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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2015)
July 3, 2015 CapitalPress.com 5 ‘Ag gag’ opponents point to free speech ruling Influence of recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion debated By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Opponents of Idaho’s “ag gag” law, which prohibits secret recordings of farm operations, say a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision bolsters their legal case against the statute. The Animal Legal Defense Fund and other plaintiffs are seeking to overturn the law, which also criminalizes obtain- ing farm employment under false pretenses. U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill has been deliberating over whether the statute violates free speech rights since oral ar- guments in the case were held in late April. The plaintiffs recently submitted a court document pointing Winmill to the Su- preme Court’s June 18 opinion in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, a lawsuit over the regulation of signs. In that case, the nation’s highest court invalidated a city code that created different rules for categories of signs based on whether they’re ideological, po- litical or directional. According to the Animal Le- gal Defense Fund, the decision makes clear that a court can con- sider legislative intent in decid- ing if a law is content-based and unconstitutionally limits free speech. “As plaintiffs have previ- ously emphasized, an improper legislative motive is a sufficient basis for treating a law as con- tent-based,” the court brief said. The plaintiffs argue that Ida- ho lawmakers were motivated by hostility toward animal rights activists — who they compared to “terrorists” and “marauding invaders” — when passing the law in 2014. Idaho’s attorneys argue that legal precedents preclude the court from “psychoanalyzing” motives of legislators, and that lawmakers were driven by a de- sire to protect agricultural oper- ations from harm. The statute was passed in reaction to the angry backlash against an Idaho dairy farm whose employees were secretly filmed abusing cattle. As for the recent Supreme Court opinion, the defendants say that it “cuts no new trail and cannot lead the plaintiffs where they wish to go.” The circumstances and legal arguments in Reed v. Town of Gilbert are too different to shed light on the controversy over Idaho’s law, according to a re- sponse brief filed by the state’s attorneys. Unlike posting a sign, re- cording a video is “not expres- sive conduct” but is merely an activity that employers can pro- hibit, so the Supreme Court de- cision “says nothing relevant on this score,” the document said. Burns Airport adds fuel truck to aid firefighting flights By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press During fire season last summer in southeast Ore- gon, the Burns Municipal Airport ran out of fuel for firefighting airplanes nine times. With drought expected to bring an even worse wild- fire danger this year, airport Manager Jeff Cotton, com- munity members and the Bureau of Land Manage- ment, which manages much of the range and forestland in the region, began looking for ways to avoid similar shortages and response de- lays. Having to halt flights until fuel was delivered in- terrupted the firefighting effort. Cotton and the others learned a military surplus tanker truck was available at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and federal General Services Administration approved the airport’s request. The tanker was free, and the BLM paid for two drivers and a low- boy hauling rig to go get it. The tanker, a 1995 Volvo with only 300 miles on it, holds 6,000 gallons of fuel. Cotton said the rolling cache gives the airport about three days worth of fuel for the air tankers. He’d like more, but he’s glad to have it. “We’ve got bigger fires, more fires and earlier fires,” Cotton said. The area saw two fires in June; the earliest last year didn’t happen until July 6. Cotton said he hopes to obtain another tanker truck next fall or spring. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. Courtesy of Burns Municipal Airport A 6,000 gallon fuel tanker donated as military surplus will help keep firefighting planes in the air over Southeast Oregon this summer. Study highlights investments in Columbia River ports ‘This is not a river system that’s simply holding in place. Folks are making hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in their facilities. They are banking on the future of the Columbia-Snake river system.’ By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Public agencies and pri- vate companies have invest- ed more than $1 billion in the lower Columbia River navigation channel and fa- cilities since it was deepened five years ago, a new study says. The Pacific Northwest Wa- terways Association and Port of Portland released a study outlining the $1.08 billion in public and private invest- ments. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent $180 mil- lion to deepen the 110-mile navigation channel from 40 to 43 feet. The dredging was finished in 2010. The study also document- ed investments in grain ex- port facilities, mineral bulk export facilities and rail and road infrastructure following completion of the channel deepening project. “All of these projects were due, some totally, some in part, to the channel deep- ening project,” said Kristin Meira of the waterways as- Kristin Meira of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association Capital Press file photo The EGT grain terminal at the Port of Longview, Wash., is shown in this file photo. The terminal is one of several projects that have been built since the lower Columbia River was dredged five years ago. sociation. “It made our river system more efficient and a better place to do business.” The $230 million Export Grain Terminal at Longview, Wash., was the first new grain export facility in North America in roughly 25 years, she said. Other projects cited in the study include $228 mil- lion to expand rail freight infrastructure at the Port of Vancouver, $100 million that Temco LLC spent to increase grain capacity and $140 million to improve potash exporter Canpotex’s shiploading efficiency at the Port of Portland. About $5.15 billion in investments are proposed, according to the study, in- cluding a $600 million coal terminal at the Port of Longview and a $500 mil- lion propane export terminal at the Port of Portland. Roughly 77 percent of the Portland port’s current busi- ness is related to movement of agricultural and mineral bulks, said Curtis Robin- hold, deputy executive di- rector of the port, in a press release. “The deepening of the channel has led to an in- crease in volumes of bulks at our facilities since ships can travel more fully loaded,” Robinhold stated. Meira said the study shows why the river is im- portant to the region and the nation. Maintenance and targeted investment are cru- cial to ensure a competitive transportation system, she said. The system is slated for a 14-week closure beginning in December 2016 for lock maintenance. Navigation channels require adequate financial support from the federal government to be maintained, Meira said. “This is not a river sys- tem that’s simply holding in place,” she said. “Folks are making hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in their facilities. They are banking on the future of the Columbia-Snake river sys- tem.” Have you seen this invasive plant? Oriental Clematis is a deciduous vine that forms blankets of dense growth over existing plants. Learn more at www.nwcb.wa.gov Infestations form a dense canopy over trees and other plants. It is primarily spreading in eastern Washington. Flowers are solitary or in clusters of 3 or more. Flowers have 4 yellow petal-like sepals that are 3/4” long. Why is oriental clematis (Clematis orientalis) a noxious weed? • It is an invasive vine found in the intermountain west and several infestations have recently been detected in Yakima County. • Oriental clematis rapidly forms patches of dense growth that can smother native plants. Round clusters of hairy seeds remain on the plants for many months. Where do you find oriental clematis? • This clematis species is sometimes grown as a garden ornamental. • It grows in a variety of habitats, including shrublands, riverbanks, streambanks, riparian areas, ditches, roadsides, rocky slopes, desert and semi-desert areas. Leaves are arranged opposite each other on stems, divided into 3-7 leaflets and vary in shape and size. What can you do? • Learn to identify this Class A noxious weed. • Purchase non-invasive clematis species for your gardens. • Contact your county weed board to learn how to remove it from your property. • Report any sightings to your county noxious weed control board or to noxiousweeds@agr.wa.gov. Images courtesy of Sue Bird and Yakima County NWCB 27-7/#13