Senate Bill 726 will require better methane monitoring and mitigation at the Albany landfill.
One of 350 Salem OR’s legislative objectives this year was passage of SB 726, which will require better monitoring and mitigation of methane leaks at the Coffin Butte landfill beginning in 2027.
Methane is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2 and is the reason why over 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from landfills. The Coffin Butte landfill, where most of Salem’s garbage is now going with the closure of the Reworld incinerator, has had a terrible record of controlling methane leakages and is considered to be a “super-emitter,” according to EPA standards. An EPA inspection of just a small portion of the landfill a year ago found 41 leaks that exceeded EPA limits, including 10 that were 20 times above the limit. Hopefully, SB 726 will address this beginning in 2027.
The bill was co-sponsored by our own Senator Deb Patterson and was strongly supported in the House Climate, Energy, and Environment Committee by Representative Tom Andersen. The bill will require the use of advanced methane detection technology, such as drones, to pinpoint methane leaks so that they can be eliminated.
An Oregon law tries to tackle garbage gases – High Country News