December 07, 2022
Page 3
L ocaL N ews
INSIDE New
Gun Law Faces Challenges
DOJ asks
federal judge to
postpone part of
Measure 114
Arts &
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ENTERTAINMENT
s ports
o piNioN
c Lassified /B ids
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Firearms are displayed at a gun shop in Salem, Oregon, last year.
Photo by (Andrew Selsky / The Associated Press)
member or were owned before
the measure’s passage.
As of last week, Oregon State
Police had more than 35,000
pending background check trans-
actions for gun purchases and
was averaging 3,000 requests a
day compared to less than 900 a
day the week before Measure 114
passed, according to agency data.
Those who already own
high-capacity magazines can only
possess them in their homes or use
them at a firing range, in shooting
competitions or for hunting as al-
lowed by state law after the mea-
sure takes effect.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge
Karin Immergut, who is hear-
ing the lawsuits seeking to block
114 from becoming law, Attorney
General Rosenblum said that the
state will seek a postponement of
the permit requirement to give law
enforcement officers more time to
implement the new law.
“Postponing the permit re-
quirement by approximately two
months should give Oregon law
enforcement time to have a fully
functional permitting system in
place. If Judge Immergut agrees to
the postponement, then starting in
February anyone who purchases a
gun in Oregon will be required to
have a permit,” Rosenblum said.
pages 10
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Measure 114 will be put on
ice after Oregon police chiefs
and sheriffs have submitted state-
ments to a federal judge, stating
their agencies are not staffed or
funded to support a permitting
program for prospective gun buy-
ers as required under Measure
114. They are working diligently
on a system but do not see any
way to have it fully operational
before the law’s enactment date
which was scheduled to go into
law December 8th.
Measure 114 expands back-
ground checks, requires gun
owners to take a training course
for a permit before they can even
buy a gun, ban magazine clips
that have more than 10 rounds,
and registers all gun owners in
a database run by Oregon State
Police. The biggest legal flash
point is a ban on magazines over
10 rounds unless they are owned
by law enforcement or a military
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Renewable Natural Gas Team
Renewable Energy
Project leads to
multiple awards
Find Progressive News at
www.portlandobserver.com
The Eugene-Springfield re-
gional wastewater treatment plant
has received regional and nation-
al awards for the renewable nat-
ural gas system it launched this
year. The Metropolitan Waste-
water Management Commission
(MWMC) will be honored with the
National Environmental Achieve-
ment Award in Resource Recovery
from the National Association of
Clean Water Agencies. In Septem-
ber, it also received an award for
Excellence in Resource Recovery
from the Pacific Northwest Clean
Water Association, and employee
Spencer Goodro was recognized
as the Oregon Operator of the Year.
The honors are for a Renewable
Natural Gas (RNG) project which
Goodro helped put into effect.
The MWMC’s RNG system
collects excess methane gas from
the byproducts of wastewater,
then cleans it and injects it into
NW Natural Gas’ system to be
reused as fuel. Startup began in
November 2021, with the sys-
tem fully online this past April.
The MWMC was the first public
agency in the state to meet vendor
standards and supply RNG, which
offers both environmental and en-
ergy cost benefits. “We are proud
to receive these awards, but we’re
even more proud of how the RNG
project came together and what it
means to our customers and our
region,” said MWMC Executive
Officer Matt Stouder. “We’re also
incredibly grateful for Spencer
and the entire team’s contributions
to the success of the project.” The
MWMC wastewater treatment
plant also received the Platinum
Peak Performance Award for
100% compliance with industry
standards. This is the 15th year
in a row it has received the hon-
or from the National Association
of Clean Water Agencies. The
MWMC will accept the Nation-
al Environmental Achievement
Award in February 2023.