Lane County approves Short Mountain landfill upgrades, leachate trench funding and engineering study for Clean Lane siting

Lane County commissioners on Dec. 16 advanced multiple actions related to Short Mountain Landfill: they approved a three‑way contract with Emerald People's Utility District (EPUD) and Waga Energy to replace the landfill’s gas collection and generation system, authorized funding to install a larger gas pipeline and trench that would allow the county to place a leachate line at reduced cost, and approved a contract amendment to continue engineering work to evaluate siting the Clean Lane anaerobic digestion facility at Short Mountain.

County counsel summarized the three‑way contract that EPUD and Waga Energy have negotiated with Lane County; Waga has already approved the agreement and EPUD was expected to take it up later the same day. Commissioners praised the multi‑party negotiation as a ‘‘triple win’’ for ratepayers and the county, and the board approved order 25‑12‑16‑10 on a 5‑0 vote.

County counsel then presented two related action items. The first (order 25‑12‑16‑11) would fund the county’s share of a larger, 4‑inch public gas pipeline installation by Northwest Natural (instead of Waga installing a smaller 2‑inch line at its own expense). Staff said the incremental cost (the ‘‘delta’’) is about $3.8 million and that using Northwest Natural’s trenching and eminent‑domain powers to construct a public trench would allow the county to install a leachate pipeline at substantial savings versus doing the full leachate line on its own (public works estimated a full independent leachate line at about $6 million in 2023 dollars, with the combined approach reducing that cost to roughly $5.3 million). Commissioners discussed payback via reduced trucking costs (staff estimated roughly $500,000 per year in avoided trucking costs) and whether the 4‑inch line would be useful absent siting Clean Lane at Short Mountain; the board approved the expenditure not to exceed $3.9 million on a 5‑0 vote.

The second item (order 25‑12‑16‑12) was a contract amendment to an existing BHS agreement to authorize engineering work to determine whether Clean Lane could be sited at Short Mountain (estimated amendment not to exceed $1.3 million). Commissioners debated the viability of Clean Lane at Short Mountain because of recent declines in local waste tonnage and contractual minimums (staff said the contract contemplates a 120,000‑ton threshold and that current flows are near that level). Supporters argued the amendment preserves options and allows further study; opponents raised concerns about financial exposure if tonnage falls short or if litigation and prior contract changes make the county financially liable. The contract‑amendment motion passed 3‑2.

County staff emphasized these votes keep options open for methane capture, potential leachate infrastructure savings and exploration of a local anaerobic digestion facility, while noting the project depends on waste flow, contract terms and future engineering.