A few hours before U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden positioned himself at the podium on Philomath High School’s auditorium stage Thursday, a joint press release that also included the names of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle was released about the Coffin Butte Landfill in Benton County.
The Oregon lawmakers released the contents of a letter that they sent to the Environmental Protection Agency urging an expedited investigation into concerns about the landfill north of Corvallis.
Gallery: U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden at Benton County Town Hall (Aug. 8, 2024)
A collection of photos from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s Benton County town hall at Philomath High School on Thursday.
“We are not going to let the federal government bury the Coffin Butte Landfill,” Wyden (D-Ore.) said during his introductory comments to the Philomath crowd. “We’re just not — this issue is going to get fixed.”
Republic Services owns and operates Coffin Butte Landfill, which is expected to reach its permitted capacity between 2037 and 2039. The landfill is one of seven regional landfills in Oregon and two near the border with Washington.
“This 178-acre landfill accepts over 1 million tons of waste annually from nearly two dozen Oregon counties and southwest Washington,” Wyden, Merkley and Hoyle wrote in the letter dated Aug. 7 to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Surrounding communities have long been concerned about methane leakage that contributes to fire risk and climate change, strong odors and ultimately jeopardizes worker safety and public health.”
In 2021, the Benton County Planning Commission denied an application by Republic Services for a conditional-use permit to expand. In June, the company reapplied with a scaled-down proposal.
Wyden had strong words in support of a thorough investigation and the landfill issue was one of the most-mentioned topics during a Q-and-A that lasted under 90 minutes.
“We’re going to make sure that the federal government steps up and gets you the facts for a good decision, period, end of discussion,” he said.
Speaking in front of a modest crowd that numbered less than a hundred, Wyden took on several issues from dams on the Lower Snake River to U.S. Supreme Court reform. In addition to the Coffin Butte Landfill issue, another oft-mentioned topic was vocal support for designating Owyhee Canyonlands in Eastern Oregon as a national monument. A grassroots movement called Great Old Broads for Wilderness even showed up in the PHS parking lot with a mobile billboard.
Perhaps the loudest applause of the evening, however, came during Wyden’s closing comments when he prioritized “to ensure that for all time, we’ve restored Roe v. Wade.”
Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, was overturned by a 2022 ruling.
A number of local and regional dignitaries were in attendance at the town hall, including Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, Benton County commissioners Pat Malone, Nancy Wyse and Xan Augerot, and Hoyle staffer Cherie Brubaker. A handful of City of Philomath officials were also in attendance, including City Councilor Ruth Causey, who led off the event with an introduction.
Sharon Thornberry, Philomath Community Services executive director, was also recognized by the senator and they posed together for photos afterward.
Wyden, 75, prioritizes town hall meetings, holding at least one annually in every Oregon county. The Philomath appearance was his 1,096th town hall.
As a Christian in the Orthodox Church, some points in my worldview are different from Senator Wyden. That said, I am impressed by his commitment to townhalls which are almost entirely citizen comments and questions. This was the first townhall by the Senator I’ve attended, and I was impressed by that openness. As the article recalls, there was applause relative to the Senator’s desire to restore Roe v. Wade. I hope that he will be consistent with his desire to protect people and reverse his position, taking up the banner of protecting children from being slain in their mother’s wombs.