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Cowlitz County to replace Tenet Way landfill flare April 20 as gas levels fall
Summary
County staff told commissioners the Tenet Way closed landfill flare will be replaced on April 20, 2026, and that the new flare will be smaller because gas collection at the closed site has declined; Tenet Way is partially unlined and differs from the county's lined headquarters landfill.
Commissioners approved a consent-item scheduling the replacement of the flare at the Tenet Way closed landfill for April 20, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. County staff said the existing flare dates to about 1992 and that the replacement will be a downsized unit because landfill gas production has declined as the site ages.
"The old flare, the flare that's currently in there was put in, I think, the date I was given, like, 1992," the chair said, noting the county will downsize the flare as gas output decreases and that the replacement will be paid from funds set aside for landfill closure.
A commissioner asked whether Tenet Way has a gas-collection and management system comparable to the county's headquarters landfill. Savannah Clement, a Public Works staff member, said the Tenet Way system collects gas from wells and routes it to the flare for combustion, and that the consent item replaces the flare tower only. "This is the gas collection management, the flare system, and all this is doing is replacing the flare tower itself. We're minimizing it because the gas collection's lower than it has been because it's a closed landfill," Clement said. She added that Tenet Way is partially unlined, unlike the county's headquarters site.
Clement also said Cowlitz County Public Works does not manage Mount Solo Landfill, indicating no county involvement with that third site.
The flare replacement and related work were included on the consent agenda and approved without a separate roll-call vote at the meeting.
