Redwood Landfill was built in 1958 on the Petaluma Marsh in North Novato that would simply not be considered for such use today.  At the time, a “dump” was considered to be a considered a good and proper use of “unusable” bay lands, which were diked and dried for this purpose. Today, a landfill would not be permitted on a sensitive marshland; nonetheless, the Landfill is there and is responsible for handling much of the waste produced by Marin County residents.

Redwood Landfill has been seeking an updated permit for the past nine years. After originally requesting to expand its operations, Redwood has committed to Marin County to adopt a Mitigated Alternative, as proposed in the EIR.

MCL and many others argued that this Alternative, while an improvement over the original proposal, did not go far enough.  County Planning Commission hearings in 2009 focused on the adequacy of the Final EIR to fully mitigate impacts.  MCL argued that specific mitigations should be tightened and completed PRIOR to considering the Permit for expansion.  These include (1) analysis of slope stability of the surrounding levees; (2) long-term flood protection plan; (3) plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (4) contingency plan in the event of a leak or spill of leachate from the designed control system; (5) a specific maintenance plan for post-closure of the landfill; (6) adequate long-term financial assurance in the event of failure in the distant future; (7) increased “tipping fees” to fund an evolving Zero Waste program in the County; and (8) an objective third party to monitor performance of the Landfill and report to the public.

The EIR has since been challenged in court by other environmental groups.

Redwood Landfill is located on the Petaluma Marsh. Photo credit David Yearlsey.

2009 Documents and Correspondence

July 8, 2009 - MCL Oral Comments before the Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board