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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2020)
2B ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2020 ❚ APPEAL TRIBUNE INSPECTIONS Continued from Page 4A small sanitizer container used to wipe finger tips after cracking raw eggs. Point deduction: 5. ❚ Working containers of poisonous or toxic ma- terials are not clearly la- beled, specifically: Three unlabeled spray bottles (with yellow, purple and blue liquid) observed in the kitchen. Point de- duction: 3. Feb. 25: No priority violations Location: 515 Taggart Drive NW, Salem Date: Feb. 25 Score: 100 No priority violations Jamba Juice The Jefferson Station DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Development Drift Creek Solar, LLC: Notice of Finding of No Signifi cant Impact AGENCY: Rural Business Service (RBS), USDA ACTION: Notice of Finding of No Signifi cant Impact (FONSI) SUMMARY: The RBS has made a Finding of No Signifi cant Impact (FONSI) with respect to a request for possible fi nancing assistance to Drift Creek Solar, LLC for the construction of a 2.2 megawatt (MW)solar Facility in Marion County, Oregon. FURTHER INFORMATION: To obtain copies of the EA and FONSI, or for further information, contact: Michael Beyer, State Environmental Coordinator, (503) 414-3368 michael.beyer@or.usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Applicant’s proposed project would use ground-mounted, fi xed tilt solar arrays, consisting of photovoltaic (PV) modules, inverters, and associated racking and electrical equipment. The Project would have a generating capacity of 4,064 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy per year and would sell this energy to Portland General Electric (PGE) under a long-term fi xed power purchase agreement. When constructed, the solar arrays and associated components would be no more than 10 feet in height and would be surrounded by 7-foot tall chain link security fence. The facility will be located on privately-owned property in Marion County, Oregon. The availability of the EA for public review was announced via notice in the following newspaper(s): Publication occurred on December 11, 2019 and December 18, 2019 in the Statesman Journal. A copy of the EA was available for public review upon request. The 14-day comment period ended on December 25, 2019. The EA was also available for public review at the USDA Rural Development offi ce. RBS received no comments from the general public. Based on its EA, RBS has concluded the project would have no signifi cant impact (or no impacts) to water quality, wetlands, fl oodplains, land use, aesthetics, transportation, or human health and safety. The proposed project will have no adverse effect on resources listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Agency has also concluded that the proposed project is not likely to affect federally listed threatened and endangered species or designated critical habitat thereof. The proposed project would not disproportionately affect minority and/or low-income populations. No other potential signifi cant impacts resulting from the proposed project have been identifi ed. Therefore, RBS has determined that this FONSI fulfi lls its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR §§ 1500-1508), and USDA Rural Development’s Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR Part 1970) for its action related to the project. RBS is satisfi ed that the environmental impacts of the proposed project have been adequately addressed. RBS’s federal action would not result in signifi cant impacts to the quality of the human environment, and as such it will not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for its action related to the proposed project. Dated: April 3, 2020 OR-0000399471 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RURAL DEVELOPMENT Pika Solar, LLC: Notice of Finding of No Signifi cant Impact AGENCY: Rural Business Service (RBS), USDA ACTION: Notice of Finding of No Signifi cant Impact (FONSI) SUMMARY: The RBS has made a Finding of No Signifi cant Impact (FONSI) with respect to a request for possible fi nancing assistance to Pika Solar, LLC for the construction of a 2.2 megawatt (MW)solar Facility in Marion County, Oregon. FURTHER INFORMATION: To obtain copies of the EA and FONSI, or for further information, contact: Michael Beyer, State Environmental Coordinator, (503) 414-3368 michael.beyer@or.usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Applicant’s proposed project would use ground-mounted, fi xed tilt solar arrays, consisting of photovoltaic (PV) modules, inverters, and associated racking and electrical equipment. The Project would have a generating capacity of 4,064 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy per year and would sell this energy to Portland General Electric (PGE) under a long-term fi xed power purchase agreement. When constructed, the solar arrays and associated components would be no more than 10 feet in height and would be surrounded by 7-foot tall chain link security fence. The facility will be located on privately-owned property in Marion County, Oregon. The availability of the EA for public review was announced via notice in the following newspaper(s): The Statesmen Journal on December 18, 2019 and December 25, 2019. A 14-day comment period was announced in the newspaper. The EA was also available for public review at the USDA Rural Development offi ce. Based on its EA, RBS has concluded the project would have no signifi cant impact (or no impacts) to water quality, wetlands, fl oodplains, land use, aesthetics, transportation, or human health and safety. The proposed project will have no adverse effect on resources listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Agency has also concluded that the proposed project is not likely to affect federally listed threatened and endangered species or designated critical habitat thereof. The proposed project would not disproportionately affect minority and/or low-income populations. No other potential signifi cant impacts resulting from the proposed project have been identifi ed. Therefore, RBS has determined that this FONSI fulfi lls its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR §§ 1500-1508), and USDA Rural Development’s Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR Part 1970) for its action related to the project. RBS is satisfi ed that the environmental impacts of the proposed project have been adequately addressed. RBS’s federal action would not result in signifi cant impacts to the quality of the human environment, and as such it will not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for its action related to the proposed project. Dated: April 3, 2020 OR-0000399468 Cafe Location: 296 2nd St., Jefferson Date: Feb. 26 Score: 95 Priority violations ❚ Poisonous or toxic materials are improperly used or applied, specifi- cally: Household pesti- cide spray can under counter in kitchen. Point deduction: 5. Jo-Jo's Soulfood & BBQ Location: 4106 State St. NE, Salem (mobile unit) Date: March 3 Score: 97 Priority violations ❚ A test kit is not pro- vided or is not accurate enough to measure the concentration of sanitiz- ing solutions, specifical- ly: No test strips provided for testing sanitizer solu- tion. Point deduction: 3. KFC/A&W Location: 444 S Pacif- ic Hwy., Monmouth Date: March 2 Score: 100 No priority violations Kick Start Espresso Location: 156 W Lo- cust St., Stayton (mobile unit) Date: Feb. 24 Score: 100 No priority violations King Donuts Location: 1695 State Enchanted Continued from Page 1B Five-petaled yellow flow- ers border the sunlit por- tions of trail. Commonly called wood violets, they have grown back in pro- fusion in the cows’ ab- sence. The violets entice solitary bees to pollinate them with a lower petal that acts as a landing pad. Purple lines on the side petals serve as nectar guides, pointing each in- sect toward the syrup it seeks at the center of the flower. Each little bee un- wittingly carries pollen from one blossom to the next as it goes about the business of foraging for the sugary liquid it needs to survive. Once its flowers pro- duce seeds, the wood vio- let enlists the aid of local ants to disperse them. Each seed has an oily sweet jacket, which ants find irresistible. The ants carry the seeds to their nest where they eat the sweet substance and then discard the naked seeds nearby. The ant farmers help the violets spread by dispersing the seeds far from the parent plants. The interconnect- ing web between bee, vi- olet and ant is restored as the valley returns to its wild self. I pass three side-val- leys, velvety with new growth, spilling out into the main meadow. The trail fades in the ankle- high grass and then reap- pears 30 yards ahead. It leads me closer to Bailey Creek and into a young forest of slender red al- ders nearly 60 feet tall. Male and female flower clusters, called catkins, adorn each tree. Male cat- kins dangle like thin tas- sels from high branches, waiting for the wind to spread their pollen. Female catkins resemble miniature green pine cones. They turn brown as they age and drop to the ground after releasing their seeds. Last year’s ti- ny cones litter the trail. The absence of grazing allowed these trees to re- establish themselves and play a critical role in re- storing the valley. Alders heal degraded land as they grow. They are one of the few tree species that can extract nitrogen from the atmosphere. St., Salem Date: Feb. 14 (rein- spected Feb. 25) Score: 91 Feb. 14: Priority viola- tions ❚ Food employees eat, drink or use tobacco in unapproved areas or use an inappropriate bever- age container for drink- ing, specifically: Employ- ee beverage in plastic wa- ter bottle by front counter and back in donut prep area. Point deduction: 3. ❚ (REPEAT) A hand- washing sink is not ac- cessible for employee use at all times, is used for purposes other than handwashing or is not operated properly, specif- ically: Two plastic tubs of donut glaze hanging over handwash sink in kitch- en. Point deduction: 6. Feb. 25: No priority violations La Guerita Location: 2470 State St., Salem (mobile unit) Date: Feb. 24 Score: 97 Priority violations ❚ Food employees eat, drink or use tobacco in unapproved areas or use an inappropriate bever- age container for drink- ing, specifically: PIC bev- erage in screw top water bottle. Point deduction: 3. Little Caesars Location: 3278 Lan- caster Drive NE, Salem Continued on Page 3 Each alder slowly drips some of its stored nitro- gen into the soil through root nodules. Every au- tumn, alders let their leaves fall while they are still green. As they gradu- ally decompose, these ex- tra-nutritious leaves for- tify the soil with another slow-release dose of ni- trogen. Surrounding trees and plants grow stronger and more robust, giving animals food and shelter. Nature revitalizes itself. The trail leaves the cover of trees to arrive at the head of the fjord-like meadow. A winged shad- ow skims across the green as an updraft of warm air lifts a soaring Turkey Vulture in slow circles. Wading through the grass, I come to the cobbly bank of Bailey Creek. Water bounces clear and cold over rounded stones. Looking closer, I notice pebbly scabs speckling the sub- merged rocks: they are the protective coverings of saddle-case-maker caddisfly larvae. As an adult a caddisfly looks like a small moth. In its larval stage it’s a worm- like creature that scrapes algae from rocks in the stream. Each larva gath- ers tiny pebbles and sand grains from the creek bed and glues them to its body with silk from glands near its mouth. It then crawls slowly over rocks to search for suste- nance, safely cloaked in armor. A caddisfly spends most of its year- long life in this larval form; it lives no more than a month as an adult. These aquatic crea- tures can’t tolerate pollu- tion and don’t survive in contaminated water, so scientists see them as bioindicators of stream health. Their presence in Bailey Creek is another sign of a recovering eco- system. As I reluctantly start back, the breeze brings the unmistakable aroma of elk: a musky, sweaty, horsey smell. They are nowhere to be seen, but they are definitely near- by. I welcome their odor; it is the wild scent of a landscape becoming whole again. Bobbie Snead is a local naturalist and nature educator. She can be reached at naturalist.col- umn@gmail.com.
