Owners of two controversial waste dumping pits on Marion County farms, started by the same local excavator, may soon learn whether they can resume operations.

Greg Wing of Hubbard-based All-Ways Excavating built and operated the pits, in Aurora and Hubbard, charging to accept waste from vactor trucks used by multiple companies, as well as countertop cutting waste from Hubbard-based Pacific NW Marble & Granite.

Both sites are in exclusive farm use zones and operated without state or local permits or approval. Both temporarily halted operations in 2024, after the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality threatened fines and began pushing property owners to clean them up.

Neighbors and land-use groups say the pits pose a threat to the environment. Wing and the property owners have repeatedly said they are just filling in low-lying land so it can be used for farming, which is allowed under Oregon law.

The fates of both sites hinge on how the waste going into the pits is defined.

In Aurora, Denise Burnham has asked Marion County commissioners to overturn the county’s February rejection of her application to restart operations on her 129-acre property at 21875 Butteville Road.

In January 2024, the DEQ issued Burnham a pre-enforcement notice, finding she was responsible for four violations of Oregon environmental law and asking her to stop accepting waste. She ceased operations the next day.

In March 2025, the DEQ issued a formal order, requiring Burnham to submit plans to either properly reconstruct the pit or properly decommission it. Burnham appealed, and in September the DEQ withdrew its order.

Meanwhile, Marion County also asked Burnham to remove the pit, calling the operation “an illegal dump site.”

In September 2025, Burnham asked the county’s planning division for an administrative review to determine whether operation of the waste pit qualifies as a “farm use.”

The county denied the application, instead ordering that the pit’s berm, asphalt dumping stations and other components of the disposal site be removed.

Burnham appealed that decision and on Feb. 17, a county hearings officer denied her appeal.

In her latest appeal, Burnham claims the hearings officer based the denial on erroneous findings, including the decision that accepting vactor truck waste as fill dirt is not defined as an accepted agricultural practice.

Marion County Commissioners are scheduled to hear the latest appeal on July 22.

In Hubbard, property owners David and Susette McDonald have asked the DEQ for a “beneficial use determination,” for countertop waste.

The determination allows businesses to repurpose industrial byproducts for alternative uses, rather than requiring disposal.

Their application, filed May 29, comes nearly two years after the DEQ’s deadline for action.

In April 2024, the DEQ issued a pre-enforcement notice to the McDonalds, finding they were responsible for five violations of Oregon environmental law on their property, at 14616 Whiskey Hill Road N.E., and asking them to immediately stop accepting waste.

The DEQ asked the McDonalds to take one of three actions by June 2024: apply for a solid waste disposal permit, submit a plan to remove the waste from the property, or demonstrate that the waste is clean fill and exempt from requirements.

The McDonalds chose the third option. They were given multiple deadline extensions before submitting the application for a beneficial use determination on May 29, 2026.

DEQ spokesman Dylan Darling was unable to say whether the beneficial use designation would be for materials currently on the site or for additional waste going forward. That’s because the department has not yet reviewed the application, he said.

Meanwhile, the McDonalds are suing Wing, alleging negligence, fraud and elder abuse. They are seeking $15 million.

In their lawsuit, filed in November 2024, the McDonalds say Wing lied about having proper permits for the project, dumped countertop waste without their permission, and took advantage of their advanced age, creating so much stress that David McDonald had a series of strokes.

In their lawsuit, the McDonalds allege that countertop waste is contaminated by ink, which may be hazardous, and netting and paper, which does not decompose.

In court filings, Wing has denied the allegations and filed a cross-claim against the McDonalds’ grandson, Jake McDonald, and local excavator Dark Horse Construction.

In his claim, Wing says Jake McDonald was aware of the dumping activities at his grandparents’ property and gave permission for them. Dark Horse Construction, which performed some work on the dump pit after the McDonalds terminated their relationship with Wing, is responsible for any damage to the property, Wing says.

Wing also has filed a cross-claim against Pacific NW Marble & Granite. In it, he states that the DEQ already has classified the countertop waste as industrial solid waste.

In early May, Darling said the department has not yet made that determination. He declined to comment on Wing’s statement in the lawsuit, saying the DEQ does not comment on litigation, even when it is not a party to the case.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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