NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Clean Water Act ruling improves
Lawmakers plan
government accountability, experts say statewide meetings
on transportation
under the agency’s jurisdiction
than seek costly Clean Water
Act permits or abandon their
projects.
The federal government
argued that landowners are free
to ignore a jurisdictional deter-
mination and then ight the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency when defending
against an enforcement action.
Chief Justice John Roberts,
in his opinion for the court,
dismissed the claim that land-
owners must expose them-
selves to sanctions to question
the government’s conclusions.
“Respondents need not
assume such risks while
waiting for EPA to ‘drop the
hammer’ in order to have their
day in court,” Roberts said.
The practical effect is that
federal agencies will need
a solid scientiic basis that
private property has a “signif-
icant nexus” with waterways
protected by the Clean Water
Act, said Hopper, who argued
the Supreme Court case on
behalf of the Hawkes Co.,
which was blocked from
extracting peat moss from its
wetlands.
“The Corps is going to have
to get its ducks in a row. It’s
going to have to provide data
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
EO Media Group
A recent U.S. Supreme
Court ruling on the Clean
Water Act gives landowners
the power to challenge the
federal government’s determi-
nation of whether their prop-
erty is subject to restrictions.
With federal oficials facing
a new source of lawsuits after
the unanimous ruling on May
30, they must now do a better
job justifying their conclu-
sions, legal experts say.
“The cavalier attitude
toward asserting authority
under the Clean Water Act we
hope will change,” said Reed
Hopper, an attorney with the
Paciic Legal Foundation, a
public interest legal organiza-
tion.
The nation’s highest court
rejected arguments by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers that
its “jurisdictional determina-
tions” can’t be challenged in
court because they’re merely
advisory opinions that prop-
erty is subject to the Clean
Water Act.
The ruling is a victory for
farmers and other landowners
who would rather sue to prove
their property doesn’t fall
government that its theories of
Clean Water Act jurisdiction
are subject to checks and
balances, said Danielle Quist,
senior counsel for public
policy at the American Farm
Bureau Federation.
“There hasn’t been a lot of
sunshine on how the Corps
determines its jurisdiction,”
she said.
Enforcement of the Clean
Water Act is problematic
because it’s often unclear
what’s a violation of the
statute, Quist said.
“There are due process
concerns if you don’t know
what’s expected of you or
what is lawful or unlawful,
and when there’s criminal
penalties involved,” she said.
It is possible that federal
agencies will simply stop
offering
“jurisdictional
determinations” when they’re
requested by landowners,
since no statute requires such
decisions, Funk said.
However, that isn’t likely
because the government
beneits from the process,
since landowners volun-
tarily turn over information
instead of forcing federal
agencies to compile data
themselves, he said.
to support its decision that this
is a water of the U.S.,” he said.
In the Hawkes case, the
government required the
company to obtain a Clean
Water Act permit because
the wetland allegedly had a
“signiicant nexus” with a
river 120 miles away.
William Funk, a professor
at Lewis & Clark Law School,
said he’s an environmentalist
but agrees with the Supreme
Court that it’s wrong to use
jurisdictional determinations
for the “power of extortion.”
While obtaining a Clean
Water Act permit is expensive,
“litigation isn’t cheap, either,”
he said.
Landowners aren’t likely to
ile lawsuits over jurisdictional
determinations “willy-nilly,”
but the prospect of litigation
will force the government to
be more careful than it other-
wise would be, Funk said.
The Supreme Court’s
ruling was “pretty predictable”
in light of its 2012 decision
that EPA “compliance orders”
— which forced landowners to
remediate alleged Clean Water
Act violations — are review-
able in federal court, he said.
In the most recent case,
the Supreme Court told the
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
A joint
legislative
committee charged with
developing a transportation
package for the 2017
session is headed across
Oregon to hear from
constituents, business and
local leaders about regional
needs.
The Joint Committee
on Transportation Preser-
vation and Modernization
will conduct nine meetings
around the state in the next
three months to gather
feedback and to build
support for the package.
The package could entail
generating
additional
revenue to pay for proj-
ects. Lawmakers on the
committee said they also
plan to use the road trip to
visit transportation trouble
spots and help determine
priorities for funding.
“We want to hear from
Oregonians about their
transportation priorities,”
said Rep. Lee Beyer,
D-Springield, the commit-
tee’s co-chairperson. “This
tour will give us the chance
to discuss shipping routes
with business owners,
trafic low with commu-
nity leaders and congestion
with commuters. It will
provide the information
we need to create the right
statewide transportation for
all of Oregon.”
The
announcement
of the committee’s tour
dates in May 18 followed
the release of a report by
Governor’s Transportation
Vision Panel. The report
outlined state transporta-
tion needs and involved a
similar road trip to glean
feedback from around the
state.
The difference between
that group and the legisla-
tive committee is that the
visioning panel focused
BRIEFLY
Alleged bike thief
lassoed by rancher in
Wal-Mart parking lot
Evacuation levels
lowered; Akawana ire
44 percent contained
EAGLE POINT (AP) — Police say
a man allegedly trying to steal a bicycle
was lassoed by a rancher in the parking
lot of a Wal-Mart in southwestern
Oregon.
The Medford Mail Tribune reports
28-year-old Robert Borba was at the
store getting dog food Friday morning
when he heard a woman screaming
that someone was trying to steal her
bicycle.
The Eagle Point rancher says he
quickly got his horse out of its trailer,
grabbed a rope, rode over and lassoed
the man and bike.
Eagle Point police Sgt. Darin May
says police arrived and found a lassoed
man and bike on the ground in the
parking lot.
Police arrested Victorino Arellano-
Sanchez, whom they described as a
transient from the Seattle area, on a
theft charge.
BEND (AP) — The Oregon
Department of Forestry says it has
lowered evacuation notices for many
homes near a wildire in central Oregon.
The Akawana ire was ignited by
lightning Tuesday and grew to 2,000
acres north of the town of Sisters, near
Lake Billy Chinook. On Friday, the
forestry department said it is now 44
percent contained.
Level two evacuation notices
— which means to be set to go at a
moment’s notice — have been lowered
to level one in a subdivision but some
other homes remain at level two.
The department says its ire-behavior
analyst, Mike Haasken, told ireighters
that forest fuels remain very dry
despite cooler weather. Fireighters
using hand tools and a bulldozer have
established containment lines and will
be strengthening them, and mopping up
hot spots.
Oregon registers 68,500
voters under “motor voter”
PORTLAND (AP) — Roughly
68,500 Oregonians have been
automatically registered to vote under
the state’s new “motor voter” law.
That’s an average 13,700 new
voters a month through May, a big
jump from the 2,000 per month
Oregon typically saw before the
automatic voter registration system
kicked in Jan. 1.
The program automatically registers
people to vote when they apply for
or renew a driver’s license or state
ID card, and on Friday state elections
oficials began rolling out its second
and inal phase.
Phase two involves mailing
registration paperwork to another
145,000 residents who interacted with
the motor vehicle department in the
two years before motor voter went into
effect.
Oregon was the irst state to put a
motor-voter law into effect and others
are now following suit.
Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255
before noon Tuesday through Friday
or before 10 a.m. Saturday
for same-day redelivery
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
SUNDAY
TODAY
Clouds and
sunshine
Pleasant and
warmer
70° 45°
78° 51°
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Partly sunny;
breezy in the p.m.
Rather cloudy
Intervals of clouds
and sunshine
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
76° 48°
67° 45°
62° 47°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
75° 46°
82° 51°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
63°
76°
104° (1910)
51°
51°
31° (1897)
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
0.28"
0.38"
0.55"
5.97"
4.99"
7.10"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
HIGH
LOW
71°
78°
100° (1934)
55°
52°
38° (1938)
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
0.04"
0.12"
0.25"
4.35"
3.14"
5.39"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
71° 46°
5:05 a.m.
8:45 p.m.
12:16 p.m.
12:48 a.m.
Last
New
Spokane
Wenatchee
63/43
71/49
Tacoma
Moses
65/47
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 72/45
63/39
60/49
65/45
73/43
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
63/47
70/49 Lewiston
75/45
Astoria
71/47
63/49
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
66/51
Pendleton 61/37
The Dalles 75/46
70/45
71/48
La Grande
Salem
65/38
68/48
Albany
Corvallis 67/46
69/46
John Day
64/40
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
75/46
68/43
63/35
Caldwell
Burns
72/45
65/30
July 4
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
Hi
63
62
63
61
65
61
68
67
75
64
70
65
62
77
60
64
75
75
70
66
66
68
63
60
64
70
73
Lo
49
32
35
49
30
37
43
43
46
40
38
38
32
47
46
49
46
44
45
51
33
48
43
35
49
49
43
W
sh
pc
pc
pc
s
sh
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
Hi
64
72
74
68
74
70
77
76
82
77
78
74
71
85
61
65
81
81
78
74
77
77
70
71
72
77
80
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
63
81
61
57
57
48
57
64
69
51
69
W
pc
t
s
pc
t
sh
t
pc
pc
s
pc
Lo
50
37
39
49
37
42
45
47
51
48
39
45
40
50
47
52
48
49
51
51
39
48
49
40
50
54
48
W
c
s
s
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
Sun.
Hi
92
91
81
66
73
56
65
77
81
64
78
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
70/38
Boardman
Pendleton
Lo
70
82
66
56
57
46
56
61
64
52
67
W
s
sh
s
sh
t
sh
sh
t
c
pc
c
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: A brief shower or two
today; in the morning in central parts, any
time across the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny
today; cooler but pleasant in the south.
Eastern Washington: Clouds and sun today;
a shower in the north, near the Idaho border
and in the mountains.
Cascades: A shower during the morning;
otherwise, some sun today. Warmer in the
south.
Northern California: Sunshine and patchy
clouds today. Mainly clear tonight. Mostly
sunny tomorrow.
Today
Sunday
WSW 8-16
WSW 8-16
WSW 6-12
W 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
2
5
7
7
5
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
89
89
76
68
73
59
66
77
82
68
80
NEWS
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Sun.
WINDS
Medford
77/47
Western Washington: A couple of showers
today.
June 12 June 20 June 27
69° 49°
Seattle
63/51
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
80° 53°
Today
WEDNESDAY
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on addressing broad trans-
portation needs over the
next 30 years, said Lindsey
O’Brien, spokeswoman for
House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland.
“This work is more
about in the near-term and
what investment can the
Legislature make in 2017
that will make a difference
across the state,” O’Brien
said.
Another difference is that
the panel met exclusively
with stakeholders in the
transportation arena, said
Gregg Kantor, co-chairman
of the visioning panel and
chief executive oficer of
Northwest Natural. The
legislative
committee
meetings are open to the
public.
“Hopefully, our report
will serve as a framework
for the work they’re doing,”
Kantor said.
The visioning panels’
charge was to assess the
condition of the state’s
roads, bridges and transit
systems, identify actions
that would address the
state’s needs in the next
four years and develop a
30-year plan for transporta-
tion improvements.
Five of the panel’s 34
members were lawmakers
who now sit on the
14-member joint legisla-
tive committee traveling
the state and developing a
transportation package for
2017.
“Fundamentally, what
the Legislature is doing is
going around and probably
afirming what they heard
with the visioning panel,”
said Sen. Betsy Johnson,
D-Scappoose, who is a
member of both trans-
portation groups. “We’re
explaining why this is so
complicated. We’re talking
to local folks about what
their needs are, eliciting
support for a package.”
2
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. ©2016
-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: Severe storms will affect parts of the Northeast as more downpours
drench Florida today. Sweltering conditions are forecast for the Central and Southeastern
states as cooler air slowly invades the West.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 102° in Las Vegas, Nev.
Low 31° in Tuolumne Meadows, Calif.
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
88
93
81
93
82
94
72
72
91
94
93
93
91
91
93
95
67
85
84
88
92
89
92
96
93
74
Lo
64
73
72
71
53
73
47
61
74
68
63
63
76
62
63
74
52
67
73
74
73
69
72
75
74
61
W
t
s
t
t
t
t
pc
pc
pc
pc
t
t
t
pc
t
t
c
s
pc
t
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
Sun.
Hi
90
94
87
90
77
91
78
74
96
87
73
73
92
81
79
96
66
90
85
89
90
93
93
94
90
73
Lo
64
74
62
58
53
73
51
55
76
55
58
54
76
57
56
74
54
59
75
74
68
72
73
73
74
60
Today
W
pc
t
s
s
s
t
s
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
t
t
pc
pc
r
t
pc
t
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
Hi
Louisville
95
Memphis
96
Miami
89
Milwaukee
91
Minneapolis
91
Nashville
97
New Orleans
90
New York City
82
Oklahoma City
91
Omaha
98
Philadelphia
90
Phoenix
103
Portland, ME
69
Providence
72
Raleigh
93
Rapid City
99
Reno
77
Sacramento
90
St. Louis
96
Salt Lake City
77
San Diego
68
San Francisco
76
Seattle
63
Tucson
98
Washington, DC 94
Wichita
94
Lo
72
76
76
59
68
72
77
70
71
74
72
78
55
61
72
61
54
59
76
57
63
55
51
72
75
72
W
pc
s
t
t
s
s
t
t
pc
s
t
pc
pc
t
pc
pc
pc
s
s
t
pc
s
sh
pc
c
s
Sun.
Hi
95
91
89
68
85
95
90
82
91
97
89
102
68
77
97
80
79
90
97
79
70
74
69
99
91
94
Lo
73
75
76
57
69
71
76
58
73
72
61
76
50
55
67
54
53
56
76
61
62
55
51
71
62
73
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
pc
t
pc
t
s
pc
pc
t
s
pc
s
t
pc
pc
pc
t
s
s
t
pc
pc
c
s
s
t