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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2020)
A2 THEASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 Oregon’s US senators seek to restrict eminent domain for gas pipelines IN BRIEF Historical Society to participate in Chalk the Vote The Clatsop County Historical Society, Oregon Black Pioneers and Astoria Visual Arts will participate in Chalk the Vote on Wednesday, a statewide event marking the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Duane Street sidewalk outside the Clatsop County Courthouse. People are encouraged to chalk the text of any or all of the significant amendments and acts that took steps toward universal suffrage. The 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote. County seeks applicants for Fair Board Clatsop County is seeking applicants for a vacant seat on the Fair Board. The board manages the Clatsop County Fair & Expo and organizes the annual county fair. The position is for an unexpired term ending Dec. 31. The board meets on the first Tuesday of each month. Applications are available at the Clatsop County Manager’s Oflice at 800 Exchange St., Suite 410 in Astoria and on the county’s website. The deadline to apply is Sept. 11. The county Board of Commissioners will make the appointments. Hedeen talk on charitable giving canceled WARRENTON — An event featuring financial adviser Mark Hedeen that was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Presbyterian Church was canceled. Hedeen was expected to talk about charitable giving, tax benefits and estate planning. The event was canceled some time ago because of the coronavirus pandemic but was listed in last Thursday’s Community section of The Astorian. — The Astorian DEATHS Aug. 15,2020 HENDERSON, Boyce “Bud,” 75, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Ser vice of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Aug. 14,2020 COURTNEY, Ruth Anne, 80, of Redmond, Washington, formerly of Astoria, died in Redmond. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay- ton Mortuary of Asto ria is in charge of the arrangements. Aug. 13,2020 DUNLAP, Rhonda, 66, of Roseburg, died in Asto ria. Hughes-Ransom Mor tuary is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIAL Wednesday, Aug. 19 BREDLEAU, Conrad Neil — Memorial on what would have been his 70th birthday, at 8:19 a.m., in Oceans ide. All family and friends are welcome. For information, contact either Kirsti Longbrake or Julianne Byrne. ADOPTION Aug. 5, 2020 BAY, Shelby and Stephen, of Warrenton, adopted a boy, Wesley James Bay. He was bom Oct. 22, 2018 at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, and placed with the family on Nov. 11, 2018. Siblings are Brad ley and Paisley Bay. Grandparents are Angela and James Beatty, of Astoria, and Dennis and Joanne Bay, of Rosburg, Washington. Great-grandparents are Anita Shirts, of Nehalem, and JoAnne Bay, of Astoria. ON THE RECORD Menacing • Mark Alan Thomas, 46, of Warrenton, was arrested Saturday in War renton for menacing and harassment. Disorderly conduct • Brett Mellott, 31, was arrested Saturday at Walmart in Warrenton for disorderly conduct in the second degree. Criminal trespass • Levi Trent Smith, 33, was arrested Saturday at Costco in Warrenton for criminal trespass in the first degree. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Union Health District, 8 a.m., Providence Seaside Hospi By ERIK NEUMANN Jefferson Public Radio Oregon’s U.S. sena tors plan to introduce two pieces of legislation aimed at increasing state and pri vate property rights for lands in the path of natural gas pipelines. While the bills describe pipelines in general, they could have a direct effect on land acquired through emi nent domain for Oregon’s proposed Jordan Cove lique fied natural gas pipeline. Both bills would mod ify the 1938 Natural Gas Act, which presumes there’s a public interest in the con struction of natural gas pipe lines and which allows emi nent domain to be used to acquire that land. The proposal from Sen. Jeff Merkley attempts to end the presumption that emi nent domain can be used on private land for a for-profit export pipeline. It would also take away federal permission for the seizure of state land. “It’s just absolutely inap propriate for a for-profit company who’s exporting gas to be able to take away private property rights,” the Democrat said. The proposed 235-mile Jordan Cove pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay would be built by Pembina, a Cana- Jes Burns/Oregon Public Broadcasting A view of Coos Bay from a spot where the Jordan Cove LNG terminal will be excavated if approved by regulators. dian company. In March, the company was given provi sional approval for the ter minal, but construction can’t start without first getting sev eral permits from the state. Jordan Cove is challenging the need for those permits in court. “The company told me way back when they started, they would not use eminent domain, that they would be generous and figure out how to persuade people that it was in their financial inter ests to have a pipeline on the land,” Merkley said. “But they instead held eminent domain over their heads year after year.” Similar to Merkley’s pro posal, a second bill from fellow Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden would modify the Natural Gas Act by adding a series of factors the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis sion needs to consider when allowing eminent domain for pipeline construction. Those considerations include the property rights of impacted landowners, whether a pipeline would benefit the public at-large versus a private interest, the availability of alterna tives for the project, ecologi cal and wildlife impacts, the burden on low-income com munities and communities of color, and greenhouse gas emissions. Changing the assump tion that state lands can be taken through eminent domain could have the big gest implication for Jordan Cove, according to Susan Jane Brown, a staff attorney with the Western Environ mental Law Center, which has represented a group of dissenting landowners along the proposed pipeline route. She said that issue has not been settled in the case of Jordan Cove. “If the leg islation became law and we weren’t at that point yet where Pacific Connector (pipeline) was looking to condemn state land, then the legislation would be a bar to condemning state property for construction of the pipe line,” she said. “It would certainly take a lot of rejig- gering around that pipeline route in order to avoid state lands entirely.” Brown said Merkley’s bill would have less sig nificance for many private landowners in the path of a pipeline because the leg islation would only apply to future decisions coming from FERC, not the eminent domain decisions currently being fought over in court that landowners are most concerned about. Both pieces of legislation are in draft form and could be introduced in Septem ber when the Senate returns to session. But, Brown said, with an election just months away and a Republican con trolled Senate, it’s more real istic that they could be taken up next year with a new Congress. “We’ll see what that Con gress’ appetite is for this kind of legislation,” she said. US approves oil, gas leasing plan for Alaska refuge By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE — The Trump administration on Monday took another step to opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil and gas, poten tially fulfilling a decadeslong dream for Republicans. Environmentalists, how ever, promised to fight open ing up the coast plain of the refuge, a 1.56-million acre swath of land along Alaska’s northern Beaufort Sea coast, home to polar bears, caribou and other wildlife, after the Department of the Interior approved an oil and gas leas ing program. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed the Record of Decision, which will determine a program for where oil and gas leasing will take place in the refuge’s coastal plain. “The establishment of this program marks a new chap ter in American energy inde pendence,” Bernhardt said during a conference call with reporters. “Years of inaction have given away to an informed and determined plan to responsibly tap ANWR’s energy potential for the American people for genera tions to come,” he said. President Donald Trump insisted Congress include a mandate providing for leas- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service An airplane flies over caribou on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. ing in the refuge in a 2017 tax bill. Over the last four decades, Republicans have attempted to open the refuge to drilling. President Bill Clinton vetoed a Republican bill to allow drilling in 1995, and Demo crats blocked a similar plan 10 years later. The Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in December 2018 concluded drilling could be conducted within the coastal plain area without harming wildlife. “Today’s announcement marks a milestone in Alas ka’s 40-year journey to responsibly develop our state and our nation’s new energy frontier,” Gov. Mike Dun- leavy said in a statement. ITie Republican gover nor called Monday’s deci sion “a definitive step in the right direction to developing this area’s energy potential,” which he estimated at 4.3 bil lion and 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil reserves. Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a state ment that the new opportu nity offered by opening the coastal plain “is needed both now, as Alaskans navigate incredibly challenging times, and well into the future as we seek a lasting economic foundation for our state. “Through this program, we will build on our already- strong record of an increas ingly minimal footprint for responsible resource development.” Trump in 2018 said he didn’t feel strongly about opening the refuge, but later insisted it be included in the tax bill at the urging of oth ers. He also said a friend told him that every Republican president since Ronald Rea gan tried and failed to open the refuge to drilling. “I really didn’t care about it, and then when I heard that everybody wanted it — for 40 years, they’ve been try ing to get it approved, and I said, ‘Make sure you don’t lose ANWR,”’ Trump said at the time. tal, 725 S. Wahanna. Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting). Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, City Hall, 698 Pacific Way. Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Her- tig Station, 33496 West Lake Lane, Warrenton. WEDNESDAY Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. THURSDAY Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.. City Hall, 989 Broadway. the Astorian Established July 1,1873 I Circulation phone number: (USPS 035-000) . 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERT,S.NG OWNERSHIP 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR A " advertising copy and lustrations 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, prepared by The Astorian become the 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. property of The Astorian and may not POSTMASTER: Send address changes to be reproduced for any use without The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR explicit prior approval. 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I Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Effective May 1,2019 MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month).................................................................................................................... $11.25 13 weeks in advance................................................................................................................. $37.00 26 weeks in advance..................................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance...............................................................................................................$135.00 Out of County Rates available at 800-781 -3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month)...................................................................................................................... $8.00 Deaths: Crash appeared to be accidental Continued from PageAl Several fishermen on a boat also came over to offer help, Walters said, but the car quickly submerged. Walters said he and the other man both took turns diving down trying to free the couple before emergency crews arrived. Floyd Holcom, the owner of Pier 39, said he was on the roof working on the building when he heard the commotion. “One of the tenants yelled up to me and said there’s a car that went into the water,” he said. Holcom said he rushed over and saw the car right before it submerged. He said he ran back to Astoria Scuba and Adventure Sports to put on his dive gear. Holcom said he dove into the river. He said once he gained access into the car he had to cut the man and the woman out of their seat belts. Edward Stratton/The Astorian Authorities responded after a car drove off Pier 39 on Sunday. Once he cut the man out, Holcom said he swam him up and passed him off to emergency crews. He said he dove back down and retrieved the woman. Spalding said it took about 20 minutes to get both people out of the water. The couple was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospi tal in Astoria and then flown to a Portland-area hospital. Spalding said the crash appeared to be accidental.
