12 CapitalPress.com
January 13, 2017
Oregon has law mandating fi sh passage past manmade obstructions
Idaho irrigators have filed to intervene in a case involving Oregon’s
demands that Idaho Power Co. take steps to allow endangered
steelhead and salmon passage above the Hells Canyon Complex of
dams as a condition of relicensing of the project.
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public comment periods that
end Feb. 13. Oregon’s draft
would require Idaho Power
to implement technology to
enable salmon and steelhead
to pass above and below the
complex.
Marilyn Fonseca, hydro-
power program coordinator
with the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality,
explained her state has pro-
posed a phased-in reintro-
duction plan spanning about
two decades. Initially fish
would be introduced in Or-
egon’s Snake River tributar-
ies upstream of the complex,
starting with Pine Creek.
Ultimately, Idaho Power
officials said the company
would capture fish in special
collection areas, trucking
adult steelhead and salmon
upstream of the complex and
juvenile fish downstream.
Fonseca said Oregon has
a state law mandating fish
Fish passage dispute
Sn a
ke
FISH from Page 1
71
N
10 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
passage past any manmade
water obstruction, but the
state’s legal argument hinges
its own water quality stan-
dards, drafted in accordance
with the federal Clean Water
Act, requiring that Oregon
waterways maintain robust
fish populations.
In a letter to Oregon
leaders, Idaho Gov. Butch
Otter opposed reintroduc-
tion of endangered species
in his state without the Leg-
islature’s consent, citing
problems with federally re-
introduced wolves.
“While I appreciate Or-
egon’s willingness to limit
these reintroductions to Or-
egon tributaries, the agree-
ment would result in rein-
troduced fish entering Idaho
waters,” Otter wrote.
Idaho Power spokes-
man Brad Bowlin said the
company has filed a peti-
tion asking FERC to step
in and resolve the dispute
between the states. Bowlin
said the company believes
the federal government has
authority under the Federal
Power Act and the Suprem-
acy Clause of the U.S. Con-
stitution.
“Idaho Power’s posi-
tion is not to support or op-
pose fish passage,” Bowlin
said. “Our position is that
resolving this issue of pas-
sage is a federal question,
especially given that we
have two states whose po-
sitions are diametrically
opposed.”
Bowlin said Idaho Pow-
er owns and finances four
hatcheries and releases
millions of fish below the
dams.
Both the IWUA and Idaho
Irrigation Pumpers Associa-
tion have filed to intervene
in the case before FERC.
Lynn Tominaga, executive
director for the pumpers,
said his members are pri-
marily concerned about in-
creased power rates to run
their wells if Idaho Power
has to bear such a large new
expense. Semanko explained
his members are concerned
the agreement could create
water shortages, as more
Zippy Duvall: It’s been a long week but a good week
AFB from Page 1
Which is good, because
much of the other news com-
ing out of the convention
workshops and presentations
wasn’t of the slap-happy na-
ture.
‘There is some
discretion
where you could
interpret the
testing protocols’
WHEAT from Page 1
‘Golden Age’ over
The Farm Bureau’s direc-
tor of market intelligence,
John Newton, fl atly told dele-
gates, “The Golden Age of ag
income is over.”
Net farm income is pro-
jected to decline for the third
consecutive year, and export-
ers’ biggest markets — China,
Canada, Mexico and Japan
— aren’t expanding. Newton
said producers need to look
at markets that are projected
to grow, such as Africa. The
world population is projected
to hit 9 billion by 2050, and
that provides opportunities for
American’s farmers, Newton
said.
“We are the breadbasket of
the world, everybody knows
that,” he said.
Newton was part of a
three-person AFBF economic
team presentation.
Economist Veronica Nigh
said producers should borrow
the Uber ride-share compa-
ny’s slogan and “Get your
side hustle on” to develop
other revenue streams.
She suggested farmers
open their property to hunt-
ing and outfi tting operations,
develop a private fi shing lake,
offer motor home and boat
storage rentals, operate a CSA
or look for export options.
Producers can fi nd export
help from various trade as-
sociations, Nigh said. “You
don’t have to come up with
that brochure in Mandarin all
by yourself,” she said.
Economist Katelyn Mc-
water could be demanded
downstream for salmon, and
cost them hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars in new regu-
latory requirements.
FERC staff members
have agreed reintroduction
“could be warranted but
is premature at this time.”
They note degradation due
to agricultural and municipal
uses have made water quali-
ty upstream of the complex
inadequate for steelhead and
salmon. FERC has also ref-
erenced the lack of a written
plan to guide reintroduction
and fears mortality during
migration could outweigh
the benefits.
Fonseca said her de-
partment and its Idaho
counterpart are working
with partners, including
Idaho Power, to address
water-quality concerns in-
cluding dissolved oxygen
levels, high water temperature
and excessive phosphorus
loads.
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
American Farm Bureau Federation economist Katelyn McCullock speaks to members during the organization’s annual convention in
Phoenix. She said farmers can cope with stagnant prices by becoming more effi cient, principally through genetics and technology.
Cullock said farmers can
cope with stagnant prices
by becoming more effi cient,
principally through genetics
and technology. On the latter,
automatic feeders and robots
can reduce labor. “I’ve never
met a farmer that said they
want to manage more peo-
ple,” she said.
Political divide
The nation’s political
divide came under the mi-
croscope during a panel dis-
cussion Jan. 9, when a pair
of political strategists said
Donald Trump’s surprising
win presents a baffl ing puzzle
about how he will govern.
“I think people all over
the country are saying what
we thought was politically
impossible is now possible,”
said Stan Barnes, president
of the Copper State consult-
ing group in Arizona. “This
unconventional thing that’s
happened, whatever it is, has
changed American politics.
“Everything we used to
use to gauge normalcy has
just evaporated,” Barnes said.
Barnes said Hollywood
celebrities and the pop culture
elite will attack Trump, por-
tray him as a buffoon and a
racist and “never let him up,”
but their impact on Congress
may be limited.
He said “nation-states like
California” are prepared to
“torpedo” anything Trump
does and said it’s signifi cant
that California hired Obama’s
former attorney general, Eric
Holder, to frustrate Trump in
the court system.
“What will our Democrat
friends do when it’s time to
vote with a president they
ROP-1-2-2/#14
really don’t like?” Barnes
asked. “It puts them in a knot
that has some entertainment
value.”
New political system
William “Billy” Moore, a
partner in Vianovo, a Wash-
ington, D.C., strategic ad-
visory fi rm, said Trump has
blown up the political system.
“We’ve gone from a one-
hump camel to one with two
humps that don’t touch, polit-
ically,” he said.
Moore said Trump’s cabi-
net is made up of eight power
centers with no one in charge
but him. He predicted rival
cabinet members will snipe
at each other and signifi -
cant turnover and turmoil is
likely.
The two men spoke be-
fore allegations surfaced that
Russian agents or operatives
may have compromising
information about Trump
and sought to infl uence or
even collaborated with his
campaign. Trump angrily
called the allegations “fake
news” and a “political witch
hunt.”
Barnes said Trump could
quickly run into trouble if
he provokes a trade war or
seeks to deport illegal immi-
grants and their children who
were born in the U.S. He said
“smarter people in the White
House” will prevail and head
off major political unrest.
Moore said Trump isn’t
really a Republican — he’s
more of an Independent —
and will shift alliances as
needed.
“The stage is set for a fairly
partisan fi rst six weeks, then
shift to more bipartisan for the
next couple months, then par-
tisan again as they pass a 2018
budget,” he said.
Despite the uncertainties
facing ag, convention dele-
gates came through the week
unifi ed, said Duvall, the
AFBF president.
“It’s been a long week but
a good week,” he said.
of fl our and water, some farm-
ers received less for their crop.
Weather contributes to alpha
amylase, an enzyme that breaks
down starch and thins the mix-
ture. But suspicion also has fall-
en on more-controllable factors,
such as whether some wheat
varieties are more prone to the
enzyme and whether testing
protocols are consistent.
Tests from the same sam-
ples have yielded different re-
sults, said Rep. Joe Schmick,
a Republican from Whitman
County, the nation’s top-wheat
producing county.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen,
looking at it, is the inconsisten-
cy. If that can be addressed, I
think that would go a long way
in helping the situation,” he told
Sandison.
Sandison said WSDA asked
the USDA Federal Grain In-
spection Service to audit every
state grain-testing laboratory
and machine.
“Basically, we passed with
fl ying colors. There were not
problems with our testing,”
Sandison said.
In an interview with the
Capital Press Tuesday, Wash-
ington Grain Commission CEO
Glen Squires said he was confi -
dent WSDA has made sure fl uc-
tuating numbers aren’t caused
by inconsistent testing methods.
He also praised WSDA’s
efforts to keep low starch num-
bers from becoming a reoccur-
ring problem.
“I think they’re doing a lot.
I appreciate the director’s active
involvement,” Squires said. “He
recognized the signifi cance of
the issue.”
Sandison described WSDA’s
response as a four-pronged ap-
proach.
• Develop consistent federal
and regional testing procedures.
The Hagberg-Perten test in-
cludes steps — such as grinding
wheat, adding water and shak-
ing a test tube — that can affect
results. “There is some discre-
tion where you could interpret
the testing protocols,” Sandison
said. “We want to get the Fed-
eral Grain Inspection Service to
tighten those up, so there isn’t
variability with respect to how
someone interprets the testing
protocol.”
• Work with research insti-
tutions, particularly Washing-
ton State University, to identify
whether some wheat varieties
are prone to alpha-amylase. “If
that’s the case, we need to stop
using certain breeds that have
that susceptibility,” Sandison
said.
• Improve on the Hag-
berg-Perten test. “We’re look-
ing long term at a replacement
test,” Sandison said. “I think the
USDA agrees with us that needs
to be done. It’s going to take
awhile. The basic research has
to be done to develop the test.”
• Develop portable-testers
to use at grain elevators. “So
we don’t have the problem
where a good load goes in and
then a load with a low falling
number gets dumped on top of
it,” Sandison said. “If we get a
hand-held analyzer, we can do
that segregation.”