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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2015)
OFF PAGE ONE COLUMBIA: About 8M people live in the basin Page 8A East Oregonian Continued from 1A can pose a health risk when eaten by humans or other animals. Other contaminants can come from agricultural pesticides that drift in the air or seep into water runoff, as well as mercury from burning coal. Oregon’s ODVW UHPDLQLQJ FRDO¿UHG SRZHU SODQW is located in Boardman not far from the Columbia River, though it is slated to close or switch to an alternative fuel source by 2020. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is also located along the river, which in the past has released radioactive materials into the air and water. Some contaminants are known to cause cancer, while others are linked to neurological problems, birth defects and learning disabilities. As recently as 2013, Oregon and Washington issued warnings against eating resi- GHQW¿VKIURPWKH&ROXPELDEHWZHHQ Bonneville and McNary dams due to high levels of contamination. $FFRUGLQJ WR D ¿VK FRQVXPSWLRQ survey in the Columbia River Basin, tribal members were eating 6 to 11 WLPHV PRUH ¿VK WKDQ WKH HVWLPDWHG QDWLRQDO DYHUDJH 1DWLYH ¿VK DUH among the tribes’ cultural and tradi- tional First Foods. Sara Thompson, pubic information RI¿FHU IRU WKH &ROXPELD 5LYHU ,QWHU Tribal Fish Commission, said they support the bill to encourage more conversation about the health and TXDOLW\RIZDWHULQORFDO¿VKHULHV “We rely heavily on subsistence ¿VKHULHV WR IHHG RXU IDPLOLHV VXSSO\ our longhouses and supply our churches,” Thompson said. “The answer is not to tell people not to FRQVXPH¿VK7KHDQVZHULVWRFOHDQ up our waterways. That should be our number one priority.” CRITFIC represents the four Amer- LFDQ ,QGLDQ WULEHV ZLWK WUHDW\ ¿VKLQJ rights on the Columbia: the Umatilla, Warm Springs, Yakama and Nez Perce. Total enrollment in the tribes is approximately 21,000 members. Thursday, May 21, 2015 PROMISE: Seven students will be awarded new honors diploma Continued from 1A Staff photo by E.J. Harris The Umatilla River flows slowly under the Highway 730 bridge on Wednesday in Umatilla. Oregon congressional delegates and North- west tribal leaders are seeking to create a $50 million grant program to improve water quality in the Columbia Basin. About 8 million people total live in the basin, which stretches into parts of seven different states. The river provides more than just habitat IRU ¿VK DQG ZLOGOLIH K\GURHOHFWULF dams generate a large amount of the region’s electricity, and navigation locks provide safe passage for ships carrying cargo for industry. 7KH 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW :DWHUZD\V Association lobbies for that infrastruc- ture to boost ports and trade. The orga- nization has also thrown its support behind the river restoration act, saying clean waters are not only good for the environment, but good for business. Kristin Meira, executive director of the PNWA, said ports and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do their own dredging of the river in an effort to increase transportation and jobs. But if that sediment is contaminated, it can’t be placed back in the water and becomes much more expensive to haul out to a waste repository for treatment. “Contaminated sediment really is a problem for everyone,” Meira said. FARMERS: Already ordered mandatory 25 percent cutbacks by cities and towns action as early as this week against senior water rights, some dating to DTXDUWHURIWKHLU¿HOGVXQSODQWHGWKH claims made during the Gold Rush farmers want guarantees that the state era, long before industrialization in the won’t restrict the remaining 75 percent 20th century led to climate change. The of the water rights they’ve had for more rights give nearly 4,000 landowners than a century, even if the drought the strongest claims in California to deepens and other users go dry. this precious and increasingly limited The offer was made as these and resource. other “senior water rights holders” face With California’s drought showing an imminent threat of being included no signs of easing, the state already in the mandatory cutbacks that apply to has ordered mandatory, 25 percent most other California water users. cutbacks in water use by cities and Water Resources Control Board towns, and greatly curtailed water Director Tom Howard told the AP available to other farmers and others Wednesday that whatever he decides whose rights are less than a century will apply to the entire basin of the old, and therefore less iron-clad. Sacramento River, which supplies most ,W LV GLI¿FXOW WR SUHGLFW KRZ PDQ\ of the surface water in the food-pro- farmers elsewhere in California will ducing Central Valley and provides participate, said attorney Jennifer drinking water to homeowners across Spaletta, who represents several Delta California. growers, but if the water board agrees If the drought persists, even those to the deal, they could plan growing farmers with the strongest water rights seasons with more certainty. would have to stop pumping at some “From a business standpoint, it point, Howard noted Wednesday. makes a lot of sense to do our part and His decision hinges on whether a to help in the emergency,” Spaletta voluntary 25 percent cut would be said. enough to replenish waterways that Gov. Jerry Brown has been criti- are vanishing, following a winter of cized for sparing many farmers from below-average rainfall and record-low the tightening regulations forcing snows in the Sierra Nevada. cutbacks in communities throughout “Should we make an offer like that the state. This is the second straight early, to give people clarity and regu- year that thousands of “junior water- latory certainty, or is there not enough rights holders,” whose claims were water to really make a difference?” staked after 1914, have been ordered to Howard asked. “We’re just trying to stop pumping river water for irrigation. make sure if the offer makes sense.” The reduction farmers propose is Delta water managers say it could reasonable because it matches what the become a model for farmers throughout governor has asked of all other Cali- California who are facing curtailments. fornians, Jonas Minton, former deputy It also could have an eventual impact director of the California Department on food prices, since agriculture uses of Water Resources, and now a water 80 percent of the water drawn from the policy adviser for the Sacramen- land in the state. to-based Planning and Conservation 6WDWHRI¿FLDOVKDGWKUHDWHQHGWRWDNH League environmental group. Continued from 1A “It really is part of doing business the right way in the Northwest.” Meira said the bill takes the right approach by creating a voluntary program for funding projects, and not adding any more layers of government tape onto an already highly regulated system. “The ports and operators are already very good citizens,” she said. “We have a pretty great system here on the river moving any type of cargo in an environmentally responsible fashion.” A previous version of the bill was proposed in 2010 but failed to gain traction in Congress. Groups are opti- mistic about their chances of success this time around. “Anytime the tribes see federal agencies willing to put water quality ¿UVW ZH DUH RSWLPLVWLF´ 7KRPSVRQ said. “This is a conversation we need to have.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4547. WATER: In Oregon, $1M will go to help install canal pipes Continued from 1A It will help pay for studies and projects to stretch water supplies by creating pipelines, eliminating leaky open canals and upgrading existing reclamation and water treatment plants. The idea is to conserve water in order to replenish shrinking ground- water supplies and ease the use of expensive imported water. In Oregon, $1 million in funding will help the Three Sisters Irrigation District project install pipes in 14,000 feet of the open Watson-McKenzie Main Canal, saving 1,900 acre-feet of water that would otherwise seep away. Some of the conserved water will be used for Whychus Creek WR EHQH¿W VDOPRQ WURXW IURJV DQG other wildlife. California and Texas, with huge agricultural, industrial and residen- tial demands on water supply, have the lion’s share of the projects. About $5 million in federal funding will go to help build more than 20 miles of recycled water pipeline, add a pair of 2.75-million gallon storage reservoirs and make other improvements to a program that provides recycled water throughout Santa Clara County in California’s Silicon Valley. Other projects include building a wastewater collection and treatment plant in Yucca Valley to replenish the groundwater in the California KLJKGHVHUWDUHDEXLOGLQJSLSHOLQHV and pumping stations to provide UHFODLPHG ZDWHU IRU LUULJDWLRQ and restoring salt marsh and other habitat in Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties. to get a preview of university life by staying in the dorms at Eastern Oregon University for a few weeks while taking summer institute classes. .LUVWHQ :ULJKW 6WDQ¿HOG Secondary’s school counselor, said the culture of the school has changed in the past three years to where starting work on a college degree in high school is the norm. “Even eighth graders will say, ‘I want to get my AAOT,’” she said, referring to the Asso- ciate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree. Wright said during Eastern 3URPLVH¶V ¿UVW \HDU LW ZDV KDUGWR¿OOWKHFROOHJHFRXUVHV RIIHUHG RQ WKH 6WDQ¿HOG campus, but now “those classes are about full to capacity.” While earning college credit in high school used to be reserved for the stereotypical YDOHGLFWRULDQW\SHVDW6WDQ¿HOG not everyone taking college classes was always a straight A student. Eddie Hernandez, a senior, said he didn’t care much about his education when he started high school and he failed a few FODVVHVKLV¿UVW\HDU “I was your typical freshman,” he said. When he saw his older sister earning college credit, however, it got him thinking about his own future. Now he is graduating on Sunday with 42 college credits on his transcript. This year the school developed an honors diploma, which seven students will be awarded on Sunday. One of the requirements is to earn 30 college credits. There are more than seven students who earned 30 credits, however. Kayla Smith said she has 42 college credits but her GPA fell just short of the standard needed for an honors diploma. She said she has “always had big goals,” but being able to get such a big head start on college for only $10 a credit hour through Eastern Promise has helped her feel more FRQ¿GHQWLQKHUDELOLW\WRHDUQ a psychology degree. Principal Bryan Johnson said the school’s ability to offer college courses on campus, thanks to a partnership with Blue Mountain Community College and Eastern Oregon University, comes at a good time. Next year the state has mandated that schools must show 82 percent of their students are taking a full class load. For schools that have been easing classroom overcrowding and teacher shortages by scheduling most of their upper- classmen with a study period or two, that’s a problem. But with Eastern Promise, Johnson said there are plenty of options to NHHS6WDQ¿HOGVHQLRUVRFFXSLHG for a full seven periods a day. Eastern Promise has changed senior year, he said, from a blow-off year of easy classes and free periods to one of serious college preparation. “Senior year we see a lot more kids taking that extra science class and extra math class instead of an easy elec- tive,” he said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4536. UTILITY: City plans to raise rates by $10 this year, $5 in 2016 The city some time ago reduced those rates for and low-interest, long-term employees in lieu of a pay loans from state agencies, such raise, Porter said, and the 2 as the Oregon Department percent increase for employees of Environmental Quality’s this year is a cost of living clean water loan fund or adjustment. Living costs have Business Oregon’s Infrastruc- increased 8.5 percent in the ture Finance Authority. City ODVW ¿YH \HDUV VKH VDLG EXW recorder Teri Porter told the city employees in that time council that to qualify for the received increases totaling 6 grants or loan, the rates needed percent. to be in line with similar cities. Porter on Wednesday in an Pilot Rock, population email stated city employees about 1,500, charges a base who live in the city limits and rate of $21 a month for sewer the mayor and councilors do and $18 a month for water, not pay the base rate but do pay according to Porter, who at 32 cents per 100 cubic feet of the meeting showed Irrigon, water once they have gone over population about 1,800, the base amount. charges $54 a month for sewer Councilman Doherty said and $42 a month for water. And the city should have been Enterprise, with a population raising rates long before now, of 1,940, charges $56.50 for but failing infrastructure means sewer and $24 for water. the city cannot put this off any Porter said the city plans to longer. raise rates $10 this year, then at Most councilors, though, least $5 in 2016 and at least $5 said they liked Taylor’s sugges- more in 2017 to move above tion of a lagoon reserve fund $40 a month. The city could for the sewer project. Perkins then qualify for loans from moved to create the fund the state at a 1 percent interest using $39,562 from economic rate, she said, and that low rate development money, which would amount to big savings Porter said was doable. Hinkle and Moss did not back the plan. over the course of the loan. The rate hikes, though, drew Moss indicated she wanted opposition from Taylor and a more time before deciding. But handful of citizens who said it passed 3-2. Perkins also said it may be WKH\ DQG RWKHUV OLYH RQ ¿[HG income and could not afford four years before the city even the increase. Some also argued breaks ground on the project, so the council should not increase they have time to look at other wages in the budget and should ways to help cover the costs. ——— make city employees, the Contact Phil Wright at mayor and council members pay full price for sewer and pwright@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0833. water. Continued from 1A and Their Owners Expected to Attend! in a Variety of Classes from Western and English Pleasure, Dressage, Trail, Cattle & Driving in Historic Downtown Dayton on Saturday ’ Bring the Whole Family! www.mulemaniadayton.com American Chuck Wagon Association Cook-Off. Dinner Tickets Available for Fri & Sat with Vendors & Authentic Western Sales