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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017
New federal effort tries to save dams along Snake River
Federal court
has sought to
protect salmon
By COURTNEY FLATT
Northwest Public Radio
A new bill in Congress
would make sure Washing-
ton state’s four lower Snake
River dams stay standing.
It’s pushback against a recent
court order to find “a new
approach” to protect threat-
ened and endangered salmon
and steelhead.
That approach could
include removing or altering
the dams.
That’s not something U.S.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash-
ington, thinks would be good
for the Northwest. Newhouse
introduced the legislation,
along with four other North-
west representatives.
“Removing the Snake
River dams would be harmful
to our communities, the envi-
ronment and our economy.
This legislation is needed to
support the critical role that
Snake River dams play by pro-
viding Washington commu-
nities with clean, renewable
hydropower,” Newhouse said.
The bipartisan legislation
Alan Berner/The Seattle Times
Water flows through the spillways of the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River in Washington state. New federal leg-
islation would protect dams amid a debate over endangered salmon and steelhead.
would keep a federal plan to
protect salmon in place until
2022. Right now, the govern-
ment has until 2021 to finish
a new federal Columbia River
biological opinion.
The opinion has been con-
tested through lawsuits for
more than two decades.
In the most recent deci-
sion U.S. District Court Judge
Michael Simon rejected the
government’s plan for fish. It’s
the fifth time the plan has been
rejected.
Simon ruled all options
must be on the table, includ-
ing a deep look at whether the
four lower Snake River dams
should be altered or removed.
“Despite billions of dol-
lars spent on these efforts, the
listed species continue to be in
a perilous state,” Simon wrote.
“The (Federal Columbia River
Power System) remains a sys-
tem that ‘cries out’ for a new
approach.”
The bill would also effec-
tively overturn Simon’s deci-
sion to increase more spill
over eight dams on the Colum-
bia and Snake rivers. Simon
ordered the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to spill more
water over the dams to help
juvenile salmon migrate out to
the ocean.
Environmental
groups
strongly oppose the bill.
A news release from the
groups said increased spill is
the “most effective action in
the near-term to improve sur-
vival of endangered salmon
populations.”
“This legislative pro-
posal is misguided, counter-
productive and based on an
extremely poor understanding
of the plight of our salmon and
any realistic changes to how
Columbia Basin hydro-sys-
tem would operate to bet-
ter protect salmon,” said Bill
Arthur, Sierra Club chairman
of the Columbia-Snake River
Salmon Recovery Campaign.
Too much spill can increase
dissolved gas in the water,
which can cause something
akin to the bends in fish.
The bill was also intro-
duced by U.S. Reps. Cathy
McMorris Rodgers and Jaime
Herrera Beutler, both Wash-
ington state Republicans —
as well as Kurt Schrader,
D-Oregon, and Greg Walden,
R-Oregon.
“As we work to improve
fish runs, we must not lose
sight of the importance to the
region of renewable hydro-
power, recreation and trans-
portation,” Walden said. “The
uncertainty created by ongo-
ing litigation over operations
impacts all of that.”
State Senate approves audio recording grand jury proceedings
Oregon one of
two states to
use note takers
‘What domestic violence victim will be
willing to share her story when she knows
that a recording of her statement could be
handed over to the man who beat her or
her children just days earlier?’
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — The state Sen-
ate voted 21-7 Tuesday to
require audio recordings of
grand jury proceedings.
The bill modernizes the
state’s more than 150-year-
old handwritten record-keep-
ing process by requiring
county district attorneys to
electronically audio record
grand jury proceedings and
maintain and store copies of
the recordings.
“This bill will bring our
justice system into the 21st
century, but it’s about more
than that,” said state Sen.
Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene,
who has spearheaded similar
legislation for several years.
“We’re working on Indepen-
dence Day right now. July
Fourth is a beautiful day, and
it’s about freedom and lib-
erty. We have a chance to
ensure liberty, justice for all
and an opportunity to ensure
our criminal justice system
remains above all reproach.”
The bill heads for a vote
in the House later this week.
The requirement will
be gradually phased in for
the state’s 36 counties. The
mandate triggers in March
for Multnomah, Deschutes
and Jackson counties, all
of which have populations
of 150,000 or greater. The
state’s other 33 counties will
have to start the recordings
by July 2019.
The bill provides about
$10 million for the cost of
purchasing electronic record-
ing devices and hiring staff
to manage the recordings in
Capital Bureau
The state Senate on Tues-
day passed a bill mandat-
ing that grand jury proceed-
ings be recorded. The bill
moves to the House, where
it is expected to pass.
the three counties. The Leg-
islative Fiscal Office has
noted that there could be sig-
nificant costs to the state in
the 2019-2021 budget as the
remaining 33 counties begin
the recordings.
The prosecutor must pro-
vide a copy or transcript of
the recording to the defense
attorney within 10 days after
a defendant is arraigned on
an indictment. The defense
attorney is prohibited from
sharing the actual copy of
the recording with the defen-
dant and may not disclose
personal identifying infor-
mation about the victim, wit-
nesses or grand jurors to the
defendant. The recordings
are otherwise confidential.
Prosecutors also may
request a protection order
from the court to redact cer-
tain information they believe
could put a victim or witness
in danger.
Sen.
Kim
Thatcher,
R-Keizer, said the bill’s
main weakness is it disal-
Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis
lows hearsay testimony by
law enforcement officers on
behalf of witnesses. The only
exceptions are for people
with certain disabilities and
minors.
“I really wish we had kept
in protections for victims so
case officers could testify on
their behalf,” Thatcher said.
She said she voted against
the bill because she felt it was
rushed in the waning days of
session, which must consti-
tutionally end by Monday.
“I am all for recording
grand juries but we need to
proceed more cautiously
when it comes to the vic-
tims,” she said.
Forty-eight states and the
federal court system already
electronically audio record
grand jury testimony.
Oregon and Louisiana
are the only two states in the
nation that still rely on hand-
written juror notes, rather
than audio recordings, as
documentation of testimony
in front of grand juries.
“I have found that no mat-
ter how skilled or how expe-
rienced the note taker is,
there will be things that are
inaccurate or left out inad-
vertently,” said Prozanski,
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“Diamond” Dave Bennett
You found us, enriched us and
played fondly for the gleeful masses
for 32 consecutive years in a show
that is now slightly less colorful
without its Maestro Banjo
playing extraordinaire.
Dave, we love you and thank you
so very much for your years of
dedication and
performance in
a show that
will not be
the same
without your
brilliance.
Shanghaied in Astoria and the Astor
Street Opry Company have dedicated this
year’s run to Dave Bennett, his
wonderful wife Chris and family
for sharing Dave with us, his
extended theater family.
a municipal prosecutor and
former assistant district
attorney. “As a felony pros-
ecutor in Lane County I
wanted my witnesses in front
of the grand jury because I
wanted them prepared to be
able to testify in public in
front of the Circuit Court.
This process opens the grand
jury process so that we have
a clear and accurate record
of what witnesses say during
the process, without interpre-
tation. It’s fair to prosecutors
and the defense.”
Clatsop County District
Attorney Josh Marquis, in a
guest column in The Orego-
nian in June, wrote that he
and other prosecutors would
likely reserve grand juries for
unusual cases if they must
be recorded. Prosecutors, he
said, would instead conduct
preliminary hearings, which
he said take more time and
could be costly for the state.
“Recording grand juries
will have a chilling effect
on justice,” Marquis wrote.
“What domestic violence
victim will be willing to
share her story when she
knows that a recording of her
statement could be handed
over to the man who beat her
or her children just days ear-
lier? Even the most optimis-
tic among us know how trag-
ically that could end.”
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Join us for the
Relay For Life of
Clatsop County!
About the
Relay For
Life
Movement
Saturday, July 8 th , 2017
The American
Cancer Society
Relay For Life
movement is the
world’s largest
fundraising event
to end cancer,
uniting four million
people around the
world to celebrate
survivorship,
remember
lives
lost, and fight back
against this
disease. Teams
camp out and
participate by
taking turns
walking around a
track or path.
Symbolizing the
battle waged
around the clock
by those facing
cancer, the event
empowers
communities and
individuals to take
a stand against the
disease and take
action by
supporting the
Society’s lifesaving
mission.
Astoria High School Track
10:00 am - 12:00 am
Register your team today!
RelayForLife.org/ClatsopcountyOR
Learn about American
Cancer Society programs
and services.
Join others in fighting back
against cancer!
For more information, contact:
nancy.hillis@cancer.org
361.676.6378
RelayForLife.org | 800.227.2345
