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Residents raise arsenic, dust and fire safety concerns at Benton County landfill meeting
Summary
At a Sept. 19 Disposal Site Advisory Committee meeting, residents and neighbors pressed county officials and committee members about Coffin Butte landfill contamination, worker safety, truck washing, daily cover practices and recent fires; the committee agreed to seek follow-up and assigned a volunteer to prepare a report on 2024 fires.
Residents and neighbors urged Benton County officials on Sept. 19 to press workers and the landfill operator, Republic Services, for clearer data and stronger safeguards after years of community complaints about Coffin Butte landfill operations.
Speakers at the Disposal Site Advisory Committee (DSAC) public-comment period cited groundwater testing results, air and dust concerns at the working face, truck-wash procedures, daily cover methods and two fires this year. Kate Harris, a Soap Creek resident, asked why an industrial hygienist was not hired until 2024 after an Oregon OSHA inspection and a workers’ strike: “My question is why it took until 2024 past the OSHA inspection and a recent workers strike to hire an industrial hygienist…has that yet been completed?”
Committee members and multiple speakers said the annual environmental reports and related materials lacked context or detail they wanted. Joel Guyer, a north Benton County resident, told the committee that the updated annual report did not properly address arsenic and monitoring…
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