Benton County hearing draws hours of testimony over Coffin Butte landfill expansion

The Benton County Planning Commission heard roughly three hours of new public testimony on July 9 in a continued quasi‑judicial hearing on LU‑24‑027, an application by Republic Services (applicant) and Valley Landfills (property owner) for a conditional use permit to expand Coffin Butte Landfill.

The hearing drew about 54–55 people who had signed up to speak and included technical testimony, personal accounts from nearby residents, and legal and environmental analysis. Commissioners agreed to leave the record open until July 16, 2025 at 4 p.m. for written responses to new evidence submitted at the continued hearings and scheduled commission deliberations for July 22, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Community members and organized groups testified on groundwater and well impacts, PFAS, arsenic, fractured‑rock hydrogeology, methane and odor emissions, noise and blasting, fire risk, litter, truck traffic and visual impacts. Proponents and long‑term residents cited the landfill’s regional role and said local hauling costs and illegal dumping would rise if Coffin Butte closed. Opponents and environmental…