NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Union Paciic to resume oil trains Sales igures
through Columbia River Gorge could make pot
Oregon’s most
valuable crop
By KRISTENA HANSEN
Associated Press
Heavy-duty trains with
thousands of gallons of crude
oil in tow will soon begin
rolling through the scenic
Columbia River Gorge for
the irst time since a iery
derailment in early June.
Union
Paciic
on
Wednesday announced plans
to resume operations at some
point this week. The June
3 derailment of one of its
trains caused a 42,000-gallon
oil spill and subsequent
ire. Nobody was hurt, but
it forced evacuations and
disruptions to water systems
in Mosier.
The
rail
company’s
announcement comes as
local oficials plead with the
federal government to halt
the use of railroads to trans-
port crude oil, a practice they
say can never be completely
safe for communities in the
trains’ path.
Among them are Oregon
Sens. Jeff Merkley and
Ron Wyden, who urged the
Federal Railroad Adminis-
tration in a letter Wednesday
afternoon to exercise its
emergency
moratorium
authority before Union
Paciic resumes in the Gorge.
“Unit trains travel on
tracks that pass through
and near many small towns
that are not well-equipped
to deal with the type of ire
that occurred in Mosier,”
Merkley and Wyden wrote to
the administration.
Union Paciic oficials
have concluded that faulty
“lag bolts” — fasteners used
to attach the rail to the rail tie
on a curved section of track
— caused the problem in
Mosier. Federal rail authori-
ties are also investigating the
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Bureau
Brent Foster via AP, File
In this June 6, 2016, ile photo from video, crumpled oil tankers sit beside the rail-
road tracks after a iery June 3 train derailment that prompted evacuations from
the tiny Columbia River Gorge town of Mosier. Union Paciic announced Wednesday
plans to resume transporting oil by train through the Oregon side of the scenic Co-
lumbia River Gorge at some point this week.
cause.
The company defended its
decision to restart operations
in a statement, reiterating
the federal obligations it’s
under and highlighting the
tiny fraction of its Oregon
shipments — less than 1
percent — that come from
oil trains.
“Railroads provide the
infrastructure,
lexible
networks and eficiency
needed to move crude oil
from locations where oil
is recovered to customer
facilities,” said Wes Lujan, a
public affairs vice president
for Union Paciic. “The
federal common carrier
obligation requires railroads
to transport crude oil and
other hazardous materials. If
a customer delivers a crude
oil tank car in conformity
with U.S. Department of
Transportation requirements,
we are obligated to transport
the rail car to its destination.”
Also on Wednesday,
Union Paciic announced
that another train spilled
1,500 gallons of diesel fuel
the night before near Trout-
dale, Oregon, roughly 20
miles east of Portland.
Leaders at the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation, Multnomah County
and several municipalities
including Portland and
Mosier have called on
Congress and the White
House for bans on oil being
moved by rail, which is under
the federal government’s
authority.
Reacting
to
Union
Paciic’s plans, Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown reiterated her
previous call for a federal
moratorium on transporting
oil on trains until the system
is unquestionably safe.
“Federal agencies and
policymakers in Washington,
D.C., will continue to put
people and ecosystems
at risk as they postpone
implementation of reason-
able safety measures that
protect us unless we demand
accountability,” Brown said
in a statement.
Gov. Jay Inslee of Wash-
ington state, where a different
rail company operates along
the Columbia River, has
held similar discussions
with federal leaders in recent
weeks, although he’s stopped
short of requesting a morato-
rium.
Rebecca Ponzio, spokes-
woman for the Stand Up To
Oil advocacy group, blasted
Union Paciic in a state-
ment, saying the company
has shown a “reckless
disregard” for communities,
ignored oficials’ pleas and,
“proceeded on with what
matters most to them: the
bottom line.”
Feds will evaluate response to Hanford vapors issue
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)
— Federal health oficials
will conduct a short-term
evaluation related to the
exposure of workers to chem-
ical vapors on the Hanford
Nuclear Reservation.
The probe by the National
Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health is expected
to focus on several areas
including medical response,
safety and health program
management, and exposure
control.
“Having an agency entirely
separate from the Department
of Energy conducting over-
sight into the safety of working
conditions at Hanford is
are the focus of cleanup efforts
at the site near Richland. Clean
up is expected to take decades
and cost billions of dollars.
“I will be closely following
this process to ensure this
evaluation provides the
guidance necessary to keep
workers safe,” said U.S. Sen.
Patty Murray, D-Wash.
critical to protecting workers,”
said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., who met recently with
Hanford workers concerned
about exposure to the vapors.
For decades, Hanford
made plutonium for nuclear
weapons. Much of the waste
from that work is stored in 177
giant underground tanks that
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
FRIDAY
TODAY
Sunny, breezy and
pleasant
Variably cloudy
with a shower
78° 53°
71° 49°
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Sunshine; pleasant
and warmer
Sunshine
Hot with plenty of
sunshine
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
82° 50°
89° 57°
93° 60°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
83° 57°
76° 49°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
84°
81°
103° (1973)
48°
53°
37° (1916)
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"
0.91"
0.95"
6.50"
4.99"
7.50"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
HIGH
LOW
86°
82°
105° (1936)
47°
54°
41° (2014)
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"
0.41"
0.48"
4.64"
3.14"
5.62"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
June 27
July 4
5:06 a.m.
8:49 p.m.
11:01 p.m.
8:32 a.m.
First
Full
July 11
94° 58°
97° 58°
Seattle
65/53
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
85° 55°
July 19
Today
MONDAY
Spokane
Wenatchee
75/52
76/55
Tacoma
Moses
64/51
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 81/53
73/50
62/51
63/49
79/48
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
61/51
80/55 Lewiston
83/57
Astoria
79/58
63/52
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
64/54
Pendleton 73/45
The Dalles 83/57
78/53
74/55
La Grande
Salem
75/49
65/52
Albany
Corvallis 63/50
66/49
John Day
77/48
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
91/59
67/49
70/39
Caldwell
Burns
89/59
78/42
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
75
70
63
78
73
67
76
83
77
74
75
72
79
61
64
91
84
78
64
72
65
75
71
63
80
79
Lo
52
45
39
52
42
45
49
47
57
48
43
49
46
54
51
53
59
56
53
54
43
52
52
44
53
55
48
W
sh
s
pc
sh
s
s
sh
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
pc
sh
sh
s
pc
pc
sh
pc
sh
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
Hi
65
64
65
68
68
60
73
68
76
68
70
65
62
78
62
67
76
76
71
68
68
72
64
62
67
70
74
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
69
83
71
57
54
60
65
66
70
53
70
W
pc
s
s
t
t
pc
s
t
pc
s
r
Lo
52
35
37
52
34
40
46
44
49
41
40
41
39
50
48
52
47
51
49
53
36
51
48
38
51
53
46
W
sh
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
c
pc
c
pc
c
c
pc
sh
c
pc
pc
c
sh
c
sh
c
c
sh
c
c
Fri.
Hi
92
93
90
69
74
76
74
88
76
63
76
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
74/43
Boardman
Pendleton
Lo
65
83
72
54
56
62
57
68
65
46
71
W
s
pc
s
sh
t
pc
s
s
r
s
c
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today with
showers. A passing shower tonight, except
dry in the south.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly sunny
today; not as warm in central parts.
Western Washington: Rather cloudy today
with showers. Partly cloudy tonight with a
couple of showers.
Eastern Washington: Some sun today with
a shower in the area.
Cascades: Some sun today with a couple of
showers; cooler. Partly cloudy tonight with
a shower.
Northern California: Partly sunny today;
pleasant at the coast.
Today
Friday
WSW 10-20
W 8-16
WSW 12-25
W 15-25
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.
WINDS
Medford
79/54
NEWS
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Fri.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
94
93
89
73
72
75
86
87
85
65
78
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Corrections
A brief in Wednesday’s paper gave incorrect informa-
tion about the location of the parade for Landing Days
in Umatilla on Saturday. The parade begins at 11 a.m. at
Nugent Park and will head east on Sixth Street. The East
Oregonian sincerely regrets the error.
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.
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
SALEM — Sales and
tax igures collected by state
agencies may inally solve
one of Oregon’s long-run-
ning farm crop questions of
whether marijuana is indeed
the state’s most valuable
crop, as cannabis advocates
have always maintained.
Tight controls and
reporting requirements by
the Oregon Department
of Revenue and Oregon
Liquor Control Commis-
sion should result in
accurate information about
pot, said Bruce Pokarney,
spokesman for the state
Department of Agriculture.
The department compiles
an annual list of the state’s
most valuable crops.
The sale of recreational
marijuana became legal in
Oregon last October, in addi-
tion to medical use, which
was already legal. The state
revenue department collects a
17 percent tax on recreational
pot purchases, while the
OLCC licenses producers,
processors, retailers, whole-
salers and labs.
The
information,
however, poses another
head-scratcher. Most agri-
cultural statistics published
by the ag department come
from the USDA’s National
Agricultural
Statistics
Service, or NASS. Although
it’s now legal in several
states, the feds still classify
marijuana as an illegal drug.
Dave Losh, Oregon state
statistician for NASS, said
the agency won’t include
marijuana in its annual crop
statistics due to federal policy.
For the same reason,
people can’t use water from
federal projects to irrigate
marijuana, he said, and such
things as Natural Resources
Conservation
Service
programs can’t be applied to
pot crops.
Pokarney, of ODA, joked
the department might have to
put an asterisk beside the pot
crop value in its annual report.
“We will have sales numbers,
but I don’t know how we
would report it,” he said.
Oregon crop statistics from
2014 list cattle and calves
as the state’s top agricultural
product, at $922 million value.
Greenhouse and nursery
plants was second at $829
million, and hay was third, at
$703 million.
Seth Crawford, an
Oregon State University
sociology professor who
teaches a pot policy
class, estimated in 2015
that Oregon’s marijuana
crop had an annual value
approaching $1 billion.
Meanwhile, the OLCC
continues to process license
applications as entrepre-
neurs seek opportunities
in the state’s recreational
cannabis market.
As of June 21, there were
723 applications to grow
pot in Oregon. Of those,
122 were in Jackson County
and 91 were in neighboring
Josephine County. Southern
Oregon has long been the
state’s cannabis production
hotbed, legal or illegal.
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 thunderstorms will plague areas from the mid-Atlantic to
southeastern Missouri today. Hot air will sizzle most of the southern tier of the nation. The
Northwest will be cooler with showers.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 114° in Needles, Calif.
Low 29° 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
96
93
76
82
94
92
90
74
97
87
74
78
97
88
82
105
74
81
84
94
87
96
92
108
96
81
Lo
69
76
64
64
61
74
56
60
77
68
57
62
76
61
57
78
55
61
73
76
66
71
71
83
79
63
W
t
s
t
t
s
s
s
c
pc
t
c
r
s
t
c
pc
pc
pc
sh
pc
t
s
pc
pc
s
pc
Fri.
Hi
98
93
76
83
90
93
73
76
97
85
83
82
95
90
85
101
78
88
84
94
86
97
87
109
97
82
Lo
70
77
63
62
51
76
49
61
78
64
64
62
76
59
60
75
56
72
73
76
66
72
73
83
78
65
Today
W
t
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
t
s
pc
c
t
pc
t
s
pc
t
s
t
pc
Hi
Louisville
90
Memphis
96
Miami
89
Milwaukee
71
Minneapolis
76
Nashville
96
New Orleans
91
New York City
72
Oklahoma City
97
Omaha
88
Philadelphia
76
Phoenix
111
Portland, ME
75
Providence
73
Raleigh
97
Rapid City
89
Reno
90
Sacramento
91
St. Louis
97
Salt Lake City
96
San Diego
74
San Francisco
72
Seattle
65
Tucson
106
Washington, DC 85
Wichita
96
Lo
73
80
78
58
61
77
75
64
73
68
63
87
54
59
72
65
57
58
73
68
65
57
53
80
68
75
W
t
s
t
pc
pc
t
s
r
s
pc
t
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
sh
pc
t
t
Fri.
Hi
89
96
90
77
86
94
92
83
94
90
85
109
76
81
87
97
89
94
94
90
76
73
63
103
84
95
Lo
71
80
79
64
71
74
77
63
71
73
63
86
54
58
67
59
54
62
78
56
65
56
54
79
68
75
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
t
pc
s
pc
t
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
t
pc
s
s
pc
s
pc
pc
sh
pc
s
t