in other words
march21
2019
3
Salem Report
By State Representative Brad Witt
In recent legislative
news, I carried HB 2294 on
the House floor. This bill
deals with deer attractants
and mandates that attractants be derived
from cervids that are certified to be
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) free.
CWD is one of the most horrid terminal
diseases known to wildlife officials and
is now found in 26 states and two Ca-
nadian Provinces. There is no treatment
for CWD, and once a deer, elk, or moose
contracts this disease it is terminal. I
sponsored HB 2294 to protect deer, elk,
and moose in our state, and much like
an invasive species, we are better off to
prevent the introduction of the CWD
disease than try to eradicate it once it is
in the state. I’m happy to report that
the bill received a unanimous vote in the
House and now moves to the Senate for
consideration.
Dams and dam safety was a top-
ic of concern in the Natural Resources
Committee where a Public Hearing was
held on HB 2085. Water storage is essen-
tial to meet Oregonians’ water needs for
drinking, agriculture, recreation, and
is critically needed during the summer
months and in drought conditions. The
consequences of dam failure include
risk to life, property, and infrastructure,
and potential water shortages.
The Oregon Water Resources
Department has been working with
stakeholders in drafting HB 2085 to en-
sure safety and minimize risk to lives,
property, and infrastructure, while bal-
ancing landowners’ need for water.
Proper maintenance and safe operation
is necessary to keep the benefits of wa-
ter storage and prevent failures. Factors
contributing to dam failure include lack
of maintenance, deterioration, design
or construction, spillway failure, opera-
tional errors, and natural disasters such
as landslides, floods, and earthquakes.
HB 2085 would replace Oregon
law that was adopted in 1929 and applies
only to non-federally regulated dams,
water, and wastewater. The past 90 years
have brought advances in dam design,
and greater understanding of floods and
earthquakes, as well as best practices
policies. This new legislation will also
address policy gaps and integrate 10 rec-
ommendations from the 2017 integrated
water resource strategy. Owning a dam
comes with inherent responsibilities and
the legislation will clarify those respon-
sibilities, while establishing a process
to ensure that removal of high or sig-
nificant hazard dams are done safely to
protect people, property, and infrastruc-
ture. The Department has identified the
need for additional amendments to the
bill and is continuing to work with in-
terested stakeholders to craft workable
legislation.
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Chip Bubl
Korina Buehrer
Nancy Burch
Tobie Finzel
Shannon Romtvedt
David Spackman
Representative Brad Witt
Photography
Scott Laird
Tsubaki Photo
Vernonia’s Voice is published
on the 1st and 3rd Thursday
of each month.
Email: Rep.BradWitt@oregonlegis-
lature.gov
Phone: (503) 986-1431
Address: 900 Court St NE, H-382,
Salem, OR, 97301
Website: http://www.oregonlegisla-
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