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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2014)
ACTIVIST LERT • Nancy Chi Cantalupo of Georgetown Law School will speak on “Encouraging Innovation to Prevent and Intervene in Campus Sexual Violence” at 6 pm Thursday, June 5, at the UO Law School, Room 142. Free and open to the public. • Alison Weir, executive director of nonprofit If Americans Knew and author of a new book examining the history of U.S.-Israel relations, will speak at 7 pm Thursday, June 5, at the Downtown Athletic Club, 999 Willamette St. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Al-Nakba Awareness Project.A Q&A session and book signing will follow her talk. POLLUTION IN THE WILLAMETTE RIVER TAKEN BY AERIAL CAMERA PHOTO CREDIT: TRAVIS WILLIAMS POLLUTION VISIBLE AGAIN IN RIVER NEAR HALSEY It’s rafting season on Oregon’s rivers, and the last thing water enthusiasts want to see is a dark smear of effluent in the river as they drift by. Travis Williams saw just that — a dark patch of pollutants in the Willamette River — as he paddled past the outflow for Cascade Pacific Pulp in Halsey, south of Corvallis, in May. Williams is the executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper, and this is not the first time he has dealt with a murky patch on this particular outflow on the river. The area is a “mixing zone” where Cascade Pacific discharges chemicals including arsenic, pentachlorophenol, mercury and free cyanide, according to its permit with the Department of Environmental Quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says a mixing zone “is an allocated impact zone where water quality criteria can be exceeded as long as acutely toxic conditions are prevent- ed.” In other words, it’s a legal area to pollute. The expectation is that the water will swiftly dilute the zone and, under the law, water quality criteria must be met at the edges of the zone. Willamette Riverkeeper threatened to sue Cascade Pacific over its effluent in 2012, and in April of 2013 a settlement was reached in which Cascade Pacific agreed to dredge to improve water flows by the outfall. The company also gave Eugene- based McKenzie River Trust $10,000 toward its Green Island restoration project at the confluence of the McKenzie and the Willamette as part of the settlement. Pat Rank, the pulp mill’s general manager, says the geomor- phologists consulted by Cascade Pacific said the channel the company dredged would be “viable for 10 years” with only mi- nor maintenance. Rank says work will begin this week to restore the flows and that Cascade Pacific is “not real happy” major maintenance is required only a year after doing the work. He attributes higher river flows to the gravel buildup that caused the effluent to reappear. The effluent is 9 miles from the city of Corvallis’ water in- take. Williams says while he appreciates the work Cascade Pa- cific is doing, when it comes to the outflow from the pulp mill, “I don’t want it there at all. I don’t think that size of discharge is good for that stretch of the river.” He says another option would be to relocate the diffuser that releases the discharge down- stream and to deeper water. Williams says, “I get it” that the mill is necessary — it makes pulp for tissue and toilet paper — but “what’s the cost of that?” Rank says Cascade Pacific is also “evaluating other alterna- tives” for a long-term fix to the problem. — Camilla Mortensen • The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to adopt the Coastal Management Plan for salmon and steelhead at its meetings beginning at 8 am Thursday and Friday, June 5-6, at 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive in Salem. See map and directions at wkly.ws/1rf. • A statewide initiative on labeling genetically modified food and agricultural products is gearing up with trainings and signature gathering in June. The initiative needs 87,000 valid signatures by July 3 to qualify for the November ballot. See oregonrighttoknow.org or locally call 342-8461 or email kathy@kathyging.com. LANE COUNTY AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE • ODOT is currently spraying roadsides. Call Tony Kilmer at ODOT District 5 at 744-8080 or call (888) 996-8080 for herbicide application information. Hwys. I-5, 58, 99, 101, 105, 126 and Territorial were sprayed recently. • Weyerhaeuser Company, 744-4684, plans to hire Mountainside Spray, 756-1193, to spray 2700 feet of roadsides near Hawley Creek with glyphosate, methylated seed oil and/or triclopyr. See ODF notice 2014-771-00460, call Marvin Vetter at 726-3588 with questions. • Miller Family Trust in Mapleton and Bradley and Kathy Miller in Ketchikan, Alaska, plan to hire Rosboro LLC, 746-8411, to spray 2 acres of roadsides along Rice Creek Road with 2,4-D, glyphosate, imazapyr and/or triclopyr. See ODF notices 2014-781-00540 and 2014-781-00541, call ODF’s Jim Hall at 997-8713 with questions. RIDERS ON PISGAH’S SUMMIT ON A FOGGY DAY PHOTO CREDIT: REHBECCAH BURKHART VOLUNTEERS FINISH NEW TRAILS AT MOUNT PISGAH As hiking and, for horse lovers, trail-riding season begins, Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah (FBPMP) has improved trails at the Howard Buford Recreation Area for humans and habitat. FBPMP has finished work on the north trail network in the park, including parts of trails 3, 4, 7 and 17. The group add- ed materials to the trails in order to withstand use from horses and hikers, and redirected some trails. Previously, some trails cut through wetland prairie, which made for a muddy hike and fragmentation of the prairie, says Val Rogers, Friends of Buford Park development director. And during the summer, the hoof marks left by horses on the trail would dry and become dangerous potholes for hikers. “The obvious benefit is that it’s easier and safer for hikers and horse riders,” Rogers says. “But also it is protecting native habitat by rerouting the trail segments. That’s getting them out of the sensitive habitat; it’s a nice double benefit.” The trails are for both equestrian and hiker use and were a combined effort of Friends of Buford volunteers, REI Eugene and Lane County Parks, all of whom donated time and money to help design and build the trails. The trails are a part of FB- PMP’s overall mission to help protect and enhance the Mount Pisgah area, says the organization’s website. “It’s not every day that a nonprofit, a business and a gov- ernment agency are successfully able to work together for something that benefits everybody, so it’s worth celebrating,” Rogers says. Next up is renovating parts of trail 4 of the north trail network so that hikers can make a complete descent of the summit. The county-owned park is a popular hiking destination and has recently been at the center of a battle over large outdoor events held at the park’s Emerald Meadows area. The Lane County Commission voted to cancel Faerieworlds festival and the Dirty Dash fun run next year, expressing concern over large events — in particular last summer’s Kaleidoscope Music Fes- tival — having negative impacts on the native plants and ani- mals in the Mount Pisgah area. The events will take place this summer as scheduled per their contracts but not in 2015. The Friends of Buford Park will hold a ribbon-cutting cer- emony Saturday morning, June 7, at Mount Pisgah and a tour to celebrate the new trails and the group’s 25th anniversary. Participants may choose the length and difficulty of the trails. To register for the ribbon cutting, sign up at bufordpark.org/ tours or call Val Rogers at 344-8350. To volunteer with the FB- PMP, email volunteer@bufordpark.org. — Anna V. Smith • Weyerhaeuser, 988-7502, plans to hire Oregon Forest Management Services, 896-3757, to ground spray Garlon 3A on 5 acres near Richie and Taylor creeks. See ODF notification 2014-771- 00473, call Tim Meehan at 726-3588 with questions. lighten up BY RAFAEL ALDAVE The city is spending a lot of money to see what happens if it shuts down two of the four travel lanes on South Willamette and adds bike lanes on the outer edges. Motorists turning right would need to cross a bike lane, thereby setting up a risky auto/ bike dance. One result is likely to be a hike in insurance premiums. But what are the mysterious unmet needs this plan is trying to address? If I had to guess, it would be: 1) Motorists want more than a shopping experience along South Willamette. They also want a memorable driving experience. 2) Bicyclists need a street with enhanced challenges to sharpen their survival skills. 3) The city wants people to know that it’s doing its part to keep Eugene weird. eugeneweekly.com • June 5, 2014 7
