Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2019)
Friday, September 13, 2019 Oregon joins lawsuit challenging EPA over chlorpyrifos By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press SALEM — Oregon Attor- ney General Ellen Rosenblum is joining a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency challenging the use of chlorpyrifos, a widely used pes- ticide, on food crops. The case was filed Aug. 7 in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the state attor- neys general of New York, California, Washington, Mas- sachusetts, Maryland and Ver- mont, argu- ing chlorpy- rifos is a toxic chem- ical that can harm infant Oregon and child Attorney neurological General development. Ellen Environ- Rosenblum mental groups including the Pesticide Action Network North America and Natural Resources Defense Council originally petitioned the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos in 2007. Former EPA Administra- tor Scott Pruitt denied the peti- tion in 2017. A dozen groups fought the decision to the appeals court, which ordered the EPA to recon- sider prohibiting the insecticide. The agency, now led by Andrew Wheeler, upheld its decision in July, allowing farmers to con- tinue using chlorpyrifos. Rosenblum said it is “really alarming that the Trump admin- istration is disregarding the law by allowing a toxic pesticide that is dangerous to young chil- dren and infants to be used in our national food stream.” “Every one of us eats food that comes from around the country, so until the EPA can show this pesticide is safe, there should be a national ban,” Rosenblum said. “Farm- workers, their families and children living nearby are the people to bear the dispropor- tional brunt of this toxin.” As of 2016, between 5 mil- lion and 7.5 million pounds of chlorpyrifos were applied to food crops annually across the country, according to the states’ lawsuit. Rosenblum said the EPA’s own scientists have twice been unable to identify a safe level for the pesticide on food. The EPA under the Obama administration did consider a rule to ban chlorpyrifos in 2015, but Pruitt later reversed course, citing “serious scien- tific concerns and substantive process gaps in the proposal” in his denial. The agency plans to complete a review of the chem- ical by Oct. 1, 2022. Chlorpyrifos was patented in 1966, and remains one of the most widely used pesti- cides in the U.S. It is regis- tered for about 50 crops in Ore- gon, including seed production crops, vegetable crops, Christ- mas trees and nursery plants. Earlier this year, the Ore- gon Legislature considered bills that would ban chlorpyr- ifos. House Bill 3058 and Sen- ate Bill 853 died in committee. Katie Fast, executive direc- tor of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, an agribusiness group that advocates safe use of pes- ticides and biotechnology, said chlorpyrifos is an important tool for farmers to fight pests like aphids and roundworms. While some growers of tree fruits and specialty crops have been able to phase out chlorpyrifos, Fast said others do not have registered alter- natives. Without chlorpyrifos, she said they could see signifi- cant pest damage. “The labeling process for pesticides through the EPA is very science-based, and takes into account all environmen- tal and human health exposure that could happen through application or food consump- tion,” Fast said. Lisa Arkin, executive direc- tor of Beyond Toxics, an envi- ronmental and human health organization based in Eugene, Ore., said chlorpyrifos is shown to damage nerve cells and have long-term effects on brain development in children. CapitalPress.com 3 Bonneville Dam lock to reopen Sept. 30 By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press The Bonneville Dam navigation lock will return to service at 10 a.m. Sept. 30, according to the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A sill on the lock was found to be cracked, causing it to leak as barges and other vessels transited the dam. The Corps shut down the lock, block- ing all river traffic. Barge and elevator operators rely on the Columbia River to transport millions of bushels of wheat to market. “It’s important to recognize the patience from our Columbia River users, who depend on this critical piece of infrastructure to run their busi- nesses,” said Col. Aaron Dorf, Port- land District commander for the Corps. “Between now and Sept. 30, our teams will be working around-the-clock to construct the new sill to restore Colum- bia River traffic.” “One nice thing is we’re 95% done harvesting, so I think we’ve all put the crop away,” said Damon Filan, man- ager of Tri-Cities Grain and a member of the Washington Grain Commission. Fourteen commercial vessels are impacted by the lock closure, accord- ing to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Colum- bia River Waterways Management Division — seven from Tidewater Barge, four from Shaver Transporta- tion and three from American Cruise Line. Shaver Transportation operates a fleet of 20 grain barges between Lew- iston, Idaho, and export terminals on Megan Innes/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers This Sept. 8 photo provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows a crack in a concrete sill on a lock on the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The critical lock has been shut down for repairs, meaning barges that shuttle millions of tons of wheat, wood and other goods to the Pacific Ocean for transport to Asia can’t move. the lower Columbia River. “This, of course, is a busy time of year post-harvest,” Rob Rich, vice pres- ident of marine services at Shaver, said. Three Shaver barge tows are above Bonneville Dam 40 miles upstream from Portland and waiting to go through the locks. Ten barges are loaded. They are tied off at the Fort Raines barge storage area above Bon- neville Dam, awaiting transit through the locks when they reopen, Rich said. “All that wheat is going to move” despite the delay, Rich said. The barges are closed-hatch and weather is moderate, so Rich doesn’t expect the delay to harm the grain. “It is not uncommon for wheat to be in barges three or four weeks or more,” he said. “There isn’t a concern about quality degradation.” Wheat exports have been relatively slow due to trade wars and global com- petition, Filan said. Overseas customers tend to purchase wheat several months out, he said. “If it was a very long-term deal, then we’d have some challenges, because I’m not sure the rail could han- dle the demand,” he said. Railroad tracks line the river gorge, but they have much smaller capacity than barges. A four-barge tow carries 480,000 bushels of wheat, roughly the equivalent of 120 to 130 rail cars, Filan said. About $2 billion in commercial cargo travels the entire system annu- ally, according to the Corps. It’s the No. 1 export gateway in the U.S. for wheat and barley and the No. 2 export gateway for corn. Navigation locks allow the large barges to pass through the massive concrete dams that were built across the Columbia and Snake rivers decades ago to generate hydroelectricity for the U.S. West. A boat enters a sealed chamber filled with water — essentially like a giant concrete bathtub — and then the water level is lowered or raised to match the level of the river on the other side of the dam. Then the lock opens on the other side and the boat exits. The concrete sill that is cracked in the Bonneville Dam is similar to a rub- ber threshold on the bottom of a door. Just as that rubber strip creates a seal to keep cold air and moisture from leak- ing in under the door, the concrete sill meets up with the lock’s gate and cre- ates a seal to keep water in the lock. The cracked concrete is on the downstream lock gate, but the dam- age was causing significant leaking in the whole system — so much so that water levels were falling when the lock was in operation, said Chris Gaylord, a spokesman for the Corps. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Southeast Washington wolfpack crosses threshold By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Grouse Flats wolfpack killed a calf in Garfield County, Washing- ton Fish and Wildlife said Monday, becoming the first pack in southeast Washington to attack enough live- stock to be a candidate for lethal removal. A range-rider found the dead 450-pound calf in a fenced pasture on private land Aug. 30. The pack killed two calves in July and killed or injured three cattle last year. Fish and Wildlife’s policy calls for it to consider lethal control after four attacks on livestock in 10 months. The most recent depre- dation was the fourth in 10 months and two days, but the department will count it, a spokeswoman said. Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind has not decided what the department will do, she said. The department retains flexibil- ity in choosing to use lethal con- trol, ramp-up non-lethal measures or hope wolves and livestock move apart. The department has shot wolves in northeast Washington to pro- tect cattle and sheep, but has never used lethal control in southeast Washington. The department’s use of lethal control in places with many more attacks on cattle has been chal- lenged, sometimes successfully, in Western Washington courts in counties without wolves. The Grouse Flats pack’s terri- tory extends into northeast Ore- gon. The pack had eight wolves at the end of 2018, according to Fish and Wildlife, making it the sec- ond-largest of Washington’s 27 packs. The rear half of the calf found Aug. 30 had been mostly eaten, according to Fish and Wildlife. Investigators found wolf tracks. A radio collar worn by one wolf showed that at least one member of the pack had been in the area, the department said. The rancher watches the herd with range-riders five days a week, has people regularly in the area, puts lights in the pasture and disposes of livestock carcasses, according to the department. The department also will con- sider lethal removal after three attacks in 30 days. The Grouse Flats pack has not crossed that threshold. Fish and Wildlife confirmed July 8 and July 22 that the pack attacked calves. One calf was attacked on private land. The other was on a grazing allotment in the state 4-0 Ranch Wildlife Area. 37-3/103
