An open letter to Old Moores readers....

I have previously posted about the garbage dump on the banks of the Yamhill River, and about Ramsey McPhillips who lives on his 150 year old family farm right next to the dump.  Ramsey has made the difficult decision to go on a hunger strike to call attention to how Willamette Valley farmland and waters are in jeopardy.  For those who are not familiar with the situation, and who say, 'well, garbage has to go somewhere,' Oregon has 100 years of landfill capacity that is not on the banks of a once beautiful river.

Click on this  link to the Stop Riverbend Landfill facebook page, scroll down to the video of the goats to hear
Ramsey telling about his decision to go on a hunger strike.
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Ramsey McPhillip's Farm

This is not just about Oregon. Clean rivers, safe drinking water, and vibrant farmlands are universal concerns.  Waste Management, the Houston based international garbage conglomerate, is so super rich.  Ironically, their profits come from us.  Everywhere you go, every garbage can you see, says Waste Management.  We are a collective David fighting the giant Goliath, and our sling shot is about used up.

Waste Management is creating a superfund site right here on the river.  This isn't a future superfund site, it could probably qualify right now.  Unfortunately, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is not just looking the other way, they are actually promoting this mega-dump that will soon be one of the largest west of the Mississippi.  This dump takes in toxic waste from Washington State and Vancouver BC.  Waste that is not allowed by law in their own local landfills.

Below is the link to leave comments with DEQ before April 5th.  You can also call DEQ 503-229-5263.  It doesn't have to be a long comment, and you don't have to be an Oregonian, something simple like.  "Oregon should not allow expansion of a huge dump on the banks of the Yamhill River." or  "Close the dump as agreed to in 2014."  or "I was planning a trip to Oregon's wine country but am rethinking it because of the expansion of the dump in the center of vineyard land."
               http://www.deq.state.or.us/nwr/RiverbendLandfill.htm

Riverbend Landfill in the heart of the Willamette Valley

Or call Waste Management's Corporate Offices in Houston and tell them to stop trashing Oregon farmland with the Riverbend Dump. (713) 512-6200

Last Thursday 100 people, many of them Grand Ronde tribal members, picketed and carried signs, rallying against the dump.  There is much concern that this may be an ancient burial site.   100% of the people who spoke at Thursday night's DEQ hearing were against expansion of the dump, wanting to close it in 2014.  100%.  The only person who supported the expansion was the DEQ spokesperson, who purported to be "neutral".

Picketing against expansion of the Riverbend dump.

Ramsey at the DEQ Rally

Waste Management wants to build a 4 story dike alongside the road so they can dump another 100,000,000 (oops, I had previously left off 3 of those zeros.  Makes just a little bit of difference.)  tons of trash, while they wait for an even larger expansion approval.  The dike plans are not built to withstand a 9.0 earthquake, and that is the size of the earthquake predicted for this area.  Of course, we don't know when it will happen, but we certainly do not want a 4 story dike and 100, 000,000 ADDITIONAL tons of toxic garbage to deal with.

We are so angry.  Ramsey should not have to do something this extreme.   Please make a call or send an email to DEQ for one of the finest people that I know.  And if you want to send a message to Ramsey, leave it in the comment section, and I will make sure he gets it.

Thank you.  With sincere appreciation.
Marilyn