PENDLETON, Ore. — For nearly 30 years, trash day in Portland has meant payday in rural Gilliam County.
A fleet of 50 garbage trucks arrives every day from the big city to a remote, wind-swept plateau south of Arlington, home of Waste Management’s Columbia Ridge Landfill and Recycling Center. The dump employs 90 people — roughly 5 percent of the county’s population — and kicks in millions of dollars annually to local coffers.
The landfill faces an uncertain future, however, as Portland now considers different alternatives for disposing of its solid waste. If that happens, it may cost jobs and significant revenue for Gilliam County, which uses host fees from Columbia Ridge to help pay for things like roads, small business loans and tax rebates for homeowners.
Portland’s trash is regulated by Metro, an independently elected regional government that also runs the Oregon Zoo, Portland Expo Center and an array of city parks. When Waste Management opened Columbia Ridge in 1990, it secured 90 percent of all garbage Metro collects — up to half a million tons annually.
That contract is set to expire in 2019. Paul Ehinger, director of solid waste operations for Metro, said the council is weighing whether to continue its relationship with Columbia Ridge, or go in a different direction.
“It’s a matter of what are the best choices we can make,” Ehinger said.
The Columbia Ridge Landfill was originally born out of necessity. By the late 1980s, Metro found itself in a bind with the St. Johns Landfill in Portland filling up and nowhere else to turn for landfill space.
Waste Management, which had already built a hazardous waste disposal site south of Arlington, proposed a second dump in Gilliam County. The proposal won over locals, who proudly wore buttons reading “Portland’s trash is Gilliam County’s cash” to public meetings.
But in order for Waste Management to invest in a new facility, it needed a major commitment from Metro, which promised 90 percent of its solid waste to Columbia Ridge for 20 years. The contract was later extended to 30 years.
“Metro needed a partner,” said Jackie Lang, spokeswoman for Waste Management. “Gilliam County and Waste Management stepped up together to meet Metro’s needs.”
Since then, Lang said the landscape for landfills has changed dramatically. There are far more options for Metro to consider, including Finley Buttes Landfill in Morrow County and the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Washington, just across the Columbia River from Arlington.
Waste Management is working to convince Metro that Columbia Ridge is still the best place for Portland’s trash in 2019 and beyond, Lang said.
“This is a state-of-the-art facility,” she said. “What you get is a local employer that invests in its employees, and is very much poised for innovation.”
Columbia Ridge handles 2 million tons of trash every year, and has the capacity to continue operating for another 116 years, according to Waste Management. Though Metro is the landfill’s single biggest customer, it isn’t the only one — garbage is also hauled in by train from Seattle.
Host fees are paid to Gilliam County per ton, with the income generating between $2 million and $3 million each year. In 1991, the county passed an ordinance directing how and where the money is distributed. County Judge Steve Shaffer said the ordinance is routinely updated every five years.
Some of the money goes to the cities of Arlington and Condon. Some goes to the county roads department and bridge fund. Some is paid out to businesses for development loans, and some is set aside to help homeowners offset the cost of property taxes.
“I think we’ve done a really good job of spreading out the money to different entities,” Shaffer said.
Between local jobs and tax revenue, Shaffer said Columbia Ridge is one of the county’s most valuable assets. Gilliam County Commissioner Michael Weimar agreed, saying the host fees have been used extensively to bolster county services and diversify the economy.
“It was a huge boost to the county, having this landfill,” Weimar said. “It’s hard to imagine how we would have operated without the host fees.”
Weimar recalled how the fees were used in part to help develop the Shutler Station Industrial Park near Arlington, and the Summit Springs Village assisted living community in Condon.
“We’ve tried to make our communities more livable,” Weimar said.
Back at Metro, Ehinger said the council is not only examining other landfill sites, but looking into new technology that would allow them to burn trash for energy.
“We look at solid waste more as a resource rather than something you bury in the ground,” Ehinger said. “We’re trying to get the value in our waste stream out of the waste stream.”
While that technology continues to mature, Ehinger said landfills are going to remain in the fold for a long time.
“The question is how much it will be needed, and where it will be,” he said.
Nobody knows Portland trash better than Columbia Ridge, Lang said. As for capturing value out of the waste stream, there is a landfill gas power plant at Columbia Ridge that was expanded in 2014 to generate 12.8 megawatts of electricity.
Another 10,000 acres at Columbia Ridge is managed as a wildlife buffer, and other land is leased two different wind farms with a total of 93 turbines.
Paul Burns, Waste Management’s disposal operation director for the Pacific Northwest, said the company absolutely intends to bid for the Metro contract in 2019 but is pursuing other solid waste contracts in case Metro opts against Columbia Ridge.
“We’ve never failed to deliver for Portland,” Burns said. “We’re in a community in Arlington that is very supportive, and wants to provide long-term service to Metro.”
Shafer said he hopes the Metro council takes into account its relationship with the county when the council makes its final decision.
“Gilliam County stepped up at a time when (Metro) had their backs to the wall,” he said. “We’re hoping they consider that with an awful lot of weight.”
Ehinger said the current contract review doesn’t reflect poorly on the county or Waste Management. They are simply intent on exploring their options.
“We’ve been fortunate to be dealing with a very good company, and very good people in Arlington,” he said. “We’ll see what the future holds.”
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Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com
