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June 8, 2018 CapitalPress.com Rapid snowmelt causes stream forecasts to drop Controversial Oregon dairy retains bankruptcy protections Capital Press YAKIMA, Wash. — Rapid snowmelt in Wash- ington’s mountains and low- land flooding in May have switched streamflow forecasts for the rest of the summer from a surplus to a deficit. A month ago, above-nor- mal streamflows were forecast for May through September. Now below-normal flows are forecast for June through Sep- tember by the National Weath- er Service River Forecast Cen- ter in Portland. The upper Yakima Basin is expected to be at 62 to 72 percent of normal flow for June through September and the lower Yakima at 59 to 71 percent. “That’s not good news, but everyone should be fine because of full Yakima res- ervoirs and soil moisture is good,” said Scott Pattee, water supply specialist of the Wash- ington Snow Survey Office of the USDA Natural Resourc- es Conservation Service in Mount Vernon. While the Natioinal Weath- er Service Climate Prediction Center estimates above nor- mal temperatures and below normal precipitation — hot and dry — for Washington for June, July and August, there should be enough water for irrigators and everyone else, Pattee said. Basins with no reservoir storage, such as the Wenatchee and Entiat, should be OK un- less the summer becomes ex- cessively hot and dry, he said. The five mountain reser- voirs serving 464,000 acres in and around the Yakima Basin were at 99 percent of capacity and 111 percent of average on By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press EO Media Group The Lost Valley Dairy outside Boardman, Ore. A judge has decided against lifting bankruptcy protec- tions for the controversial dairy farm, which means it won’t be forced to liquidate the herd. terminated because the dairy wasn’t paying its debts and had violated quality standards more than 60 times by supply- ing milk with high bacteria levels. The bank also claimed that Lost Valley Farm is out of compliance with its “con- fined animal feeding opera- tion” permit, which regulates wastewater, despite a settle- ment with the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture. Correcting wastewater management problems at the dairy will require expensive remediation, such as empty- ing and rebuilding manure lagoons, at a cost of nearly $400,000 that’s not in the company’s budget, according to Rabobank. Te Velde’s “substance abuse problem” also weighs against his continued oper- ation of the dairy, since his “half-baked, slapdash ap- proach” to complying with wastewater regulations is “just the latest manifestation of his drug problem,” the bank said in court papers. In court documents, te Vel- de disputed the contract with Columbia River Processing was terminated, saying that “my special counsel and I continue to assert there is a scheduled, valid, executory contract and we are prepared to litigate any act by CRP to discontinue receiving our milk product.” It’s true that ODA has threatened to “hold a contempt hearing” due to alleged viola- tions of the dairy’s wastewa- ter settlement, but the facility will comply with regulations by spreading wastewater on a forage crop to increase open capacity in its manure lagoon, he said. Te Velde also claimed he will soon begin work on lining another lagoon and upgrading a wastewater con- veyance system but “there is no immediate danger of the lagoons overflowing.” While acknowledging his drug problem, te Velde said he’s enrolled in a “recovery program” and will return to residential treatment for up to three months once his busi- ness operations are stabilized. “It should be noted that while Rabobank has pointed out my substance abuse prob- lem, it does not contend that I have cheated, lied or stolen,” he said. June 5, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Chris Lynch, a bureau hy- drologist, said he anticipates full water supply for junior and senior water right holders in the Yakima Basin. May’s rapid snowmelt has pushed the “storage con- trol date” forward to between June 11 and 20, he said. That’s when outflows from the five reservoirs, totaling 1,065,400 acre-feet of water, are greater than inflows to the point that drawdowns start. It was June 29 last year. Yakima River flow at Park- er, below Union Gap, was at 11,000 cubic feet per second through May 21 but dropped to 900 by June 3, he said. “That’s a steady decline showing we’ve lost most of the snow. Flow is now stabiliz- ing,” he said. Pattee said statewide snow- pack is now 97 percent of nor- mal. But he said the number is almost meaningless since there’s virtually no snow left below 5,000 feet elevation. Peak flooding is over and the Okanogan and Columbia rivers will begin dropping in the next couple of weeks, he said. Other June through Sep- tember streamflow forecasts: Columbia River at Grand Coulee Dam, 93 percent of normal; Columbia River at The Dalles, 89 percent of nor- mal; Snake River below Low- er Granite Dam, 83 percent of normal; upper Columbia (Ket- tle, Colville, Similkameen, Okanogan and Methow rivers) range from 68 on the Kettle to 104 percent of normal on the Coville; central Co- lumbia (Chelan, Entiat and Wenatchee rivers) 80 per- cent of normal. By DAN WHEAT Decision effectively forestalls a forced liquidation sale of cattle herd A controversial Oregon dairy won’t be forced to auc- tion off its cattle and will in- stead seek to sell the animals together with the facility and land. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Fredrick Clement has decided against lifting bankruptcy pro- tections for Lost Valley Farm of Boardman, Ore., effective- ly forestalling a liquidation sale sought by Rabobank, the dairy’s main creditor. Rabobank sought to fore- close on the herd to repay some of the $67 million it had loaned to the dairy, but owner Greg te Velde filed for Chap- ter 11 bankruptcy, automati- cally protecting against such actions while he restructures debt. His bankruptcy filing can- celed a liquidation auction of Lost Valley Farm’s cattle in April, but Rabobank has since argued the dairy shouldn’t be shielded from foreclosure be- cause it’s being mismanaged. Rabobank argued that Co- lumbia River Processing, a subsidiary of the Tillamook County Creamery Coopera- tive, had terminated its con- tract to buy milk from the dairy and would cease accept- ing it after May 31. Patrick Criteser, Tilla- mook’s CEO, submitted a declaration the contract was 3 Capital Press was unable to reach an attorney for Rabo- bank. Riley Walter, an attorney representing te Velde, said he wouldn’t characterize the judge’s decision as a victory but simply a recognition that lifting bankruptcy protec- tions now would be prema- ture. “It’s the way Chapter 11 should work,” Walter said. “The debtor is entitled to a reasonable breathing spell to get his house in order.” Rising milk prices bode well for the dairy’s finances, as every $1 increase in price per hundredweight translates to a $130,000 boost in its monthly revenues, he said. Te Velde’s request to hire a real estate broker to market the Lost Valley Farm property is still pending, but he contin- ues to believe the operation is worth more if it’s not sold piecemeal, Walter said. The broker would try to sell the property and cattle for $109 million, according to a court document. “I don’t think it’s true he will sell at any price, but he will sell if he gets his price,” Walter said. Intermodal shipping facility plan moves ahead in Nyssa Capital Press A well-known Oregon flour mill wants a federal judge to declare it can use a gluten-free label without paying a nonprofit group for certification. Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains to which some people have an intolerance that causes di- gestive problems. Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods of Milwaukie, Ore., has filed a lawsuit claim- ing the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America asserted trademark rights in a “GF” gluten-free symbol that’s similar to a logo used by the company. The nonprofit sent a letter to Bob’s Red Mill alleging consumers may be “confused into think- ing GIG has certified your product as satisfying its gluten-free standards, even though GIG has not,” the complaint said. Bob’s Red Mill should either stop using the logo or become certified by the nonprofit, the letter said. The lawsuit claims it’s “somewhat puzzling” that GIG has taken this position because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office considers the GF symbol as “merely descriptive,” which means the nonprofit “has no right to exclusive use of that mark.” More than 100 glu- ten-free products are sold by Bob’s Red Mill, which has “built a separate facility with specialized machin- ery” for such products and targeted consumers seeking to avoid gluten for three de- cades, the complaint said. While there is no federal standard for “gluten-free,” the company only uses such labels for products contain- ing fewer than 19 parts per million of the substance, according to the lawsuit. Bob’s Red Mill is seek- ing a “declaratory judg- ment” that it’s not required to pay for certification or cease using the GF logo, which would “require the withholding from store shelves of millions of dol- lars’ worth of product,” the complaint said. “At a minimum, complying with GIG’s demand would re- quire a significant redesign and marketing process.” The company has also asked the judge to declare the GF trademark unen- forceable and to enter an injunction prohibiting GIG from claiming that oth- ers may not use a similar symbol. Capital Press was unable to reach Sarah Bottorf, the nonprofit’s executive direc- tor who sent the letter, for comment. Gluten Intolerance Group of North America took in about $3 million, most of it derived from “program service revenue,” during 2016, the most re- cent year for which its tax information is available. In 2017, the nonprofit filed a lawsuit over the GF trademark against organi- zations affiliated with Ja- mie Oliver, a famous chef, which was dismissed earlier this year subject to an undis- closed agreement. Ore . ho Ida 30 Weiser 26 Payette Malheur County Development MALHEUR Ontario Corp. secured access to some 52 Vale state funding for the long-planned 201 Ri Treasure Valley Reload Center. Ma l h e Construction could begin as 20 20 Nyssa, Ore. 26 soon as spring 2019 on the R truck-to-rail loading facility north . Lake of Nyssa, Ore. The project is Owyhee N seen as a major financial 10 miles benefit to local onion farmers. 95 Idaho Ore. By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI 95 84 e Flour mill files ‘gluten-free’ lawsuit Ore. Sn a k Capital Press File Bob’s Red Mill founder Bob Moore describes testing procedures in the company’s gluten-free production area. Malheur County Develop- ment Corp. recently signed an initial contract with the Ore- gon Department of Transpor- tation, enabling the county to access up to 5 percent of $26 million earmarked for a long- planned intermodal, truck-to- rail loading facility north of Nyssa. “That is a start, and it gets us on the map for intermodal movement,” Malheur Coun- ty Economic Development Director Greg Smith said. “No doubt we are going to be making investments for years to come, but this gets us start- ed.” Called the Treasure Valley Reload Center in planning documents filed last Decem- ber with the Oregon Trans- portation Commission, it’s viewed as benefiting farmers. Many of the area’s onion ship- pers, for example, pay to truck their products more than 200 miles to a Wallula, Wash., re- load facility. “It’s heaven-sent,” said Paul Skeen, president of the Malheur County Onion Growers Association. Having multiple transpor- tation modes available nearby will be a big benefit, he said. Truck availability has been tight partly because of new rules for drivers, he said. Planned inter- modal facility gets funding Area in detail v er Capital Press ur By BRAD CARLSON Alan Kenaga/Capital Press “We are going to measure our success by how well this serves our local industry,” Smith said. State funding is from Or- egon Lottery-backed bonds. Malheur County must spend it on project-specific planning, engineering, construction and equipment. The funding was part of the Oregon Leg- islature’s 2017 transportation package. Smith said having initial state money in hand bodes well as the county competes for other funding sources such as discretionary grants through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Uti- lizing Investments to Lever- age Development program. State Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, said getting the initial funding is “very im- portant” because it reflects ODOT’s finding that the proj- ect is meeting requirements. It was one of four projects fund- ed in 2017 using the state’s Connect Oregon program re- quiring projects move through a step-by-step process show- ing they are properly managed and progressing. The state funding is “a huge vote for Oregon’s east- ern edge,” he said. Bentz said the reload fa- cility would save significant expense for local onion grow- ers while making eastern Or- egon more competitive with onion-growing areas such as eastern Washington and parts of South America. The rail in- dustry also stands to gain local cargo volume. Smith said another mile- stone for the reload center will be submitting a final proposal to ODOT for approval. That is due Sept. 27. Final engi- neering planning, construc- tion budgeting and contractor hiring will follow the depart- ment’s final approval. Construction could begin as soon as spring 2019, he said. The facility will be de- signed to match demand with affordability requirements, yet accommodate expansion as needed later, Smith said. The three-parcel, 400-acre site on the east side of High- way 201 includes a planned industrial park and room for connecting to a Union Pa- cific Railroad main line via easements for rail spurs and sidings. Smith said the reload fa- cility could consist of a tilt- up concrete structure with a truck staging area, and bays and cross docks set to enable incoming product to go di- rectly onto rail cars or stored temporarily. “We are designing the fa- cility in such a way to where private industry could locate adjacent to our facility and be able to utilize rail ser- vice and/or temporary stor- age from their building into ours,” he said. Weekly fieldwork report Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA) • Days suitable for fieldwork (As of June 5) • Topsoil moisture, surplus • Topsoil moisture, percent short • Subsoil moisture, surplus • Subsoil moisture, percent short • Precipitation probability (6-10 day outlook as of June 5) Ore. Wash. Idaho Calif. 6.9 0 56% 0 51% 6.7 3% 19% 3% 14% 4.9 37% 5% 31% 8% 6.8 0 75% 0 55% Normal/ 33-40% below 33% above/ Normal Normal/ 33-40% below 40% below/ Normal
