Benton County DAC to circulate and finalize reply to DEQ response after committee review

The Benton County DAC Subcommittee reviewed a response from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that staff had included in the meeting packet and agreed to circulate both the DEQ correspondence and a draft reply prepared by subcommittee members for review.

Chair members and staff noted several committee members had not seen DEQ’s response before the meeting. Committee members agreed that sending a draft reply without full committee review would be premature. The subcommittee’s draft — which Paul and others had prepared and which David and the community development director co‑signed — will be circulated to members along with DEQ’s response. The committee set a one‑week review period for edits and said the draft would be considered approved as written unless edits are submitted during that week.

Why it matters: DEQ’s response and the committee’s reply are part of an ongoing regulatory dialogue tied to recent DEQ inquiries and the landfill’s public record. Committee members said keeping a clear exchange with DEQ will help assure transparency and allow staff to correct or clarify technical points before documents are finalized and submitted to DEQ.

Next steps: Staff will email DEQ’s response and the subcommittee draft to committee members and record any requested edits during the one‑week review period; if no edits are submitted, the draft will be sent to DEQ. The committee also directed staff to notify members when DEQ posts materials to its public portal so the DAC can access the same public records without searching the portal.