the nearest location, are $1.01 (5.6 percent) for Newberg residential customers and $3.35 (18.7 percent) for WOW customers. For commercial customers, the increases are $10.47 (8 percent) and $34.80 (18 percent), respectively.

You will recognize that these percent increases are significantly less than the rate increases that Riverbend publicized if waste were to be transported to other locations, especially the 250 percent rate increase figure that Riverbend used to intimidate local businesses into supporting their proposed expansion.

Another Riverbend PR campaign is the methane-to-electricity generating plant. Implementation of this plant has already been widely publicized by Riverbend; however, it is not yet a “done deal.” A DEQ air quality permit approval is required for its operation. The hearing on this permit is not scheduled until Oct. 20 and, without this DEQ permit, the plant cannot operate.

How can Riverbend be so sure that they will receive the permit that they publicize the operation of the plant several weeks before the date of the hearing and receipt of the permit itself?

Susan Meredith
McMinnville

Letters to the Editor - October 3, 2009- News Register

A Major Hit For Riverbend

The Riverbend Landfill application to destroy farmland took a major hit when Zia Engineering recommended to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee that Waste Management and the county work to replace the landfill with modern green alternatives.

The land use law is clear — Riverbend may not expand and destroy more farmland unless there is no other option for our solid waste disposal needs. Although not expressly stated, the Zia report confirms the Yamhill County Planning Commission’s unanimous 7-0 vote to deny the expansion application.

Identifying and recommending the use of alternatives is the legal death knell of the “need” argument used by Riverbend’s lawyers to justify the massive farmland-destroying expansion. This report has far-reaching ramifications for Yamhill County’s future.

Undoubtedly, the commissioners will now vote to deny the application, Waste Management will spend the next three years fighting in the courts to win back the right to use the landfill, but meanwhile, a host of new, competing companies will rush in to bid on our immensely lucrative non-land filling solid waste system. Even our own WOW will be there at the bidding table.

A Texas corporation will no longer rule the roost in our county — unless, of course, they win in a bidding war for our garbage. Denial of the application will make Waste Management fight to be the lowest solid waste cost provider and take away their monopoly status here in Yamhill County. How American.

Only if the landfill application is denied will the county then be able to issue an RFP to solicit and prepare for these new competing technologies. Approval could very well result in a court overturning their vote in three years, leaving Yamhill County with neither a landfill nor an alternative. Denial is the only commission vote that keeps the door open for either legal outcome.

Ramsey McPhillips
McMinnville

Require concession on landfill

It seems that after recent developments, Waste Management Corporation’s plan to expand our Riverbend Landfill into a huge regional dumpsite is likely. Who can say no to power generation for 2,000 homes?

What has not been mentioned is that the company is also applying for an expanded DEQ permit as well. Carbon monoxide emissions will be increasing from 99 tons per year to 249 tons, nitrogen oxides from 39 tons per year to 146 tons yearly and excessive amounts of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) just to name a few.

Waste Management spent close to a million dollars to defeat a measure that limited landfill expansions within a certain distance of rivers. Now, when they sensed that their expansion plans (profits) may be in jeopardy because of local opposition to this massive regional dumpsite, they are shelling out $10 million to put in this power generation plant to smooth the way. This is a smoke screen, literally and figuratively.

Hired consultants on this issue suggest a compromise solution with citizens and businesses.
We have a suggestion. For Waste Management to be allowed to continue operating their cash cow indefinitely at the expense of our skyways and byways here in McMinnville, we should require a concession. This corporation should be expected to pay for the annual property taxes of all farms, residences and businesses within a ten mile radius of their facility.

It is the very least they could do to offset the decreased property values and quality of life of those affected by this expansion. It seems only fair.

Tammy Devine
McMinnville

Dump the dump

Many Yamhill County residents are appalled and infuriated at Riverbend Landfill’s application to expand and dispose of garbage for another 30 years. Imagine the size and impact it will have. It is an atrocity now.

Siting a dump beside a river on prime farmland, near a city and along a major highway, was a mistake 30 years ago. Enough is enough.

Riverbend is now touting the gas-powered electricity it can generate. There is no mention of the considerable toxicity of burned garbage gas, nor does anyone know all the combinations of poisons collecting in the giant garbage mound.

The county planning department held a thorough public hearing this summer on the proposed expansion of Riverbend. The department received volumes of written and hours of spoken testimony of well-thought arguments against the expansion. The county’s own Citizens Solid Waste Advisory Board, the Farm Bureau, the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District, the tourist and wine industries and many, many others spoke eloquently against the expansion and its incompatibility with our best interests.

Expansion into the scenic and productive countryside for the sake of cheap garbage rates and electricity would be done at the expense of the health, safety and livability of a vital part of our community. Is that really acceptable?

Yamhill County has far more to offer than a bargain dump site for Portland-Metro. Our commissioners make the final decision. Let’s encourage them to dump the dump.

Mike Westphal
McMinnville

Ask for greener technology

Zia Engineering presented its report Wednesday to the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Zia, commissioned by the Board of Commissioners to investigate alternatives to Riverbend Landfill, made no recommendation. But Zia called on Waste Management Inc., Riverbend’s Texas-based owner, to work with the county and interested citizens to find ways to implement alternatives locally.

The report may be most valuable for its review of alternative technologies employed by WMI in other jurisdictions. WMI will be converting waste to energy with plasma arc technology (perhaps the cleanest method out there) in Bend and 180 other landfills they operate throughout the U.S. WMI also has invested in biomass conversion technology that converts organic waste to gasoline.

These alternative technologies dispose of solid waste without the environmental and economic threats to surrounding residential and farming communities, McMinnville area air, or the South Yamhill River posed by a large landfill. There is no reason WMI cannot implement one of these processes here.

We recognize that new technologies are not cost-free. But, according to the Sept. 24 Portland Tribune, WMI is earning $5 million from the state in energy tax credits toward the $10 million methane-burning plant it is installing along Highway 18 — 50 percent of the cost, before profits from sale of electricity are factored in. A plasma arc or biomass plant might earn similar credits.
Under Oregon law, the county may approve a zone change from farm use to another use only when “a demonstrated need for the proposed use or activity” exists. Clearly, if other, more compatible alternatives exist, there is no “need” for a landfill.

Speaking as president of Waste Not of Yamhill County, we echo Zia: Let’s ask WMI to step up to the plate and bring cleaner, greener waste disposal technology to our county.

Susan Watkins
McMinnville

Notice of Public Hearing—October 20, 2009

Proposed Issuance of Standard Air Contaminant Discharge Permit and Modification and Renewal of Title V Permit for Riverbend Landfill Co.

The purpose of this notice is to invite you to make oral comments on this proposed air quality permit issuance at a public hearing. You may also comment in writing.

DEQ’s Role:

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for protecting and enhancing Oregon’s water and air quality, for cleaning up spills and releases of hazardous materials, and for managing the proper disposal of hazardous and solid wastes. One way DEQ does this is by requiring permits for certain activities. DEQ issues permits to regulate the type and amount of air emissions at a regulated facility.

Hearing details:

Information session begins at 6 p.m. with formal hearing to follow:

Yamhill County Courthouse 535 NE 5th Street Basement Room 32 McMinnville, Oregon 97128

Comments due: Written comments due: 5 p.m., October 26, 2009.

Where can I send my comments?

Patty Hamman (503) 378-5305 or Toll Free (800) 349-7677 750 Front Street NE #120 Salem, OR 97301-1039 Fax Number (503) 378-4196 hamman.patricia@deq.state.or.us

Where can I get technical information?

Gary Andes (503) 378-5316 or Toll free (800) 349-7677 750 Front Street NE #120 Salem, OR 97301-1039 Fax Number (503) 378-4196 andes.gary@deq.state.or.us

You can review electronic versions of the draft permit and review report by using the links below:

How can I review documents?

http://www.deq.state.or.us/notices/

You can review hard copies of the draft permits and related documents at the McMinnville Public Library located at 225 N. Adams, McMinnville, OR and the nearest DEQ office in Salem. For a review appointment, call Patty Hamman at (503) 378-5305.

What is proposed?

DEQ proposes to issue an air permit for Riverbend Landfill and is inviting public comment on the proposed permitting action. During the comment period the public is invited to make comments related to specific conditions within the proposed permit.

This permitting action is to allow for construction and operation of six internal combustion engines and a new enclosed flare or candlestick flare. The engines would replace the existing enclosed flare and the new flare would be a backup for the destruction of collected landfill gas.

Because of the projected annual emission increases from the engines and backup flare, the company must obtain a Standard Air Contaminant Discharge Permit. This permit is a separate permit from the facility’s Title V air quality permit. However, the Title V permit must also be modified for the new engines and, as such, the public is also allowed to comment on the proposed Title V permit changes. In addition, the Title V permit is also up for renewal and the Department is taking this opportunity to combine all three permit actions into one public hearing notice.

Permit expiration

Upon issuance, this permit will be effective for five years. Normally a facility must apply for a modification to their existing Title V permit or Air Contaminant Discharge Permit Title V Permit Review Report

Western Region

750 Front Street NE #120 Salem, OR 97301-1039 Phone: (503) 378-5316

(800) 349-7677 Fax: (503) 378-4196

Contact: Gary Andes E-mail: andes.gary@deq.state.or.us

www.oregon.gov/DEQ

Notice Issued: 9/10/09 By: Gary Andes within one year to incorporate the ACDP requirements into the Title V permit, effectively doing away with the ACDP. However, the company has requested that DEQ employ the “enhanced review” procedures available under the Title V rules to incorporate the ACDP requirements into the Title V permit by administrative amendment. As such the ACDP must be forwarded to EPA for their review.

Who is the applicant?

Riverbend Landfill Co.

Where is the facility located?

13469 SW Highway 18 McMinnville, OR 97128

Who might have an interest?

People who work, live, and recreate in the area.

What does Riverbend Landfill do that affects air quality? Riverbend Landfill releases Particulate Matter (PM), Fine Particulate Matter (PM10), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOC) to the air during the decomposition of waste and operation of the landfill.

What legal requirements apply?

Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 468A.040 and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 340 Division 216 give DEQ the authority to issue ACDPs and Division 218 give DEQ authority to issue Title V permits. OAR Chapter 340 Divisions 200 through 268 contains all pertinent rules that govern the air quality program.

How does DEQ determine what requirements go in the permit? Various federal and state regulations apply to a facility depending on the type of industry, the type and amount of pollutants emitted, and the location of the facility. All applicable regulations must be contained in the facility’s Title V permit, including the appropriate recordkeeping, monitoring, and reporting requirements to ensure compliance with these rules.

Meeting air quality standards

Air quality in the McMinnville area meets the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect public health. DEQ has determined that the air emissions from Riverbend Landfill will not result in a violation of those standards. DEQ is responsible for establishing permit emissions limits that ensure air quality standards are not violated.

What pollutants are considered in determining permitted limits? EPA and DEQ use six key pollutants as indicators of air quality. These are known as “criteria pollutants” and are compounds that, if inhaled, may lead to health effects that generally aggravate cardiovascular and respiratory disease. If the amount of criteria pollutants emitted is greater than a regulated minimum, then emission limits are established.

For more information about criteria pollutants, go to:

www.deq.state.or.us/aq/forms/annrtp.htm

How are the permitted substances measured? Emissions from the facility are calculated by using emission factors and production data and measured by source tests.

Emissions and permit limits

Table 1 below presents the maximum allowable emissions for the facility. The Current Emission Limit reflects the maximum amount of emissions the facility can currently emit under their existing Title V permit. The Proposed Emission Limit reflects the maximum amount of emissions the facility would be able to emit under the proposed ACDP and modified Title V permit. Typically, a facility’s actual emissions are less than the maximum limits established in a permit; however, actual emissions can increase up to the permitted limit. The increases in emissions shown in Table 1 are due to the installation of six new internal combustion engines which will be used to destroy collected landfill gas.

Riverbend Landfill is not a major source of HAPs.

Compliance history:

DEQ has inspected this facility on a regular schedule (2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2001, and 2000) and found them to be in compliance with existing permit conditions. There are no current enforcement actions underway.

Numerous odor complaints have been received concerning the landfill recently. The installation of the engines and new flare, along with other measures the company has recently instituted, should reduce odors from the landfill.

What other DEQ permits are required?

DEQ-DC1

The facility is required to have a General NPDES permit for discharge of stormwater and a Solid Waste Disposal Permit.

What other sources of air pollutants are in the vicinity of the facility? Various sources emit similar air pollutants. EPA and DEQ split up the sources into 3 categories: point, area, and mobile sources. Point sources are primarily large industrial facilities. Area sources are smaller than point sources and include backyard burning, woodstoves, consumer products, gasoline stations, etc. Mobile sources include cars, trucks, airplanes, ships, railroads, and construction equipment.

What happens after the hearing?

After the comment period closes, DEQ will consider and provide responses to all oral or written comments received by the close of the comment period. DEQ may modify provisions in the proposed permit, but the permit writers can only modify conditions of the permit in accordance with the rules and statutes under the authority of DEQ. Participation in the rulemaking or the legislative process is the only way to change the rules or statutes. Ultimately, if a facility meets all legal requirements, DEQ will issue the ACDP following the EPA review.

Final report from Zia Consultants on the "Analysis of Waste Disposal"

On April 1, 2009, the Board of Commissioners voted to hire a third-party consultant to evaluate the alternative technologies that have been presented during the hearing process for the Riverbend Landfill expansion. The report was also to evaluate the transportation options and projected costs for alternative processes and transportation options. Attached is the final report that evaluates these questions. This document is known as the "Analysis of Waste Disposal." The Board is scheduled to reopen the Riverbend Landfill hearing in Room 32 at 9:00 am, on October 14, 2009, at the point of "Staff Recommendation." At that point the Board is to decide whether to accept the report on the "Analysis of Waste Disposal". If the report is accepted, the Board will then decide on the schedule for receiving final written testimony. The complete report can be found at the Yamhill County Planning Department's Site:

http://www.co.yamhill.or.us/plan/index.asp?sel=95

Landfill study gives a mixed outlook

Land use — Closure could bring $2-$4 increase for homeowners; green alternatives remain uncertain
By: David Sale

McMINNVILLE — Engineering firm Zia Consulting has released a long-awaited study on the proposed expansion of Riverbend Landfill, but the report — presented to county commissioners Friday — does not identify a clear option for waste disposal.

“The intent wasn’t to make a recommendation — just to give the commissioners a summary of alternatives,” said Sherrie Mathison, solid waste commissioner for the county.

Commissioners Leslie Lewis and Kathy George (Mary Stern, whose husband works for Western Oregon Waste, has recused herself) will consider the study’s findings and resume the long-tabled land use application process for the expansion at their Oct. 12 meeting.

The report also provides cost estimates for shipping waste out-of-county, one of the primary bones of contention between Riverbend’s parent company, Waste Management Inc., and local activists.

During last year’s election, McMinnville resident Ramsey McPhillips (whose farm borders Riverbend) sponsored an initiative to block future expansions of the landfill. It was defeated in part by a WM-sponsored ad campaign, alleging that disposal rates could more than double if the expansion were blocked. McPhillips and other opponents estimated an increase of no more than 12 to 14 percent for residential customers, bringing rates in line with metro Portland.
In their analysis, Zia compared costs of shipping to four regional landfills: Coffin Butte in Corvallis; Wasco County Landfill in The Dalles; Columbia Ridge Landfill in Arlington; and Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Klickitat County, Wash.

In the event that out-of-county waste disposal was pursued, the study estimates that Newberg Garbage and Recycling residential customers would see an increase of between $2.51 (to Coffin Butte) and $4.70 (Roosevelt, Wash.) per month, based on a 96-gallon container; commercial clients would see a monthly rate increase of between $15.70 and $29.38, based on a three-cubic-yard Dumpster.

The study also considered a range of alternative disposal technologies, many advocated by McPhillips and other members of the interest group Waste Not of Yamhill County.
Of the various “green” approaches presently on the market, waste-to-energy incineration was identified as the alternative operating at a fully commercial level and capable of handling the 600,000 to 700,000 tons of trash per year that enter Riverbend, without the need for extensive presorting or storage.

However, the study noted: “Even if a WTE facility were chosen as an option — setting aside the critical questions of who would pay for it and how, where it would be located in the county, who would own it, who would operate, and so on — it would take several years before such a facility came to fruition, necessitating continued use of Riverbend or some other disposal capacity.”

Instead, the study’s authors suggest a “balanced compromise,” in which the county could use its regulatory authority to leverage Riverbend’s status as a de facto regional landfill, in order to reach an agreement with Waste Management on phasing in some form of green technology — and on spreading costs among neighboring counties, whose waste shipments to Riverbend account for some 40 percent of total deposits.
One possibility cited in the study is plasma arc gasification, an efficient form of waste-to-energy incineration being developed by InEnTech, a WM subsidiary in Bend, whose corporate officers have expressed interest in developing a facility in Yamhill County.
“The paradox is that the landfill operation, if placed within a more comprehensive policy initiative stressing materials/energy recovery, will finance its own replacement,” the study concluded.

Such a finding was cause for both sides in the dispute to declare victory in statements released last week.

“The report clarifies that expanding Riverbend will provide significant environmental and economic benefits as well as opportunities to explore innovative technologies for the future,” WM spokeswoman Jackie Lang said.

“It’s a nail in the coffin of the case for expansion,” McPhillips declared. “Now that it’s been shown that there are viable alternatives, whether out-of-county shipping or alternative technology, the commissioners have to re-examine whether the expansion still qualifies for an exemption under the statewide land use planning goals.

“My belief is that the commissioners should, and will, deny the application,” he added. “It’s going to become the subject of a legal dispute either way — but a denial will allow the county to start making progress on a second track of developing alternatives to continued expansion.”
The 109-acre expansion was first proposed in fall 2008 by WM officials, based on projections that Riverbend would reach maximum capacity by 2014. Opposed by neighboring property owners, the land use application was recommended for denial by the county planning commission and tabled for further study after a marathon 15-hour commissioner’s meeting in March.

Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage

19:13 - 3 years ago

This is a short 19-minute documentary about recycling and waste in the U.S. Base on the book of the same name by Heather Rogers. The film has great facts and funny archive, it exposes the often magical (but false) feeling we get from 'helping the earth' by 'recycling' It also points out the real problems, over production and industrial pollution. Plus it explains corporate greenwashing and our economic system of 'built-in obsolescence'.