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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2016)
12 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016 Local NRAC: Frustrations with USFS B2H updates • RAIL FIRE SALVAGE DISCUSSED BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Natural Resource Advisory Committee (NRAC) met for its regular meeting, on Tuesday afternoon, in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Court- house. Highlights of the meeting include a discus- sion begun by local miner Ed Hardt, who voiced frustrations over the years of delays in the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) mining Plans of Operations ap- proval process. Attendance included NRAC Chair Doni Bruland, Baker County Commissioner Bill Harvey, NRAC Coordinator Eric Wuntz, Ken Anderson, Chuck Chase, Cynthia “Cookie” Long, Alice Knapp, Jan Alexander, Jake Bingham, Laurene Chapman, and Emily Braswell. Public attendance in- cluded Hardt, and Tork and Wanda Ballard. Bruland called the meet- ing to order, and she asked for suggestions in deter- mining what constitutes a quorum (the number of members required to be present, in order to legally transact business), since only four members had at- tended the August meeting, less than half of the com- mittee, and no decisions were made at that time as a result. Harvey said that a rough draft of the commit- tee bylaws will be formed, and sent to members, which will include the criteria for a quorum. The first segment of Public Participation (there are normally two; one near the beginning of the meet- ing, and one near the end) included Wanda, who said she had observed that Han- cock Forest Management had no trouble removing timber from slopes in the County, regardless of the incline (this was in refer- ence to one of the road- blocks USFS cites with approving timber sales— the allowable percentage of slope). Wuntz and Harvey pro- vided an update regarding the coordination process, between the County, and federal agencies. Wuntz said that the Rail Fire this summer, five miles west of Unity, burned nearly all of the area intended to be treated, as part of the USFS’s Rail Project. He said that the USFS proposes a timber salvage project, up to 250 acres, at this point. Harvey said that the County is working on some fuels reduction projects in partnership with Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press Stephanie McCurdy and Jeff Maffuccio. BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press Long-time miner Ed Hardt stands and voices his frustration with mining regulations and the Federal Government. the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), the Or- egon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and other agencies and organi- zations. Harvey said representa- tives from the USFS will be present to provide a Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision (BMFPR), on Monday, December 5, 2016, 2 p.m., in the Com- mission Chambers. This will include discussion of the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS, which is expected early next year). Bruland spoke about the BMFPR mining priorities for Baker County, which Alexander had changed, as discussed previously with the group. According to the document, she replaced “Maintain the ability to mine for minerals” with “Manage the minerals program to provide for exploration, development and production of a variety of minerals on the Forest in coordination with other resource objectives, envi- ronmental considerations and mining laws.” Bruland discussed items in a recent USFS Sched- ule of Proposed Actions (SOPA), copies of which she handed out to com- mittee members. Included were the BMFPR EIS, with an expected implementa- tion date of April 2017; the Blue Mountains Forest Resiliency Project EIS, with a date of April 2018; the Wallowa-Whitman Na- tional Forest Travel Man- agement Plan EIS, with no date listed (on hold); the Two Eagle Vegetation EA (Environmental Analysis), with a date of June 2018; the Charles Grier Johnson, Jr. Research Natural Area Establishment Project EA, with no date listed; the Pine Valley Range Allot- ment Management Plans EA, with a date of Sep- tember 2017; the Powder River Mining EIS, with a date of January 2019; the Rail Fire Salvage CE (Cat- egorical Exclusion), with a date of January 2017; the Sparta Vegetation Manage- ment Project EA, with a date of March 2018; the Spruce Gulch Quarry EA, with a no date listed; the Upper North Fork John Day Mining EA, with a date of September 2018; the West Sumpter Fuels Maintenance Project CE, with no date listed; and the Whitney Fiber Optic Cable Project EA, with no date listed. Hardt was asked by Bruland to speak about the SOPA, and about issues the USFS’s Plans of Op- erations approval process (Hardt had mentioned this topic during a County Commission session, and he had informed the Commission Board and at- tendees that he intended to discuss it also during this NRAC meeting). Hardt said, “I want to just say that the Forest Service is discriminating against the miners. There are court cases all over, where there’s discrimina- tion, and I can prove to you that the miner is being discriminated against...” Hardt went through a list of projects he’d recorded on paper, as well as some in the handout list, and he said, numerous times, “It (the EA, and approval of Plans of Operations) should have been done.” He pointed out the Pow- der River Mining EIS entry in the handout, and he said, “How the hell did it change, from an EA, to an EIS?” Long said that, there were potential impacts discovered, so, an EIS was deemed necessary, and Al- exander said that Whitman District Ranger Jeff Tomac complicated the issue, by combing the Upper and Lower Powder River’s potential mining impacts on bull trout. Hardt said, “From 2009, to 2016, it changed to an EIS...That’s not an EIS—that’s BS ...” Hardt continued with examples of how quickly certain EAs were complet- ed, contrasted with mining EAs, including his own, which he says has been in that same status, and incomplete, since 2000. “If they (the USFS) gets somebody on these, they can do them in a month. They can do them in six months. Not 20 years, not 10 years...I’m 83 years old, right now...When they started this, I was 65...” Harvey said the docu- ment states that the scop- ing process started in 2009 (the Upper North Fork John Day Mining EA), and Hardt said that’s wrong, and it should be 2000. Alexander voiced her own frustrations with the process, including men- tioning that Granite-area miners experienced similar delays. Hardt said that the dates have changed, and projects grouped together, and Anderson said that, every time a new SOPA is out, dates can change, and the process can be delayed indefinitely. Alexander said, “I 100% agree with Ed...” She dis- cussed some of the efforts the Eastern Oregon Mining Association (EOMA) has put forth, in dealing with this issue, and when Harvey asked her how the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) process compares, Alexander said it was much more stream- lined, with less delay. Bruland informed the group that NRAC meet- ings are not scheduled for November or December, in order to allow commit- tee members time off to celebrate the holidays. Two killed in crash near Boardman On October 24, 2016 at approximately 7:30 p.m. Troopers from the Oregon State Police Pendleton Area Command responded to the report of a head-on crash on Interstate 84 east- bound near milepost 167 (east of Boardman). Preliminary investi- gation indicates a 2009 Honda Ridgeline oper- ated by Clifford Ammons, age 77, of Reedsport was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84 when it col- lided head on with a 2005 Ford Mustang operated by Francisco Ramirez, age 27, of Stanfield. Both Ammons and Ramirez were pronounced deceased at the scene. A dog that had been riding in the Honda was injured in the crash and transported to a veterinary clinic in Hermiston for treatment. The Interstate remained closed for approximately 4.5 hours to allow for extrication of the victims, scene investigation and removal of debris. Troopers are attempting to determine the location where the Honda Ridgeline entered the Interstate trav- eling the wrong direction and believe that may have occurred at the Hwy. 730 interchange near milepost 168. Oregon State Police are asking any witnesses who observed the vehicle traveling the wrong way prior to the crash to contact the Oregon State Police Pendleton Area Command at 541-278-4090. Oregon State Police were assisted at the scene by the Boardman Police Department, Morrow County Sheriff's Office, Umatilla County Sheriff's Office, Boardman Fire De- partment and the Oregon Department of Transporta- tion. Oregon State Police were also assisted by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in making next of kin notifications. Idaho Power Communication Specialist Stephanie “Sam” McCurdy, and Facility Siting Coordinator Jeff Maffuccio, sat at a table in The Little Bagel Shop on Main Street in Baker City Tuesday morning, and pro- vided an update regarding the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Transmission Line Project. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Final En- vironmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is expected to be released on Friday, November 18, 2016, according to the BLM, which prompted the recent update from McCurday and Maffuccio. The project “...is a proposal by Idaho Power to design, construct, operate and maintain a new single-circuit, 500-kilovolt (kV) power line between Melba, Idaho, and the Boardman, Oregon area. The proposed route is approximately 300 miles long and crosses federal, state and private land in six counties in Oregon and Idaho,” ac- cording to Idaho Power information. The proposed route would cross Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Baker, and Mal- heur counties in Oregon, and Owyhee County, in Idaho. Both McCurdy and Maffuccio emphasized that Idaho Power and its contractors aren’t conducting transmis- sion line location surveys (they’re not “putting stakes in the ground,” they said), nor negotiating easements with landowners currently, but rather, cultural, plant, bird and wildlife habitat surveys, in order to assess potential environmental impacts of each potential route. These surveys include requests to landowners, in order to access property (any private information isn’t shared). According to Idaho Power, the project would result in additional capacity, allowing greater amounts of electric- ity to move throughout the Western U.S.; the line will interconnect with existing transmission facilities owned by Idaho Power’s project partners, PacifiCorp, and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA); and the inter- connection would help meet a regional need, and pro- vide benefits to the entire project area, much of which is served, directly or indirectly, by all three transmission providers. According to Idaho Power, economic benefits to Oregon counties includes tax revenue; according to the company, it has paid over $500,000 in tax dollars since 2010, just in Oregon. Maffuccio emphasized the yearly economic benefits for Baker County, as well as the benefits to local merchants, during the line’s construction. McCurdy and Maffuccio said that they, like the public, would need to wait until the BLM’s release of its FEIS, which they anticipate will be very large, in order to com- ment about the details. Walden speaks against rising insurance costs Washington, DC—U.S. Rep. Greg Walden issued the following statement regarding reports that some insur- ance plans under Obamacare will see premiums rise by double digits next year: "Around our region, I hear the same stories from Oregonians—the new health care law is simply not affordable. Consumers are losing access to their health care providers and plans, and deductibles and premiums continue to rise. Now the Administration has admitted that premiums for many plans under the new law will go up by double digits next year. Enough is enough. There is a better way to fix our health care system. I support a plan that would fix this mess with real, patient-centered reform that would lower costs, not raise them and give consum- ers more control over their health care, not less.” For more on the House’s “Better Way” health plan sup- ported by Walden, please visit better.gop. MayDay to hold fundraiser MayDay, Inc. in Baker City Saturday, October 29, 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to closing at Elkhorn Lanes. Join an evening of cosmic bowling fun. The cost is $15 per person for three games with teams up to si people each. Proceeds go to help victims and survivors of all types of abuse in Baker County.
