CRESWELL – The City of Creswell has officially broken the mold, as the council unanimously authorized the city manager, Vincent Martorello, to terminate the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Lane County, citing rising costs and issues permeating the county’s relationship with the waste hauler.
Since early 2022, Lane County has been planning the construction of the $150 million project, CleanLane Resource Recovery Facility, on a 26-acre property in Goshen through a public-private partnership with Bulk Handling Systems. The facility is designed to sort municipal waste, divert 80,000 tons of organic material from the landfill each year, and convert it into renewable natural gas.
Then arose the issues with zoning.
In January, the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) upheld a prior decision finding that a facility cannot be built on the 26-acre Goshen site because the site is zoned “light industrial.” According to The Capital Press, LUBA determined that the proposed facility qualifies as a “waste-related use,” which is explicitly prohibited in that zoning category. Additionally, efforts by some lawmakers to pass House Bill 3971, which would have allowed counties to approve land-use applications for the development of a mixed-waste facility in certain areas of the Willamette Valley, were unsuccessful.
Sanipac responds
In 2009, Sanipac was acquired by Waste Connections, the third-largest solid waste services company in North America. In 2022, Waste Connections also acquired Rogue Disposal & Recycling, which includes the Dry Creek Landfill located in Eagle Point, about two hours south of the region.
Sanipac has recently been transporting trash from Creswell and Springfield to the Dry Creek Landfill after rejecting the high “tipping” or disposal fees at Short Mountain that have been tacked on to help pay off the county’s $35 million debt related to the CleanLane Project, according to KLCC.
Creswell produces roughly 2,500 tons of waste per year. Lane County’s Short Mountain landfill currently charges just over $112 per ton to accept that garbage, while Sanipac’s own Dry Creek facility near Medford charges about $97 per ton, according to the City.
As the sole hauler for Springfield, Creswell, and Veneta, Sanipac controls a significant portion of the local market. Its decision to transport waste to Dry Creek Landfill rather than the county-owned Short Mountain Landfill has put the county in a financial bind. This decision has left the county facing a loss of over $5 million, which will impact its ability to maintain its 15 transfer stations.
A history of fees
In 2000, the City of Creswell and Lane County established a System Benefit Fee (SBF) through an IGA to support waste management programs. Under this agreement and Lane County code, the SBF is charged to Sanpiac when it disposes of its trash at a landfill.
Sanipac had been paying the SBF for Creswell waste taken to Short Mountain and has been absorbing the cost. But now that Sanipac is hauling local trash two hours south for a lower fee, the Creswell City Council raised concerns that a 4% increase could be on the horizon for residents.
The amendment to the 2023 franchise agreement between the City and Sanipac allows the hauler to request rate adjustments when operating costs increase. For at least 10 years, City documents show that Sanipac has consistently submitted annual requests to the council for rate increases, with the reasons for these requests varying over time.
Between 2016 and 2021, rate increases were relatively modest, ranging from 2% to 4.8%. The reasons cited for these increases included higher staffing, operational, and maintenance costs.
In 2020, rates remained steady, but by 2022, inflationary pressures from post-pandemic supply chain issues and rising fuel prices led to an increase of about 3.5%.
In 2023, Sanipac proposed an 8.15% increase, which the council negotiated down to 5%, with the understanding that another 5% increase would automatically follow in 2024 to address the ongoing rise in costs.
In 2025, the disposal fee spiked to 11%, with 8% funding CleanLane and 3% covering rising fuel and labor costs.
Ending the agreement
By ending the agreement with the county, the City of Creswell will prevent a potential rate increase of up to 4% for Creswell Sanipac customers, as well as an estimated $125–$160 increase for the community’s two largest commercial accounts – the Creswell School District and the Creswell Mobile Home Park.
County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky, in a March 10 email to Martorello, stated that the System Benefit Fee supports essential services, including transfer station operations, recycling programs, and hazardous waste management.
Mokrohisky explained that the County has been negotiating with Sanipac for the past three months and is interested in adjusting the tipping fee at Short Mountain to be comparable to Dry Creek’s rate.
“If the County agrees to lower the rate and Sanipac agrees to bring waste back to Short Mountain, the result would be positive for all parties involved, including relieving Sanipac from trucking waste two hours south and keeping customer rates stable,” Mokrohisky said in the email. “We ask that you postpone your discussion with your council and encourage Sanipac to negotiate with Lane County, so that we can reach a win-win solution. Our goal is to return waste to Short Mountain, support funding necessary to continue to keep transfer stations, recycling, hazardous waste services, etc., operating for our residents, and maintain stable rates for customers.”
In the motion to leave the agreement, Martorello stated that, “after reviewing the issue several times, the City Council has concluded that passing these potential rate increases on to Creswell residents conflicts with its goal of reducing the local cost of living whenever possible.”
The motion passed unanimously. Sanipac will continue to transport trash to the Dry Creek Landfill at a lower cost than disposal at the Short Mountain Landfill.
