2022-8-16 | Corvallis Gazette-Times | AS I SEE IT – Kicking the (trash) can down the road – Becky Merja | 2022-7-17 – AS I SEE IT – Kicking the (trash) can down the road – Becky Merja | A quote from a letter in opposition to landfill expansion talking about how the date of closure has been delayed repeatedly turns out not to be from the 2021 expansion application… but from 1973. |
2022-07-17 | Albany Democrat Herald | AS I SEE IT – Assessing our trash future in Benton County – Ken Eklund | 2022-7-17 – AS I SEE IT – Assessing our trash future in Benton County – Ken Eklund | Coffin Butte is taking in 1 million tons of trash per year. Only 6.6% comes from Benton County, however Benton County takes on 100% of the risk and environmental cost. Many of the conditional use permit guidelines are not being followed including leachate treatment onsite and screening the dump from the roadways. |
2022-03-04 | Albany Democrat Herald | LETTERS – Why is only written testimony accepted – Mark Yeager | 2022-3-4 – LETTERS – Why is only written testimony accepted – Mark Yeager | The Board of Commissioners decision only to allow written testimony is contrary to Section 51.840(1) of the county development code, wherein it states that during an appeal hearing “Any person may appear and be heard.” |
2022-02-25 | Corvallis Gazette-Times | LETTERS – Coffin Butte needs better management – Camille Hall | 2022-2-25 – LETTERS – Coffin Butte needs better management – Camille Hall | Expanding the landfill is just doing business as usual. What happens when the expansion fills up? What will the cost of managing the used up dump and will Benton County residents be on the hook to replace it? We should be looking at more efficient ways to dispose of trash. |
2022-01-27 | Albany Democrat Herald | EDITORS MAILBAG – Take time to look into expansion – Amy Luhn | 2022-1-27 – EDITORS MAILBAG – Take time to look into expansion – Amy Luhn | As county residents, we need to ask ourselves what is in our best interest? Is it in our best interest to double the size of an already huge landfill? Who does this benefit besides Republic Services stockholders? |
2021-12-29 | Albany Democrat Herald | AS I SEE IT – Editorial coverage hits new low – Grant Carlin | 2021-12-29 – AS I SEE IT – Editorial coverage hits new low – Grant Carlin | Points out unfair editorial coverage of the recent Conditional Use Permit hearings including a misrepresentation of the facts. Grant also points out that our garbage collection rates may actually go down if we closed the landfill as that is what happened in Yamhill county when they closed their landfill and a new collector took over. |
2021-11-26 | Corvallis Gazette-Times | AS I SEE IT – Do math on the landfill scheme – Ken Eklund | 2021-11-26 – AS I SEE IT – Do the math on the landfill scheme – Ken Eklund | Republic Services is trying to avoid opening up the next planned cell in the rock quarry because they want to continue to make money off of the lease to Knife River. As part of the expansion, Republic is demanding a removal of the volume cap, this means they could bring in as much waste as they want, filling up any expansion area much faster with garbage from anywhere, most of which is already not coming from within Benton County. This would be an unprecidented loss of local control over the landfill and its growth rate. |
2021-10-26 | Corvallis Gazette-Times | LETTERS – Reevaluate future of landfill site – Becky Merja | 2021-10-26 – LETTERS – Reevaluate future of landfill site – Becky Merja | Call to testify to vote against the expansion of the landfill. Points out that the Coffin Butte quarry is already permitted for additional trash and expanding across Coffin Butte road puts residents’ safety at risk since an emergency evacuation route would be permanently sealed off. |
2021-08-29 | Albany Democrat Herald | LETTERS – Benton County taking the garbage – Joel Geier | 2021-8-29 – LETTERS – Benton County taking the garbage – Joel Geier | Garbage is coming all the way from the state of Washington. Discussions with SWAC reveal that an expansion would likely lead to taking even more waste from the Portland Metro area. |
2020-10-18 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Mallinckrodt may be forced to help with the cost of nuclear waste cleanup | 2020-10-18 – St. Louis Dump – Cleanup – Republic Attempting to Avoid cost of Remediation | After the 2018 decision by the EPA to clean up the West Lake landfill Superfund site in Bridgeton, Missouri, Republic Services filed a variety of lawsuits to spread out the cost for the cleanup. |
2019-05-15 | The Browsville Herald | City responds to GMS lawsuit | 2019-5-15 – Brownsville TX Lawsuit – Improper Award to Republic | Existing waste company (GMS) files lawsuit against city commissioners saying they orchastrated an effort to award a lucrative new contract to Republic Services. Secret recording of counsel meeting has commissioner De Leon stating that he was angry GMS didn’t donate to his campaign. Another commissioner’s husband has a lucrative contract to wash Republic Services trucks. Her husbands business is set to grow if Republic is awarded the new contract. |
2018-12-16 | Corvallis Gazette-Times | Price hike scaled back | 2018-12-16 – Gazette-Times – Price Hike Scaled Back | Landfill operator plans more modest increase to the tipping fees. Minimum fee will be a flat $40. Residents are looking at a $11 price jump instead of a $57 price jump. Republic siting the reason for the hike was to limit private loads which slow down its trucks and the efficiency of its operations. |
2018-12-14 | Corvallis Gazette-Times | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – Landfill charge is short sighted | 2018-12-14 – LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – Landfill charges shortsighted – multiple writers | Benton County Board of Commissioners agreed to triple the tipping fees at the dump from $28.75 to $85.75. “To date, the county seems to have primarily listened to the Republic Services storyline, rather than thoroughly considered community impacts. It is the county’s responsibility to manage, i.e. minimize the landfills impact on Benton County citizens” |
2018-09-27 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | EPA releases strategy to clean up West Lake | 2018-9-27 – EPA St Louis Clean-up Decision | 205 million dollar cost to clean up the radioactive waste being threatened by an ongoing fire in a neighboring Bridgerton Landfill, owned by Republic Services. That fire has come within several hundred yards of the radioactive material. It has been slowed by a cooling system placed in the landfill. Cleanup to take 4 1/2 years. Allocation of cost will be divided among several public and private parties including Republic Services. |
2016-05-05 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Trial is delayed in Koster suit over landfill | 2016-5-5 – St. Louis Dump Fire Lawsuit – Ongoing fire may reach radioactive waste | Missouri AG filed lawsuit against Republic Services in 2013, trial delayed due to Republic moving landfill lawsuit to federal court. |
2013-01-11 | The Akron Beacon | Landfill Seethes beneath surface | 2013-1-11 – Akron Ohio Dump fire | Republic Services dump fire in Akron Ohio could go on for years, EPA says. |