McPhillips-Riverbend fight taken to Metro

By DAVID BATES

Of the News-Register

A new twist has arisen in the political and legal battle over plans for expansion of McMinn- ville's Riverbend Landfill onto land lying closer to the South Yamhill River.

Metro, the regional government overseeing the Portland area's three most populous counties, relies on about a dozen landfills, including Riverbend, to get rid of its trash. It is in the process of expanding its recycling program, and has asked those landfills to accept updated agreements reflecting the program's stiffer requirements.

It was set Thursday to approve a list of landfills agreeing to the new terms. However, it held off including Riverbend.

Ramsey McPhillips, who is targeting Riverbend's proposed expansion with a local ballot initiative, told Metro the facility's proximity to the Yamhill River already puts it in violation of environmental regulations - even without the expansion. He said Metro's rules bar it from contracting with landfills that are out of compliance.

Riverbend Manager George Duvendak, who attended Metro's Thursday afternoon session, disputed McPhillips' claims.

He termed testimony offered by McPhillips, whose family farm abuts the landfill on the east, "incomplete." He said, "We fully believe we are in compliance," and he said Riverbend had the documentation to back that up.

There's a sideshow to all of this, and it involves a map. Specifically, it's the map used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine flood insurance needs and eligibility.

Earlier this year, Riverbend initiated a process aimed at amending the map, in part to reflect what it considers current conditions and in part to allow it to re-route high-water runoff from one normally dry tributary to another. The latter tributary is farther from Riverbend's ongoing landfill operation.

McPhillips complained that he and other owners of neighboring property weren't informed about the proposed amendments, even though their holdings appear on the map as well. He said he's planning to appeal on the grounds that they weren't given an opportunity to comment, violating their right to due process.

"I'm very upset that my property has been re-mapped behind my back by a Texas dump," he said, referring to Riverbend's parent company, Houston-based Waste Management Inc.

McPhillips also alleged that Riverbend isn't actually proposing amendment of the map to reflect changes that have already occurred, but to reflect changes that would occur should Yamhill County grant the company permission to expand.

Duvendak said Riverbend had complied with all notification requirements stipulated by FEMA during what had become a very lengthy process.

"Somebody told me it wouldn't take very long," Duvendak said dryly.

However, he said Riverbend had already spent 11 months trying to navigate the FEMA bureaucracy. And he said it had only reached the "conditional" approval stage at this point.

"We strongly desire to do everything appropriately," he said. "It's not a simple process. It's a very rigorous process, and we want to do a great job at it."

The tributary swap hinges on the expansion.

Duvendak said it amounts to removing one drainage from the flood plain, substituting another and taking steps to divert flood runoff into the latter. He said it wouldn't happen unless the expansion were approved, and FEMA won't sign off on a map change until it does.

"We have not changed any map at this point," he said.

Duvendak said the swap would actually be beneficial. It would leave the South Yamhill with additional flood plain capacity.

McPhillips objects primarily to the other amendment Riverbend is seeking.

He said he had acquired a 1980 Army Corps of Engineers map proving something he's been arguing all along - that Riverbend is not only partially occupying the flood plain, but had actually edged into the river's floodway.

A flood plain captures overflow and holds it until the associated river recedes. A floodway actually carries swift-moving flow during a a high-water event.

Riverbend argues that the current map is simply out of date - that is doesn't correctly identify current floodway boundaries on the ground.

"He can say what he wants, but the landfill is not located in the floodway," Duvendak said. "FEMA would not agree with that."

McPhillips remains undeterred.

"It's too late," he said. "I mean, I'm not suggesting that we need to move the dump back, but they're out of compliance."

The proposed action on Riverbend came to the fore this week because Metro is updating its agreements to reflect new recycling requirements and Riverbend is a key player.

Metro is authorized to ship 539,160 tons of waste to Riverbend annually. During 2007, it shipped 330,402 tons.

There are two ways of looking at that.

It only amounts to a little more than half what Metro could be shipping to Riverbend. On the other hand, waste generated in Metro's three counties - Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas - amounts to nearly half of all garbage that's shipped to Riverbend.

Duvendak said Riverbend was simply complying with a Metro request that it agree to updated terms.

"We've had a relationship with Metro for a very long time," he said. "It doesn't fundamentally change our operation," he said.

But for McPhillips and his co-petitioner, Lillian Frease, it represented an opportunity to call Riverbend out in front of a powerful audience - the seven-member Metro council.

"It's time for the golden rule," said Frease, who also owns property adjacent to the landfill. "Now is the time to speak up, to be responsible for your own trash and begin the process of moving away from Yamhill County's flood plains."

Metro did not return repeated calls seeking comment.