Lakeside Landfill slapped with fine for closure plan errors

State agency says firm failed to put aside enough to pay for monitoring and maintenance

The Beaverton Valley Times, Jul 29, 2010

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Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality said Tuesday that it has hit Grabhorn Inc. with a $22,071 penalty saying the company has not provided adequate financial assurance for post-closure environmental monitoring and maintenance of its Lakeside Reclamation Landfill.

Grabhorn Inc. has until Aug. 6 to either pay the fine or appeal DEQ’s decision. The company has not contacted DEQ about the penalty.

Lakeside Reclamation Landfill, 14930 S.W. Vandermost Road, took construction-related and demolition material from across the region. It has operated since 1953 and today covers about 33 acres of the Grabhorn family’s 126.2 acres on the southwest edge of Cooper Mountain near the Tualatin River. When it reaches capacity, the landfill is expected to cover 43 acres.

Landfill neighbors have tangled with Grabhorn’s attorneys and government agencies for years because of the business’ size, odor and oversight. Grabhorn Inc. also is in the midst of a federal lawsuit brought in May 2008 by the Northwest Environmental Defense Center because of landfill drainage issues.

Although Oregon law requires most permitted landfills to hold enough money in reserve to cover the costs of environmental maintenance and monitoring after the landfill is closed, DEQ officials said a mid-February review of Grabhorn Inc.’s financial report on the closure found “numerous errors in the methods the company used to estimate post-closure costs and to demonstrate adequacy of the financial assurance mechanism currently in place.”

Because of the errors, DEQ officials said Lakeside Reclamation Landfill’s post-closure monitoring and maintenance program could fall short by about $1.3 million.

DEQ told Grabhorn Inc. about the deficiencies on June 2 and gave the company until July 2 to correct the errors. So far, Grabhorn Inc. “has failed to secure the additional financial assurance necessary for post-closure financial assurance,” DEQ officials said.

Of the civil penalty, $13,271 represents the economic benefit Grabhorn Inc. gained since Feb. 16 by avoiding the annual costs to establish and maintain the additional financial assurance.

If Grabhorn Inc. secures financial assurance that meets DEQ requirements, the agency said it could reduce the civil penalty.