New play opens
tear ducts
A horse tale in
eastern Oregon
OPINION • 4A
PAGE 5A
143rd YEAR, No. 26
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
Feds release draft environmental
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Draft recommends steps to protect
environment, ensure safety
The Federal Energy Regu-
latory Commission, which re-
leased the draft review this week,
WARRENTON — Oregon is still completing an assessment
LNG’s $6 billion terminal and of how the project might impact
pipeline project would cause ad- threatened or endangered species
verse impacts to the environment, and critical habitat.
a draft environmental review has
But the draft is an important
found, but most could be reduced benchmark in the decade-long
if the energy company takes steps drive for the project, which in-
WR PLQLPL]H KDUP WR ¿VK DQG volves a terminal along the Ski-
wildlife habitat and water quality panon Peninsula in Warrenton
and uses adequate safety features and an 87-mile pipeline from
in design and operation.
Washington state through Co-
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
lumbia, Tillamook and Clatsop
counties.
Oregon LNG would export
natural gas from Canada and the
Rocky Mountains in the United
States to foreign markets, likely in
Asia. The energy company could
also potentially import natural gas
to the Portland metropolitan area.
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men and residents in Warrenton
and Astoria who oppose Oregon
LNG will likely tear through the
document in search of potential
defects that could stall or block
the project.
Public comment on the draft
is open until early October. The
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission has set a timetable
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mental impact statement on the
project by February.
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LNG marine carriers, accord-
ing to the draft, would increase
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bia River by about 125 vessels a
year. But the draft found that the
terminal would not impact mari-
nas and described security zones
as a minor inconvenience given
the size of the river.
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riers and other ships in the feder-
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Ted Messing, left, of Brownsmead, and Josie Peper, right,
of Astoria, hold signs protesting an Oregon LNG project
outside of the Warrenton Community Center in January.
al navigation channel, the draft
found, could be avoided through
proper coordination and should
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The draft also recognized
concerns from the public and
the state Department of Fish and
Wildlife about the potential dis-
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See LNG, Page 10A
Alcohol,
drugs
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in fatal
crashes
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highway data
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Jeff Keightley, owner and operator of Astoria Fishing Charters, takes a family from Hinckley, Minn., to go fishing for salmon from the Port
of Astoria’s West End Mooring Basin.
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Port Commission votes to raise marina and parking rates
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
T
he Port of Astoria esti-
mates the agency has lost
more than $500,000 over
the past two years on the opera-
tion of marinas on the west and
east ends of Astoria that have
generously low rates and a long
waiting list.
With the Buoy 10 summer salm-
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day, the Port Commission voted
unanimously Tuesday to support
across-the-board marina rate and
parking hikes staff estimate will net
the agency an additional $181,000
annually.
“The operations on the piers
are subsidizing the marina,” Port
Operations Manager Matt Mc-
Grath said during a presentation
late last month to the Port Com-
mission with Marina Manager
Janice Burk.
McGrath and Burk presented
a staff report saying the Port lost
more than $195,000 in the 2013-14
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rina, while budgeting a $318,000
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McGrath and Burk’s report list-
ed the Port as behind most regional
ports when it comes to annual and
monthly average moorage rates,
adding rates haven’t been updated
in several years.
“We’re in a pretty prime loca-
tion, and what determines value is
need,” McGrath said last month,
explaining that there is a waiting
list of more than 100 vessels trying
to get in to the Port’s marinas, an-
other testament to the need to ad-
just rates.
The Port Commission’s vote
Tuesday will increase rates at
marinas across the board, includ-
ing:
• 50 to 100 percent increases for
annual 30- and 50-amp electrical
hookup, plus the metered usage;
8 percent to two-thirds increases
in monthly recreational electric
rates; 5 to 38 percent increases in
monthly commercial electric hook-
ups; and 40 to 230 percent increas-
es in daily electric hookup rates.
Increases fall heavier on 50-amp
hookups.
• 20 to 35 percent increases in
annual moorage rates per foot; and
20 percent to two-thirds increases
in monthly rates, with sharper in-
creases for commercial passenger
vessels.
• An increase of monthly live
aboard boater fees from $35 to $50.
See MARINA, Page 10A
Alcohol or drugs were an influ-
ence in about 30 percent of fatal
crashes in Clatsop County over the
past decade.
Of the 68 fatal crashes in the
county between 2004 and 2014, 21
had alcohol or drugs involved.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation clarified the crash
data with The Daily Astorian Tues-
day, after the influence of alcohol
or drugs appeared to be omitted
from data shared with the newspa-
per for a report on fatal crashes last
Friday.
Lou Torres, an ODOT spokes-
man, explained the department
uses numbers associated with var-
ious crash causes. Drugs and alco-
hol is listed as “O9,” which was
not found in the data. Torres said
the designation was not found be-
cause the department now classi-
fies drugs and alcohol in its own
category.
“I discovered that our data sec-
tion changed the category on re-
cording alcohol and drug caused
crashes,” he said. “There is no lon-
ger an ‘09’ category.”
A total of 77 people were killed
from the 68 crashes in Clatsop
County. The 21 crashes involving
drugs or alcohol killed 23 people.
U.S. Highway 101 saw the
highest number of fatalities with
22 from 20 accidents, six of which
involved drugs or alcohol. U.S.
Highway 30 had 21 deaths from 19
accidents, with five crashes involv-
ing drugs or alcohol.
The ever-changing cannabis industry: A grower’s perspective
Putting out
quality products
key to creating
robust, thriving
grow operation
By KATHERINE LACAZE
EO Media Group
SEASIDE — From an in-
house closet grow dedicated
to one patient, then a garage
and now a three-room Seaside
workshop, cannabis grower Eric
Saucedo stands at the forefront
of the local market.
A longtime marijuana cul-
tivator, he and his two partners
recently transferred their grow
operation in an effort to make
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cure and professional.
His end goal is to provide
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cal area and around the state.
“We’re hoping to set ourselves
apart with our quality and our
variety,” he said.
A Seaside resident, Saucedo,
32, began growing medical mar-
ijuana several years ago. “As
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my interest just kept growing,”
he said. He quickly developed
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he entered some of his strains in
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place for his “The White” strain.
That sense of accomplish-
ment, knowing he could create
a quality product, drove him
“to keep going and keep getting
a little bit bigger and a little bit
better,” he said.
Early this year, for logistical
and security purposes, he and
his partners transferred their op-
eration to its own space. Break-
ins posed not only a constant
threat but actually occurred a
few times at Saucedo’s resi-
dence. Additionally, the partners
were gearing up for an antici-
pated merge of the medical and
recreational cannabis industries
and the accompanying rules and
regulations.
He considers his operation
still relatively small; he and his
partners have other jobs for in-
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growing cannabis has been
spent on startup costs and to
prepare their facility to meet the
structural and security regula-
tions it will have to when they
In 2010, Sea-
side resident
and cannabis
producer Eric
Saucedo took
first place
with “The
White” strain
and second
place with
his “OG Kush
Abusive”
strain at the
Oregon Green
Free Sixth An-
nual Oregon
CareGrowers
Cup.
See GROWER, Page 3A
Submitted Photo