Coffin Butte Expansion Appeal Process
From Valley Neighbors for Environmental Quality and Safety (VNEQS) webpage:
Republic Services appealed Commissioners denial to LUBA on March 17. VNEQS and others file to intervene and bolster County's denial in early April.
On March 3, Benton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) reversed their 2:1 “approval” of Republic Services (RS) application to expand, now unanimously DENYing it. [Commissioners Malone and Wyse changed their vote; Commissioner Shepherd denied from the beginning.]
Two weeks later, RS submitted a Notice of Intent to Appeal the BOC’s denial decision to LUBA (state Land Use Board of Appeals).
VNEQS, Sierra Club, Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance and a small group of individuals are all “intervening” on the County’s behalf to bolster their “denial” position.
Before the appeal process can proceed, Benton County must submit a copy of “the Record” to LUBA (only what’s “in the record” can be referred to in briefs/arguments before LUBA, so it is extremely important that it be comprehensive and usable by all parties). There are strict rules on how the record must be submitted. As a party in this case, VNEQS reviewed the County’s draft “record” and found significant errors and omissions, so through our attorney (thanks to all your generous donations!) we have been working on getting them to correct it. Unknown how long this stage will take.
Also unknown is how long this LUBA process will take overall; there are many steps. Could be months. Keep an eye on this space for updates!
For more information on the Coffin Butte expansion:
Valley Neighbors for Environmental Quality and Safety (VENEQS). Visit their website:
