Benton County Planning Commission denies Coffin Butte landfill expansion

The Benton County Planning Commission on July 29, 2025, voted unanimously to deny Republic Services’ conditional-use permit application (LU 24027) to expand the Coffin Butte Landfill south of Coffin Butte Road. Commissioners said the record contained unresolved, serious risks to nearby residents, farms and county services that conditions of approval did not adequately mitigate.

Commissioners said the decision matters because the expansion would extend landfill life by several years while increasing leachate, truck traffic, dust and emissions in an area that has seen substantial residential growth. Several commissioners said the county lacks the monitoring and enforcement capacity needed to assure long-term mitigation if the expansion were allowed.

In deliberations that followed a multi-day quasi‑judicial hearing, commissioners cited repeated public testimony and technical submissions describing persistent odor events, methane and other fugitive emissions, fire incidents at the site, and uncertainties about groundwater effects on private wells and downstream water users. Chair Fowler told the commission the application and staff record reflected extensive work by the applicant and staff but that unresolved questions remained: “This really is an example of how the process…