2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017
GOP seeks forest rules reform after wildfi res
Faster approval
for tree cutting
As of Thursday, six large
fi res were still burning in
the West, including four in
California.
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
Thin fi re-prone trees
WASHINGTON — U.S.
House Republicans are tar-
geting environmental rules to
allow faster approval for tree
cutting in national forests in
response to the deadly wild-
fi res in California.
House Majority Leader
Kevin McCarthy, R-Califor-
nia, said lawmakers will vote
next week on a bill to loosen
environmental regulations for
forest-thinning projects on
federal lands. The GOP argues
the actions will reduce the risk
of fi re.
The
Republican
bill
“includes reforms to keep
our forests healthy and less
susceptible to the types of
fi res that ravaged our state
this month,” McCarthy said
Thursday.
California has declared a
public health emergency in
the northern part of the state,
where fi res that began in
early October have killed at
least 42 people, making them
the deadliest series of wild-
fi res in state history. Author-
ities have warned residents
returning to the ruins of their
homes to beware of possi-
ble hazardous residues in the
ashes, and required them to
sign forms acknowledging
the danger.
The GOP bill is one of at
least three being considered in
Congress to address wildfi res.
The other measures in Con-
gress include a bipartisan Sen-
ate bill that would authorize
more than $100 million to help
at-risk communities prevent
wildfi res and create a pilot pro-
gram to cut down trees in the
most fi re-prone areas. The bill
also calls for detailed reviews
of any wildfi re that burns over
100,000 acres.
Barrasso’s bill would
waive environmental reviews
for projects up to 6,000 acres
and overturn a federal court
decision that forced more
consultation between the For-
est Service and the Fish and
Wildlife Service on forest
management projects.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ari-
zona, said the House GOP bill
ignores climate change and
does little more than waive
existing laws.
“Denying science and
waiving the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act is the
Republican prescription for
everything,” said Grijalva,
the senior Democrat on the
House Natural Resources
Committee.
The panel’s chairman,
Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah,
called the GOP bill “the only
solution on the table to bend
the cost curve of fi re sup-
pression and prevent wild-
fi res from becoming uncon-
trollable,
life-threatening
calamities.”
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
An aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after a wildfire swept through it in Santa Rosa,
California.
Republicans and the tim-
ber industry have long com-
plained about environmental
rules that make it diffi cult to
cut down trees to reduce fi re
risk. Plans to harvest trees on
federal lands can take years to
win approval.
Democrats and environ-
mental groups decry GOP pol-
icies they say would bypass
important
environmental
laws to clear-cut vast swaths
of national forests, harming
wildlife and the environment.
Democrats also complain
that Republican proposals
don’t acknowledge or address
root causes for increasingly
severe wildfi re seasons, such
as climate change or increased
development near forest lands.
Failed to conserve
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy-
oming, said Congress needs to
act.
“We must ask ourselves:
What kind of future are we
leaving for the next genera-
Washington state rejects lease
application for coal-export terminal
Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A
state agency has rejected a
request to use state-owned
aquatic lands for a major
coal-export terminal along
the Columbia River.
The Department of Nat-
ural Resources nixed a pro-
posal Wednesday by North-
west Alloys, which holds a
lease with the state, to make
construction changes related
to the Millennium Bulk Ter-
minal-Longview project in
Longview.
Northwest Alloys sub-
mitted the request in August
months after the depart-
ment shot down its request
to sublease the state’s lands
to Millennium. Northwest
Alloys and Millennium have
appealed that decision and
a Cowlitz County judge is
hearing arguments today.
Public Lands Commis-
sioner Hilary Franz told
Northwest Alloys in a letter
Wednesday that it is in the
state’s best interest to deny
the request at this time. She
cited several factors includ-
ing that the state Department
of Ecology’s denied the proj-
ect a water quality permit.
Millennium President Bill
Chapman said as of Wednes-
day evening he had not
received any notice from the
state but said after obtaining
the letter from a journalist
that with further discussion
they will resubmit the plans
as the letter specifi es.
The company on Tues-
day sued Ecology, arguing
regulators unfairly denied
the project the water quality
permit.
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
45
Clear
ALMANAC
Abundant sunshine and
delightful
Tillamook
41/65
Plenty of sunshine
Full
Salem
43/69
Newport
49/61
Nov 3
Coos Bay
49/61
New
Nov 10
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
1:58 a.m.
2:35 p.m.
Low
1.3 ft.
3.5 ft.
W
s
s
c
s
pc
r
s
sn
pc
r
pc
s
s
r
pc
pc
c
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
Hi
60
66
45
57
46
47
69
37
84
45
50
84
87
53
82
52
61
68
56
72
49
64
71
66
71
Sat.
Lo
37
55
31
41
27
35
45
27
71
31
29
60
64
34
71
34
45
62
35
60
31
43
54
47
56
Ontario
36/66
Burns
29/67
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
Associated Press
VANCOUVER,
Wash.
— About 80,000 gallons of
feces, urine and laundry waste
rushed into the Columbia
River on Wednesday.
The Columbian reports that
the untreated sewage spewed
into the river while a contrac-
tor was calibrating pumps at
Vancouver’s Westside Waste-
water Treatment facility.
This is the second such
spill into the river in the past
four weeks. The fi rst release
was about 400,000 gallons
of raw sewage and 110,000
gallons of partially treated
sewage.
Vancouver Public Infor-
mation Offi cer Loretta Cal-
lahan said the spills are not
related.
The Department of Ecol-
ogy is investigating both
incidents. The city could be
directed to make specifi c fi xes
or receive a notice of viola-
tion. A fi ne is also a possibility.
Nominations open for local volunteer awards
The Daily Astorian
The
Astoria-Warrenton
Area Chamber of Commerce
is taking applications for the
region’s annual citizens of the
year honors.
The George Award, named
after a tongue-in-cheek state-
ment about getting some-
one else to take care of a task,
honors people in Astoria who
embody service and dedica-
tion. The Richard Ford Distin-
guished Service Award, named
after a former building inspec-
tor, fi re chief and volunteer,
does the same in Warrenton.
Nominations will be accepted
until 5 p.m. Dec. 1. The winners
will be announced during the
chamber’s annual banquet Jan.
27. Download an application at
oldoregon.com, or pick one up
at the chamber offi ce — 111 W.
Marine Drive — or Warrenton
City Hall — 225 S. Main Ave.
Disorderly conduct
• At 12:54 a.m. Friday,
Joshua Daniel Kiley, 35,
of Opa-locka, Florida , was
arrested by the Astoria Police
Department on the 2890 block
of Marine Drive and charged
with second-degree disor-
derly conduct. He allegedly
was on top of another man on
the sidewalk outside Annie’s
Saloon and punching him.
The alleged victim sustained
injuries to his face but did
not wish to pursue assault
charges.
ON THE RECORD
Assault
• At 11:48 a,m. Thursday,
John Donaghue, 54, of Sea-
side, was arrested by the Sea-
side Police Department on the
1860 block of Spruce Drive
and charged with fourth-de-
gree assault and menacing.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
LOTTERIES
Klamath Falls
35/73
Lakeview
30/74
Ashland
49/79
Hi
66
63
64
68
66
72
80
70
69
67
Today
Lo
31
37
52
43
46
35
45
43
49
49
W
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
Hi
69
71
63
67
62
73
78
68
61
61
Sat.
Lo W
32
s
40
s
51
s
44
s
46
s
33
s
45
s
43
s
49
s
49
s
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
63
60
69
72
71
69
56
68
67
65
Today
Lo
38
38
47
49
43
44
38
44
44
36
W
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
Hi
67
63
70
71
69
64
60
69
67
64
Sat.
Lo W
40
s
40
s
46
s
50
s
45
s
45
s
39
s
46
s
44
s
35
s
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
t
s
c
pc
c
r
s
pc
pc
c
pc
s
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r
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Raw sewage spills into Columbia River
WEDNESDAY
Warrenton Town Hall, 7 p.m., on the library levy and city parks, City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way.
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Hi
73
62
46
45
42
58
66
36
85
49
45
85
89
59
83
69
81
63
51
65
49
62
78
65
68
Baker
31/69
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
unmanaged federal forests have
wreaked havoc on our envi-
ronment, polluting our air and
water and destroying thousands
of acres of wildlife habitat.”
The fl urry of legislation
comes as the Forest Service
has spent a record $2.4 billion
battling forest fi res in one of
the nation’s worst fi re seasons.
Wildfi res have burned nearly 9
million acres across the coun-
try, with much of the devasta-
tion in California, Oregon and
Montana.
MONDAY
Astoria School Board, 5:30 p.m., special meeting to interview board candidates, Capt. Robert Gray
third-fl oor boardroom, 785 Alameda Ave.
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
UNDER THE SKY
Today
Lo
55
48
36
28
29
37
42
26
70
31
27
61
64
35
73
38
49
53
28
51
35
40
55
46
52
La Grande
35/67
Roseburg
49/71
Brookings
51/66
Nov 18
John Day
42/73
Bend
37/71
Medford
45/78
Tonight's Sky: First Quarter Moon (3:22 p.m.).
High
6.7 ft.
6.7 ft.
Prineville
36/72
Lebanon
44/69
Eugene
43/67
Last
Pendleton
38/63
The Dalles
41/66
Portland
47/70
Sunset tonight ........................... 6:09 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday ........................ 7:51 a.m.
Moonrise today .......................... 2:33 p.m.
Moonset today ................................... none
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
60
42
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
45/64
SUN AND MOON
Time
8:59 a.m.
8:01 p.m.
Low clouds and fog, then
some sun
TUESDAY
63
39
REGIONAL WEATHER
Precipitation
Thursday .......................................... 0.00"
Month to date ................................... 8.93"
Normal month to date ....................... 4.64"
Year to date .................................... 62.14"
Normal year to date ........................ 44.88"
Oct 27
60
45
Plenty of sunshine
Astoria through Thursday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 64°/41°
Normal high/low ........................... 58°/43°
Record high ............................ 74° in 1908
Record low ............................. 32° in 1996
First
MONDAY
64
44
tion when we have failed to
conserve federal forests that
overwhelm the sky with thick
smoke and ash when they
burn?” asked Barrasso, chief
sponsor of the Senate GOP
bill and chairman of the Sen-
ate Environment and Public
Works Committee.
Rep. Bruce Westerman,
R-Arkansas, sponsor of the
House bill, said fi res devastat-
ing communities across Cali-
fornia, Montana and other west-
ern states show “how years of
OREGON
Thursday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 0-9-6-7
4 p.m.: 5-0-1-2
7 p.m.: 4-0-6-7
10 p.m.: 0-9-1-7
Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 04-07-11-13-FREE-18-
22-27-30
Estimated jackpot: $25,000
WASHINGTON
Thursday’s Daily Game: 8-2-5
Thursday’s Keno: 03-04-08-09-16-17-23-26-27-
33-35-40-43-45-48-49-54-69-71-76
Thursday’s Match 4: 05-06-15-16
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