Friday, April 16, 2021
CapitalPress.com 5
Washington Senate passes two climate bills
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — Senate Democrats
passed cap-and-trade and low-carbon
fuels bills Thursday evening, moving
to reduce global greenhouse emissions
by 0.1% by 2030.
Republicans said the twin bills will
drive up gasoline prices and electric
rates, but will have no aff ect on the
climate. The poor and businesses that
can’t simply pass along the costs will
suff er, Republicans said.
“I think the high cost is going to hit
the low-income people and our agricul-
ture people harder than anyone else,”
said Sen. Judy Warnick, the top-rank-
ing Republican on the Senate agricul-
ture committee.
The cap-and-trade legislation, Sen-
ate Bill 5126, now goes to the House
for consideration. The low-carbon fuel
legislation, House Bill 1091, passed the
House, but the Senate made changes
that must be reconciled with the House.
The cap-and-trade bill would
require large carbon emitters to grad-
ually reduce emissions or bid for emis-
sion permits. The auctions would raise
about $500 million a year for the state,
according to projections, hauling in
money for transportation and environ-
mental justice.
The low-carbon fuel bill requires
more biofuels in on-road gasoline
and diesel. The fi nancial benefi ciaries
would be renewable fuel producers,
not the state. Republicans ripped the
bill as “a gas tax without roads.”
Farm groups oppose both bills
because they exert an upward push on
energy costs.
Ecology says many factors aff ect
gas prices and that it hasn’t been proven
that blending in biofuels raises pump
prices. California and Oregon, which
have low-carbon fuel standards, report
that the polices do increase prices.
“There will be a large fuel tax,
whether it’s 10 cents, 20 cents, 57 cents
— that’s the truth,” said Sen. Mark
Schoesler, R-Ritzville.
Republican Sen. Perry Dozier, an
Eastern Washington farmer, said that
because everything in agriculture
depends on fuel, farmers will be hurt
by cap-and-trade and low-carbon fuels.
“This is going to be the poison pill
for agriculture — these two bills,” he
said.
The bills would give the Depart-
ment of Ecology authority to imple-
ment the two programs.
The businesses covered by cap-and-
trade emit 56.5 million metric tons of
carbon a year. The goal would be to
reduce that by 36.4 million metric tons
by 2030.
Ecology estimates the low-carbon
fuel bill would reduce emissions by
1.8 million metric tons by 2030. That’s
about half the greenhouse gases Ecol-
ogy attributes to manure, fertilizer and
livestock burps.
The
Paris-based
International
Energy Agency estimated global emis-
sions in 2019 at 33.1 billion metric
tons. Ecology estimates Washington’s
emissions at 99.57 million metric tons,
or 0.3% of global emissions.
Democrats argued low-carbon fuels
will clean up the air. Ecology is unable
to say by how much.
The cap-and-trade bill passed by
just one vote, 25-24. Climate activists
attack the bill as loophole riddled. Sen.
T’wina Nobles, D-University Place,
voted for the bill, but said she hoped
the House will set harder emission
caps.
The low-carbon fuel bill, which
passed 27-20, was amended to require
at least 25% of the state’s biofuels come
from agricultural products. The rule
could be challenged as an unconstitu-
tional barrier to interstate commerce.
Schoesler, an Eastern Washington
farmer, called the amendment a “silly
joke.”
He said it wasn’t feasible for farm-
ers to grow crops such as canola, corn
and camelina for biofuels.
“If you’ve ever grown those crops
and understand marketing, you just
wouldn’t be promoting those ideas as a
reason to pass a gas tax without roads,”
he said.
WDFW
A wolf passes a Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife trail camera. The department’s administra-
tor says he needs to make quicker determinations of
whether to eliminate problem wolves.
WDFW head sees need for
quicker call on wolf removal
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Washington Fish and
Wildlife Director Kelly
Susewind said April 7
the department will try
to decide more quickly
whether to kill wolves once
packs have met thresholds
for lethal control.
As in the past, Fish
and Wildlife will remove
wolves as a last resort,
Susewind told the depart-
ment’s Wolf Advisory
Group. Delays making the
decision, however, “limit
the value” of lethal control,
he said.
“When I say we’ll put
a deadline on our deci-
sion-making, that doesn’t
mean we jump to lethal.
But that means we make
the decision and get the
action underway as soon as
we can,” Susewind said.
Fish and Wildlife pro-
tocol calls for the depart-
ment to consider removing
wolves after three attacks
on livestock in 30 days
or four in 10 months. The
department says it’s a case-
by-case call by Susewind.
Last year, the Wedge
pack in northeast Washing-
ton crossed the threshold
on May 19. The department
killed one wolf on July 27.
When attacks on livestock
continued, the department
killed the pack’s last two
wolves.
Susewind said that he
recently met separately
with wolf advocates and
ranchers. He said he agreed
with ranchers who said the
department should shorten
the time between depreda-
tions and deciding whether
to kill wolves.
Fish and Wildlife con-
fl ict managers send a rec-
ommendation to Susew-
ind on whether to use lethal
control. He said his deci-
sion has “been the slower
part of the process.”
“It’s been on my desk.
Sugar beet planting progresses across Idaho
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
With just two sugar beet
planting seasons under his
belt, Miguel Villafana has
already decided he likes to
err on the late side.
“I choose to wait a lit-
tle bit, just to be closer to
water,” he said. His local
irrigation district will soon
start deliveries.
Villafana, who farms in
the Wilder-Homedale area
of southwest Idaho, started
planting sugar beets April 1,
some three weeks later than
he could have.
He aimed to give the
plants the best chance to
emerge in soft, moist soil
with minimal exposure to
wind and other elements.
“Conditions have been
drier than I’d like to see,”
Villafana said.
Sugar beet planting is
well underway among most
of the 700-plus growers in
the cooperative that owns
Amalgamated Sugar and its
factories. They will plant
about 180,000 acres, similar
to the 2020 total.
Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association
Kody Youree plants sugar beets in the Twin Falls, Idaho, area.
“Planting has been inter-
rupted, sporadically, by
rain, snow and wind events
— typical for spring in the
Pacifi c Northwest,” said
Jessica Anderson of Boi-
se-based Amalgamated. “It’s
a pretty normal year as far as
planting is concerned.”
As of April 5, Amalgam-
ated growers had planted
about 45,000 acres, she said.
By April 7, planting was
70% complete in the Trea-
sure Valley. Some fi elds in
the Nampa, Idaho, area had
to be replanted due to wind
and frost.
Sugar beet planting typ-
ically starts in early to
mid-March in the Trea-
sure Valley and later to the
east in south-central and
southeastern Idaho. Some
growers are yet to start
planting.
“Depending
on
the
weather, we expect a sharp
increase in planted acres in
the Magic Valley and Upper
Snake growing regions over
the next two weeks,” Ander-
son said April 7.
Randy Grant farms in
the Eden-Hazelton area of
south-central Idaho. He
said planting conditions
have been good and prog-
ress around average for the
region. He often plants beets
early — he started March
18 and fi nished April 3 —
so he can shift to planting
potatoes.
Twin Falls area farmer
Kody Youree also fi nished
planting sugar beets in early
April.
He said soil prepared in
the spring had moisture 4
to 5 inches deep compared
to about an inch where
crews last fall bedded and
fertilized.
Groups push for FDA oversight of GE animals
15-16
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S234056-1
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/19/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2017 TOYOTA CAMRY 4DR
VIN = 4T1BF1FK6HU712793
Amount due on lien $1,415.00
Reputed owner(s)
JOHN DUDLEY MARTIN
RELIABLE CREDIT ASSOCIATION INC
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/19/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2018 TOYOTA CAMRY 4DR
VIN = JTNB11HK3J3042580
Amount due on lien $1,415.00
Reputed owner(s)
MOHAMED ADEN HASSAN
HYUNDAI MOTOR FINANCE
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/19/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2014 VOLVO XC90 UT
VIN = YV4952CZ3E1691683
Amount due on lien $1,535.00
Reputed owner(s)
STACY COYNE HOUSER
S239247-1
MAY
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/19/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2018 JEEP RENEGADE UT
VIN = ZACCJBAB4JPG87842
Amount due on lien $1,415.00
Reputed owner(s)
NICOLAS & STACI OTTO
WELLS FARGO AUTO
S239235-1
C
2021
M a r k you r A R S
A LEN D
site reported Hahn’s refusal
to sign the MOU “amid
concerns about its legal-
ity and the potential health
repercussions of relaxing
oversight of certain geneti-
cally altered products.”
“We share Commis-
sioner Hahn’s concerns
and urge you to instruct
USDA offi cials to remove
the MOU from the APHIS
(USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service)
website as the MOU is
invalid,” the groups said in
the letter.
In announcing the MOU,
former USDA Secretary
Sonny Perdue, repeated ani-
mal and meat industry argu-
ments that FDA’s safety-ori-
ented regulatory approach
impedes rapid commercial-
ization of GE animals.
The animal agriculture
industry has demanded reg-
S239251-1
Thirteen groups led by
the Center for Food Safety
are urging the Food and
Drug Administration to
retain regulatory authority
over genetically engineered
food animals.
In January, the Trump
administration
proposed
that the FDA, USDA and
the U.S. Health and Human
Services Department sign
a memorandum of under-
standing. Under it, USDA
would have provided end-
to-end oversight, from
pre-market reviews through
post-market food safety
monitoring for farm ani-
mals modifi ed or developed
using genetic engineering
that are intended for human
food.
However, FDA Com-
missioner Stephen Hahn
refused to sign the MOU,
saying he didn’t support it
and intended to disregard it.
“ F D A
remains
undeterred
in our stead-
fast com-
mitment to
ensure that
animal agri-
Stephen
culture bio-
Hahn
technology
products undergo indepen-
dent and science- and risk-
based evaluations by our
career experts,” Hahn said
in a Twitter post in January.
Alex Azar, then the
Health and Human Ser-
vices
Secretary,
“was
and remains supportive
of Commissioner Hahn’s
and FDA’s position on the
MOU,” a spokesperson for
HHS told the Capital Press
at the time.
The letter from the
groups urging FDA over-
sight said the Politico web-
S239250-1
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
ulatory certainty to expedite
investment in and commer-
cialization of GE animals,
the groups said.
LEGAL
NOTICE OF FINE FESCUE COMMISSION BUDGET HEARING
TO: ALL OREGON FINE FESCUE GROWERS
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held pursuant
to ORS 576.416 (5), on Monday, May 10, 2021, at 7:00 a.m., via
Zoom, upon a proposed budget for operation of the Fine Fescue
Commission during the fiscal year July 1, 2021 through June 30,
2022. At this hearing any producer of Oregon-grown Fine Fescue
or Highland Bentgrass seed has a right to be heard with respect
to the proposed budget, a copy of which is available for public
inspection, under reasonable circumstances, in the office of each
County Extension Agent in Oregon. For further information, contact
the Fine Fescue Commission business office, P.O. Box 3366, Salem,
Oregon 97302, telephone 503-364-2944. The meeting location is
accessible to persons with disabilities. Please make any requests for
an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodation
for persons with disabilities at least 48 hours before the meeting by
S239872-1
contacting the Commission office at 503-364-2944.
It’s more
on me than
on
staff .
I’m will-
ing to put
a timeline
on that as
well,” he
Kelly
said.
Susewind
Stevens
County Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation President Scott
Nielsen told the Capital
Press that “huge delays”
have let packs become
habituated to cattle, forcing
the department to kill more
wolves to stop the problem.
“I really believe if they
were quicker to act, they
wouldn’t have to kill as
many wolves,” he said.
“Absolutely, there’s been a
delay. It’s been something
we’ve been appealing to
Kelly to look at.”
Even if Susewind opts
against lethal control, the
rancher is better off know-
ing sooner, Nielsen said.
“We need to know what
they’re doing.”
Susewind said wolf
advocates want the depart-
ment to ensure ranchers are
trying to prevent attacks.
“I told the group that
is, in fact, my intention.
We’re expecting people to
step up to the bar. If they’re
not stepping up to the bar,
that certainly infl uences the
decision-making,” he said.
Wolf advocates were
concerned the depart-
ment was too quick to kill
wolves, Susewind said.
“I don’t think we’ve
ever done that. I think
we’ve always hit those
thresholds and deliberately
considered whether lethal
removal is the right tool, or
not,” he said.
LEGAL
The Soil and Water Conservation
Commission (SWCC) will hold a
meeting from 3-5 p.m. on Tues-
day, May 4, 2021 (no public input
at this portion of the meeting)
and the regular quarterly meeting
from 8:45 a.m. to noon Wednesday,
May 5, 2021. Both meetings will be
held virtually. Information on how
to attend can be found at https://
oda.direct/meetings. The regular
quarterly meeting agenda covers
SWCC reports, advisor reports, Soil
and Water Conservation District
programs and funding, Agricul-
ture Water Quality Management
Program updates, and other agen-
da items.
The Oregon Department of Agri-
culture complies with the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If
you need special accommodations
to participate in this meeting,
please contact Sandi Hiatt at (503)
986-4704, at least 72 hours prior to
the meeting.
S239753-1
Mid-Year Conference
July 11-13 | Salishan Coastal Lodge
Back Together Again!
Register at www.orcattle.com
Oregon Cattlemen will gather at
OCA’s Mid-Year Conference on the coast!
You don’t want to miss this chance to reconnect
with old friends and meet new friends as cattle
producers conduct essential business for the
betterment of the industry
If you are a rancher, allied business, or industry supporter ,
visit www.orcattle.com to join OCA!
S234870-1
