Coffin Butte Landfill
Coffin Butte Landfill
JUMP TO: About the landfill | CUP application timeline | The decision process | Benton County Code | Background: BCTT
Current status
The County’s Planning Commission denied Republic Services’ application to expand the landfill in a decision adopted on July 29. The applicant filed an appeal of that decision on Aug. 12. Appeals of Planning Commission decisions are heard by the Board of Commissioners.
Board of Commissioners public hearing information
The hearing will include presentations by the County’s Planning Division and the applicant, followed by verbal public testimony and a final rebuttal by the applicant.
The full schedule is expected to be as follows. These dates are subject to change. Any changes will be noted here and announced to the public.
Wednesday, Oct. 15
Expected date for County to publish a staff report considering evidence submitted by the applicant and public since the start of the appeal
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 5:30 – 10 p.m.
First day of public hearing: presentations by the County and the applicant followed by the start of verbal public testimony
Location: Benton County Fairgrounds Auditorium, 110 SW 53rd Street, Corvallis
Thursday, Oct. 23, 5:30 – 10 p.m.
Second day of public hearing: verbal public testimony concludes; applicant rebuttal; deadline to submit written testimony
Location: Benton County Fairgrounds Auditorium, 110 SW 53rd Street, Corvallis
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1 p.m.
Deliberations and decision by Board of Commissioners
Location: Kalapuya Building, 4500 SW Research Way, Corvallis
Monday, Nov. 17, 9 a.m.
Board of Commissioners adopts final written decision
Location: Kalapuya Building, 4500 SW Research Way, Corvallis
Virtual participation in all meetings will be available through an online meeting platform. Links to register for and view meetings will be available soon.
This is a de novo hearing. The Board of Commissioners will consider all the evidence presented in the previous hearing before the Planning Commission – including verbal testimony captured in meeting recordings – and will consider new evidence submitted while the record is open prior to and new evidence and testimony presented during the hearing.
The Board of Commissioners will consider all the evidence and testimony relevant to the applicable criteria in the Benton County Code and make a decision about whether to approve or deny the application.
Verbal testimony
Anyone can sign up to give two minutes of verbal testimony on new evidence regardless of their participation in the earlier Planning Commission hearing. The time has been set at two minutes per person because of the condensed timeline of the hearing and the large number of interested parties who wish to be heard.
Registration for verbal testimony will open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Instructions and a link to a sign-up form will be posted here.
If time remains available, attestants can also sign up in person at the hearing location starting one hour before the first hearing meeting. The sign-up window for all verbal testimony will close at the start of the hearing.
Verbal testimony details
Attestants will be added to the testimony list in the order in which they sign up. Proponents are then allowed to testify first, in order of sign-up, with opponents following.
Anyone who signs up to deliver verbal testimony can cede their two minutes to another attestant.
PLEASE NOTE: Unlike the procedure for testimony before the Planning Commission, the Board of Commissioners does not allow for trading of timeslots. For example, the person in position 3 on the testimony list can cede their time to the person in position 10, but that speaker must wait until position 10 to testify for four minutes (2+2) instead of being allowed to testify in place of the person in position 3 who ceded their time.
Verbal testimony is live testimony delivered in person or through Zoom. It does not include video or slides. Any printed visual aids used during testimony can be submitted to the record as written evidence. Paper copies will not be distributed to the commissioners during the hearing.
Written testimony
Written evidence and testimony will be collected until the record is closed. Information to keep in mind. Unless otherwise announced, the record closes at the conclusion of the hearing.
All written testimony should contain the following information to ensure receipt of the mailed notice of decision at the conclusion of the hearing:
- First and last name
- Mailing address (through city, state, ZIP and country)
- Email address
- Your position on the proposed expansion (proponent or opponent)
It can be submitted four ways:
- By email to landfillappeals@bentoncountyor.gov. The appeal will be heard before a different body than the initial hearing – the Board of Commissioners rather than the Planning Commission – so public comment should be sent to this NEW email address.
- Through the testimony submission form on the County’s website. Please note that the form does not allow for attachments. To submit testimony with an attachment, use the email address above.
- Mailed to Board of Commissioners Office, P.O. Box 3020, Corvallis, OR 97339. Mailed submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on the day the record closes — the postmark will not be taken into consideration.
- Hand delivered to Board of Commissioners Office (suite 100) in the Kalapuya Building at 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis.
Written testimony can also be submitted in person at the hearing. A testimony table will be set up at the hearing location, opening one hour before the hearing and closing at the end of the session.
Accepted formats
Written testimony includes anything that can be printed on paper or saved in a digital file, including images and video.
For audio and video submissions, file sizes are likely too large to submit via email. As such, we have created a Secure File Transfer Platform — please email us directly for the upload link. If you are not comfortable with this upload platform, you can come in person to the Board of Commissioners Office for support. If you submit a hyperlink to a hosting platform, it will not become part of the record.
Accepted file formats include the following:
- DOCX
- XLSX
- TXT
- CSV
- JPG/JPEG
- PNG
- GIF
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV
- MOV
- AVI
PAST Planning Commission hearing information
UPDATED 8/13/25: The Planning Commission has concluded their hearings and adopted a final decision on July 29. The decision was to deny this CUP application.
Planning Commission Hearing details
You can watch meeting recordings for all of the Planning Commission sessions below.
| Tuesday, April 29, 6 – 9 p.m. meeting recording | Day 1: Staff report |
| Thursday, May 1, 6 – 9 p.m. meeting recording | Day 2: Applicant presentation |
| Tuesday, May 6, 6 – 10 p.m. meeting recording | Day 3: Public testimony |
| NEW – Thursday, May 8, 6 p.m. – complete meeting recording | Day 4: Public testimony; applicant rebuttal |
| Tuesday, June 17, 6 p.m. meeting recording | Day 5: Planning Commission continued hearing to July 8 |
| Tuesday, July 8, 6-9 p.m. meeting recording | Day 6: Public hearing continues with presentations of supplemental staff report and applicant update. If time permits, begin public verbal testimony on new evidence ONLY. |
| Wednesday, July 9, 6-9 p.m. meeting recording | Day 7: Public hearing continues, including public testimony |
| Tuesday, July 22, 6 p.m. meeting recording | Day 8: Deliberations by Planning Commission. Open to the public, but no public comment will be heard. |
| Tuesday, July 29, 6 p.m. meeting recording | Day 9: Meeting to adopt final written decision and findings. |
About the Landfill
Coffin Butte Landfill in Benton County takes in waste from several counties in the mid-Willamette Valley and Oregon Coast.
History
The landfill was created in the1940s by the U.S. Army for waste disposal from the former Camp Adair. It was expanded and designated a regional landfill under the 1974 Chemeketa Region Solid Waste Management Program, a cooperative effort between Benton, Linn, Marion, Yamhill and Polk Counties. Valley Landfills, Inc., purchased it in 1975 for use as a municipal landfill. Republic Services, Inc. become the parent company of the landfill in a 2008 merger.
For more historical background see this detailed landfill timeline.
Size and Development
The landfill site comprises 740 acres. Of that, only 178 acres are permitted for waste disposal (including the quarry). The site includes 40 acres of wetlands and 556 acres dedicated to preservation and non-landfill operations.
Regulation
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) manages three permits for the facility that regulate air, land and water quality. Renewal of the Title V air quality permit is in process. (updated 4/30/25) Learn more >
Benton County regulates land use and building for the facility.
Understanding the Decision Process
Conditional Use Basics from Benton County Code
In accordance with Benton County Code 51.535, once an application moves forward to the decision process the County has 150 days to determine if the proposed use of the land meets criteria outlined in County Code.
Applicants are allowed to request up to 215 additional days for this process, for a total of 365. This can come as multiple requests throughout the process, so the end date can change multiple times during the process.
53.215 – Criteria
The decision to approve a conditional use permit shall be based on findings that:
(1) The proposed use does not seriously interfere with uses on adjacent property, with the character of the area, or with the purpose of the zone;
(2) The proposed use does not impose an undue burden on any public improvements, facilities, utilities, or services available to the area; and
(3) The proposed use complies with any additional criteria which may be required for the specific use by this code. [Ord. 90-0069]
53.220 – Conditions of Approval
Conditions may address, but are not limited to:
(1) Size & location of site.
(2) Road capacities in the area.
(3) Number & location of road access points.
(4) Location & amount of off-street parking.
(5) Internal traffic circulation.
(6) Fencing, screening & landscape
(7) Height & square footage of building.
(8) Signs.
(9) Exterior lighting.
(10) Noise, vibration, air pollution, & other environmental influences.
(11) Water supply & sewage disposal.
(12) Law enforcement & fire protection.
[Ord. 26; Ord. 90-0069]
Background: Benton County Talks Trash (BCTT)
Following a pair of conflicting 2021 decisions from its appointed solid waste and land use bodies, and in response to substantial community concern over a proposed landfill expansion, the Board of County Commissioners asked Oregon Consensus to help understand the situation and identify, if possible, a constructive path forward on solid waste and disposal, including at the Coffin Butte Landfill. Following the Board’s direction, a third-party facilitation team helped convene a community member-based Workgroup representing a diverse balance of perspectives and established a Charter and Bylaws to guide the work.
Dubbed “Benton County Talks Trash,” the workgroup was tasked with building “common understandings” around key topics and outlining the table of contents for a modern, long-term Sustainable Materials Management Plan. To complete these tasks, the workgroup established five subcommittees to dive into specific topic areas and then report back:
- Developing a Sustainable Materials Management Plan (SMMP)
- Estimating the Landfill Size, Capacity and Longevity
- Clarifying legal issues and reviewing land use law
- Determining the status of past land use Conditions of Approval
- Improving Community Education and Outreach