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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021
EMERGENCY
LANDING
IN BRIEF
State discloses more virus cases at
local schools
The Oregon Health Authority has disclosed nine
new coronavirus cases at schools in Clatsop County.
The only virus case from the Astoria School Dis-
trict was a student from Astor Elementary School.
Three cases were students from the Warrenton School
District, with one each from Warrenton Grade School,
Warrenton Middle School and Warrenton High School.
Two cases were students from the Seaside School
District, with one each from Seaside Middle School
and Pacifi c Ridge Elementary School. The remaining
cases were two students from Hilda Lahti Elementary
School in the Knappa School District and one staff
member from Jewell School.
The health authority, meanwhile, reported fi ve new
virus cases for the county on Thursday and fi ve new
cases on Wednesday. Since the pandemic began, the
county had recorded 2,488 virus cases and 28 deaths
as of Thursday.
Johnson stripped of leadership role
on Ways and Means Committee
State Sen. Betsy Johnson has been removed as the
co-chair of the powerful Joint Ways and Means Com-
mittee, Willamette Week reported.
Johnson, who represents the North Coast, has
announced she will leave the Democratic Party to run
as an independent for governor next year.
Willamette Week reported that Senate President
Peter Courtney told Johnson on Wednesday he was
removing her from the budget-writing committee.
“We are preparing for our interim committees to
meet,” Courtney said in a statement. “I have taken
Sen. Johnson at her word that she plans to leave the
party and the caucus. She will still be a member of
Ways and Means and co-chair of a subcommittee.”
In a statement to Willamette Week, Johnson
attributed her demotion to partisan considerations.
“Today, the extreme left of the Democratic Party
canceled me as co-chair of the Ways and Means Com-
mittee. This intolerant purging represents everything
wrong with Oregon politics,” the senator said.
“It is a choice of ideology and partisanship over
experience, knowledge and common sense. This deci-
sion lays bare the need for an independent voice who
will force the two parties to work together and put
Oregon ahead of partisan politics.”
— The Astorian
Judge halts post-fi re roadside logging
on Willamette National Forest
A federal judge has ordered an immediate stop to
a U.S. Forest Service plan to log along more than 400
miles of roads within the Willamette National Forest.
The Forest Service crafted the project in the wake of
the 2020 Labor Day wildfi res that ripped across Ore-
gon. The agency said earlier this year that the Beachie
Creek, Lionshead and Holiday Farm fi res created dan-
gerous conditions on forest roads that required exten-
sive cleanup in the form of cutting trees.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATHS
Oct. 30, 2021
In S M Brief
OTHERMAN,
Joyce Lucille, 93, of
Warrenton, died in War-
Deaths
renton.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
VAN DUSEN, Carol
Susan, 76, of Astoria, died
in La Quinta, California. A
celebration of life memorial
will be held at a later date.
Caldwell’s Luce-Layton
Mortuary of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Strangulation
burglary in the second
On
the
Record
• Patricia
Ann Tewalt,
degree and theft in the
48, of Seaside, was
indicted on Thursday for
strangulation and assault
in the fourth degree con-
stituting domestic vio-
lence. The alleged crimes
took place in late October.
Burglary
• Chad Robert Frost,
52, of Astoria, was
indicted on Thursday for
fi rst degree. The alleged
crimes took place in late
October.
Reckless burning
• Paul Lee Roebuck,
49, of Warrenton, was
arrested on Wednesday
on W. Bond Street in
Astoria for reckless burn-
ing and criminal mischief
in the fi rst degree.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., work session, (elec-
tronic meeting).
Lewis & Clark Fire Department, 6 p.m., main fi re station,
34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Clatsop Community College Board, 6:30 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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The U.S. Coast Guard said a helicopter made a
precautionary emergency landing on Thursday
on a beach near Cape Disappointment after a
mechanical malfunction.
Lincoln County votes to
restrict vacation rentals
By ELLIOT NJUS
The Oregonian
Lincoln County resi-
dents have voted to phase
out vacation rentals in the
coastal county’s unincorpo-
rated residential areas.
Voters approved Mea-
sure 21-203 on Tuesday by
a wide margin , with 58%
voting “yes.” The hot-but-
ton issue drew 45 % voter
turnout in the county, one
of the highest turnout rates
in the state for the off -year
election.
The measure, an initiative
petition brought to the ballot
by a coalition of neighbor-
hood groups, would phase
out short-term rentals in res-
idential areas of unincorpo-
rated Lincoln County over
fi ve years and halt imme-
diately the issue of new
licenses. Vacation rental
rules within the boundaries
of Newport, Lincoln City
and other incorporated cities
would not be aff ected.
Boosted by online book-
ing platforms and turnkey
property managers, the pro-
liferation of vacation rentals
on the coast has resulted in
complaints from neighbors
about trash, noise, illegal
parking and other nuisances.
But the conversion of rental
George Rose/Getty Images
A section of the coastline in Lincoln County. Voters approved a ballot measure that would
phase out vacation rentals in the county’s unincorporated communities.
homes to vacation rentals
has also made the commu-
nity less aff ordable for its
permanent residents, propo-
nents of the measure said.
Opponents say that’s not
the fault of vacation rentals,
citing industry studies, and
say vacation rentals are a
boon to the local economies
overall.
Lincoln County began to
license and regulate rentals
fi ve years ago, but county
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imposing new requirements
and bolstering its system for
dealing with violations. A
spokesman said the county is
still reviewing whether that
work will continue given the
ballot measure’s approval.
The county has had a tem-
porary moratorium on new
short-term rental licenses in
place since March 2020. It’s
been extended several times,
most recently through Nov.
30.
A global climate pledge could change
Oregon’s relationship with natural gas
By MONICA SAMAYOA
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon has become
increasingly dependent on
natural gas to power homes
and buildings. But that may
have to change, following
the Biden administration’s
announcement at a global cli-
mate summit that it wants to
sharply cut emissions of this
potent greenhouse gas by
tens of millions of tons by
2035.
The announcement, made
at the COP26 gathering in
Glasgow, Scotland, casts a
spotlight on a greenhouse
gas that gets far less scrutiny
than carbon dioxide, which
escapes from burning gaso-
line, diesel and coal. Natu-
ral gas is primarily methane.
It’s become one of Oregon’s
fastest growing sources of
energy. The state’s natu-
ral gas capacity has tripled
over the past decade. Power
from natural gas-fi red energy
plants made up 28% of the
state’s electric generation and
supported 21% of the state’s
energy consumption in 2018.
Oregon uses a lot of natu-
ral gas, but supplies very lit-
tle of it, instead bringing it in
via pipeline from the Rocky
Mountains and elsewhere.
Pipelines are the subject of
a new rule announced Tues-
day by the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
The agency said the new
rule would focus on reduc-
ing methane leaks and other
pollution from new and
modifi ed oil and natural gas
sources, including pipelines.
Once the proposed rule is
in place, it could aff ect Ore-
gon’s three interstate pipe-
lines. Those are the Gas
Transmission
Northwest,
The
U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency says a
new rule would focus on
reducing methane leaks and
other pollution from new and
modifi ed oil and natural gas
sources, including pipelines.
Northwest Pipeline and Kel-
so-Beaver Pipeline.
“It’s a little bit of a wait
and see. Oregon has rel-
atively little of the infra-
structure that the EPA rule
covers,” Harry Esteve, the
communications manager for
the state Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality, said.
The EPA is looking at
other sources of methane
pollution and additional reg-
ulations that could be ready
by the end of next year to fur-
ther curb emissions.
Climate Solutions’ Ore-
gon d irector Meredith Con-
nolly called the Biden admin-
istration’s new rule a huge
fi rst step. But one of her big-
gest concerns is gas leakages
that come from gas powered
appliances found in homes,
like gas stoves and furnace
systems.
“Even small leaks of
methane are incredibly potent
and harmful,” she said.
According to a 2020
report by the Gas Index,
Portland ranks above aver-
age among major U.S. cities
when it comes to natural gas
leaks. Methane radiates 28 to
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commissioners at the time
didn’t place a cap on the
number of rentals, and a
three-strike system that
was supposed to cost bad
actors their short-term rental
license had been rendered
inert because the rules didn’t
lay out a clear enforcement
system.
C ounty commissioners
voted just days before the
election to take steps toward
capping vacation rentals,
36 times more global warm-
ing potential energy per ton
in the atmosphere than car-
bon dioxide, according to
the Oregon 2020 Biennial
Energy Report.
Connolly said an easy
fi x to reduce methane leaks
in the state is to continue
to transition from natural
gas-powered appliances to
electric ones and to fi gure
out a way to incorporate that
when it comes to building
new homes and buildings.
“We have those technol-
ogies. We have electric cars
and electric trucks. Trimet is
going to all electric buses,”
she said. “These are the solu-
tions we need to take on and
the next big fi ght and focus is
really our built environment.”
The Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality adopted
new requirements this year
for natural gas utilities like
NW Natural— to monitor,
quantify and report meth-
ane emissions associated
with their gas distribution
systems.
NW Natural is the larg-
est natural gas utility com-
pany in Oregon that provides
natural gas to approximately
2.5 million people in Ore-
gon and southwest Washing-
ton state. A spokesperson for
the company said they are
looking forward to review-
ing the EPA’s proposal. The
company claims it has one
of the most modern pipeline
systems in the country and
has replaced older pipes with
new materials to make their
system tight.
Esteve, of the Depart-
ment of Environmental Qual-
ity, said the agency isn’t just
looking at natural gas infra-
structure for methane emis-
sions reductions.
“Looking down the road
even though landfi lls aren’t
subject to this rule, poten-
tially they could be, recently
DEQ adopted and began
implementing new regula-
tions on methane that come
from landfi lls,” Esteve said.
Esteve said those rules
are the most stringent in the
nation for monitoring and
capturing methane from
landfi lls and aligned with
California’s rules. Methane
emissions from landfi lls have
25 times more global warm-
ing potential than carbon
dioxide.
Other areas of huge con-
cern that produce methane
include the agricultural sec-
tor. A greenhouse gas emis-
sions report completed by the
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality in 2017 found
9.1% of greenhouse gas
emissions were attributed to
agriculture.
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