DEQ levies #790K fine over NE Ore. landfill neglect

The Oregon DEQ said Friday it is taking the rare step of levying a nearly $800,000 fine against the individual owners of a limited-liability corporation after years of neglect and fires at a northeast Oregon landfill.

The agency issued the $790,062 penalty against Kunzua Resources, the LLC that owns the Pilot Rock Sawmill Wood Waste Landfill in Pilot Rock, as well as the agents of the LLC.

The civil penalties are for permit violations, including the ongoing failure to provide financial assurance for closure and post-closure maintenance, DEQ said.

Financial assurance is critical , it said, because it ensures that landfill owners have sufficient funds to close a site.

When financial assurance is provided, funds are placed in DEQ’s name, in case the owner abandons the property or fails to follow closure or maintenance plans. DEQ can then use the funds to properly close and maintain the site instead of leaving taxpayers with the cleanup costs.

DEQ has estimated that the cost to close and maintain the landfill is between $1.5 million and $2 million.

DEQ issued the penalty to Kinzua Resources LLC, ATR Services Inc., Gregory M. Demers, Frontier Resources LLC, Edward J. King and Jeffrey D. Demers.
Kinzua agents were required to apply for a closure permit at least five years prior to the anticipated closure of the landfill.

However, Kinzua administratively dissolved in 2011 without ever submitting paperwork to properly close the landfill, according to DEQ.

The Kinzua agents also failed to control fires at the site and instead left the financial cost of fire response to the Pilot Rock Rural Fire Protection District, the DEQ claims.

In just the past three years, the fire district has responded to 19 fires at the site, at great cost to local taxpayers and risk to firefighters and equipment, DEQ officials said.

Kinzua has failed to attempt to extinguish any of the fires at the site, they said, and did not notify DEQ when they happened, as required by the permit. Meanwhile, fires continue to burn periodically at the landfill.

To address the ongoing fires, DEQ has issued an order requiring Kinzua and the registered agents to contract for the monitoring and extinguishing of any landfill fires that occur.

DEQ also issued an order to secure financial assurance for closure and post-closure care, and to implement an approved closure plan.

A majority of the penalty, $550,000, reflects the costs Kinzua avoided by not closing the landfill. This is known as economic benefit, and the intent of this portion of the penalty is to ensure fair treatment and an even playing field for the many businesses that willingly comply with and incur the costs of environmental regulations.

Additionally, $225,000 of the penalty is for failure to post a bond to cover closure costs. This penalty is relatively high because the agents of Kinzua have refused to comply with this requirement since 2006, despite ongoing efforts by DEQ.

If Kinzua secures financial resources and agrees to a plan to close the landfill, DEQ can reduce the civil penalty accordingly.

Kinzua has until September 3 to appeal the penalty.