Republic Services has scaled down its proposal to expand Coffin Butte Landfill as it attempts for a second time to win approval from the Benton County Planning Commission.
The commission in 2021 unanimously denied the Phoenix-based company’s application for a conditional use permit to expand.
The 178-acre landfill, north of Corvallis, takes more than half of Marion County’s municipal solid waste.
Company officials released an outline of the proposal Thursday afternoon, a few hours before holding an open house about it in Corvallis.
The planned expansion is 50% smaller than proposed in 2021 and would take place entirely on land owned by Coffin Butte and zoned for a landfill, according to the materials.
It would add six years of life to the landfill, about half of what was requested in 2021.
And it would improve, rather than close, Coffin Butte Road. That was a point of contention during the previous proposal, with neighbors saying the road could be their only escape route in the event of fire or other natural disaster.
Company officials say there is less than one year of space left in the cell currently being used for disposal.
The company also plans to expand into a bordering quarry, which would add another 11 years, but that space is not yet ready, officials said.
The company also pledged to improve transparency, communication and community responsiveness.
“Coffin Butte Landfill’s new expansion proposal is the culmination of more than two years of active listening and understanding, dialogue and consideration and planning that incorporates feedback from various community stakeholders wherever possible,” the company said in its proposal summary.
Company officials on Thursday were unable to offer further details about the proposal, saying it was still in the early stages.
The company expects to submit its conditional use permit application later this summer, officials said, and will hold more open houses then.
Many attending the open house expressed dissatisfaction with the format, which offered printed information and one-on-one conversations with Republic officials, rather than a presentation and public questions.
“It’s all very one-sided,” Corvallis resident Tom Hewes said of the company’s information. “It doesn’t include anything about all the garbage that comes to Benton County.”
Coffin Butte takes waste from nearly two dozen Oregon counties and southwest Washington. Less than 10% of the waste it accepts comes from Benton County.
“They have their answers. They don’t satisfy me,” Corvallis resident Wendy McKee said. “It’s just their version of the truth.”
Some attendees said they oppose any expansion, citing environmental and public health concerns.
In its proposal summary, company officials noted that those concerns fall under the purview of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and are not part of the county’s conditional use permit process.
The company plans another, virtual, informational meeting from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9. Register for the meeting at www.bigmarker.com/coffin-butte/Coffin-Butte-Virtual-Meeting.
More information about the expansion plan is available at https://coffinbuttelandfill.com/2024-cup/.
Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips:tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on X at@Tracy_Loew
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