Benton County Commissioners reverse approval of Coffin Butte landfill expansion

The Benton County Board of Commissioners has voted to deny a proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill in Corvallis, Oregon, reversing its previous decision to approve the project.

Commissioners voted unanimously March 3 to deny a conditional use permit sought by Republic Services Inc. to expand the landfill. The board also adopted findings from a Feb. 24 county staff report, eliminating the need for staff to prepare additional findings for a March 17 meeting that had been scheduled to finalize the earlier approval.

The decision marks a reversal of the board’s Nov. 4, 2025, vote to approve Republic Services' conditional use permit application to expand the landfill. The public record for the land use case, LU-24-027, had closed in October 2025 before that vote.

RELATED: Benton County, Oregon, approves Coffin Butte landfill expansion

Opponents appealed the approval Dec. 5, 2025, to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. Later that month, Commissioner Nancy Wyse moved to withdraw the decision for reconsideration under state law, a motion seconded by Commissioner Pat Malone and approved 3-0.

During a Jan. 20, 2026, public hearing, the board reopened the public record to consider a Nov. 5 pre-enforcement notice issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The notice raised questions related to odor management at the landfill.

The record remained open for 21 days in three phases: a seven-day period to submit written evidence and testimony related to notice, a second seven-day period for responses and a final week for the applicant’s rebuttal.

In the Feb. 24 report reviewing materials submitted during the reopened review period, county planning staff reversed their earlier recommendation and advised the board to deny the application.

According to the report, the DEQ notice called into question assumptions used in the landfill’s odor modeling. Staff also said the application did not provide sufficient analysis of nearby odor-sensitive uses, including neighboring residences and a horse therapy business, to demonstrate the expansion would not interfere with those properties.

As a result, staff wrote, the applicant had not met its burden of proof that the proposed use would avoid serious interference with adjacent land uses.

When the public hearing resumed March 3, Commissioner Gabe Shepherd moved to adopt an order reversing the board’s November 2025 decision and deny the permit based on evidence in the record and the Feb. 24 staff report. Wyse seconded the motion, and commissioners voted unanimously to approve it.

Republic Services, headquartered in Phoenix, has been lobbying for additional capacity at the landfill since 2021. The company had sought a conditional use permit that included construction of an approximately 1,800-square-foot employee building with parking, modifications to access roads, relocation of leachate management activities and development of a shop and maintenance area.

The proposal considered by the county was about 50 percent smaller than an earlier concept submitted in 2021. Republic Services has said the expansion would provide continued disposal capacity for the region while the county works to align on a broader solid materials management plan.

The board’s latest action now replaces the November approval and will be reviewed as part of the ongoing proceedings before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.