3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018
Interest groups respond Port of Astoria reinforces
to ‘cap-and-invest’ bill ailing log-export dock
New tax
on carbon
emissions
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — State law-
makers have released the first
draft of a bill to charge Ore-
gon industries for emitting
carbon dioxide into the atmo-
sphere and to use the revenue
to invest in projects meant to
slow climate change.
The state’s “cap-and-in-
vest” bill emerges after sev-
eral years of work and coin-
cides with an announcement
from Washington lawmakers
for a similar program in their
state. The bill will be consid-
ered during the Legislature’s
policymaking session in Feb-
ruary. Democrats have iden-
tified the legislation as a top
priority for the session.
Modeled after a pro-
gram in California, Oregon’s
so-called “Clean Energy
Jobs” bill would set a cap of
less than 25,000 tons of CO2
per year for each company,
beginning in 2021.
“In other words, your
favorite brewery or grocery
store down the street will not
fall under the cap, only the
largest polluters in the state,”
said Brad Reed of Renew
Oregon, a leading propo-
nent of the bill. “The cap will
decline over time through
2050 to ensure we reach our
reduction targets and provide
certainty for business.”
The estimated 100 Ore-
gon companies that emit
more than that amount would
be required to buy mar-
ket-priced allowances for the
excess. The “price” on emis-
sions is designed to encour-
age businesses to adopt tech-
nologies and practices that
reduce their carbon foot-
print. The allowances would
be sold at a North American
auction and generate reve-
nue that would be invested
in green-energy and environ-
mentally friendly agriculture
projects.
Climate change
The program would even-
tually generate hundreds of
millions of dollars in reve-
nue that would be invested
in projects that slow climate
change. The exact cost of the
program has yet to be calcu-
lated, he said. But previous
estimates pegged revenue at
about $700 million per year.
Investments could include
rebates for electric vehi-
cles, solar panels on homes
or safety improvements on
bicycle lanes, among other
things, Reed has said.
Carbon trading mar-
kets are gaining momentum
around the globe. China has
plans to launch a carbon mar-
EO Media Group
Oregon Democrats have released the first draft of a bill
that would require industries emitting more than 25,000
tons of carbon dioxide to buy market-priced credits. The
state would use proceeds from the sale of credits to
fund climate-related projects.
ket later this year that would
account for about a quarter
of that country’s industrial
emissions, according to E &
E News, a Washington, D.C.,
environment and energy
publication.
A cap-and-invest bill in
2016 drew strong opposition
from certain Oregon business
groups, including Associ-
ated Oregon Industries, since
merged into Oregon Busi-
ness & Industry.
Mark
Johnson,
the
group’s president and CEO,
said the program would drive
up prices on consumers and
drive away businesses from
the state.
“Unfortunately, the legis-
lation introduced (Monday)
is an example of misplaced
priorities,” Johnson said.
“Greenhouse gas emissions
are decreasing, while Ore-
gon’s fiscal crisis is worsen-
ing. Rather than pushing a
complex, costly program to
address an issue that busi-
nesses already are making
progress on, legislators need
to focus on a problem only
they can fix — Oregon’s fis-
cal instability.”
Tom Koehler, co-found of
Pacific Ethanol and secretary
of the Oregon Business Alli-
ance on Climate, said he sup-
ports moving forward on the
legislation this year.
“There is a fundamen-
tal decision that needs to be
made now and not danced
around: Do we believe the
climate crisis is real and are
we ready to do our part to
make a difference?” Koehler
said.
“We believe action now
will benefit Oregon’s econ-
omy and its citizens.”
Work groups
several provisions to the bill
designed to help businesses
stay competitive, including
dedicating 20 percent of rev-
enue to job-generating proj-
ects in rural areas and legisla-
tive oversight of rule-making
to ensure rules don’t put
companies out of business.
The Senate Committee
on Environment and Natural
Resources, which Dembrow
chairs, will hear testimony on
the bill today at the Capitol.
No cap-and-trade system
in the world has resulted in
significant emissions reduc-
tions, in part because caps
still remain relatively high
and businesses haven’t had
to pay out a lot of money,
according to E & E News.
But the programs have
“served as political consen-
sus builders that have got-
ten industry accustomed to
climate policies,” E & E
News’s Debra Kahn wrote in
December.
Consumers could see an
increase in the cost of fuel
and electricity as a result
of any program. Electric-
ity rates, for example, could
climb by about 1 to 3 percent,
Dembrow said.
A study by the state
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality indicated the costs
could have an inordinate
effect on people in low-in-
come and rural communities
because they already spend a
larger share of their income
on fuel.
Dembrow has proposed
using some of the program’s
proceeds for utility payment
assistance for low-income
Oregonians.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
The Port of Astoria will
spend nearly $80,000 over
the next few months replacing
fender pilings on the west side
of Pier 1 in a stopgap measure
to keep its lucrative log-export
dock operating.
All 60 of the wooden pil-
ings on the 380 feet of Pier
1’s western face, where long-
shoremen load log ships for
Astoria Forest Products, are in
need of replacement, accord-
ing to a report to the Port
Commission Tuesday. The
$78,580 approved by the com-
mission would replace 24 pil-
ings, evenly spaced in groups
of four across the dock.
The wooden pilings will
keep the dock open while the
Port develops a long-term,
multiphase plan to install more
durable steel pilings sheathed
in polyurethane. McGrath
estimated the cost of the proj-
ect at $750,000 to $1 million
for the entire dock, saying the
process would be spread out
over hopefully no more than
three years.
“There have been com-
ments from ships’ captains
saying, ‘Hey, that dock does
not look like it’s going to sup-
port us,’” Matt McGrath, the
Port’s director of operations,
said. “Pier 1 is our golden
goose. That’s where we get 20
to 30 percent of our (operat-
ing) revenues, so we have to
take care of it. We’ve just not
done that previously.”
McGrath estimated $3.5
million in needs for Pier 1,
from purchasing a generator
and moving a fuel tank to pav-
ing and encasing the pier in
metal sheet piling.
The Port, updating a 2010
strategic plan to guide its
efforts, faces older, crum-
bling infrastructure across
most of its properties. During
a strategic planning work-
shop Tuesday, Port Executive
Director Jim Knight said Port
staff outlined about $60 mil-
lion worth of improvements
needed to bring the entire Port
into proper working order. The
Port Commission and staff
will next look at the agency’s
financial capacity and which
projects are most likely to
attract grant support, Knight
said.
The Port received a clean
opinion on an audit of its
2016-17 financial statements
by accounting firm Talbot,
Korvola & Warwick. The
Port improved its net financial
position, including revenues
State Sen. Michael Dem-
brow of Portland and Rep.
Ken Helm of Beaverton
assembled a series of work
groups to address concerns
from business and industry,
environmentalists and advo-
cates for minorities and res-
idents of rural areas. The
Democrats said they added
The Port of Astoria intends
to appeal a court judgment that
awarded Param Hotel Corp.
the lease of the Astoria River-
walk Inn.
Param plans to take over
operations of the hotel in
November. The company has
promised to pay off nearly
$400,000 in debts former
operator Brad Smithart owed
to the Port, Astoria and Clat-
sop County. The company
also plans to pay more than
$185,000 to Smithart, who
owes significant back taxes
and has relocated to New York.
Param recently filed for
more than $200,000 in legal
fees against the Port.
A trial scheduled to begin
Tuesday in a lawsuit by the
Port against Smithart has been
delayed until after the results
of litigation with Param.
A jury recently awarded
Param a $4 million verdict for
the Port’s alleged breach of a
contract and fraud. The Port-
land hotelier had been try-
ing since 2014 to take over
for Smithart. In 2015, the Port
Commission voted to give the
company Smithart’s remain-
ing lease in exchange for their
paying off his debts. But after
the vote, the deal fell apart,
with both sides blaming each
other.
Circuit Court Judge Dawn
McIntosh later reduced the
settlement against the Port to
less than $1 million, citing the
Oregon Tort Claims Act lim-
iting payouts against public
agencies. She gave Param the
option of taking damages or a
seven-year lease on the hotel.
The company chose the lease.
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
and assets minus expenses,
from nearly $18.9 million
in the 2015-16 fiscal year to
more than $21.7 million this
past year, mostly because of
$4 million worth of improve-
ments at the Astoria Regional
Airport funded by grants from
the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration and state Department
of Transportation. The agency
also increased its operating
revenues by nearly $277,000,
while decreasing operat-
ing expenses by more than
$400,000.
C onsult
a
PROFESSIONAL
Q: My doctor says I
need surgery for
a ruptured disk.
so fast. At least 1/3 of adults
A: Not
have a ruptured disk and no
ASTORIA
CHIROPRACTIC
Barry Sears, D.C.
503-325-3311
2935 Marine Drive
Astoria, Oregon
symptoms. The presence of a
bulging or herniated disk may have
preceded the current complaints. Most
pain is from inflammation. If that can
be reduced, the pain goes away from
the back, arms and legs. Chiropractic
manipulation is an effective tool to
reduce spinal inflammation and reduce
pain. There is rarely a time when
surgery should be done before a 3-4
week trial of conservative chiropractic
care. At least 1/3 of spinal surgeries do
not eliminate the patient’s problems.
Once done, it can’t be undone. Try
chiropractic first. Call 503-325-3311 to
see if we can help you.
Q: What’s the best
advice for me to
keep my teeth
healthy?
this begins with
A: Seriously,
you. In today’s dental world,
JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR
DMD, FAGD
503/325-0310
1414 M ARINE D RIVE
A STORIA
www.smileastoria.com
fewer people are losing all their
teeth. The very best advice is to
be diligent, maybe even obsessive
in your home-care brushing and
flossing. Next, like it or not, see
your dental hygienist frequently
and your dentist regularly for
dental checkups. You will be
way ahead — cost-wise, time-
wise and treatment-wise — by
making routine dental care part of
your life’s commitment. We look
forward to seeing you.
us about
Q: Tell
yourself.
Port of Astoria to appeal
Riverwalk Inn verdict
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Daily Astorian
The pilings along 380 feet of dock on Pier 1 where log
ships are loaded are in need of replacement, according to
Port of Astoria staff.
LEO FINZI
Astorias
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too late to
Q: Is can it Tuna?
yes, the season
A: Normally
ended in mid September.
Now accepting new patients.
Coastal Family
Health Center
13 years, I worked
A: For
for Pacific Stereo, a
Amanda Cordero
Northwest Wild Products
Fresh Seafood Market
354 Industry St, Astoria
503-791-1907
Daily 9 am- 7 pm
On the docks of the West Mooring
Basin, by the Riverwalk Inn
But this year we were able to
freeze enough whole Tuna to
last us until the next season.
Since most of the tuna available
for canning last summer, was
blast frozen on the boat, the
quality of the Tuna you can
purchase today will be the same.
It's only 25 cents a pound more
than the peak season price. So
why not get an early (or late,
depending on how you look at
it) start on your canning?