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4 CapitalPress.com November 27, 2015 House panel hears ways to fi nance water projects Capital Press OLYMPIA — Washing- ton lawmakers were pre- sented Nov. 19 with a slate of ways to raise $3 billion over 10 years for irrigation, fl ood-prevention and pollu- tion-control projects, includ- ing repealing tax exemptions for farmers and ranchers. The options were rolled out at a meeting of a House task force formed after a pro- posal earlier this year to fund water projects with a new property tax failed to win support. Alternatives tendered by legislative staff members included new or increased Don Jenkins/Capital Press The Chehalis River fl oods farmland Nov. 18 after a rainstorm rapidly drove up the river. State lawmakers are looking at ways to fi nance fl ood-control, irrigation and pollution-reduction projects. during the 2015 session a fl at, per-parcel fee of at least $35 to fi nance the projects. Farm- ers with more than 5 acres would have paid $90 a year. Honeyford represents the drought-vulnerable Yakima Valley, while Braun rep- resents the drought-prone Chehalis River basin. Their proposal failed to ad- vance. “We heard the testimo- Irrigation districts modernize with hydropower Capital Press 30 MALAD GORGE STATE PARK Aqualife Fish Farm 84 BILLINGSLEY CREEK WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA er Riv g Hagerman Rangen Fish Farm Creek The Idaho Water Resource Board has approved a $3.2 million short-term loan to Idaho Groundwater Appropria- tors, Inc., to purchase the state-owned Aqualife fish hatchery as part of mitigation for a water call. The board bundled the funding in with an existing loan. Area in detail By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI HAGERMAN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA 30 N 1 mile Seapac of Idaho, Inc. trout farm John O’Connell and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Marc Thalacker, manager of the Three Sisters Irrigation District in Sisters, Ore., explains the function of water pressure in turning a hydropower turbine to generate electricity. Government incentives, economic benefi ts and reduced regulatory hurdles have encouraged irrigation districts to undertake hydropower retrofi ts in recent years. a year, or enough to power 75 homes. Money generated from selling electricity will help pay off loans taken out for the piping project. Meanwhile, the district plans to install four smaller turbines next year as part of a demonstration proj- ect for growers and invest in a second large turbine by 2020. While the $2 million cost of the fi rst turbine was heavily subsidized with grants from the U.S. Bureau of Reclama- tion and the Energy Trust of Oregon, a non-profi t funded by state ratepayers, Thalacker expects such projects will one day pencil out fi nancially on their own. As Pacifi corp and other major power utilities reduce their reliance on coal burning over the next decade, elec- tricity rates are expected to rise and make such renewable energy projects economically feasible, he said. “When we’re burning a lot less coal, this will make a lot more sense,” Thalacker said. Three Sisters Irrigation District is one of seven dis- tricts in Oregon that have retrofit their systems to gen- erate hydropower, and an- other six are examining the possibility as part of broader 48-2/#6 modernization efforts, said Jed Jorgensen, renewable energy program coordinator at the Energy Trust of Ore- gon non-profit. “It is an idea that is just starting to take off,” Jor- gensen said. Hydropower turbines are often associated with piping projects, particularly when a system doesn’t have a sud- den drop in elevation — in such cases, pipes are neces- sary to build enough pres- sure to power the turbine, he said. For a hydropower tur- bine to make sense, there has to be enough spare pressure in a system beyond what farmers need to eliminate pumps. “You don’t want hydro- power to be in conflict with how farmers get their wa- ter,” Jorgensen said. Energy Trust of Oregon funds such hydropower ret- rofits that are on the verge of being financially viable but can’t quite make it on their own, he said. Even when the revenues from hydropower alone may not make a project attrac- tive enough, districts and ditch companies are drawn to other advantages of irri- gation modernization, such as reduced electricity use from pressurization, de- creased costs for upkeeping canals and fewer environ- mental headaches, Jorgensen said. “That water savings is worth a lot of money and is a tremendous environmental benefit,” he said. Aside from economic fac- tors, the technology is more accessible because recent legislation has removed reg- ulatory barriers to installing hydropower turbines, said Dan Keppen, executive di- rector of the Family Farm Alliance, a group that advo- cates for irrigators. In 2013, two bills — House Resolutions 267 and 678 — were passed into law, which streamlined the feder- al government’s approval of small hydropower facilities, Keppen said. Previously, hydropower retrofits were lumped in with larger projects even though they modified existing irri- gation systems and had no environmental impact, he said. The time and expense of obtaining permitting was often greater than building the project itself, but now many of these impediments have been removed, Keppen said. Irrigation systems across the West are often reliant on gravity, with water being pulled from behind a dam or distributed by flowing from higher to lower elevations, so they’re already designed to accommodate hydropow- er, he said. “You’re going to have Mother Nature on your side,” Keppen said. 48-1/#4 SISTERS, Ore. — A key part of Marc Thalacker’s orig- inal job description was drying up the stream from which his irrigation district drew water. Entirely drying up Whychus Creek in summer ensured growers within the Three Sisters Irrigation Dis- trict got as much water as pos- sible, but by the late 1990s, it was clear the practice was bound to come under regula- tory scrutiny, said Thalacker, the district’s manager. Steelhead and bull trout were gaining federal protec- tions as threatened species, and it appeared likely the district would face problems under the Endangered Species Act, he said. “Why wait for the reg- ulatory hammer when you can get out in front of it?” Thalacker said. At the same time, the irri- gation system was ineffi cient: Of the 35,000 acre feet of water diverted by the district, only 17,000 acre feet were delivered to farmers, he said. “The rest would seep into the ground through our leaky ca- nals.” Since then, the district has replaced 50 miles of its 63 miles of canals with high-den- sity plastic pipes. When the system is fully piped in about fi ve years, the rate of water loss will fall to 10 percent, down from more than 50 per- cent with canals. Farmers are now able to get more water while divert- ing less from the creek. Piping provides additional benefi ts: The irrigation sys- tem is pressurized by gravity, which allows farmers to stop pumping and thus save elec- tricity. Last year, the district also installed a hydropower turbine that generates more than 3 million kilowatt hours Loan approval in Idaho water deal sley Hydropower turbines a component of piping and pressurization ing $300 million a year for 10 years, or borrow $300 million a year and pay it back over 35 years, according to legislative staff members. A combination of taxes and fees would have to be imposed to raise $300 million a year. The biggest poten- tial funding source presented Nov. 19 was a “stormwater fee” of $22.50 per single-fam- ily residence to raise $195.9 million annually. Farm income on whole- sale transactions are exempt from business and occupation taxes. Repealing the exemp- tion on gross incomes above $200,000 a year would raise an estimated $39.4 million a year, according to legislative staff. Farm chemicals can be purchased tax free. Repealing that exemption would raise an estimated $66.3 million. ny. We need something else, so we’re not considering that at this time,” Honeyford said. The task force, meeting for the last time before the 2016 session, didn’t discuss the new options. Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, faulted the task force for not producing a proposal to other lawmakers. “The committee has failed to fulfi ll its obligation,” he said. DeBolt said lawmakers will continue discussing how to pay for water projects. He said the task force had too lit- tle time to make an informed recommendation and was just broaching a tough sub- ject. “I wouldn’t use the word ‘failed.’ I would use the words ‘opened Pandora’s box,’ ” he said. The state could pay for water projects upfront by rais- Sna ke By DON JENKINS taxes on utilities, real estate transactions and property. The task force’s chairman, Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Che- halis, cracked that there was something for everyone to dislike. “I think when we did this, we wanted to thoroughly ag- gravate everyone, and I think we did a decent job with that,” he joked. State offi cials have identi- fi ed billions of dollars worth of unfunded water projects. The projects include $4 billion for increasing Yakima Valley water supplies, $500 million for controlling fl oods in Lewis and Grays Harbor counties, and $3 million for reducing Puget Sound pollu- tion. Republican Sens. Jim Hon- eyford of Sunnyside and John Braun of Centralia proposed Loan approved for IGWA to purchase Hagerman trout farm By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press BOISE — Idaho ground- water users may have to pay up to $1.2 million more than they originally budgeted to purchase a Hagerman trout farm as part of a mitigation plan resolving the Rangen, Inc., water call. On Nov. 19, the Idaho Water Resource Board ap- proved a $3.2 million short- term loan to Idaho Ground- water Appropriators, Inc. — equal to the appraised price of the state-owned Aqualife fish hatchery. IGWA has agreed to purchase the hatchery to turn over to SeaPac of Ida- ho, which had been leasing Aqualife from the Idaho De- partment of Water Resourc- es. In exchange, SeaPac is providing IGWA up to 10 cubic feet per second of pristine spring water from its Magic Springs facility to pipe to Rangen. Idaho Department of Wa- ter Resources Director Gary Spackman ruled during the winter of 2013 junior well irrigators in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer owe Rangen the water to offset affects of their pumping on Rangen’s spring flows. Funds to purchase Aqualife will be wrapped into an existing loan the board made to help IGWA finance construction of the Rangen pipeline, bringing the total loan amount to $7.2 million. IGWA has until Septem- ber of 2016 to repay the loan, providing time for the orga- nization to find longterm financing and determine the appropriate length of repay- ment, said Lynn Carlquist, a Hazelton farmer who serves as chairman of the North Snake Groundwater Dis- trict. IGWA has until the end of the year to purchase Aqualife and transfer the ti- tle to SeaPac. The pipeline has been operational since last winter, and IGWA has been leasing Aqualife for SeaPac’s use in the interim. Carlquist explained a judge granted IGWA the right to incur $15 million in debt about a year ago to re- solve water calls, including Rangen, in the Hagerman area. Some of the funds are also available to resolve ad- ditional water calls that may be on the horizon down- stream from Rangen on Billingsley Creek. “Every time the ground- water pumpers turn around, someone else wants a piece of our hide,” Carlquist said. IGWA originally budget- ed $2 million of that total toward purchasing Aqualife and 17 acres of surrounding land. He said IGWA later in- creased its budget estimate to $2.7 million when Sea- Pac indicated it would need 110 acres of surrounding land for biosecurity reasons. Carlquist said IGWA be- lieves the state’s apprais- al, conducted by LeMoyne Appraisal in August 2015, came in too high. Water Board Chairman Roger Chase said the ap- praisal was done by leading experts and the board has no authority to accept less than an appraised amount. IGWA Executive Direc- tor Lynn Tominaga said his organization has asked the appraiser to reconsider the amount, factoring in deed restrictions on land use and the water right. IDWR Planning Bureau Chief Brian Patton said the board has asked its ap- praiser to revisit its esti- mate, with IGWA’s issues in mind, and he should have an answer within a couple of weeks. LEGAL LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 12/ 7/2015. The sale will be held at 10:00am by ABNER TRUCK TRAILER REPAIR 1395 INDUSTRIAL WAY, WOODBURN, OR 2001 KENWORTH W900 VIN = 1XKWDB9X11R872568 Amount due on lien $17,535.00 Reputed owner(s) TRAVIS FLY GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITOL GIBSON DREXEL AK TRUCK/TRAILER SALES PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 12/1/2015. The sale will be held at 10:00 am by MERCEDES BENZ OF SALEM 2405 COMMERCIAL ST SE, SALEM, OR 2000 Mercedes S430 VIN=WDBNG70J8YA105487 Amount due on lien $2,788.08 Reputed owner(s) Cynthia Moore Cynthia Moore Legal-47-2-1/#4 legal-48-2-1/#4 Chairman: Everyone will be aggravated