CleanLane lost one site. The argument followed it to Short Mountain.

Lane County’s delayed CleanLane project has a possible new address and the same land-use fight waiting at the door. Officials are studying whether to build the food-waste, methane and recycling facility at Short Mountain Landfill after courts rejected the county’s first Goshen site.

At a Thursday hearing, the Lane Garbage and Recycling Association argued that the planned recycling operation, visitor center and privately run equipment would turn the site into an industrial enterprise that does not belong under the landfill’s existing rules. The group’s attorney also said the project should need 460 parking spaces rather than the planned 42. Lane County’s attorney called that parking argument absurd.

Supporters say the connection to the landfill is direct: remove methane and recyclables before they are buried, then use treated organic material as cover. Haulers say the fees paying for CleanLane threaten smaller companies. No site decision has been made. A hearings examiner is expected to rule on the Short Mountain question in October, and another appeal could follow. A project once expected to open this year remains a plan looking for ground it is legally allowed to stand on.