3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2016
Legislators support clawback
of fraudulent energy tax credits
More than
$300 million
questioned
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Members of a
legislative committee assess-
ing the future of the state’s
energy department agreed Fri-
day that they would encourage
the state Department of Justice
to find ways to recoup money
lost to renewable energy proj-
ects that may have improperly
received tax credits.
The Business Energy Tax
Credit program, referred
to by its acronym, BETC,
has become the bane of the
Department of Energy in
recent years, after allegations
that the program was improp-
erly administered.
All in all, about $1 bil-
lion worth of tax credits were
issued to scores of wind, solar
and other renewable energy
projects, and more than $300
million worth of credits have
been called into question
after auditors labeled scores
of projects “suspicious” or
“concerning.”
Although auditors hired to
inspect the program this year
found no direct evidence of
fraud in the administration of
the program, they forwarded
a host of projects that received
credits under suspicious cir-
cumstances to the Attorney
General’s Office for further
review.
A list of those suspicious
projects — including multi-
ple projects at the same site
address and projects that
exceeded costs eligible for the
credits — was released pub-
licly last week.
EO Media Group
The legislative oversight committee considering the fu-
ture of the state Department of Energy Friday encouraged
the Department of Justice to recoup money obtained
through improperly issued Business Energy Tax Credits.
The Department of Justice,
through a spokeswoman, said
earlier this week that the state
was reviewing the projects for
any potential civil or criminal
violations.
Some members of the leg-
islative committee expressed
interest in opportunities to
reclaim what auditors esti-
mated was about $347 million
in tax credits issued to proj-
ects that provoked auditors’
concern.
State Sen. Doug Whitsett,
R-Klamath Falls, described
some of the suspected prob-
lems outlined by auditors.
“The people of Oregon
have not been reimbursed for
any of that,” Whitsett said.
“Where is the opportunity
within this BETC program,
if any, to claw back some of
this stuff, to get some of that
money back?”
One of the commit-
tee’s chairs, Sen. Lee Beyer,
D-Springfield, agreed that the
department ought to encourage
the state to recoup any “ill-got-
ten” money, but noted that the
committee should be realistic
about already-issued credits
and that the cost of recouping
those amounts could be higher
than what may be recovered.
Under Oregon law, the
energy department can sus-
pend or revoke tax credits in
certain circumstances, such
as when the certification is
obtained by misrepresentation
or fraud, or when the facility is
not in operation.
However, that statute did
not include those exact provi-
sions throughout the entirety
of the program’s lifetime, and
department officials have pre-
viously said it can be diffi-
cult to recoup money, as some
tax credits were sold to other
entities.
Beyer added that the
attorney general is an inde-
pendently elected official.
“We have no control over
the Department of Justice,”
Beyer said.
Bentz said the approxi-
mately $300 million allegedly
lost to “concerning” projects
stuck in his mind.
“We just want to make
sure we’ve asked the right
people to look into that and
make sure we’re not leaving
$300 million somehow on the
table,” said Rep. Cliff Bentz,
R-Ontario.
More broadly, legislators
agreed, language should be
included in the committee’s
final recommendations reflect-
ing “lessons learned” from the
failures of the program.
Bentz advocated for deter-
mining what benefits the state
may have gotten out of the
program, although, he said,
“I don’t want to spend huge
amounts of time delving
through the wreckage.”
The Department of Ener-
gy’s future has been under
review by the committee since
January, after several signifi-
cant issues, including the tax
credit program, came to the
fore.
In the first draft of a report
released this week, the com-
mittee’s co-chairs, Beyer and
Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene,
stated there is a continued need
for the department and sug-
gested the governor appoint a
board to oversee it.
They identified problems
with a longstanding loan pro-
gram for small-scale local
energy projects, and noted
controversy over the process
of siting energy facilities and
over the annual fee that energy
suppliers are supposed to pay
to the department.
The discussion on potential
clawbacks came in the context
of the committee’s broader
recommendation that future
energy incentives offered by
the state ought to track project
performance and outcome.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Oregon tourism
grows, generating
income and problems
Associated Press
SALEM — Oregon is
expecting a record number
of visits to its state parks and
federal lands for the second
year in a row.
The Statesman Journal
reported that data from mul-
tiple agencies shows that the
crowds began growing in
2013 and show no signs of
slowing down. The Colum-
bia River Gorge and central
Oregon are the fastest-grow-
ing recreation areas, but vis-
its to the coast, Crater Lake
National Park and John
Day Fossil Beds have also
increased.
Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation Department spokesman
Chris Havel says the agency
appreciates the tourism but is
having problems keeping up
with the trash and the wear
and tear on parks.
Travel Oregon, the state’s
tourism bureau, says the $10.8
billion industry accounts for
more than 105,000 jobs. But
it has also resulted in damage
to ecologically sensitive areas
and fatal accidents.
Truck slammed by
train south of Portland
Associated Press
AURORA — Authori-
ties say a truck slammed by
an Amtrak train in Oregon
had been forced to stop on
the tracks because of heavy
traffic.
Lt. Chris Baldridge of
the Marion County Sher-
iff’s Office says the truck
was hauling paper pulp, and
65,000 pounds spilled Mon-
day morning at an inter-
section in Aurora, 25 miles
south of Portland.
The lieutenant says the
train was traveling 35 mph at
the time. Only minor scrapes
and bruises were reported
by passengers and the truck
driver.
Amtrak spokeswoman
Vernae Graham says the train
was going from Eugene to
Seattle when the accident
happened at 7:25 a.m. For-
ty-three passengers were
aboard, and they were being
taken to Portland by bus.
Graham says there was no
derailment.
Thank
You!
To the lady that told me to lean on her after I fell,
Thank you, thank you!
Slowly I am better.
Dems want state GOP to stop robo calls
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The Ore-
gon Democratic Party wants
the state’s GOP to stop making
automated calls that falsely
tell voters their ballots won’t
count.
Democratic Party chair
Frank Dixon says the Repub-
lican Party claimed the robo
calls targeted “inactive”
Republican voters. But Dixon
Inslee issues
disaster directive
Associated Press
says non-affiliated and Demo-
cratic voters received the calls.
Dixon says election offi-
cials across Oregon have
been contacted by voters who
received the calls and are con-
cerned about their right to
vote.
Secretary of State Jeanne
Atkins says the state’s GOP
acknowledged making the
calls.
The GOP said it arranged
for automated calls on a coun-
ty-by-county basis, but an
investigation will determine if
the party was the only source
of the calls. There were vari-
ations in the scripts that vot-
ers heard.
Atkins says political parties
can legally reach out to voters
who are officially “inactive,”
but it’s critical to make sure
lists are up-to-date to avoid
confusion.
Astor Street Opry Company
3 A B NNUAL
RD
E AN
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov.
Jay Inslee is directing several
state agencies to work together
to prepare for a coordinated
plan in case of a catastrophic
earthquake and tsunami.
Friday’s directive creates a
subcabinet group of the Wash-
ington Military Department’s
Emergency
Management
Division to work with several
state agencies, including the
Department of Transportation
and the Department of Health.
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