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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2018
Government ranks 18 volcanoes
as ‘very high threat’ for danger
Volcanoes in
Washington,
Oregon on list
By SETH BORENSTEIN
Associated Press
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Contractors with Clean Harbors and consultant Ar-
cadis have begun cleaning contaminated soil from a
former manufactured gas plant and bulk fuel facility
near the Columbia House Condominiums in Astoria.
Cleanup begins
at old fuel plant
on riverfront
Project near
Columbia
House condos
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Cleanup has begun at a
former manufactured gas
plant and bulk fuel facility
across the Astoria Riverwalk
from the Columbia House
Condominiums.
Crews with contractor
Clean Harbors and consul-
tant Arcadis are excavating
and replacing contaminated
soil from along the Riv-
erwalk with ballast rock,
gravel and topsoil. The work
is expected to last two weeks.
The site was used by
Union Oil Co. of California,
known as Unocal, and Pacif-
iCorp between 1888 and
1977, when Unocal removed
the buildings and above-
ground fuel tanks.
Investigation of the site
began in the 1980s. Hydro-
carbons and waste products
that leaked and spilled during
the operations were detected
in soil and groundwater,
and in sediments along the
shoreline.
The riverside part of the
cleanup, tentatively sched-
uled to start near the end of
next year during low tides,
involves removal of 600
square feet of contaminated
sediment along the shore-
line and installation of a sand
and clay barrier. The site will
be monitored for at least five
years.
The former Unocal plant
is one of three cleanups of
old industrial sites the state
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality oversees along
the Astoria waterfront.
The Port of Astoria is
negotiating with former
oil companies and insurers
on the solution to histori-
cal petroleum contamination
from a former bulk plant near
Pier 2. Soil and vapor testing
is being done at the site of a
former Chevron bulk petro-
leum plant near the Wilcox
& Flegel Oil Co. fuel dock.
Astoria Marine Construc-
tion Co., along the Lewis
and Clark River, will likely
close next year in advance
of a cleanup of contaminants
from building wooden mine-
layers for the Navy.
WASHINGTON — Gov-
ernment scientists have clas-
sified 18 U.S. volcanoes as
“very high threat” because of
what’s been happening inside
them and how close they are
to people.
The U.S. Geological Sur-
vey has updated its vol-
cano threat assessments for
the first time since 2005.
The danger list is topped by
Hawaii’s Kilauea , which
has been erupting this year.
The others in the top five
are Mount St. Helens and
Mount Rainier in Washington
state, Alaska’s Redoubt Vol-
cano and California’s Mount
Shasta .
“This report may come
as a surprise to many, but
not to volcanologists,” said
Concord University volcano
expert Janine Krippner. “The
USA is one of the most active
countries in the world when
it comes to volcanic activ-
ity,” she said, noting there
have been 120 eruptions in
U.S. volcanoes since 1980.
Kilauea is the most active
volcano in the United States
“and it’s got a lot of develop-
ment right on its flanks,” said
government volcanologist
John Ewert, the report’s chief
author. He said Hilo, Hawaii,
is probably the biggest city
in the United States in a haz-
ard area for a very high threat
volcano, Mauna Loa.
Ewert said the threat rank-
ings aren’t about what will
blow next, but “the potential
severity” of the damage.
Eleven of the 18 very high
threat volcanoes are in Ore-
gon, Washington state and
California.
Of the highest threat vol-
canoes, Washington’s Mount
Rainier “has the highest num-
ber of people in the down-
stream hazard zone,” about
300,000 people, said USGS
geologist Angie Diefenbach,
a report co-author.
Flagstaff, Arizona, is on
the border of the large San
Francisco Volcanic Field,
which is in the moderate
threat level, Ewert said.
Judge orders release of secret legislative proposals
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
A Marion County judge
ordered state officials to dis-
close legislative proposals they
have been trying to keep secret.
The records to be released
show law changes that state
agencies want drafted ahead of
the 2019 Legislature.
A Portland business attor-
ney has been seeking the doc-
uments to alert his clients to
changes that could affect them.
Marion County Circuit
Court Judge Audrey Broyles
said after a hearing in Salem
Wednesday that releasing the
records would be of “signifi-
cant public interest.”
The records, called legisla-
tive concept forms, go to the
Legislature’s attorneys to be
turned into draft legislation.
The drafts then can be filed
with the Legislature for consid-
eration. Access to the records
could give the public insight
into what Gov. Kate Brown
and her administration plan to
do on key issues, such as taxa-
tion and education reform.
Attorneys seeking disclo-
sure suggested Brown’s admin-
istration was blocking release
to safeguard her in a close elec-
tion fight with state Rep. Knute
Buehler.
State officials have filed
an appeal of the judge’s order.
In a Thursday court filing,
Sarah Weston, attorney for
the Department of Adminis-
trative Services, argued that
Oregon appellate judges are
likely to reverse the decision
by Broyles. Weston asked the
court to temporarily halt the
release of the records until the
court has time to consider the
merit of the appeal.
Greg Chaimov, a former
legislative lawyer who is now
with the Portland law firm
Davis Wright Tremaine, habit-
ually requests the forms and
provides them to business cli-
ents. One of his clients is Pri-
ority Oregon, a political action
committee funding negative
ads against Brown, said John
DiLorenzo, Chaimov’s attor-
ney. Chaimov said he has rou-
tinely obtained the forms in
past years.
Chaimov sought the internal
records last July, but the state
Department of Administra-
tive Services turned him down,
saying disclosure would breach
attorney-client privilege.
Sarah Weston, attorney for
the state, argued Wednesday that
the agency views attorneys in
the legislative counsel’s office as
their attorneys when it comes to
drafting legislation. That would
mean communications sent to
those attorneys were protected
by client privilege.
But DiLorenzo argued that
attorneys in the legislative
WANTED
counsel’s office by law can
only provide legal advice to
legislators.
The judge agreed.
“I cannot find that the
Department of Administrative
Services could have expected
to form an attorney-client rela-
tionship,” Broyles said. “I find
the state has failed to meet
its burden to establish either
that there is a public records
exemption that exists or that
there is existence of an attor-
ney-client relationship.”
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group, Pamplin Media
Group and Salem Reporter.
Come Trick-or-Treat
at Clatsop Care!
The residents of Clatsop Care
will be passing out treats
from 3-5pm on
Halloween Day.
Please stop in
and see us!
646 16 th Street, Astoria
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
Your friends and neighbors
are supporting Pam Wev.
Join them and move
Clatsop County forward.
Fall Festival
Bethany Free Lutheran Church
Sunday oct 28 • 4pm
Program of music & sharing, followed
by Scandinavian treats & other food.
Everyone is welcome!
For more info call
503.325.2925
ad provided by:
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Sunday, October 28 th , 2018 at 2:00 pm
Doors open at 1:30 pm
Liberty Theater • 1203 Commercial, Astoria
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VOTE FOR
PAM WEV
Listen to your friends and neighbors. They trust
Pam Wev to bring a fresh perspective to the
Clastop County Board of Commissioners.
Join the people below and elect Pam Wev,
the right choice to move our county forward.
We stand with Pam
Sara Meyer
Nancy Hakala
Kristina Berney
Daniel Buckout
Jan Faber
Bruce Holmes
Jan Mitchell
Carol Toristoya
Janet Miltenberger
Daniel Dover
Nancy Holmes
Hilarie Phelps
Steve Bronstein
McLaren Innes
Corrinne Garrison
Joan Herman
Sharon Kloepfer
Kitty Paino
Carolyn Eady
Roger Rocka
Tom Duncan
Cindy Price
Mary Ekorn-Jackson
Lori Durheim
Mary MacDonald
Jan Nybakke
Juanita Price
Linda Oldenkamp
Jim Coughlin
Jeff McGlinchy
Laurie Caplan
Pamela M. McDonald
Rosalie McCleary
Belinda Kruger
Willie Toristoya
Michael Stevens
Bill Van Nostran
Tessa Scheller
Janet Weidman
Sue Skinner
Cecilia Kidder
John Gaasland
John Orr
Nancy Cole
Janice Horning
Jim Alegria
Chris Farrar
Susan K. Brown
Pam Tillson
Yvonne Van Nostran
Mindy Stokes
Bob Dorn
Vern McCleary
Sue Zerangue
Pam Chestnut
Cheryl Johnson
Michelle Roth
Charlotte Bruhn
Bryan Kidder
Dale Clark
Ted Messing
John Nybakke
Richard Garner
Chuck Meyer
Leon Jackson
Ted Thomas
Nancy Hutchins
Carol Newman
Jan Coughlin
Tom Brownson
Dave Kruger
Dave Pollard
Donna Wright
Megan Stevens
Ane Mcintyre
“She offers solid credentials in principled
government leadership, proven ability to
collaborate … and is beholden to no special
interests.” – Mary Ekorn-Jackson
“Remember the breadth and depth of deci-
sion-making that is expected and necessary
in a home rule county. Pamela Wev has the
broad experience needed … with an educa-
tional background to match.” – Chris Farrar
“I’m voting for Pam Wev as a best choice for
county commissioner because she has spent
a career understanding and helping to imple-
ment good planning concepts.” – Sara Meyer
“I am impressed that Pam is a good listener,
chooses her words wisely, and will be a true
team player.” – Bill Van Nostran
“She will bring new approaches to working co-
operatively with other governments. She cares
deeply about this community.” – Jan Mitchell
“Pamela Wev qualifies as a public servant and
is prepared to function effectively in a home
rule county.” – Juanita Price
“In the AAUW/The Daily Astorian candidate fo-
rum, Pamela demonstrated that she is looking
forward, not backward.” – Dave Kruger
www.facebook.com/wevforcountycommissioner 971-207-5666 wev.for.clatsop.co@gmail.com
Paid for by Wev for County Commissioner