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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2017)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 Riverwalk: Port experienced more storm damage in 2015 than any other agency Continued from Page 1A local match covered by the Oregon Business Develop- ment Department’s Infrastruc- ture Finance Authority. One of the most noticeable remnants of the 2015 storms was a patch of locust trees just east of the Maritime Museum leaning over the Columbia after waves reached over rocks and scoured out portions of the waterfront. After finishing the city’s work, Big River started the museum’s property. “We attempted to save all the trees that we could,” said Dave Pearson, deputy director of the museum. Several trees were taken out and will not be replaced. Pearson said Big River is expected to finish work today, after which the museum will replant the grass and clean the area up. As a private nonprofit, the museum was not allowed reimbursement by FEMA like public agencies. Pearson said the museum was offered a U.S. Small Business Admin- istration loan, but decided to finance the project in-house. “It was expensive, but less than the city’s” project, Pear- son said. “It was significant for us.” Bigger projects The Riverwalk work rep- resented a smaller portion of the $257,000 in claims the city had with FEMA for storm damage. A hillside along Pipeline Road eroded near a city water- line along Little Bear Creek during the 2015 storms. The City Council approved repair- ing the slide with rock armor- ing, but the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has to sign off on projects affecting a nearby fish-bearing stream, did not provide a permit. Harrington said FEMA is now consulting with the fish- eries service on alternative ideas to fix the slide area. The work, which needs to wait until no fish are present, will take place between July and the middle of September. Harrington said FEMA has taken on the challenge of inter- facing with other government agencies that have a say in local projects, but is now fac- ing delays because of disaster claims from this past winter. Biggest project The Port of Astoria experi- enced more storm damage in 2015 than any other agency, with claims for several areas of damage rising into the mil- lions of dollars. The agency is still in the process of filing claims with FEMA. One of the hardest-hit areas was around the face of Pier 2, the only repair project for which Port Executive Direc- tor Jim Knight said he has received an engineer’s esti- mate on. “Our estimate for those repairs is $5.4 million,” he said. The estimate forms the basis of a claim the Port will send to FEMA seeking reim- bursement for 75 percent of repair costs. The Port recently secured a $1.5 million Con- nect Oregon VI infrastructure grant to act as the local 25 per- cent match. WORLD IN BRIEF Associated Press House sends bill to Trump blocking online privacy rules WASHINGTON — Congress has sent President Donald Trump legislation that would kill an online privacy regulation, a move that could eventually allow internet providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to sell the browsing habits of their customers. The Federal Communications Commission rule issued in October was designed to give consumers greater control over how internet service providers share information. But critics said the rule would have stifled innovation and picked winners and losers among Internet companies. The House voted 215-205 to reject the rule. The Senate had already voted to the block it. The vote is part of an extensive effort that Republicans have undertaken to void an array of regulations issued during the final months of Democratic President Barack Obama’s tenure. But the vote was closer this time with 15 Republicans siding with Democrats in the effort to keep the rule in place. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Republicans put profits over the privacy concerns of Americans. “Overwhelmingly, the American people do not agree with Republicans that this information should be sold, and it cer- tainly should not be sold without your permission,” Pelosi said. “Our broadband providers know deeply personal information about us and our families.” Internet companies like Google don’t have to ask users’ per- mission before tracking what sites they visit. Republicans and industry groups have blasted that discrepancy, saying it was unfair and confusing for consumers. Undoing the FCC regulation leaves people’s online informa- tion in a murky area. Immigration agents round up 84 in Alaska, Washington, Oregon SEATTLE — Immigration agents rounded up 84 people — including 60 with criminal records — during a three-day opera- tion in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, authorities said Thursday. The operation ended Monday and targeted criminals resid- ing in the U.S. illegally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment’s Seattle field office said in a statement. It was the region’s biggest immigration roundup in recent memory. Last summer, agents arrested 19 people in a similar sweep in northwestern Washington state. Those arrested included 77 men and seven women from 12 countries, the vast majority of them from Mexico. Nineteen had drunken driving convictions, and 14 had been convicted of assault, sex offenses or domestic violence. Some will be pros- ecuted for illegally re-entering the country while the rest face deportation proceedings. Thirteen of the arrests were made in Washington County. VW to pay over $157M to settle emissions claims by 10 states DETROIT — Volkswagen is paying more than $157 million to 10 states to settle environmental lawsuits over the company’s diesel emissions-cheating scandal. The company says the money will go to Connecticut, Dela- ware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. All 10 states follow Cal- ifornia’s clean air standards. The settlement covers 3-Liter six-cylinder diesel engines and is separate from a $603 million agreement reached last year with 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico that covered 2-liter engines. Native Plant Sale 2017 Large variety of n ative plan ts for lan dscapin g, con servation or pollin ator habitat projects! OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! We’re investing in Salem coverage when other news organizations are cutting back. 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