QuickTake:

In the weeks ahead, Lane County commissioners will face decisions about a recycling facility site and methane gas conversion. The county’s CleanLane recycling project has been in the works for years.

Lane County commissioners are still considering moving the planned CleanLane recycling facility to another location — and also are mulling a potential business deal to recycle methane gas at the Short Mountain Landfill.

Now, commissioners are considering whether to build the recycling project at the Short Mountain Landfill site located 5.5 miles south of Eugene. The CleanLane project has faced setbacks and has not secured the necessary special use permit it needs to operate at the Goshen site, located between Highway 99 and Interstate 5. 

The county’s preliminary estimates have pegged the project’s costs at $150 million for the Goshen site, with the county’s share estimated at $35 million.

The CleanLane project would expand the county’s capacity to recycle more materials and divert more trash from the county’s landfill so Lane County hits a 63% recycling rate. The facility would handle an estimated 80,000 tons annually, county officials say. 

First, though, the county will need a site, whether through appealing the Goshen site or shifting to the Short Mountain Landfill site. County Counsel Rob Bovett briefed commissioners Wednesday about their options. Officials plan to have a more detailed discussion next Tuesday, Dec. 16, before making a final decision. 

The decisions come as county officials are considering a separate contract with a national company that would install new technology at Short Mountain Landfill to capture methane and sell it into the natural gas system. 

Commissioners said the complex work, which involves a public-private partnership, is moving along appropriately.

“Everybody’s been rowing in the same direction,” Commissioner Heather Buch said.

Commissioners face a decision Dec. 16 on the proposal for the gas recovery facility, which would give the county long-term royalties from the natural gas sales. That deal, while separate, could affect where the CleanLane project goes. 

Bovett told commissioners that moving the CleanLane project to Short Mountain would have potential benefits that include likely fewer issues with land-use approval and fewer issues or objections from neighbors. A potential Northwest Natural gas line would be an option for connecting CleanLane and, separately, the recovery facility for methane. 

The county faced resistance when it tried to put the CleanLane facility at Goshen. In April, a county hearings officer denied the county’s application for a special use permit. The county has appealed that decision to the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals, which has until Dec. 24 to make a determination. But additional appeals would drag that out further — a process that would no longer be an issue if the project moves to Short Mountain.

Here’s a look at the project details:

CleanLane siting 

In December 2023, the county approved plans to contract with Bulk Handling Systems to construct and operate the CleanLane project at the Goshen site and purchase the land. 

Those plans have their roots in 2015 changes to Oregon’s recycling law that encouraged more diversion from landfills. Lane County selected a voluntary 63% recycling rate for its goal in 2025, up from nearly 53% as of 2022. 

Next week, commissioners will consider costs associated with the CleanLane site which include $1.26 million for additional engineering, and $3.8 million for the county’s share of a gas line that would reach the CleanLane facility. 

County officials have estimated the total costs at $150 million, with the county paying $35 million for building and site development and Bulk Handling Systems paying $115 million. 

Fee increases in garbage rates will cover the county’s costs. The county has approved 8% increases in 2024 and 2025, with 6% increases in 2026 and 2027. That rate increase is applied to what haulers pay at the transfer station at Short Mountain. Separately, an annual 3% fee increase covers rising costs unrelated to the project.

Next Tuesday, Dec. 16, county commissioners will discuss both locations and could give direction to county staff on which option will move forward.

Renewable natural gas

County commissioners will also consider a contract Dec. 16 that would replace the county’s methane collection and electric generation facility at Short Mountain with a new technology that would “capture and clean” the methane, and sell it into the natural gas system as “renewable natural gas.” 

Methane and other gases come from trash deposited in landfills that escapes into the environment, creating hazards if not handled. It could become a source of revenue for the county through royalty payments for natural gas.

Commissioner Pat Farr noted that trash in Lane County is an asset that benefits taxpayers.

“The more trash that goes in there, the more methane is generated,” Farr said. “Methane is an asset. So we make more money on it, or future generations make more money on it.”

County officials are considering the move as a way to replace outdated technology that collects the gases and converts them into electricity. 

That’s been in place for decades at Short Mountain.  

In 1986, the county and Emerald People’s Utility District entered into an agreement that gave the district the exclusive right to use the landfill gas for its landfill gas-to-electricity (LFGTE)  facility. Since the early 1990s, the district has converted landfill gases into electricity for Lane County customers, producing about 4% of the district’s energy needs.  The public utility district has about 22,000 customers in rural Lane County.

The contract, last updated in 2017, has about 18 years left on it. 

“However, the technology and equipment for the LFGTE has become dated and obsolete in the sense that modern technology can now capture more gasses and clean them sufficiently to sell the methane into the natural gas system and generate significant revenues,” a county memorandum to commissioners says. 

The county and district both want to retire the outdated facility with updated technology. 

The district put out a request for proposals and heard back from Waga Energy, which puts the new technology in place in landfills worldwide. The France-based company has 32 landfill gas upgrade units across the world, including the United States, France, Canada and Spain. Another 18 are under construction.

This would be the company’s first location in Oregon, though it has several facilities in California.

The deal under consideration includes the county, the utility district and Waga. Under the agreement, the utility district would receive replacement power costs to protect its ratepayers and eventually share royalties from natural gas sales for the remaining years of its agreement with the county. 

After the county’s existing agreement with the utility district expires, the county would get a portion of royalties through an agreement with Waga. 

Royalty payments are not set in stone and would be based on factors that include market rates and revenues.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.