A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
O ur readers write
JOE PETSHOW
Publisher/President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
TOM LANCTOT
Past President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
CHELSEA MARR
General Manager
KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Editor
JODY THOMPSON
Advertising Manager
TONY METHVIN
Columbia Gorge Press Manager
DICK NAFSINGER
Publisher, Emeritus (1933-2011)
DAVID MARVIN
Production Manager
Subscription $42 per year in Hood River trade area. $68 outside trade area.
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PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
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recycled paper.
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
Published Every Wednesday & Saturday by Hood River News,
P.O. Box 390, Hood River, Oregon 97031 • (541) 386-1234 • FAX 386-6796
Member of the Associated Press
Brown lawn time:
Outdoor water saving tips
Y
By JORDAN KIM
The kids are
our bounty
Hood River County has bounty. It
was fitting that the 4th of July pa-
rade honored FISH volunteers,
who generously distribute some of
that bounty, as grand marshals.
Every parade needs a band and
what a joy it was to see the large
“The Beat Goes On” marching
band and baton twirlers. Our pa-
rade is something to be proud of.
Thanks to all who made this Inde-
pendence Day parade celebration a
success.
Especially fitting was the reminder
from our Lord that our children are
“Our Most Beautiful Bounty” as dis-
played by Immanuel Lutheran
Church’s beautiful float. Children
were prominent participants in the
parade, as they should be.
David Bohlmann
Hood River
A truck and
water solution
ou don’t need Hood River County’s recent
drought declaration to recognize that we’re fac-
ing an unusually dry year. With the Hood River
running at 39 percent of normal, a nearly non-
existent snow pack, and temperatures over 100
degrees in June, everyone has water on their minds. We
are all incredibly fortunate to live in an area where plen-
tiful water has been a reliable resource. In the past, when
we’ve used water thoughtlessly, or even excessively, we’ve
rarely faced consequences. However, this year is different
and we all need to do our part to conserve that precious
resource.
For many, the water shortage will be an inconvenience.
For others, it will affect their livelihood.
With water withdrawals steadily increasing, many
parts of the Hood River watershed are experiencing ex-
tremely low stream flows. This can impair fish habitat
and degrade water quality. Each of us can help keep
more water in the Hood River and improve conditions for
the farms, fish and wildlife that make use of this limited
resource. For many of us, the simplest place to conserve
water is in our landscapes. The following tips can help
you increase your water efficiency and eliminate water
waste.
■ Do you have a water right? If so, make sure you
know what it is stay within your right. If you do not have
a water right, check with your domestic water supplier to
find out if outdoor watering is allowed.
■ Irrigate early in the day between 4 and 9 a.m., when
evaporation is lowest. The next best time is after 8 p.m. at
night. Avoid watering on windy days.
■ Water infrequently but deeply. This promotes growth
of deep root systems so plants can withstand longer dry
periods and stay healthy.
■ Regularly check for leaky or broken sprinklers,
hoses, and water lines and fix them promptly.
■ Never apply water faster than it can be absorbed.
Sloped areas are tricky to water effectively. Contour
around each plant to create a water well, or use terrac-
ing.
■ For new landscapes, choose native, drought-tolerant
plants or eco-lawns for future water savings and less
maintenance.
■ Consider letting your lawn go dormant in summer. It
will green up again in the fall. (The Hood River Water-
shed Group is offering “Dormant Lawns for Farms and
Fish” signs for those who volunteer to let their lawns go
dormant this summer. Details on page A1.)
■ Use drip irrigation or micro-sprinklers instead of
overhead or impact sprinklers. You’ll save water and
minimize plant diseases caused by wetting the foliage of
your plants.
■ Redirect sprinklers to avoid hitting the pavement.
Watering pavement is a true waste.
■ Remove weeds regularly and use a weed barrier such
as mulch material, bark, or landscape fabric. Weeds com-
pete with desirable plants for water.
■ Mulch your plants. Mulches help conserve moisture
while suppressing weeds.
■ Dig composted materials such as yard trimmings,
manure, and leaves into your soil to increase water reten-
tion and nutrients.
Please join the effort to keep our creeks, rivers and
streams healthy. Technical help, advice and cost assis-
tance is available. For more information, please contact
your Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District at
541- 386-4588 or info@hoodriverswcd.org.
In response to Peter Frothing-
ham’s “Another Voice” article
(July 4), I would like to point out
that there is a solution to the
Nestlé truck issue, and it is a
rather simple one. It does, however,
require our City Council to both
stand up to Nestlé, and to hone
their negotiating skills.
The solution is to designate the I-
84 interchange at Wyeth (exit 51) as
the only access to the plant for
trucks coming from the west, as
well as for those returning to the
west. Trucks coming from the east
and/or returning to the east can
use exit 47.
Yes, Nestlé will argue that the
extra 10 or 11 miles will cost them
money, and they would be right, of
course. However, their argument
falls apart when one considers that
■
By PETER CORNELISON,
KATE MCBRIDE, and
LAURENT PICARD
Jordan Kim, assistant manager of Hood River Soil and
Water Conservation District, wrote this as a summary of a
presentation made last month to farmers and homeowners.
W HERE TO E-MAIL
For letters to the editor, guest columns, news items and
press releases, the e-mail address is:
HRNews@hoodrivernews.com
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address and daytime telephone number.
the bottled water in the Northwest
is presently being trucked in from
either Hope, BC, or any of their
various plants in California.
Exit 51 will not cost Nestlé
money, it will save them millions of
dollars a year in transportation
costs that they are now spending.
Mr. Frothingham is also of the
opinion that the watershed is too
small to sustain the aquifer once
Nestlé starts drawing water for the
bottling plant. According to the hy-
drology report of 2009, there are
actually three sources of water
that recharge the aquifer from
which the city wells draw their
water.
Together, these sources supply
more than two trillion gallons of
water per year. Turns out that the
seepage loss from Herman Creek is
actually the primary source of
water for the city wells, not precip-
itation falling on the watershed
area.
Clearly there is ample water for
both the people of Cascade Locks
and Nestlé.
Plenty of water and no trucks in
town — so what’s the problem?
Gary Munkhoff
Cascade Locks
We need the
Antiquities Act
Of all the “7 Wonders of Oregon,”
the Columbia River Gorge is one of
the most recognized.
The Columbia River Gorge show-
cases some of the best things about
public lands — a huge river, big wa-
terfalls, stunning vistas, pioneer his-
tory, and what I’m most excited
about — great fishing.
The Columbia Gorge National
Scenic Area also displays one of the
best things about Americans — our
commitment to public lands and ac-
cess for all. Without committed citi-
zens and forward-thinking policies,
it would have been impossible to
keep the Gorge from being over-
wrought with development.
For example, the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a pro-
gram few have heard about but near-
ly everyone has been affected by. It
protects parks and public lands big
and small around the country. From
local ball fields and city parks to
Mount Hood and the Columbia
Gorge, LWCF gets around.
LWCF uses no taxpayer money —
only offshore gas royalty fees. This
historic program expires in Septem-
ber, and we need Congress to reau-
thorize it in its current form if we’re
to continue investing in public
lands, including places like the
Gorge.
The Columbia River Gorge Na-
tional Scenic Act was passed by the
US Senate and House in October of
1986 and signed by President Ronald
Reagan the following month. Unfor-
tunately, not all locally driven initia-
tives to protect places and support
local economies make it through
Congress.
That’s why we need tools like the
Antiquities Act to remain intact.
The Antiquities Act gives the Presi-
dent authority to establish national
monuments to protect public lands
for recreation, historic or cultural
purposes. It has been used equally
by presidents on both sides of the
aisle. Here in Oregon, it was used by
President Clinton to establish the
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monu-
ment.
The Land and Water Conservation
Fund and the Antiquities Act are
two historic tools that protect public
lands and help our local economies.
We thank Senator Wyden for
being a champion of public lands,
because they are the bedrock of a
$10 billion dollar outdoor Oregon
economy, according to Travel Ore-
gon.
Brian Jennings,
State Coordinator
Backcountry Hunters
and Anglers
Bend
ANOTHER VOICE
Don’t let Gorge become the next Lac Megantic
O
n July 6, 2013, a train
carrying highly flamma-
ble oil from the Bakken
region derailed and
burned in the town of
Lac-Megantic, Quebec, resulting
in explosions so violent that sev-
eral city blocks were flattened and
47 victims were incinerated, 5 of
whom were never found.
Two years later, explosive
Bakken oil is still being transport-
ed through our communities in
unsafe rail cars at excessive
speeds. As shipments of oil by
rail have dramatically increased
since 2006 due to the oil boom in
the Bakken oil fields, so have oil
train accidents. In 2013, more
than 1.15 million gallons of oil
spilled, a 50-fold increase over the
yearly average between 1975 and
2012. Earlier this year, four oil
trains derailed in a three-week pe-
riod and burst into flames,
spilling hundreds of thousands of
gallons of oil, contaminating
rivers and causing the evacuation
of hundreds of people.
The average blast radius of
these explosive train derailments
is one-half mile due to the enor-
mous amount of energy contained
in each railroad tank car, which
holds around 28,800 gallons of oil.
Often trains are made up of over
100 rail cars, called unit trains, all
carrying oil.
The surge in rail transport of
oil has outpaced regulatory over-
sight. New rules adopted by the
U.S. Department of Transporta-
tion would allow some unsafe
tank cars to stay in operation
until 2025. A fundamentally
flawed regulatory system and
cost-cutting corporate behavior
jeopardizes public safety and the
environment. This level of irre-
sponsibility extends to the highest
levels of corporate management
and government policy making.
Here, as a nearly sea level route
through the Cascade Mountain
range, almost all oil trains headed
West travel through the Columbia
River Gorge National Scenic Area.
An oil train explosion or spill
here would be an unmitigated,
enormous disaster.
Oil train fires are typically left
to burn themselves out since they
are so difficult to put out. With
strong Gorge winds, this could
cause an unstoppable wildland
fire burning downwind on both
sides of the Gorge. If the explo-
sion happened in one of our
Gorge towns, with railroad tracks
in the center of town, an entire
community could be vaporized.
In the case of an oil spill, our
strong winds and fast Columbia
River current would make con-
taining and mitigating the spill
impossible. For example, one
nightmare oil spill scenario visu-
alized by the Army Corp of Engi-
neers would be a leak of Bakken
crude oil near one of the Colum-
bia River dams. The toxic high-
end hydrocarbons in the oil would
render all fish ladders unusable to
the fish because of the hydrocar-
bon “smell” soaked into the con-
crete. This could end salmon runs
as we know them, cost untold bil-
lions to tear out and replace the
fish ladders and halt river traffic
during reconstruction.
Given these huge risks, it is ex-
tremely irresponsible for the rail-
roads, oil industry and federal
government to permit these dan-
gerous oil trains to travel through
the Columbia River Gorge Nation-
al Scenic Area. Please join us and
the cities of Hood River (Council
Resolution 2014-22), Stevenson and
the Columbia River Gorge Com-
mission, which have each drafted
resolutions opposing crude oil by
rail transport through the Colum-
bia River National Scenic Area.
The risks are simply too great!
Find out how you can get en-
gaged by contacting Stand Up To
Oil or Columbia Gorge Climate
Action Network. We can stop The
Gorge from becoming the next Lac
Megantic.
Visit www.standuptooil.org or,
locally, www.CGCAN.org.
■
Peter Cornelison, Kate McBride
and Laurent Picard are Hood
River City Council Members.