Board of Commissioners votes to deny application to expand Coffin Butte Landfill
The Benton County Board of Commissioners voted on March 3 to deny the proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill, reversing their previous decision. The decision on reconsideration has been transmitted to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
The Board adopted the findings in a Feb. 24 staff report as the findings of fact, removing the need for staff to prepare findings of fact for the Board to adopt in the March 17 Board meeting as originally planned.
Reversal of the previous decision
The previous Board of Commissioners’ public record for land use case LU-24-027 was closed in October 2025, preventing any new evidence from being entered. The Board voted on Nov. 4 to approve Republic Services’ Conditional Use Permit application to expand the landfill.
That decision was appealed on Dec. 5 to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
In a Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 16, Commissioner Nancy Wyse moved to withdraw the decision for reconsideration, per ORS 197.830(13)(b). Commissioner Pat Malone seconded the motion, which carried 3-0.
Because quasi-judicial land use cases must be discussed in public meetings with notification published in advance, the reason for Commissioner Wyse’s motion was not known until a public hearing on Jan. 20.
In that hearing, following a brief presentation by Planning staff, the Board reopened the LU-24-027 public record to accept a DEQ pre-enforcement notice published Nov. 6.
The record remained open for 7 days to accept written evidence, argument and public testimony related to the DEQ pre-enforcement notice. For the next seven days, anyone could submit responses to material submitted in the first seven-day period. Finally, the applicant had seven days to submit a final rebuttal before the record was closed.
On Feb. 24, County Planning staff released a report reviewing all evidence submitted during the 21 days the record was reopened. The report included a different recommendation than the previous staff report:
Staff finds that the November DEQ PEN calls into question some of the application’s odor model assumptions, as further explained below, and further that the application does not provide sufficient analysis of adjacent odor-sensitive land uses such as the neighboring horse therapy business and residences to demonstrate that the landfill expansion will not seriously interfere with those uses on adjacent properties. Therefore, the Applicant has not met its burden of proof to show that the proposed use will not seriously interfere with adjacent land uses. Staff recommends denial of LU-24-027.
The public hearing resumed on March 3. Commissioner Gabe Shepherd moved:
to adopt an order reversing the Board’s November 2025 decision, and that the Conditional Use Permit be denied based on evidence in the record and findings in the February 24, 2026 staff report, and conclusions developed by the BOC during these deliberations, and that these findings and conclusions be adopted as the final decision of the Board.
Commissioner Wyse seconded the motion, and the commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the order.
Recordings of the Jan. 20 public hearing and March 3 public hearing are available on the Board of Commissioners Meeting Portal. The LU-24-027 public record will remain available on the County’s website.
Visit the County’s Coffin Butte Landfill webpage for more information about the land use decision process and the application for landfill expansion.