Page 2A
NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Waste of natural gas costing taxpayers millions
WASHINGTON (AP) —
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gas on federal lands are being
wasted, costing taxpayers tens
of millions of dollars each
year and adding to harmful
greenhouse gas emissions, a
congressional investigation
has found.
The nonpartisan Govern-
PHQW $FFRXQWDELOLW\ 2I¿FH
also said the Bureau of Land
Management failed to conduct
production inspections for
hundreds of high-priority oil
and gas wells — roughly 1 out
of 5 — to ensure full payment
of royalties to the U.S.
The report, obtained by
The Associated Press before
its public release, is the latest
to highlight substantial gaps
in oversight. An AP review
of government records last
May found the agency, which
manages oil and gas devel-
opment on federal and Indian
lands, had been overwhelmed
by a boom in a new drilling
technique known as hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking.
The GAO report said it had
been urging BLM, an agency
of the Interior Department,
to update guidelines for the
burning or venting of natural
gas since at least 2010, when
it found 40 percent of it could
be captured economically and
sold. BLM has yet to do so,
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Teacher arrested after burning
students with Tesla coil
publicly-owned gas from
wells in certain amounts for
free.
But GAO said BLM was
underestimating the amount
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failing to collect royalties for
that gas. Based on data from
the Environmental Protection
Agency, the GAO calculated
in 2010 that the government
was losing at least $23 million
annually in lost sales, an
amount that environmental
groups say has since grown
due to increased drilling
activity.
Much of the vented gas is
methane, a greenhouse gas
roughly 25 times more potent
than carbon dioxide. Using
EPA estimates, the GAO
concluded that capturing
the vented gas would be the
equivalent of removing 3.1
million cars from the road or
closing four average-sized
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Pieter Tans, lead scientist
of the Global Greenhouse
Gas Reference Network at
the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration,
said methane is an important
contributor to global warming,
but that carbon dioxide
emissions remained the no.
1 target. “It’s more easy to
do something about methane
than it is to do something
about CO2,” he said.
AP file photo by David Zalubowski
A natural gas well pad sits in front of the Roan Plateau
near the Colorado mountain community of Rifle, Colo.
Significant amounts of natural gas on federal lands are
being wasted, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dol-
lars each year and adding to harmful greenhouse gas
emissions, a congressional investigation has found.
say they are in the process
of putting together various
orders and a proposed rule for
comment later this year.
Until then, government
investigators called BLM’s
management of oil and gas
“high-risk” for waste and
fraud.
“The Interior Department
has known for at least a
decade that companies have
been wasting natural gas from
oil and gas wells on public
lands,” said Sen. Ron Wyden,
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natural gas from these wells
hurts the environment and
BRIEFLY
speeds up global warming, and
it shortchanges the taxpayers.”
He joined Reps. Peter
DeFazio, D-Ore., and Raul
Grijalva, D-Ariz., the top
Democrat on the House
Committee
on
Natural
Resources, in calling on the
department to redouble efforts
to stem waste, rather than give
“drilling companies a pass to
let millions of taxpayer dollars
evaporate into thin air.”
Companies that drill for
natural gas pay the federal
government a royalty on the
gas they extract; they are also
allowed to burn or release
SALEM (AP) — An Oregon science teacher who
police say used a Tesla coil to burn the phrase “I love
mom” into the arms of students has been charged with
criminal mistreatment.
Salem Police Lt. Steve Birr says 37-year-old
Samuel Dufner was arrested Tuesday at South Salem
High School.
Birr says students used the coil in an exercise last
Thursday. Dufner noted it could also be used to mark
the skin and asked for volunteers.
Dufner burned “I love mom” — with a heart to
symbolize the word love — into their arms.
A parent complained Friday, starting the
investigation.
Dufner posted $2,000 bail. The Salem-Keizer
School District placed him on leave.
Birr says the markings had mostly faded.
The Tesla coil transmits electricity without wires at
high frequency and high voltage levels.
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BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — State health
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harvesting on beaches in northern Whatcom County
after tests found unsafe levels of a biotoxin.
The State Department of Health announced the
closure on Wednesday for beaches from Sandy Point
north to the Canadian boarder, including Points
Roberts.
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SRLVRQLQJRU363ELRWR[LQLQPROOXVFDQVKHOO¿VK
These include clams, mussels, oysters and scallops.
This was the second biotoxin-related closure in less
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toxins can’t be seen and must be detected by laboratory
testing. The department of health provides test results
on its website.
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markets have been tested before distribution and are
safe to eat.
,GDKRPDQDGPLWVXVLQJPHWKNLOOLQJSROLFHRI¿FHU
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho
man told investigators he used
a 9mm Glock handgun hidden
in his coat pocket to shoot and
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to court documents released
Wednesday.
The
records
said
26-year-old Jonathan Renfro
of Rathdrum told authorities
he shot Coeur d’Alene
police Sgt. Greg Moore early
Tuesday then stole his patrol
vehicle.
Renfro said he used meth-
amphetamine the day before
the shooting, which was
UHFRUGHGE\WKHRI¿FHU¶VERG\
camera.
Moore was checking on
a suspicious person while
patrolling a neighborhood
when he was gunned down.
He died later that evening.
“Renfro
is
observed
shooting Sgt. Moore,” Idaho
State Police Senior Detective
Michael A. Van Leuven wrote
LQ DQ DI¿GDYLW WKDW
describes
images
from the camera
worn by Moore.
“After being shot,
Sgt. Moore falls to
the ground, causing
his body camera
to point skyward.
A short time later
Renfro’s face comes
back into the frame. Renfro
Renfro is seen using
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Sgt. Moore’s person.”
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later spotted the stolen police
vehicle and gave chase with
speeds reaching 125 mph but
found the vehicle abandoned.
Law enforcement agencies set
up a perimeter and Renfro was
apprehended several hours
later after a police dog found
him hiding under a truck and
dragged him out.
“From the information I’ve
received so far, it doesn’t look
like an ambush-style
attack,”
Coeur
d’Alene
Police
Chief Lee White
said. “This was just
a bad guy doing bad
guy stuff and our
RI¿FHUV GRLQJ ZKDW
they were trained
to do — and that’s
trying to keep our
communities safe.”
Renfro
faces
several
felony
charges,
including murder, attempted
murder and grand theft.
The
documents
say
Moore’s service pistol was
found near Renfro, and a
second 9mm pistol was found
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eyeglasses.
Renfro was being held on
$2 million bail.
His attorney, John Adams
of the Kootenai County
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didn’t return a call from The
Associated Press.
One of the court docu-
ments is a request by Adams
for a gag order barring
anyone involved in the case
from discussing it with news
media.
Hundreds
of
people
gathered at a candlelight vigil
Tuesday for the veteran police
RI¿FHU VRPH WUDYHOLQJ IURP
out of state and others paying
WULEXWH WR WKH VDFUL¿FH RI D
lawman they didn’t know.
“It’s just amazing that
people who don’t even know
him, they come out and
support everything he stood
for,” Don Eckles, a close friend
of Moore, told The Spokes-
man-Review newspaper of
Spokane, Washington.
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Copyright © 2015, EO Media Group
TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Sunshine and
some clouds
Pleasant with
plenty of sun
Nice with plenty of
sunshine
69° 42°
74° 41°
MONDAY
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
Partly sunny and
pleasant
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
73° 40°
76° 43°
80° 47°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
75° 39°
80° 40°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
60°
68°
93° (1992)
39°
44°
31° (1927)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.00"
0.21"
3.13"
5.75"
5.32"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
64°
71°
95° (1966)
39°
44°
27° (2000)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.00"
0.24"
1.79"
3.41"
4.23"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
May 11
May 17
5:35 a.m.
8:09 p.m.
11:40 p.m.
8:29 a.m.
First
Full
May 25
81° 42°
80° 44°
Seattle
68/48
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
80° 39°
June 2
Spokane
Wenatchee
69/44
74/49
Tacoma
Moses
68/39
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 75/46
67/36
64/43
70/38
77/43
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
71/44
72/45 Lewiston
75/40
Astoria
72/44
64/44
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
72/47
Pendleton 57/36
The Dalles 75/39
69/42
77/46
La Grande
Salem
63/40
71/43
Albany
Corvallis 71/42
72/42
John Day
59/38
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
67/46
68/40
59/31
Caldwell
Burns
63/45
61/34
Medford
69/44
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
REGIONAL FORECAST
Eastern Washington: Partly sunny today;
however, sunnier in the north. Clear tonight.
Sunny tomorrow.
Cascades: Warmer today with partial
sunshine; an afternoon shower in spots in
the south.
Northern California: Windy at the coast
today; some sun, then clouds in the interior
mountains.
Lo
44
33
31
48
34
36
40
37
39
38
35
40
32
44
43
45
46
41
42
47
30
43
44
33
45
45
43
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
54
80
58
46
55
37
49
56
49
52
63
To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
VSRUWV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP
Real Estate Advertising: Jodi Snook
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Director Jake Duquette
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W
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
71
68
67
65
69
64
77
70
80
67
69
69
64
80
63
64
74
80
74
80
70
79
70
67
80
76
82
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Fri.
Lo
47
34
33
48
33
37
44
37
40
39
34
39
31
47
45
47
49
44
41
52
30
47
43
33
49
48
43
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s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
W
s
c
s
pc
t
s
pc
pc
pc
s
r
Hi
66
88
82
64
80
60
67
77
72
66
79
Fri.
Lo
50
81
58
51
57
39
51
54
50
52
61
W
pc
pc
s
c
pc
s
pc
s
pc
s
s
WINDS
Boardman
Pendleton
Today
Friday
NNE 7-14
N 8-16
NNE 8-16
N 8-16
UV INDEX TODAY
1
4
6
To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
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Today
Hi
78
88
84
62
79
59
63
79
73
66
74
To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News:
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WORLD CITIES
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Partly sunny today; pleas-
ant across the north. Clear tonight. Sunshine
tomorrow.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny
today. A thunderstorm in the south; warmer
near the Cascades.
Western Washington: Mostly sunny today.
Clear tonight. Plenty of sun tomorrow.
Hi
64
61
59
63
61
57
68
65
75
59
62
63
58
69
56
59
67
76
69
72
63
71
69
60
71
72
77
NEWS
To submit news tips and press releases:FDOO
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ClassiÀed Advertising:
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Today
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
62/35
Corrections
An article in the May 2-3 weekend edition of the
East Oregonian misspelled the name of the operations
manager at Williams Northwest Pipeline’s Plymouth,
Washington facility. His name is Von Studer.
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and
sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake
in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
SUNDAY
EUGENE (AP) — Prosecutors won’t be charging
the 70-year-old Dorena man who shot and killed his
friend to stop him from strangling a woman.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports Jerry Dale
Risener said he didn’t have a choice when he shot
49-year-old Mitchell Demopoulos in the chest.
An argument broke out in January between the two
and a female tenant at Risener’s house, where the three
had been drinking. Demopoulos started strangling
the woman, and prosecutors say he threatened to kill
Risener and burn down his house.
Risener asked him to stop, and shot him when
Demopoulos continued to strangle the woman.
3URVHFXWRUVVD\WKHVKRRWLQJZDVOHJDOO\MXVWL¿HG
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Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
No charges in shooting death of man
who was strangling woman
6
4
1
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Pleasant and warm weather is expected across the Northeast today. A
tropical disturbance will bring rain to the Carolinas. Scattered thunderstorms will occur in
the Ohio Valley and Appalachians.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 91° in Presidio, Texas
Low 21° in Stanley, Idaho
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
73
85
69
78
54
86
62
77
73
88
84
80
79
58
81
83
64
73
82
84
86
85
77
77
87
66
Lo
48
61
56
56
38
59
46
55
63
60
65
61
67
44
58
58
41
39
70
73
62
59
61
52
69
55
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
s
r
pc
pc
pc
t
c
pc
s
c
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
t
pc
t
c
Hi
72
87
75
81
51
89
68
68
80
87
79
84
80
53
85
83
64
57
82
86
83
85
78
64
87
65
Fri.
Lo
43
65
59
58
34
61
46
52
68
61
62
64
67
42
65
56
43
35
70
72
65
64
58
50
69
57
W
s
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s
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s
t
pc
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sh
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
88
87
86
77
75
88
84
77
78
80
79
86
81
77
80
55
55
72
86
68
66
68
68
83
80
78
Lo
65
68
72
63
54
57
68
60
65
55
59
62
49
52
60
35
43
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Hi
90
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80
69
84
77
60
75
82
54
65
76
84
64
67
68
75
79
85
81
Fri.
Lo
67
69
72
57
48
61
70
61
64
51
61
59
44
53
63
37
44
52
68
45
61
53
50
51
64
61
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
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pc
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