Oregon legislation would require aerial, drone or satellite landfill monitoring
Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, introduced the bill in response to ongoing concerns about methane releases at Coffin Butte Landfill, near Adair Village.
In 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found Coffin Butte was leaking methane at levels that exceed state and federal limits and what the landfill had publicly reported.
EPA investigators returned in 2024 and found more than 40 locations where methane exceeded limits, including at holes in the cover material.
'What this bill talks about is how we are able to track and measure the amount of methane that is leaking from our landfills,' Gelser Blouin said Monday during a hearing on the bill. 'We want to encourage the use of these advanced technologies so that we can get more accurate information about specifically where leaks might be.'
Landfills are among the nation's largest sources of methane, a greenhouse gas that's more potent than carbon dioxide and a major contributor to climate change, according to the EPA.
The levels measured at Coffin Butte also could cause health problems for neighbors, and in some cases were high enough to potentially cause an explosion and fire, experts said.
Senate Bill 726 would require municipal solid waste landfills to use advanced technology, such as drones, planes or satellites, to measure methane releases.
It would require landfill owners to report the results to the state Department of Environmental Quality, in GIS software, which would make it easier to visualize.
And it would require landfills to fix any areas exceeding limits, and monitor that area again.
The bill calls for the state's Environmental Quality Commission to adopt rules for the program, which would begin by July 1, 2026.
More than 100 people testified in support of the bill, in person and in writing.
'Satellites and drones don't fudge results. They are impartial. Not only would they monitor the entire landfill, they can also pinpoint leaks at their source in such a way that cannot be denied or otherwise explained away by landfill operators,' wrote Debbie Palmer, of Benton County-based Valley Neighbors for Environmental Quality and Safety.
Lane County Public Works Director Dan Hurley told the committee he started his career doing methane monitoring at Short Mountain Landfill near Eugene.
'The current method is a joke. It was developed over 40 years ago,' Hurley said. 'The method only requires someone to carry around a handheld monitor. There are lots of opportunities to game these measurements.'
The bill's opponents include the Oregon Refuse and Recycling Association and the Association of Oregon Counties. They argued the EPA does not have standards for alternative methods of measuring methane.
'The bill would make it a requirement for us to use technologies that are not available yet,' said Craig Campbell, government affairs director for ORRA. 'It's great if there's a technology out there that's perfect, but if you can't get your hands on it, it's useless.'
The 178-acre Coffin Butte Landfill is owned by Phoenix-based Republic Services.
Coffin Butte currently takes most of Marion and Polk counties' municipal waste, including some waste that previously went to the Reworld Marion incinerator in Brooks. Reworld stopped taking Marion County waste on Dec. 31.
Republic Services is in the process to trying expand the landfill.
Two years ago, the Benton County Planning Commission unanimously denied the company's request for a conditional use permit to expand, following public testimony in opposition.
In July 2024, the company resubmitted its proposal, cutting the planned expansion in half. It is currently waiting for the county to decide whether the application is complete.
Meanwhile, in January, DEQ paused work on a new air quality permit for the landfill, saying the company had not provided all the information it needed to proceed.
The move, just days before a public hearing was scheduled, means Coffin Butte can continue operating under its existing permit, which expired more than a decade ago.
The landfill has been allowed to continue operating under the expired permit because the company filed a timely renewal application with DEQ in 2014.
Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips: tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon bill would require landfills to improve methane monitoring
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