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Columbia Ridge operator says RNG plant nearly complete, landfill expansion and leachate pond planned
Summary
Waste Management and Columbia Ridge engineers told the Gilliam County Court the renewable natural gas (RNG) plant is about 95% complete, with phased commissioning this fall and early 2026. Work planned includes drilling additional gas collection wells, a 7.2‑acre leachate pond and soil movement for Module 17.
The Gilliam County Court heard a detailed operations update from Columbia Ridge landfill staff on July 16 in Arlington, outlining progress on the site’s renewable natural gas plant, gas-collection expansion and other infrastructure projects.
Mark (WM) Feinstein, facility engineer at Columbia Ridge, said the RNG plant is “essentially about 95% complete” and that the south building is scheduled for commissioning Sept. 1, with the north building planned for Oct. 1 and full facility operations expected in the first quarter of 2026. “We designed a new pond, a leachate pond, 7.2 acres in size. It looks like it will be built next year,” Feinstein said.
The engineer described recent and planned landfill-gas work. Flare No. 7 — a 4,000 SCFM flare — was installed in December 2024 and testing finished in March and May of this year; it is online to provide backup capacity if the RNG plant is offline. Columbia Ridge completed phase one of gas expansion in March by drilling five new collection wells and installing 102 automatic wellheads that “will automatically tune the wells,” Feinstein said. Phase two, which includes drilling 37 additional wells around the landfill, was scheduled to begin the week after the meeting.
Current gas flows were reported in the update; Feinstein said gas flows are “between 18,517” (units not specified in the presentation). Staff said additional pumps and the RNG plant cooling process will increase liquids recovery; because of that uncertainty they designed the leachate pond to hold about 35,000,000 gallons.
Feinstein also described earthwork for Module 17 (31 acres): by year-end the site will have moved roughly 2.5 million cubic yards of soil, with another 2.5 million slated for the first half of next year; lining and placement were projected in phases through 2026 and early 2027.
The operator said it is bidding a replacement tire and thaw bay building for the structure that burned in 2020, with updates to drainage and a covered wheel-wash area. Feinstein said testing and commissioning dates are conditioned on remaining construction and permitting milestones.
The county court did not take formal action on the update; court members asked clarifying questions about schedules and next steps.
Ending
Court members and staff said they will continue to track the remaining construction milestones and any permit or environmental review milestones tied to the RNG plant and gas‑collection expansion.
