The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, August 17, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 3

The daily Astorian., August 17, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 3, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextA3 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2019 Critics blast Oregon repeal of tsunami-zone building ban By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press NEWPORT — With sun- light sparkling off surround- ing Yaquina Bay, workers are putting up an ocean-studies building, smack in the mid- dle of an area expected to one day be hit by a tsunami. Experts say it’s only a matter of time before a shift in a major fault line off the Oregon coast causes a mas- sive earthquake that gener- ates a tsunami as much as seven stories tall. Even as work on Oregon State University’s Marine Studies Building was under- way in Newport, the Legis- lature went a step further and repealed a ban on construc- tion of new “critical facili- ties” in tsunami inundation zones, allowing ﬁ re stations, police stations and schools to be built in the potential path of a tsunami. Passage of the bill in June was little noticed during one of the most tumultuous leg- islative sessions in Oregon history. But it has since been roundly criticized — includ- ing by Gov. Kate Brown, who told journalists the bill’s passage was one of her disap- pointments, even though she signed the measure and pre- viously said it beneﬁ ted eco- nomic development. Chris Goldﬁ nger, an Ore- gon State University profes- sor and an earthquake geol- ogist, says putting the $60 million oceanography build- ing in the path of a tsunami is “beyond ironic,” and allow- ing even more construction threatens lives in favor of development. “It’s foolhardy. In every other country in the world, best practice for tsunamis is avoidance, not building in a tsunami zone,” Goldﬁ n- ger said at a symposium for journalists in Newport that included a tour of the con- struction project. Proponents of the uni- versity facility point out that the building will withstand strong earthquakes and be higher than the biggest tsu- nami. It will feature a roof- top evacuation site that can accommodate more than 900 people, accessed via an exte- rior ramp. Two days of supplies, including water, food and ﬁ rst aid, will be kept on the roof, said Cinamon Mof- fett, research facility coordi- nator for the marine center. Once the water subsides, sur- vivors would be evacuated AP Photo/Andrew Selsky A ‘ghost forest’ of Sitka spruces juts up from the beach in Neskowin. They were likely buried by tsunami debris 2,000 years earlier, and partially uncovered by storms in 1997. to a community college on a nearby hill, she said. An earthquake in the Cas- cadia subduction zone, which extends in the ocean off Northern California to Can- ada’s Vancouver Island, has a 37 percent probability of happening off Oregon in the next 50 years, with a slightly lower chance of one strik- ing near Washington state, Goldﬁ nger said. Cascadia earthquakes have an average magnitude of around 9, mak- ing them among the world’s biggest. Evidence of a Casca- dia earthquake’s awesome destructive power is visible 30 miles up the coast from Newport. There, a “ghost forest” of Sitka spruces juts up from a beach in the tiny town of Neskowin. An earthquake 2,000 years ago likely caused the ground beneath the trees to plunge, and tsunami debris buried them. The remnants were partially uncovered by storms in 1997. Today, the barnacle-encrusted trees stand like sentinels, fac- ing the Paciﬁ c Ocean with vacation homes and a motel nearby. The last time the ocean reared up from a Casca- dia earthquake was in 1700. The estimated magnitude 9 quake sent a tsunami across the Paciﬁ c into the coast AP Photo/Andrew Selsky Scott Ashford, dean of Oregon State University’s college of engineering, describes to the media the university’s Marine Studies Building, which is being built in a tsunami inundation zone in Newport. of Japan, where it ﬂ ooded farm ﬁ elds, damaged ﬁ sher- men’s shacks and ascended a castle moat. In the Paciﬁ c Northwest and Canada, the impact was far worse, and is described in the folklore of indigenous peoples. One tale describes a struggle between a thunderbird and a whale that caused the earth to shake and the ocean to wash away people and homes. Oregon became a leader in tsunami preparedness when the Legislature, in 1995, banned construction of certain public facilities in inundation zones. Vancouver Island in Can- ada’s British Columbia province was slammed by the 1700 tsunami. But no law prohibits construction of public buildings in tsu- nami zones there, accord- ing to Emergency Manage- ment BC. Washington state requires municipalities and counties to establish rules to limit development in areas that are frequently ﬂ ooded or could be hit by tsunamis, landslides or other calamities. California has no state-mandated development restrictions in tsunami zones, said Rick Wilson, senior engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey. But the state recently adopted new language in its building code requiring that certain types of buildings be constructed to withstand tsu- nami forces, Wilson said. Other states are moving to do the same, using standards from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Japan, reacting to a 2011 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 18,000 dead or presumed dead, passed a law allowing towns to set tsunami warning zones and make evacuation and recon- struction plans. The govern- ment is spending $9 billion to build giant seawalls around the northern coastline. Mov- ing to higher ground is not required, though some coastal communities have done so. “Oregon has gone from sort of a leader in this to full reverse,” said Goldﬁ nger, who was attending a seis- mology conference in Japan when the 2011 earthquake hit. Oregon lawmakers over- whelmingly repealed the 1995 construction ban in June, as tensions in the Capi- tol ratcheted up over Repub- lican opposition to a bill addressing global warming. Few people attended hear- ings at which lawmakers from coastal districts testiﬁ ed in favor of the repeal. Democratic Rep. David Gomberg, one of its spon- sors, told members of a House committee to imag- ine the impacts if the state banned new schools, parking garages and police and ﬁ re stations in their communities. “What would be the con- sequence of that, to your abil- ity to get insurance on your home, your ability to attract a new business into a neighbor- hood that’s not safe enough for ﬁ re departments, your ability to resell your home in a neighborhood not safe enough for police depart- ments?” Gomberg asked. He said the state geol- ogy department should “help us rather than to stop ... our communities growing, thriv- ing or continuing.” Gomberg said his bill gives the department respon- sibility for advising where a new inundation line should be and how risks can be mit- igated. He also said he will introduce legislation for Ore- gon to adopt the American Society of Civil Engineers’ tsunami and earthquake building standards. Republican Sen. Brian Boquist, who was at the cen- ter of a Republican walk- out over the global warm- ing bill, was the only senator to vote against the repeal. Boquist said in an email that it allows public entities to build, knowing full well the buildings will not survive a tsunami. It is too soon to tell if coastal cities will use the new leeway to build facilities in inundation zones. Some have been doing the opposite. The town of Seaside is moving schools out of the tsunami zone. Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer said his city has no plans to build critical facili- ties in the inundation zone. But he praised the Marine Studies Building for its roof- top evacuation site, which can ﬁ t the population of an entire neighborhood of his ﬁ shing town. “We consider it to be a unique solution,” he said. Meanwhile, the Corval- lis Gazette-Times noted in an editorial that while it is possi- ble to design a building that can survive an earthquake and tsunami, “that doesn’t answer the question of why we should take the risk in the ﬁ rst place.” The newspaper urged lawmakers to reassess the new law when they convene next year. Gillnetters concerned by EPA’s shift on mining near Bristol Bay By MALLORY GRUBEN The Daily News LONGVIEW, Wash. — Lower Columbia River gillnetters say the Trump administration’s recent deci- sion to withdraw protections from Bristol Bay could pave the path for a giant gold and copper mine in s outhwest Alaska that would threaten their source of sockeye salmon — and their chief livelihood as ﬁ shermen. Members of the ﬁ shing industry said the move is indicative of the president’s “pro-business, anti-environ- ment” agenda, one they say is shared by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. “I think it’s a general policy push in the Trump (administration). You look at their track record: They’ve lightened up environmen- tal standards. ... Some of it is not bad, but this is partic- ularly bad,” said Steve Fick, owner of Fishhawk Fisheries in Astoria and Kenai, Alaska. The decision highlights how Dunleavy “appears to have special interests that are directly affecting the larg- est, most productive salmon population in the world.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in July withdrew a 2014 Obama- era proposal to restrict min- ing in the Bristol Bay water- shed. The proposal would have prevented the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from issuing permits for the so-called Pebble Mine. The decision came shortly after the Army Corps closed a Jason Sear/ KDLG Fishermen are worried about the impact of the Pebble Mine on Bristol Bay. public comment period for a draft environmental impact statement for the project, and just one day after Gov. Dun- leavy met with President Donald Trump, according to CNN reports. Pebble Limited Partner- ship, the Alaska-based com- pany proposing the mine, celebrated the EPA’s deci- sion, noting that it removed a “pre emptive veto” that would have blocked their project. “Finally, this a dministra- tion has reversed the out- rageous federal govern- ment overreach inﬂ icted on the s tate of Alaska by the Obama a dministration,” said PLP CEO Tom Collier. “The pre emptive veto was an action by an a dministration that sought to vastly expand EPA’s authority to regulate land use on state, private and native-owned lands through- out the United States, and in doing so kill one of Ameri- ca’s most important min- eral projects before a devel- opment plan was proposed or a comprehensive Envi- ronmental Impact Statement (EIS) permitting review was undertaken.” The EPA said in a July news release that its action does not approve Pebble’s permit application or deter- mine a particular outcome in the Army Corps’ permitting process. It does, however, create an opportunity for the mine to acquire permits and start operations, should the Corps deem it OK. According to the release, the EPA withdrew its 2014 decision because more spe- ciﬁ c information about the mining project was made available in recent years. For example, the decision was based on three hypothetical scenarios for the mine site, which all differed from the actual project proposal sub- mitted to the Army Corps in 2017 for review. There is also now a draft environmental impact state- ment, released by the Army Corps, and thousands of WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 public comments on the project that weren’t avail- able before, according to the EPA. But ﬁ shermen, who have staunchly opposed the mine since PLP pitched it in 2012, worry that the EPA’s deci- sion could advance a project with dramatic consequences for the most productive sockeye ﬁ shery in the world. “The infrastructure that will go into that mine has to affect the surrounding areas. I haven’t seen any- thing or any science (show- ing that the mine) won’t affect the surrounding natu- ral resources,” Fick said. The Pebble Mine, an operation the EPA estimates will cover an area larger than Manhattan, would include an open pit mine site, a 270-megawatt power gener- ating plant, a transportation corridor crossing Iliamna Lake, a new port and a 188- mile natural gas pipeline. It would be located north of 77-mile-long Iliamna Lake — Alaska’s largest lake — and the headwaters of the Kvichak and Nushagak riv- ers, which feed Bristol Bay. Bristol Bay produces almost half of the world’s wild sockeye salmon. On average, about 37.5 million salmon return on the water- shed each year. Fishermen say the EPA’s decision to withdraw the Obama-era restriction likely was politically motivated. Jim Wells, president of the Astoria-based Salmon for All gillnetters associa- tion, said the Trump a dmin- istration has been “anti-en- vironmental, pro-business,” and the governor of Alaska is facing pressure from advocacy groups outside of the ﬁ shing industry. Fick expects continued court ﬁ ghts over the project, delaying any potential start date. However, if the chips fall in favor of the mine, Fick joked that commercial ﬁ shermen might try block- ing access on the river to the construction site to stop the mining company from bringing in equipment. “There is a very strong basis for opposition to this mine,” Fick said. “It’s irre- sponsible the way they’re trying to push it through.” ONLY VALID AT BEAVERTON/ALOHA LOCATION CALL TODAY TO PERSONALIZE YOUR ORDER 503.642.0849 $150 OFF LEER BEDLINERS C A N O P I E S S P R A Y I N AFTER 21575 SW TUALATIN VALLEY HWY • ALOHA 97006 $100 OFF BEFORE *MUST PRESENT THIS COUPON TO REDEEM *SOME EXCLUSIONS MAY APPLY