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Benton County committee wrestles with Coffin Butte expansion, enforcement claims and methane monitoring
Summary
Residents, county staff and Republic Services representatives debated whether federal or state enforcement is active at Coffin Butte Landfill, the meaning of CarbonMapper flyovers and how much landfill gas is being captured ahead of an impending expansion application completeness review.
Ken Eklund, a Soap Creek Valley resident, told the Disposal Site Advisory Committee (DSAC) that public concern about Coffin Butte Landfill has increased after repeated CarbonMapper flyovers that recorded large methane plumes and a public exchange in which U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley asked EPA Administrator Michael Regan about enforcement at the site.
Eklund urged DSAC to ask Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) whether a file exists on the landfill and to use state statute ORS 459.325 to support community access to comment. "The state law specifies that DSAC be a forum for community comments. That's central to its mission," Eklund said during public comment.
The committee pressed county staff and Republic Services representatives for clarity. Brett Davis, speaking for Republic Services, said the company has not received formal notice of violation or notification of an investigation: "We have received no notice of violation, no notice of investigation, and no punitive measures have come our way," he said. Davis added…
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