Benton County delegates landfill-review duties to environmental advisory committee after public objections

Benton County commissioners on July 2 adopted Order D2024-048 to delegate the advisory review described in Benton County Code chapter 77.305 from the now-disbanded Solid Waste Advisory Council to the Environment and Natural Resources Advisory Committee. The motion passed unanimously.

Members of the public urged the board to delay the change. "Benton County was out of compliance with state statute with your suspension of the disposal site advisory committee in favor of an ad hoc committee," said Joel Geyer, a Benton County resident who testified during public comment. He urged the commissioners to "please table this motion so that you can meet that requirement" and hold a public hearing.

Mark Yeager, another resident, told the board the transfer "is ill advised and not valid," saying the change cannot be done by majority motion alone and referencing Benton County Code chapter 77.305 and order D-2024-048. Ken Eklund, who identified himself as chair of the Disposal Site Advisory Committee and SWAC, said SWAC "is uniquely qualified to perform this duty" and characterized the suspension of SWAC as having occurred "without any public testimony." He added: "This appears to be the latest maneuver in a long line of maneuvers by county government to disenfranchise the voices of those who know something about the landfill."

County counsel outlined the options and rationale for the delegation. "This is not an amendment to our code," counsel said when explaining the order; "you are simply reassigning responsibility for a code obligation to an existing committee. It doesn't require public hearing." Counsel and staff noted an alternative would be to allow the land-use application to proceed without an interim committee review step, leaving the Planning Commission to receive public testimony during its hearing.

NRAC staff described the committee as a seven-member volunteer panel with a mixture of experienced environmental advocates and students; NRAC reported it had discussed the request and "did find consensus, but there was a lot of concern," according to Sean McGuire, who relayed members' reactions and said the group agreed to be asked to perform the review.

Commissioner Pat Malone moved to adopt Order D2024-048 delegating SWAC's review and recommendation duties to NRAC; the motion was seconded and carried on unanimous voice vote.

The board's action transfers the short-term review responsibility; the Planning Commission will continue to hear public testimony and make land-use determinations under existing code procedures. The county said the Sustainable Materials Management Plan task force and the eventual SMMP advisory committee remain separate efforts and are not replaced by this order.