Deschutes County panel weighs deep pile of pros, cons, assumptions and impacts of two finalist sites for next landfill

They hope to soon send commissioners a recommendation between 'Moon Pit' and 'Roth East'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Deschutes County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee is closing in on a decision on which of two finalist sites in the east county to recommend to county commissioners as the location for a new landfill when the longtime Knott Landfill in southeast Bend is finally full to capacity in coming years.

Last Tuesday morning, at what could be the last meeting before that recommendation decision, members of SWAC, as it's known, heard from experts and the public and dove into the very deep details of the cost analysis, projections, pros and cons and other issues, such as wildlife habitat, that are at hand and could arise in what usually becomes a pretty political issue.

When it appeared Knott, now over 50 years old, was going to be full a couple of decades ago, the hot political potato boiled down to: Find a new place to dump our trash around here, or truck it to a big regional landfill in the Gorge? Before the issue could boil over or reach a decision point back then, it was determined that Knott Landfill could indeed expand again, after all, buying the region years more time before revisiting the issue. It could last now until early 2030, an official said Tuesday.

The issues involved in any new landfill selection have only gotten deeper, when you consider the development and operational costs that could hit $2 billion, if a new site is able to handle 100 years of trash. The political and financial costs, the impacts on wildlife, water, air and roads and the many variables, projections and unknowns make for no easy path.

The first public comment came from Mark Salvo, conversation director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, who said despite being pleased by part of the process, when examining the Moon Pit or Roth East sites, each about 350 to 400 acres, “neither site is in our perspective optimal for a landfill,” for their wildlife and habitat impacts.

Andrew Walsh, district biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the natural resources assessment was “very well done” and that both sides contain deer and elk winter rage, as well as sage grouse, with an impact that includes more ravens around a landfill that can have an impact on key sage grouse nesting, but the Roth East impact would be far greater.

Former county commissioner Linda Swearingen, representing the Moon Pit, said the gravel put mining will continue whether there’s a land fill there or not, for “all of our lifetimes.”  She said as they work to mitigate any issues, it’s a “great idea to fill it up with solid waste.”

Two years gathering plenty of data could mean a decision April 16 on a SWAC recommendation of a finalist site to commissioners. So they went deep on the pros and cons of reach site – for example, the zoning process could take longer for the surface mind and might lead to a federal environmental review that adds years to the process, and to the cost. And then there’s the potential for appeals of any approval.

The mine is nine miles closer to Bend, so haul costs would be lower – but Roth East could have a longer lifespan.