Oregon DEQ issues enforcement order, $3M civil penalty to Valley Landfills

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Office of Compliance and Enforcement has issued an enforcement order to Valley Landfills Inc. The order includes a civil penalty of $3,016,128, citing air quality violations at the Coffin Butte Landfill, located north of Corvallis, Oregon.

The DEQ’s order alleges that Valley Landfills, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Republic Services, failed to monitor, capture and control landfill gas emissions as required under both federal and state law.

According to the DEQ, most of the civil penalty—$2,265,528—represents the economic benefit that Valley Landfills gained by avoiding the costs of:

• surface emissions monitoring;
• installing new landfill gas collection wells in response to exceedances of standards;
• installing and operating adequate and consistent landfill gas controls;
• preparing an amended design plan; and
• monitoring and repairing the landfill cover.

The order requires Valley Landfills to complete multiple corrective actions to more effectively manage landfill gas. If Valley Landfills completes the corrective actions, DEQ says the organization will consider recalculating some of the avoided costs as delayed, which will reduce the civil penalty.

The enforcement order follows a March 3 meeting during which the Benton County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to deny a proposed expansion of the landfill, reversing its previous decision to approve the project.

A report assembled by county planning staff stated that notice from the DEQ called into question assumptions used in the landfill’s odor modeling. Staff also said the expansion application by Republic Services did not provide sufficient analysis of nearby odor-sensitive uses.

RELATED: Benton County Commissioners reverse approval of Coffin Butte landfill expansion in Oregon

Previously, the DEQ’s Air Quality program issued a pre-enforcement notice on Nov. 6, 2025.

Valley Landfills has 20 days from receipt of the notice, dated March 11, 2026, to appeal the order. If there is an appeal, the corrective action deadlines in the order will be stayed pending final resolution of the case, the DEQ says.

“Landfills produce significant amounts of methane, which is a driver of climate change,” Erin Saylor, DEQ Office of Compliance and Enforcement manager, says. “Landfill gas also contains hazardous air pollutants and odors that may impact human welfare. This order addresses violations of state and federal laws that are intended to mitigate these risks to human health and the environment and sets out DEQ’s expectations for Coffin Butte Landfill to return to compliance.”

The DEQ’s Air Quality program is set to renew Valley Landfill’s air permit in the spring. According to the DEQ, the draft Title V permit has more stringent requirements that are reflected in the enforcement action, and there will be an opportunity for the public to comment during the permit renewal process.