NEWS BRIEFS
RESIDENTS
DEMAND TOXIC
RECORDS
Three months after requesting the state’s
records of the pesticide sprays that have
rained down in their backyards, the residents
of Triangle Lake haven’t seen a thing.
For years, residents of this Lane County
unincorporated community have dealt with
negative health effects that they believe are
due to spraying of pesticides by
Weyerhaeuser and other private timber
companies. “Since we’ve moved out here
we’ve experienced more health problems
than we ever have before,” says Justice
King, who lives with her family in Triangle
Lake. Many residents blame their coughs,
heart palpitations and muscle spasms on the
logging companies’ use of pesticides.
This summer, a study conducted by the
Oregon Health Authority (OHA) revealed
that the chemicals 2,4-D and atrazine are
present in the urine of Triangle Lake
residents. This study was conducted after
the residents themselves had their urine
tested in spring 2011 and found the
chemicals present. Both of these chemicals
are found in the pesticides that are almost
always used to follow clear cuts — in
Triangle Lake, these noxious chemicals
have often been dispensed via aerial
spraying.
All of King’s family turned up positive
for pesticides, and she has been working
with her husband to gain access to the
Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF)
spray records. “We want to help OHA
confirm that Weyerhaeuser did spray 2,4-D
and atrazine,” King says. “Then we can
prove that pesticide spraying was our
pathway to exposure and hopefully make
sure that things can be safer for us in the
future.”
The spray records, which are required
by law to be public, have been difficult to
acquire. “ODF is responsible for requesting
those records from logging companies,”
says local activist Day Owen. “They have
been dragging their feet for months and the
records still have not been released.”
Last week King’s husband, Eron,
organized three protests at ODF’s Veneta
office. The protests were well attended, and
ODF — which claims that it doesn’t have
the resources to analyze the records —
finally seems to have conceded. “On last
Thursday it was stated in an email that the
results will become available in February,”
King says. However, she is not holding her
breath. “Once February rolls around, we’ll
start putting more pressure on ODF.”
— Caitlin McKimmy
RULING AGAINST
POOP THAT
POLLUTES
If you’ve ever driven by a cow pasture
or a field recently fertilized with manure
and wrinkled your nose at the foul odor,
then you have an inkling of what it’s like
to live near a CAFO — a confined animal
feeding operation. Hundreds or thousands
of animals live in close quarters to
maximize production of milk, meat, eggs
and other animal products. Hordes of
animals produce tons of poop, and that
manure doesn’t just smell bad, it pollutes
the water. But a recent ruling may make
CAFOs pay a little more attention to their
effect on the environment.
On Jan. 12 U.S. District Judge Lonny
R. Suko ruled the Nelson Faria Dairy in
Eastern Washington must conduct
groundwater monitoring for its CAFO
operation. Eugene-based attorney Charlie
Tebbutt calls the ruling “a great decision”
and says the judge’s order is “precedent-
setting.”
Tebbutt, who was lead attorney on the
case representing CARE (Community
Association for Restoration of the
Environment), says the industrial dairy
caused extensive soil and groundwater
pollution through its poor manure
management practices. The judge ordered
the dairy to monitor its groundwater, tile
drains and soil to determine the full scope
of its pollution.
Tebbutt criticized not only the dairy
and CAFOs, which can produce as much
waste as a city of more than 200,000
people, according to information from
CARE, but the state agencies that are
supposed to monitor them.
“If you looked at any other industrial
CAFO,” Tebbutt says, “you would find the
same problems (as at Nelson Faria) of
excessive manure application causing
groundwater pollution and surface water
pollution.”
He continues, “It’s just that the agencies
have failed to look — and the agencies
need to look — in order to protect human
health and the environment. If states
agencies would look like CARE did, they
would find every one of them is polluting
groundwater. They’ve have failed to do
that.”
Lane County is home to several
agricultural operations considered to be
CAFOs by the state of Oregon, including
Eugene Livestock Auction, which was
issued a $4,320 civil penalty for
discharging into waters of the state on July
29, 2010, according to an Oregon
Department of Agriculture press release.
— Camilla Mortensen
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VIGIL SEEKS TO CLOSE GITMO
A small group gathered in front of the Eugene Public Library at noon Saturday,
Jan. 14, to protest the National Defense Authorization Bill that “empowers
indefinite detention of people deemed to be terrorists, even U.S. citizens, without
trial or the right to be tried,” according to local peace activist Peg Morton.
Morton wore an orange jumpsuit and a black hood to dramatize the fact that
about 170 prisoners remain at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base detention camp in
Cuba, and many have never had their day in court. More than 80 have been cleared
for release but remain in custody. Last week marked the 10th anniversary of the
establishment of the Guantánamo prison, aka Gitmo. President Obama promised to
close the infamous Bush-era prison complex when he was elected, but has met
resistance from the military, the courts and from hawks in Congress.
Morton says the group, which holds weekly peace vigils at the library, is calling
for the immediate closing of the prison at Guantánamo, the release of those who
have been cleared, fair trials for others, and that “the right of the military to
indefinitely detail suspects of terrorism be abolished,” and “traditional democratic
procedures, including the right to see a lawyer, and a fair trial, must be guaranteed.”
— Ted Taylor
ALAN GILLESPIE
The existing line was averaging 6,000
boardings a day, according to Vobora.
When the EmX line opened, it went up to
a little over 9,000 a day, with 2,300 being
attributed solely to the Gateway area.
With the proposed West 11th EmX line,
Vobora said it would continue to solve the
two big factors stopping non-riders: It is
faster than driving and avoids the hassle of
transferring buses.
“As you add that next leg,” he said, “it
certainly creates that cross-town system
that is very attractive to people and (will)
continue to grow the ridership.”
LTD is anticipating a continued rise
during the second half of the fiscal year,
which has more school months and tends
to be stronger than the first. Last year, four
out of the six months in the second half
recorded more than one million customer
boardings, according to Vobora.
— Ted Shorack
EUGENE WEEKLY JANUARY 19, 2012 7