Waste is unloaded and compacted at the Knott Landfill (Bulletin file)

No deal reached in purchase of previously chosen Moon Pit site

After negotiations fell through in March on the purchase of a new site for Deschutes County’s replacement landfill, an advisory committee has been reconvening to discuss other potential locations. While the locations under consideration are the same as previously considered, Tim Brownell, director of solid waste for Deschutes County, said revisiting these locations may lead to the recommendation of a better-suited site.

“As disappointed as we were that we weren’t able to move forward on the Moon Pit site, it may open up other possibilities that might prove to be even more advantageous to us,” Brownell said. “It’s the good with the bad, the bad being the delays in time, the good being that we may end up with an even better site.”

The county’s current dump site, Knott Landfill, is expected to fill up by 2031. The county has been seeking a location for its replacement for years, and the county commission voted in April to pursue a location known as the “Moon Pit,” located along U.S. Highway 20 and the southern edge of the 30,000-acre Oregon Badlands Wilderness. It’s owned by Hooker Creek, a construction materials company. But a deal for its purchase could not be reached.

While the Moon Pit location “is not entirely off the table,” according to Brownell, the committee is reanalyzing the other sites previously considered, as the Moon Pit negotiations are at an impasse due to disagreements over the property closing timeline, site investigations, access to records, price of the property, appraisal requirements and water right valuation.

One site under consideration is the Horse Ridge site, located near U.S. Highway 20 and Horse Ridge Frontage Road. The site is over 390 acres and would require separate property acquisitions from ODOT, Knife River and Horse Ridge Pit, LLC. Adjacent to the site are the Horse Ridge trails and the Badlands Wilderness area.

The Horse Ridge site currently has no existing water rights, though there are two exempt-use wells onsite, and an owner holds nearby water rights.

“We have to put down water to minimize dust created at the site,” Brownell said. “Our water right need is really for our requirements to control the blowing of dust off of our site and the impact on adjacent sites.”

Located east of Bend near Pine Mountain Observatory, Roth East and Roth Northeast are two other sites under consideration. Both sites are within low density sage grouse habitats and will trigger state and county wildlife mitigation requirements.

Both Roth sites have received significant backlash from conservationists and representatives from local wildlife advocacy organizations, including the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Central Oregon LandWatch, The Environmental Center and Pine Mountain Observatory.

“Siting a landfill at either one of those locations could end up having detrimental, deleterious impacts on the greater sage grouse and what has been decades of conservation investment in conserving and recovering the grouse, both in Deschutes County and across eastern Oregon,” Mark Salvo, director of conservation at the Oregon Natural Desert Association, said.

Another location on the table is the Dodds Road site. This site is closest to homes of all sites under consideration, with nearly 60 dwellings within 2 miles, 18 within 1 mile and three within half a mile from the site.

This close proximity to residential life has stirred criticism from the public, especially those living within a 2-mile radius of the potential site.

“The sage grouse are getting more care than human life,” Sarah Lillesve, a homeowner near Dodds Road, said at the July 15 SWAC meeting.

Residents are also concerned about the rock blasting that would occur at the Dodds Road location, as this site would require the most blasting out of the locations currently being considered.

“How much of a shock wave will I feel? Do I need earthquake insurance? Do I get free trash service?” Steve Wursta, a resident near Dodds Road, asked at the July Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting.

Brownell said he welcomes and encourages public input.

“It’s really important for us to be quite mindful of how any selected location would fall on our community members,” Brownell said. “We really want to hear the concerns.”

While no decisions were made at the July meeting, the committee will be reconvening on August 19 to further analyze the locations and potentially choose a site for a final evaluation.