May 26, 2017
CapitalPress.com
9
Oregon
Grant
funding
OK’d for
wastewater
irrigation
study
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
The City of John Day has
obtained a $50,000 grant
to study the possibility of
using wastewater for hy-
roponic crop production or
pasture irrigation.
The award was one of
eight grants totaling more
than $400,000 approved
for water project feasibility
studies by the Oregon Water
Resources Commission.
John Day currently
stores treated wastewater
in four ponds near the John
Day River, but the system
may not pass regulatory
muster in the future due to
potential adverse impacts
on water quality.
For this reason, the city
wants to examine re-us-
ing the wastewater, which
amounts to 87.6 million
gallons annually, in hydro-
ponic greenhouses.
The other option would
be to pipe the water to two
40-acre lagoons north of
town that would feed a 120-
acre center pivot irrigation
system.
The total cost of the
study is expected to be
$110,000, with matching
funds provided by the city
and another state grant pro-
gram.
After the approval of
the eight grants, the Ore-
gon Water Resources Com-
mission still has more than
$600,000 available for fu-
ture water project feasibil-
ity studies.
One of the proposals
submitted to the commis-
sion — $93,935 to study
removing sediment from
the Applegate Reservoir
in Southern Oregon to in-
crease storage capacity —
was rejected.
The Oregon Water Re-
sources Department, which
is overseen by the commis-
sion, recommended against
funding the study because
it only proposed removing
sediment, which is a tempo-
rary solution.
Bill to expand self-service gas in rural
counties heads to governor’s desk
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A bill to ex-
pand the hours of self-serve
gas stations in rural counties
in Eastern Oregon is headed
to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk,
after the Senate passed it
May 23 on a 26-1 vote.
Oregon is one of only two
states that prohibits custom-
ers from pumping their own
fuel at gas stations. New Jer-
sey is the other state.
Senate Majority Leader
Ginny Burdick, D-Portland,
voted against the proposal.
She is a strong believer
in the Oregon way when it
comes to gasoline service,”
said Rick Osborn, a spokes-
man in the Senate Demo-
crats’ Office .
Two years ago, the Legis-
lature passed a bill to allow
self-fueling between 6 p.m.
and 6 a.m. in certain rural
counties, to prevent travelers
from being stranded over-
night.
“In many of these smaller
communities, people would
get stuck without a full tank
of gas” because no gas sta-
EO Media Group
A bill to expand the hours of self-serve gas stations in rural Eastern Oregon counties is headed to Gov.
Kate Brown’s desk. The proposed change affects 15 counties in Eastern Oregon: Malheur, Union,
Wasco, Hood River, Jefferson, Crook, Baker, Morrow, Lake, Grant, Harney, Wallowa, Gilliam, Sherman
and Wheeler.
tions were open, said Sen.
Rod Monroe, D-Portland,
who carried the bill to the
floor.
The bill passed Tuesday ex-
pands that period to 24 hours
in 15 counties, with popula-
tions of less than 40,000. Sta-
tions would still be required
to have at least one attendant
between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., but
customers could pump their
own gas if the attendant is busy
and a cardlock machine is
available.
In Eastern Oregon, some
locally owned gas stations have
been at risk of closure because
of the expense of hiring fueling
attendants to pump customers’
gas, said chief sponsor Rep.
Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario.
“We are trying to pre-
serve these stations out
in the middle of nowhere
so that we have fuel
available,” Bentz said during
a hearing on the bill in
March.
The proposed change af-
fects 15 counties in Eastern
Oregon: Malheur, Union,
Wasco, Hood River, Jeffer-
son, Crook, Baker, Morrow,
Lake, Grant, Harney, Wal-
lowa, Gilliam, Sherman and
Wheeler.
The original propos-
al included Clatsop, Cur-
ry and Tillamook coun-
ties. However, opposition
to expanding self-service
hours prompted proponents
to carve out those coastal
counties.
Opponents feared the
change would threaten the
jobs of those who pump fuel
for a living in those coastal
areas.
Legislators pursue changing appointment authority for ODOT director
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM – Legislators on
a joint committee crafting a
transportation package plan
to propose shifting authority
to appoint the director of the
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation from the governor
to the Oregon Transportation
Commission.
“If you are going to have
entity with fiduciary responsi-
bility, they need the ability to
appoint the CEO,” said Com-
mittee Co-chairman Lee Bey-
er, D-Eugene. Under the plan,
the five-member commission
would appoint the director “in
consultation with the gover-
nor.”
The proposal is one part of
a transportation package that
would raise about $8 billion
over the next 10 years to pay
for projects to relieve conges-
tion and maintain roads and
bridges.
The 14-member commit-
tee has met over the last two
weeks to refine points they
wanted to include in the leg-
islation, which legislative
counsel is in the process of
drafting. Lawmakers empha-
sized that their agreement for
the first draft of the legislation
did not necessarily indicate
their support for all of the
provisions. Many of the finer
points will be hashed out af-
ter the first draft is complet-
ed. Co-chairwoman Caddy
McKeown, D-Coos Bay, esti-
mated the first draft would be
finished by May 31, with pub-
lic hearings later.
The money for the plan
would come from hikes in the
gas tax and registration and li-
cense fees, tolls and new tax-
es on payroll and purchases
of new vehicles and bicycles.
The legislation also would re-
quire a website so taxpayers
could follow the progress and
budgets of projects in their
area and create an indepen-
dent staff for the OTC.
Tammy Baney, OTC
chairwoman, earlier this year
asked Gov. Kate Brown for a
separate staff and for more in-
volvement in the appointment
of the ODOT director.
The plan identifies a few
specific projects to ease con-
gestion, but other projects
would be prioritized by the
OTC. Specific projects would:
• Add lanes on Interstate 5
near Portland’s Rose Quarter
from Interstate 84 to Interstate
405.
• Add northbound and
southbound lanes on High-
way 217 through the Portland
metro area.
• Widen Interstate 205 to
six lanes from Oregon City to
Stafford Road.
• Widen and seismically
reinforce Interstate 205’s Ab-
ernethy Bridge.
John Deere Dealers
See one of these dealers for a demonstration
Fire sweeps
through dairy
farm’s barn,
destroying
hay and
equipment
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
An Oregon dairy farm
lost approximately 600 tons
of hay early May 19 when a
fire of unknown origin swept
through a wood and steel
commodity barn.
Firefighters from the
Mount Angel, Monitor, Sil-
verton and Woodburn fire
districts responded to the fire
reported at 1:06 a.m. at AJ
Dairy, 16153 Marquam Road.
They found the barn fully in-
volved in flames. The cause
was undetermined; a prelim-
inary estimate put the dam-
age at about $300,000 for the
building and contents, accord-
ing to the Mount Angel Fire
District.
Tim Kuenzi, co-operator
of the dairy, sustained burns
on his hands and ankles when
he tried to move a front-end
loader out of the burning barn.
Kuenzi said he threw on cov-
eralls and rushed to the barn
when the fire was discovered,
but the equipment was too hot
to move.
“I’m thankful there was
no loss of life and the animals
are safe,” he said. He said his
burns were bandaged and he
was able to work the follow-
ing day.
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