Landfill expansion axed in split vote

Riverbend Landfill lost its years-long bid to expand its 88-acre footprint on Thursday as the Yamhill County board of commissioners denied its request on a split vote, handing opponents a victory that hinged on litter, leaching and concerns of a massive earthquake.

The application to add another 29 acres to the landfill on the South Yamhill River outside McMinnville has wound its way through multiple rounds of the court system, and state agencies, as farmers and others pushed on multiple fronts to block Waste Management’s plans.

Such maneuvering is likely to continue.

Waste Management will have 21 days to appeal the board’s decision to the state Land Use Court of Appeals, county land use attorney Todd Sadlo said. Alternatively, the company also could also file a new application.

Commissioner Mary Starrett, who supported the expansion, cast the lone vote in the company’s favor.

“ We’re not here to say, should the landfill have been sited here today; I don’t think anyone would say yes,” Starrett said. “Have there been impacts? I don’t think anyone would disagree. But what we’re here today to consider is the expansion.”

“The vote was disappointing and difficult to understand because we believe we have met the legal requirements in full," Jackie Lang, public affairs manager for Waste Management said. “We will review the findings when available later this month and examine our options at that time.” 

For more information, see Friday’s edition of the News-Register.