Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation are calling for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete an investigation into concerns about Coffin Butte Landfill, north of Corvallis.
“This 178-acre landfill accepts over 1 million tons of waste annually from nearly two dozen Oregon counties and southwest Washington,” U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle wrote in an Aug. 7 letter to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
“Surrounding communities have long been concerned about methane leakage that contributes to fire risk and climate change, strong odors, and ultimately jeopardizes worker safety and public health,” they wrote.
Merkley also has submitted an appropriations request for fiscal year 2025 that would fund a pilot project to monitor methane at Coffin Butte, according to Sophia Francia, a field representative for Merkley’s office.
The landfill, near Adair, takes more than half of Marion County’s municipal solid waste. Benton, Polk and Lane counties also send waste to the landfill. It’s owned by Phoenix-based Republic Services, the second-largest waste disposal company in the U.S.
In October 2023, the Statesman Journal was the first to report on an EPA investigation into massive methane leaks at the landfill. In April 2024, the Statesman Journal published an investigation into worker complaints about health, safety and environmental violations at the landfill.
The lawmakers’ request comes as Coffin Butte is trying for a second time to expand the landfill.
The Benton County Planning Commission unanimously denied a previous expansion application in 2021, following public testimony in opposition.
“As Republic Services and Benton County consider the potential for expansion of the landfill, it is more important than ever to have all the facts,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Regan.
It also comes as the Oregon Department of Environmental quality is preparing to update the landfill’s air quality permit, which expired a decade ago. The landfill has been allowed to continue operating under its previous permit because the company filed a timely renewal application with DEQ in 2014.
In response to an interview request, Republic Services sent the Statesman Journal a written, unattributed statement.
“Coffin Butte Landfill provides essential waste disposal services to the community, and its state-of-the-art gas collection and control system is three-times the industry standard. Since 2019, we have invested $9.4 million to upgrade the system and will invest an additional $1.2 million this year to further enhance it,” the statement reads.
Methane leaks at Coffin Butte Landfill
In October 2023, the Statesman Journal reported a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspection found the landfill was leaking methane at levels that exceed state and federal limits and what the landfill had publicly reported.
EPA measured methane exceeding regulatory limits 61 times during its June 2022 inspection of the landfill. Twenty-one of those exceedances measured at more than 10,000 parts per million, or 20 times the 500 ppm limit set by Oregon and the EPA.
In addition to contributing to climate change, the levels measured could cause health problems for neighbors and in some cases were high enough to potentially cause an explosion and fire, said Lisa Arkin, of the Eugene-based environmental group Beyond Toxics.
EPA officials told the Statesman Journal in April that the case still was open and likely would result in a negotiated settlement requiring changes at the landfill.
On May 1, Merkley questioned Regan, the EPA director, about the investigation during a Senate subcommittee audiencia on the agency’s 2025 budget request.
“This is now 23 months ago that the field inspection occurred. If you have a landfill which maxes out the instrumentation, which I think is quite rare, it should probably rise to the top of the list of places to act on,” Merkley said.
Regan responded that he could not speak about an active enforcement case.
“But I can tell you that we are coordinating with the state of Oregon. It’s an active case and we are laser-focused on this case,” he said.
EPA conducted a follow-up inspection at Coffin Butte in June 2024 but has not released any information about its findings.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality attended the June 2024 inspection and will continue to coordinate with EPA on enforcement follow-up, DEQ spokesman Dylan Darling said.
EPA Region 10 spokesman Bill Dunbar declined to comment Thursday, citing the ongoing investigation.
Safety concerns at Coffin Butte Landfill
In April 2024, the Statesman Journal reported on landfill worker complaints around air and water quality and exposure to dangerous waste.
Oregon OSHA has completed two investigations into the complaints and cited the company for three “serious” violations and one “other than serious” violation.
The violations include not evaluating employee respiratory hazards, not providing proper safety training, not ensuring floors are dry and not preventing fall hazards.
The state agency recommended Coffin Butte address additional hazards workers complained about, warning that the company could be cited and fined for the items in future inspections.
OR-OSHA opened a third investigation concerning the site March 28. That investigation did not result in any citations, OR-OSHA spokesman Aaron Corvin said.
Workers say some of the concerns they’ve raised also could impact the landfill’s neighbors.
Benton County Commission concerns about Coffin Butte
Benton County commissioners are concerned about the methane leaks, and water quality issues and worker safety, chairwoman Xan Augerot told the Statesman Journal on Thursday.
However, commissioners don’t have authority over most of those issues, Augerot said.
“We’re really grateful to Senators Merkley and Wyden and Congresswoman Hoyle for elevating the issue with EPA administrator Regan,” Augerot said. “We’ll see whether that helps.”
At a board meeting Tuesday, commissioners did not accept Republic Services annual report on the landfill, asking for more information about environmental monitoring.
“They omitted any mention of the EPA investigation,” Augerot said.
Commissioners ultimately will decide on the conditional use permit for the landfill’s proposed expansion.
But, Augerot said, “We cannot look at any current practices on the current site as part of our criteria. It has to be a look at the proposed action on the proposed site.”
“That makes it difficult to take into account the long-term record of the land owner and operator. But that’s the way the system is structured.”
Coffin Butte Landfill expansion plans
Coffin Butte’s proposed expansion is 50% smaller than proposed in 2021 and would take place entirely on land owned by Coffin Butte and zoned for a landfill. It would add six years of life to the landfill, about half of what was requested in 2021.
Company officials say there is less than one year of space left in the cell currently being used for disposal.
The proposal would improve, rather than close, Coffin Butte Road. That was a point of contention during the previous proposal, with neighbors saying the road could be their only escape route in the event of fire or other natural disaster.
The company also plans to expand into a bordering quarry, which would add another 11 years, but that space is not yet ready, officials said.
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