BEND, OR -- Deschutes County Commissioners are cautiously moving forward with a plan to purchase an aggregate mine east of Bend from Hooker Creek, and convert it to a landfill. "It's a decision we're making not likely. It's a hundred-year decision, so we really want to do it right," Board Chair Patti Adair said during Wednesday's deliberations. She told county staff the negotiations for the site known as "Moon Pit" should be slow and deliberate, "This is one time where I think government needs to be incredibly careful. We're talking about a major million, million dollar project that we desperately need but, you know what? We have to be incredibly careful."

There are a lot of unanswered questions, including whether the existing crushed rock can be sold to produce revenue for the project. Commissioner Phil Chang said, "I view these things - particularly, the value of the mineral resource and the availability of the water as potentially fatal flaws for this negotiation. And if we're not able to negotiate something that works for the county, I would see those as reasons to stop negotiating this site and explore others." For Chang, securing water rights is perhaps the biggest question at the 400-acre site east of Bend. Commissioner Adair agrees, "It makes me very nervous. And you're right, I think water is critical. It [the agreement] says, 'if a partial water transfer cannot be secured, then the county will need to explore other options, as applying for a new groundwater permit.' And it's like, 'No. I don't want the county to have to apply for a new groundwater permit.' I want Hooker Creek to know that we need 10% or whatever of the existing permit."

All three Commissioners agreed the "Moon Pit" site is the preferred location for the county's next landfill, and voted to authorize staff to work to negotiate a purchase agreement, secure permits and establish a mitigation strategy to minimize impacts on wildlife and recreation. County Solid Waste Director Tim Brownell told Commissioners the process will be lengthy, with opportunities to back out if answers to their questions aren't sufficient, "There's the permitting and everything else on the procurement. It's going to take us several years before we actually get to the point of writing a final check for this site. So all of that will be worked through, through the due-diligence process."

Wednesday's deliberations followed a June public hearing on the site. Brownell estimates the Knott Landfill, the county's current facility, will reach capacity in 2029.