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April 28, 2017 CapitalPress.com 11 Oregon Irrigators compromise with cities on notification bill Senate Bill 865 unanimously approved by Oregon Senate By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press SALEM — Local gov- ernments would have to notify Oregon irrigation districts of proposed sub- divisions under a bill that’s been approved by the state Senate. The notification require- ment, which is intended to prevent developments from disrupting irrigation canals and other facilities, was initially opposed by the Sean Ellis/Capital Press A sugar beet field in Eastern Oregon is irrigated in June. Irrigation districts in Oregon have reached a compromise with cities on a bill that requires local governments to provide notification of subdivi- sion plans. League of Oregon Cities. However, the organiza- tion has arrived at a com- promise with supporters of Senate Bill 865, which was approved with a “do pass” recommendation by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Commit- tee. The Senate unanimous- ly approved it on April 19. City governments initial- ly objected to SB 865 be- cause they feared it would slow down the approval of new plats, or maps of subdi- vision parcels. An amendment to the bill has soothed that concern by clarifying that local govern- ments will seek input from irrigation districts much earlier in the plat approval process, said April Snell, executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Congress, which supports SB 865. Lack of communication between local governments and irrigation districts has led to breached canals and flooding, endangering pub- lic safety and water quali- ty, according to the Water Resources Congress, which represents irrigation dis- tricts. The revised bill provides irrigation districts with 15 days to respond to tentative plans for proposed plats, down from 30 days in the original language, she said. Local governments ar- en’t required to act on the input from irrigation dis- tricts under the bill, Snell said. Irrigation districts must also submit their boundary maps to local governments to qualify for notifications, said Erin Doyle, intergov- ernmental associate with the League of Oregon Cities. “It’s difficult for us to keep track if there are no maps or listed facilities,” she said. A companion bill cen- tered on relations between local governments and ir- rigation districts — Sen- ate Bill 866 — would have required permission for stormwater to be discharged into canals. City governments said the bill was impractical and would have forced them to manage all the rainfall within their boundaries, but supporters argued the bill would protect irrigation dis- tricts from pollutants. A legislative deadline for scheduling work sessions on SB 866 has passed, so the bill has died in commit- tee. State drops several Oregon Ag Department begins its attack on Japanese beetle infestation defenses in $1.4B timber lawsuit By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press The imposing homes and manicured lawns of Bron- son Creek Estates west of Portland may appear to be an unlikely front line for Oregon agriculture’s war on invasive Japanese beetles. But the subdivision is among the first areas to be treated with insec- ticide as the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture begins what may be a five-year proj- ect to wipe out the crop- and flower-eating beetles. A contractor’s crew is spreading a granular form of the insecticide Acelepryn on lawns within a 1,000- acre treatment area. This past week, hampered at times by heavy rain, the crew was treating 70 to 100 properties a day. “This is preferred habitat for Japanese beetles — irri- gated turf grass,” said ODA program manager Clint Burf- itt. The insecticide targets Japanese beetle grubs; as flying adults that emerge in summer, the beetles could cause heavy damage to high-value berries, hazelnuts, winegrapes, nursery plants and cannabis, in addition to homeowners’ roses and Jap- anese maples. “Leafy, fruit or flower, they don’t seem to distin- guish,” Burfitt said. “The adults are a voracious feed- er.” ODA has estimated the potential cost of a full-blown infestation at $43 million a year, measured by lost plant value, possible export restric- tions and increased produc- tion costs such as spraying. But stopping the infesta- tion is complicated because it requires treatment on about 2,500 private properties. To win people over and ease fears, ODA engaged in a public information campaign that included 46 stakeholder meetings, five direct mailings and more than 500 hours of door-to-door canvassing, Burfitt said. The treatment will have to be done once a year for up to five years. Burfitt said most peo- ple don’t have a problem with the program, but a few are opposed to pesticides in general or don’t want the government on their proper- ty. As of April 21, about 20 homeowners said they would not allow treatment crews on their property, and 150 to 200 didn’t respond to multiple notices. Those who refuse may be caught up in legal action by the ag department and the state Department of Justice. State officials believe they have legal authority to treat the properties even if owners disapprove, if necessary. Burfitt said the insecticide crew is working with home- owners who ask them to be especially careful around garden boxes or particular plants. Neighborhood resident Ellen Colwell allowed the exterminators on her prop- erty, with assurances they wouldn’t spread the granules near her blueberries. By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Photos by Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Contractor employee Eduardo Palomino spreads a granular form of the insecticide Acelepryn on a lawn in a Washington County suburb west of Portland. The Oregon Department of Agriculture this spring began what could be a five-year project to kill an infestation of invasive Japanese beetles. “ I t ’ s too bad,” she said, “I don’t like to expose our yard to un- necessary chemicals. Ellen Colwell I try to keep our foodstuffs organic.” But Colwell believes she and other property owners have a community responsi- bility to keep the beetles from spreading onto farmland. The ag department de- cided to take action against Japanese beetles after a re- cord 373 were caught in traps last year – 369 of them in the 1,000-acre treatment area. Burfitt said the department Clint Burfitt heads the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Japanese beetle eradication effort in Washington County. Contractors hired by the department are spreading insecticide on private property. ALBANY, Ore. — The State of Oregon has conced- ed that a class action lawsuit seeking $1.4 billion for insuf- ficient timber harvests isn’t blocked by the statute of lim- itations. The state government has also dropped its argument that county governments and local taxing districts don’t have le- gal standing to sue Oregon for alleged breach of contract. Last year, Linn County filed a lawsuit accusing Or- egon of violating contracts with 15 counties by reducing logging on about 650,000 acres of forestland the coun- ties had donated to the state. The lawsuit was certi- fied as a class action by Linn County Circuit Judge Daniel Murphy, which means the 15 counties and roughly 150 tax- ing districts, such as schools and fire departments, joined as plaintiffs in the case. Since then, Clatsop Coun- ty’s government and Clatsop County Community College have opted out of the lawsuit while other taxing districts within Clatsop County have not. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had asked the judge to elimi- nate 12 “affirmative defenses” intended to shield the State of Oregon from the class action lawsuit. During oral arguments on April 20, Oregon’s attorneys agreed to drop several of the defenses, including the expi- ration of statute of limitations, the plaintiffs’ lack of legal standing and the court’s lack of jurisdiction over the case. However, Oregon’s attor- neys also argued for the va- lidity of remaining defenses, such as the claim that the fed- eral Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act preclude the level of logging sought by the plaintiffs. Counties turned over the forestlands in the early 20th century in return for a share of timber revenues, but plaintiffs claim Oregon has curtailed logging due to environmen- tal and recreational consider- ations. Even if the state’s contract with the counties did require timber revenues to be max- imized, that’s no longer pos- sible because federal laws effectively impose limits on logging, said Scott Kaplan, attorney for the state. “That purpose, if there was such a purpose, can’t be satis- fied,” he said. This defense isn’t valid be- cause the lawsuit only seeks to recover damages for lost revenues from lawfully har- vested timber, argued John DiLorenzo, attorney for the plaintiffs. Oregon’s reduction in timber harvest goes beyond what’s required by federal law, he said. “Honoring fed- eral requirements is built into the calculation of damages.” Oregon’s “greatest perma- nent value” rule for manag- ing state forests, enacted in 1998, is blamed by plaintiffs for causing the harvest reduc- tions. Attorneys for the state gov- ernment say the “greatest per- manent value” rule conforms with Oregon law and the Or- egon Department of Forestry is complying with the rule, which is a valid defense to the breach of contract claim. DiLorenzo said the plain- tiffs agree that ODF is fol- lowing the rule, but they sim- ply want to recover damages resulting from that compli- ance. will set a couple thousand beetle traps this summer. The treatment area next year may be modified based on the trapping results. SAGE Fact #140 Pacific Ethanol’s Boardman plant produces 40 million gallons of ethanol a year which is blended with gasoline to reduce the use of fossil fuels. 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