Committee hears competing views on statewide landfill methane monitoring bill

Senate Bill 726 would direct the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission to adopt rules for surface emissions monitoring and mitigation of methane from municipal solid waste landfills, and supporters and industry representatives told the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee on May 6 that current methods miss significant leaks and newer technologies are available — while landfill operators warned many monitoring technologies are not yet commercially reliable.

The bill matters because methane is a powerful, short‑term climate forcer and because advocates told the committee current manual monitoring can miss large emissions that harm nearby communities and public health. Supporters said SB 726 would give regulators tools to detect and fix leaks; industry witnesses said the state should move carefully and pilot alternative methods first.

“Methane gas emissions from landfills are a super greenhouse gas that … is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in short‑term climate warming,” said Jim Shepke, testifying on behalf of 350 Salem. Shepke told the committee that after the ReWorld incinerator closed last December because of previous monitoring and enforcement actions, more waste has moved to Coffin…