3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016
State Legislature could pay
schools back for lead testing
public, but the rule doesn’t
require actual testing.
State agencies, including the
education department and the
Oregon Health Authority, have
no authority to force school dis-
tricts to test for lead in water,
but that could change next year.
Fund could start
at $5 million
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon public
schools could be reimbursed
for the cost of testing for lead in
campus drinking water, under a
proposal lawmakers will con-
sider Friday.
The proposal sets up a
fund administered by the state
Department of Education.
School districts could submit
invoices to request reimburse-
ment for costs associated with
lead testing between March and
December of this year.
The Legislative Fiscal
Ofice has recommended that
the Emergency Board approve
the $5 million as a placeholder
until state education oficials
gain a better sense of how much
school districts will request for
reimbursement.
The education department
could submit a revised inancial
request to the emergency board
in December, if requests exceed
$5 million, said Doug Wilson, a
legislative iscal analyst.
“It’s really a signal to dis-
tricts that we are putting money
aside for lead testing,” Wilson
said of the recommendation.
The Oregon Association of
School Business Oficials con-
ducted a survey of school dis-
tricts this summer to try to esti-
Mandate possible
Hermiston School District
A sink in the Hermiston School District that tested posi-
tive for elevated lead levels has been shut off and tagged.
The Legislature is working on a plan to reimburse schools
for the cost of lead testing.
mate the cost of testing. About
100 districts, representing
about half of the state’s student
population, responded. The $5
million igure is roughly based
on those districts’ responses,
Wilson said.
That amount equates to
about $35 for each lab test,
including testing and a small
amount to defray the cost
of collection, he said. The
amount doesn’t account for any
expenses associated with miti-
gation of lead contamination.
Some larger school districts
such as Portland and Beaverton
used contractors to take water
samples, which drove up the
cost of testing, Wilson said.
Testing urged
Lawmakers pledged to
provide some kind of inan-
cial assistance to districts after
the Oregon Health Author-
ity and the education depart-
ment asked districts to test for
lead in school water supplies.
The agencies recommended
that schools identify sources
of lead, stop access, com-
municate results to staff, stu-
dents, parents and the commu-
nity and mitigate and repair the
problem.
The request for testing fol-
lowed widespread media cov-
erage of a scandal in Port-
land Public Schools over lead
in drinking water that went
unreported.
In August, the state Board
of Education — at the behest of
Gov. Kate Brown — approved
a rule that requires school dis-
tricts to submit a plan for test-
ing for lead in water and other
toxins in school environments
and to report any results to the
Lawmakers are considering
legislation session that would
require districts to test for lead in
water and possibly other toxins,
said state Sen. Michael Dem-
brow, D-Portland. Dembrow
and Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer,
D-Portland, spearheaded legis-
lation in 2015 that required dis-
tricts to test for radon.
“At that time, we focused
on radon because to be honest,
we assumed there was test-
ing already happening for lead
and other things, but radon
seemed like something people
were just beginning to become
familiar with.”
“As we come to a better
understanding of the multiple
toxins in schools, we need to
expand that,” he added.
New York recently enacted
a law requiring schools to test
for lead by the end of Octo-
ber, report results to the public
and develop a plan for reducing
exposure to the toxin, the Ore-
gon Legislative Fiscal Ofice
reported.
The Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
ODFW funding task force will
recommend bottle, income tax
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A task force
convened to suggest new sus-
tainable funding sources for the
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife has settled on two rec-
ommended options that each
take the form of tax surcharges
— one on income and one on
beverage containers.
The department is operating
on a biennium budget of about
$370 million. A third of that
comes from hunting and ishing
licenses, a third from the federal
government, and the rest for
various state funds.
The agency has faced a
growing cash low problem,
according to a 2015 audit by the
Secretary of State’s Ofice. The
task force identiied an addi-
tional funding need of $79.9
million per biennium, much of
which would go to conserva-
tion efforts, according to a draft
of the task force’s report to the
Legislature.
Task force chair Mark
Labhart will present the sur-
charge ideas to two committees
during the Legislature’s interim
session this week.
In a vote at its meeting Fri-
day, the group was split in terms
of prioritizing either of the sug-
gested surcharges.
Portland pot
dispensary
robbed
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Authori-
ties are investigating reports of
an armed robbery at a Portland
marijuana dispensary.
The Oregonian reported
that police say multiple sus-
pects were involved in the Sun-
day night incident, and at least
four had handguns.
Oficers had arrived at
Green Buds Dispensary to ind
at least two people running
away from the business.
Police have made only one
arrest and are still searching for
other suspects.
Police have not yet deter-
mined what was taken from the
dispensary.
Last week, a security cam-
era captured footage of a man
who robbed the Freedom Mar-
ket pot store in Longview,
Washington.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist re-
leases a sterile tiger trout into Diamond Lake to prey on
invasive fish. A task force has recommended two possible
sources of additional funding for the department.
The suggested bottle tax
would be 2.02 percent applied
to the cost of a drink at whole-
sale on those containers subject
to the state’s bottle bill on Jan. 1.
“This is intended to be
applied to the cost of a bever-
age, rather than as an addition to
the beverage container redemp-
tion deposit for those contain-
ers subject to the bottle bill,” the
draft report states.
It’s estimated that the bottle
tax could generate $61.5 million
in revenue in 2017-19, as the
tax would not take effect until
Jan. 1, 2018, and $82 million in
2019-21, according to estimates
prepared for the task force.
ll
Ca ime
yt
n
A
The other suggestion the
task force is making would
be a 0.7 percent surcharge on
individual tax returns, with an
exemption for people who earn
less than $20,000 per year.
The task force decided to
leave open for discussion how
to retain a “base” of Orego-
nians who pay fees to hunt and
ish; suggestions have so far
included tax credits or exemp-
tions for people who have
hunting or ishing licenses.
The income tax surcharge
could generate $60 million
in the 2017-19 biennium and
$92.9 million in the 2019-21
biennium, according to esti-
mates that were prepared for
the task force. Those estimates
take into account the possible
exemptions for people earning
less than $20,000 and people
with ish and wildlife licenses.
Jim Martin, a task force
member and former ODFW
employee, who now directs
the Berkeley Conservation
Institute at Pure Fishing, said
Friday that the taxes would be
“politically dificult,” but the
task force had to communi-
cate the idea that failing to ix
the agency’s “broken” fund-
ing model could undermine
“Oregon’s livability and future
economy.”
In order for either sugges-
tion to take hold, lawmakers
would have to pass legislation
or refer the matter to voters in
the form of a ballot measure.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Stephanie Gooch/For The Daily Astorian
The whale washed ashore during the night. Apparently,
it’s been dead for a while.
Dead whale washes
ashore in Arch Cape
Cause of death
is unknown
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
FALCON COVE — Arch
Cape residents and visi-
tors reported a large whale
stranded on a sandbank off-
shore about 250 yards out
Friday.
As night fell, the humpback
was driven by waves south-
ward toward Falcon Cove.
For more than two hours, the
bloated carcass drifted closer
to shore as the tide shifted.
What had once been a blur on
the horizon grew larger and
larger. A handful of onlookers
came out to view the beaching.
They had recently witnessed a
Japanese ishing boat from the
tsunami wash ashore, but none
remembered a whale. Hold-
ing lashlights and cellphones,
wading through tidepools,
they tried to capture the image.
Leslie Smith was watch-
ing from a bluff before com-
ing down to Cove Beach.
“We could see it way out,”
she said. “There were
extremely long lippers.”
“We’ve had baby orcas,
but never a big bull like this,”
Smith added, as her daugh-
ter Lindsay Smith snapped a
photo.
Cape Falcon’s John Erben
said, “We see a lot of whales.
Most times they’re not loat-
ing dead.”
Gas could pose risk
On Saturday, Seaside
Aquarium General Man-
ager Keith Chandler vis-
ited the site. He said he had
been notiied of the whale by
the U.S. Coast Guard Friday
morning, when the whale
was about 4 miles offshore.
“It’s been dead quite
some time,” Chandler said.
“Its tail has been rotted off.”
The big bloat of the whale
is gas built up inside, Chan-
dler said.
Does it pose a risk? Could
it explode?
“It could,” Chandler said.
“They have in the past. Not
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
The bloated body is in-
dicative of built-up gas in
this humpback whale that
washed ashore in Falcon
Cove Friday.
‘It could
(explode).
They have
in the past.
Not saying
it will,
but it’s
always a
possibility.’
Keith Chandler
Seaside Aquarium
general manager
saying it will, but it’s always
a possibility.”
Humpbacks are more
uncommon than gray whales,
Chandler said. “We get one
every couple of years. We
had one in Seaside last Jan-
uary. There have been some
live ones in the Columbia
too.” As for what caused the
whale’s death, “There was no
smoking gun,” he said.
Chandler said the tide
could move the whale car-
cass out of the cove and far-
ther south.
“If we can get to it, we’ll
probably do a necropsy,” he
said. “But one that has been
dead this long — I don’t
know how much we’re going
to learn from it, because all
the tissues are probably rot-
ting away.”
By late Saturday, the
humpback remained ashore
in Falcon Cove, but neigh-
bors reported the whale had
delated signiicantly.
W e look forw a rd to seein g
everyon e for ou r fifth
a n n u a l Ra ce to the Ba r,
S eptem ber 9 th, 20 17!
Fre
e
as
Est F
ima t t
es
Jeff Hale P ainting
• Residential
• Commercial
•Cedar Roof Treatments
• Interior & Exterior
Over 20 years local experience
503-440-2169
Jeff Hale,
Contractor
LICENSED
BONDED
INSURED
CCB#179131
Th e Lo w er Co lu m bia H o spice Ad viso ry B o a rd w o u ld like to th a n k
o u r spo n so rs, vo lu n teers a n d pa rticipa n ts w h o m a d e th e fo u rth
a n n u a l “Ra ce to th e B a r” w ild ly su ccessfu l a n d a sto u n d in gly fu n !
S pecia l recogn ition to ou r spon sors a n d con tribu tors:
NEWS TALK FOR THE COAST
Pro viding live a nd lo ca l new s co vera ge every da y
Y ou could see it ton igh t, rea d a bout
it tom orrow or h ea r it live N O W !
GO LD
• Colum bia M em oria l H ospita l
• K lem p F a m ily D en tistry
• D a n a n d Sue Stein
• P a cific Coa st M edica l Supply
• Area P roperties
• CGC F in a n cia l
• Cra ft3
• Astoria F orest P roducts
• O ur L a dy of Victory/St. P eter
th e F ish erm en Ca th olic
Ch urch - Sea side
w w w .ra ceto theba r.co m
S ILVER
• F ort George B rew ery
• Subw a y
• B a ysh ore An im a l H ospita l
• L ektro
• B rim Avia tion
• CM H P rim a ry Ca re Clin ic
• E n glun d M a rin e
• P a cific P ow er
• O regon Sta te B ridge Co.
• U S B a n k
• Colum bia River B a r P ilots
• Colum bia B a n k
• Sen a tor B etsy Joh n son
• P roviden ce Sea side H ospita l
• T eevin B ros.
• T h e D a ily Astoria n
• Autio Com pa n y
• D M squa red
• St. F ra n cis de Sa les Ca th olic M ission
BRO N ZE
• H ow a rd Cla rke a n d W en dela H ow ie
• Sun dia l T ra vel
• J&H B oa tw orks
• O cea n Crest Ch evrolet
• Ca ldw ell’s L uce-L a yton M ortua ry
• O cea n View Crem a tion
• B ussert L a w a n d Associa tes, L L P
• Costco
• Sa few a y
• H om e D epot
• F red M eyer