NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
State urges dismissal of county’s
timber management lawsuit
Workers at some
Hanford tanks stop in
dispute over vapors
Lawsuit says state’s management has cost counties $1.4B
SPOKANE, Wash.
(AP) — A coalition
of labor unions on the
Hanford Nuclear Reser-
vation stopped work
Monday at some of the
radioactive waste tank
farms because of health
concerns over chemical
vapors.
The Hanford Atomic
Metal Trades Council
issued a “stop work”
order at the double-
walled tanks that contain
dangerous wastes from
the past production of
plutonium for nuclear
weapons.
Dave Molnaa, presi-
dent of the council, said
workers are demanding
that they be supplied with
bottled air when they
perform work at any of
the tank farms. Currently,
bottled air is required
only when working
among the older, single-
walled underground tanks
where most of the vapor
episodes have occurred.
“I believe there is a
safety risk to workers
inside the tank farms,”
Molnaa told The Associ-
ated Press in a telephone
interview from Richland,
where Hanford is located.
Oficials for Wash-
ington River Protection
Solutions, the private
contractor that operates
the tank farms for the U.S.
Department of Energy,
conirmed the work stop-
page at the double-walled
tank farms. The company
said it planned to issue a
statement later.
Last week, WRPS
proposed some changes
for working in the tank
farms. But the company
said that requiring bottled
air at the newer double-
walled tank farms was
unnecessary.
Hanford for decades
made plutonium for
have always provided for
multiple values and multiple
uses.”
Counties acquired these
forest lands by foreclosing on
property tax liens during the
Great Depression but turned
them over to state ownership
in exchange for a portion of
future logging revenues.
Oregon’s attorneys claim
that Linn County cannot
sue the state to receive
compensation for breach of
contract, and that the county’s
challenge to the “greatest
permanent value” rule can
only be heard by the Oregon
Court of Appeals, rather than
in a county court.
Because the lawsuit seeks
to recover damages for
insuficient logging in the
future, it clearly intends to
alter the meaning of “greatest
permanent value,” said Scott
Kaplan, another attorney for
the state.
Either the state changes its
deinition or it’s potentially
liable for hundreds of millions
of dollars, he said.
“This is absolutely a chal-
lenge of state policies of forest
management,” Kaplan said.
Linn County argued that
contracts between the coun-
ties and the state government
are enforceable.
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
ALBANY, Ore. — The
State of Oregon is urging
the dismissal of a lawsuit
that alleges state forest
management
prioritizes
environmental concerns to the
detriment of logging.
Earlier this year, Linn
County iled a complaint
against Oregon for allegedly
depriving multiple counties
of more than $1.4 billion due
to a forestry rule that empha-
sizes wildlife, water quality
and recreation over timber
harvest.
During oral arguments
Monday in Albany, attorneys
for Oregon said the case
should be thrown out because
the forests are meant to be
managed for the greatest
permanent value to the state,
not to the counties.
This “greatest permanent
value” is allowed to include
many factors beyond timber
production under laws that
allowed counties to donate
their burned and logged
forests to the state govern-
ment, said Sarah Weston, an
attorney for the state.
“The statute does not
require revenue maximiza-
tion,” she said. “The statutes
“The counties gave up
assets in exchange for prom-
ises,” said John DiLorenzo,
attorney for Linn County.
Counties would not have
donated vast tracts of land if
they’d known the state would
change the terms of the deal at
will, he said.
“We believe that’s precisely
what the state has done in
this case,” DiLorenzo said.
“Counties must have a way to
enforce their bargains.”
More than 650,000 acres in
Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop,
Columbia, Coos, Douglas,
Josephine, Klamath, Lane,
Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk,
Tillamook, and Washington
counties were given to Oregon
based on “promises and
assurances” on which the state
government has since fallen
short, the lawsuit claims.
The law that lays out
Oregon’s forest management
obligations
was
written
when the United States was
preparing to enter World War
II and must be understood in
that context, DiLorenzo said.
At the time, the greatest
value of the land was to
produce a large amount of
timber for the war effort,
rather than to preserve wild-
life habitat or aesthetic beauty,
DiLorenzo said.
Legal precedents also
indicate that Oregon was obli-
gated to maximize revenue
from those lands, he said.
Several
environmental
and ishing organizations
claim this interpretation is
erroneous.
The optimum management
of state forests was bound
to be contentious and so
that question was left to the
discretion of the Oregon
Department of Forestry, said
Ralph Bloemers, an attorney
representing the groups.
“It’s not up to the county,
or the timber industry, or the
conservation
community,
what that should be,” he said.
There’s also nothing in
the law stating that revenues
take priority over other uses,
Bloemers said. “It continues
to be a huge gaping hole in
their complaint.”
Linn County also argues
the lawsuit should be certiied
as a class action, which would
allow other counties to partic-
ipate in the litigation.
There are numerous poten-
tial plaintiffs with common
legal arguments that would
be more eficiently resolved
as part of a single case, Linn
County claims.
The issue of class certiica-
tion will be heard at another
hearing that’s scheduled for
Aug. 17 in Albany.
Judge allows Bundy brothers to be reunited at jail
Jail oficials prefer to have
co-defendants
separated,
but the judge said this is “an
exceptional case and an excep-
tional relationship.” He did not
elaborate on his decision.
Jones also let the brothers
and a lawyer meet for a
strategy session at the federal
courthouse.
The rulings came during
a hearing in which Ryan
Bundy, who serves as his own
attorney, asked the judge to
forbid jailhouse deputies from
opening his mail, monitoring
his phone calls and otherwise
dampening his ability to
defend himself.
“The prosecution should
have to prepare their offense
By STEVEN DUBOIS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Ammon
and Ryan Bundy will be
reunited at a downtown Port-
land jail as they prepare their
defense on charges related to
the armed occupation of an
Oregon bird sanctuary, a judge
ruled Monday.
The men were recently
separated, with Ammon
Bundy shipped to a jail in
northeast Portland.
On Monday, U.S. District
Court Judge Robert Jones
granted Ryan Bundy’s request
to have the brothers housed
in the same jail ahead of a
September trial.
under the same conditions,”
Bundy insisted.
Carlo Calandriello, a Mult-
nomah County attorney, said
the jail followed established
protocols meant to keep
everyone safe, including the
Bundys.
Ammon Bundy, mean-
while, complained that jail
deputies stand too close to
inmates when phone calls
are made, and can relay trial
strategy or other information
to the government.
Jones ordered deputies not
to listen to what’s being said
and not to reveal anything they
might inadvertently overhear.
In another matter, Jones
released standoff defendant
Jason Patrick from jail,
pending trial. He had been in a
Portland jail since his January
arrest.
The Bundys and Patrick
are among 26 people indicted
on charges of conspiring to
prevent Interior Department
workers from doing their jobs
at Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge in January and early
February.
The occupiers wanted the
government to relinquish
control of Western lands and
free two ranchers who were
re-sentenced to prison for
starting ires. Neither goal was
accomplished.
Seven of the 26 defendants
have pleaded guilty.
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
Partly sunny
Nice with plenty of
sunshine
78° 52°
82° 51°
THURSDAY
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
FRIDAY
Nice with plenty of
sunshine
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
86° 55°
89° 58°
83° 54°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
83° 54°
86° 52°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
76°
88°
107° (1897)
55°
58°
40° (1911)
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"
0.73"
0.11"
7.25"
5.00"
7.72"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
HIGH
LOW
80°
88°
107° (2002)
59°
58°
42° (2008)
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"
0.29"
0.08"
4.93"
3.16"
5.81"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
July 19
July 26
5:18 a.m.
8:43 p.m.
2:01 p.m.
12:39 a.m.
New
First
Aug 2
93° 62°
87° 56°
Seattle
71/55
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
91° 56°
Aug 10
Today
SATURDAY
Spokane
Wenatchee
74/53
79/57
Tacoma
Moses
69/52
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 81/54
71/46
64/53
67/50
81/52
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
66/52
79/56 Lewiston
83/56
Astoria
78/55
66/54
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
71/56
Pendleton 68/43
The Dalles 83/54
78/52
77/55
La Grande
Salem
73/42
72/53
Albany
Corvallis 71/51
73/51
John Day
74/45
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
83/54
74/49
70/42
Caldwell
Burns
83/53
76/37
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
66
71
70
65
76
68
74
74
83
74
75
73
69
82
62
66
83
83
78
71
73
72
74
68
69
79
81
Lo
54
39
42
52
37
43
49
48
54
45
41
42
41
55
50
53
54
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53
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Hi
69
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74
82
80
86
83
84
78
74
90
65
68
84
85
82
78
82
81
77
76
77
82
85
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
54
39
46
54
43
45
50
48
52
49
46
49
41
57
50
53
54
54
51
57
44
53
53
43
55
56
56
W
pc
s
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s
s
s
s
s
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Lo
72
81
70
52
54
60
53
70
72
45
75
W
sh
t
s
t
t
r
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s
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pc
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Wed.
Hi
97
88
90
67
74
76
66
85
88
58
84
Lo
74
82
70
52
53
64
52
70
72
44
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WINDS
Medford
82/55
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
75/41
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Intervals of clouds and
sunshine today; a couple of showers, but dry
in the south.
Eastern and Central Oregon: A shower in
the area today, but a thunderstorm in spots
in central parts.
Western Washington: Rather cloudy
today. A couple of showers; arriving in the
afternoon in central parts.
Eastern Washington: Partly sunny today
with a shower, except a thunderstorm in
spots in the north.
Cascades: Clouds and sun today with a
shower during the afternoon; pleasant in
the south.
Northern California: Low clouds followed
by sunshine at the coast today; plenty of
sunshine elsewhere.
Today
Wednesday
WSW 8-16
W 8-16
WSW 4-8
W 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
2
4
6
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Wed.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
86
88
89
67
69
76
72
87
87
69
86
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nuclear weapons, and
56 million gallons of the
most dangerous waste
from that work is stored
in 177 giant underground
tanks, most of them
single-walled
models.
There are 28 double-
walled tanks.
Workers for years
have complained that
chemical vapors from the
tanks have made them ill.
More than 50 Hanford
workers in recent months
have sought medical
examinations for possible
exposure to chemical
vapors. Some reported
smelling suspicious odors
and some experienced
respiratory
problems.
Nearly all were cleared to
return to work.
Molnaa said refusing
to require bottled air
at the double-walled
tanks is “the same type
of negligent rhetoric
these workers have been
hearing from the federal
government for 20 years.”
“I believe there is a
safety risk to workers
inside the tank farms,”
Molnaa added. HAMTC
is a coalition of more
than a dozen unions at the
sprawling Hanford site,
which is half the size of
Rhode Island.
Although more than
8,000 people work at
Hanford, only about
700 have regular tasks
involving the tank farms.
Last week, WRPS
proposed that employees
who move tank farm
waste perform their shifts
on nights and weekends,
when fewer people are
working on the site. The
contractor asked unions
to approve making
evenings, nights and
weekends the standard
shifts for employees who
transport the waste and
work close to waste tanks.
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
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: Storms will dot the Southeast, Ohio Valley and northern tier states
from North Dakota to Washington today. Storms can become severe at the local level from
Michigan to Kansas. Most other areas will be dry.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 110° in Imperial, Calif.
Low 28° in Boca Reservoir, 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
98
91
81
87
80
93
85
85
96
85
89
93
96
92
92
104
81
84
87
95
87
95
89
105
94
80
Lo
66
74
70
70
56
74
53
67
78
69
73
73
77
57
73
76
62
61
75
79
73
74
71
79
77
62
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Wed.
Hi
98
92
83
84
76
94
83
88
97
87
88
93
97
92
90
105
86
76
87
95
89
95
92
106
96
83
Lo
66
74
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73
53
75
55
68
78
72
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55
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57
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Today
Hi
Louisville
85
Memphis
94
Miami
92
Milwaukee
88
Minneapolis
87
Nashville
87
New Orleans
92
New York City
85
Oklahoma City
93
Omaha
90
Philadelphia
88
Phoenix
109
Portland, ME
84
Providence
85
Raleigh
86
Rapid City
87
Reno
90
Sacramento
92
St. Louis
94
Salt Lake City
90
San Diego
73
San Francisco
71
Seattle
71
Tucson
105
Washington, DC 88
Wichita
94
Lo
73
78
80
72
70
73
81
71
74
72
71
85
61
67
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53
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Wed.
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93
95
91
88
86
94
91
86
95
92
87
110
85
85
89
81
94
99
94
90
76
73
73
105
86
98
Lo
77
78
80
69
64
75
80
72
75
66
74
86
66
68
72
52
59
60
76
64
66
55
56
79
76
75
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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