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Albany residents urge council to withhold support for Coffin Butte landfill expansion
Summary
Residents told the City Council the city should not endorse Republic Services’ Coffin Butte landfill expansion until opponents and technical evidence are fully heard. Speakers cited prior denials by the Benton County Planning Commission and raised health and environmental concerns.
Albany residents urged the City Council on Monday to refrain from endorsing Republic Services’ proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte landfill until the council hears a full record of potential impacts.
Mark Yeager, a Benton County resident and registered environmental engineer, told the council he had served on local solid-waste advisory bodies and said the Benton County Planning Commission had unanimously denied a conditional use permit for the expansion after lengthy review. “Please do not take any position on the proposed dump expansion until you hear the complete picture of the dump and its expansion impacts,” Yeager said.
Catherine Stearns, who identified herself as a rural Benton County resident, listed community concerns she said emerged from more than four years of research: alleged cancer-cluster studies, unreported landfill fires, untreated leachate with so-called “forever chemicals” entering the Willamette River, a persistent methane plume beyond the landfill boundary, roadside litter, and what she called insufficient oversight. “These are just a few of the problems that more than 4 years of intense research has uncovered,” Stearns said.
Council members responded by asking that both sides be allowed to present information before the council takes a position. Councilor Smith and Councilor McLeod asked for presentations from both Republic Services and expansion opponents rather than relying on a single company presentation at Wednesday’s meeting; Smith said she wanted “to hear both sides of the story” before any decision.
The council was reminded that Republic Services is scheduled to present to the council at the regular meeting packet on Wednesday; several council members said they wanted the record completed before endorsing any position. No vote or formal action was taken during the work session on the landfill expansion.
What’s next: Republic Services is scheduled to present information at the council’s next meeting; council members requested additional opportunities for opponents to present their technical findings before any endorsement is made.
