3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018
Governor deploys National Guard,
declares Salem water emergency
Triggered by
algae bloom in
Detroit Lake
By DIRK VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios
Federal agencies are reviewing options for dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Feds study options for
managing dams on
Columbia, Snake rivers
More than a
dozen options
By MATTHEW
WEAVER
Capital Press
Three agencies are con-
sidering 13 options as they
develop a draft environmen-
tal impact statement for oper-
ating the federal dams on the
Columbia and Snake rivers.
The options range from
making no changes to cur-
rent operations to breach-
ing dams on the lower Snake
River.
The study also includes
maintaining current barge
navigation on the rivers and
providing the authorized irri-
gation water supply for the
Columbia Basin Project.
U.S. District Judge
Michael Simon in 2016
ruled that federal gov-
ernment plans for operat-
ing facilities violated the
Endangered Species Act. He
ordered the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, Army Corps
of Engineers and the Bon-
neville Power Administra-
tion to study new alterna-
tives to protect threatened
and endangered fish.
Under the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act, the
environmental impact state-
ment must address long-
term operations of the 14
federal dams in Idaho, Ore-
gon, Washington state and
Montana.
The agencies held an
update webinar and confer-
ence call Wednesday to dis-
cuss their progress.
The agencies will evalu-
ate the impacts of the alter-
natives on resources and
include potential variations
due to climate change, said
Lydia Grimm, BPA senior
policy adviser.
Among the alterna-
tives under study is one that
requires no action, meaning it
would maintain current dam
operations.
Another alternative would
weigh the benefits and trade-
offs of removing the lower
Snake River dams, Grimm
said.
Environmental
groups
claim breaching the dams
would benefit the fish, while
farmers argue it would make
the river unusable for trans-
porting wheat downstream to
market and transporting sup-
plies upriver.
‘We want
to make
sure we’re
looking at
the water
operations
that will
help fulfill
that current
authorized
water
supply.’
Lydia Grimm
BPA senior policy adviser
Navigation is an autho-
rized purpose for the sys-
tem. The study objective is
to maintain navigation, not
change or improve it, said
Rebecca Weiss, of the Army
Corps.
The agencies will use
what they learn in the studies
to shape a preferred alterna-
tive, Grimm said.
“We want to make sure
we’re … getting to the right
combination and have the
complete answer,” she said.
They will provide another
update in the fall.
Some alternatives may
not create the needed ben-
efits or could have greater
impacts, so the agencies will
also consider ways to miti-
gate them, Grimm said.
During the public scop-
ing process, the agencies
received comments on the
importance of the river sys-
tem for agriculture and irri-
gation, which is being stud-
ied, said Sonjoa Kokos,
bureau ecosystems analysis
program manager.
The public will have the
opportunity to comment on
the draft in March 2020, she
said.
A final statement is slated
for March 2021 with a record
of decision set for September
2021.
The objectives of the
environmental impact state-
ment include improving the
survival rates for protected
adult and juvenile salmon,
resident fish and lampreys
and providing an “adequate,
efficient, economical and
reliable” power supply.
The agencies also want
to minimize greenhouse gas
emissions from power pro-
duction and meet the autho-
rized water supply obliga-
tions, Grimm said.
“There’s already autho-
rization in the Columbia
Basin Project for expanding
irrigation for crops, agricul-
ture and other purposes,” she
said. “We want to make sure
we’re looking at the water
operations that will help ful-
fill that current authorized
water supply.”
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Licensed in Oregon and Washington
Gov. Kate Brown has
declared an emergency and
mobilized Oregon National
Guard soldiers in response to
an ongoing water quality situa-
tion in and around Salem.
Brown’s office said Thurs-
day the troops would bring
large portable water tanks
— known as water buffaloes
— to the Salem area to ease
a shortage of bottled water.
On Tuesday evening, the
city announced officials had
detected low levels of cyano-
toxins in the drinking water
supply.
The toxins, caused by an
algae bloom in Detroit Lake,
can cause health problems if
ingested by young children
and people with compromised
immune systems. The Oregon
Health Authority has also rec-
ommended that Salem-area
hospitals not expose patients
to procedures using tap water.
“I want to ensure safe drink-
ing water is available to all res-
idents of Salem and Marion
County,” Brown said in a state-
ment. “I’m directing Oregon’s
Military Department to deploy
clean water stations and pro-
vide additional support to the
community as conditions con-
tinue to be closely monitored
to ensure the health and safety
of Detroit Lake water users.”
The drinking water warn-
ing issued by Salem officials
on Tuesday prompted a run on
bottled water in area supermar-
kets and has led to reports of
price-gouging.
Brown’s office began look-
ing into the possibility of
mobilizing the National Guard
on Wednesday. The governor
made the decision Thursday
morning.
It’s unclear how many
Molly J. Smith /Statesman-Journal
Pallets of water and individual water bottles are seen in
the warehouse of Marion Polk Food Share in Salem. The
National Guard will hand out free water to residents who
can’t drink tap water contaminated by an algae bloom.
troops will be deployed to the
area, or for how long.
The governor’s office says
it’s sending 10 water stations
to five locations within the
cities of Salem and Stayton.
Salem’s water system serves a
population of around 200,000
— including the communities
of Turner and Stayton.
Declaring an emergency
in Marion and Polk counties
isn’t a prerequisite for call-
ing in National Guard troops,
one official said, but helps
pay for the deployment. It will
also allow Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum to investi-
gate whether price gouging
has occurred during the water
advisory due to “abnormal dis-
ruption of the market.” Goug-
ing in such circumstances is
defined as 15 percent or more
above the normal price.
According to spokes-
woman Kristina Edmunson,
the Oregon Department of
Justice has received 15 to 20
complaints about price goug-
ing since the water notice was
issued. They include reports
of a Safeway charging $25 for
cases of bottled water, and of a
gas station in Brooks charging
nearly $48 per case.
A video posted to Facebook
on Tuesday — just hours after
the alert went out — shows
cases of water sitting on the
floor of the Brooks station,
with makeshift prices scrawled
in printer paper and taped onto
them.
Salem said new water test
results received Thursday
showed cyanotoxin levels had
not improved.
IVANOFF, Willard
Celebration of life
Sunday, June 3rd from 1 to 5 p.m.
Clatsop County Fairgrounds
92937 Walluski Loop
We the Ness Family would like to thank
each one of you for all your support for
our family at this time. Our hearts are
so full from all of your love. Thanks
to all the people who worked on the
celebration for Ken. There are no words
that can express our Thank You!
And for all the truckers that made
the tribute for Ken so so special.
This community is awesome.
God Bless each of you. We love you.
The Kenneth Ness Family