NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Environmental groups want
work halted on Snake River dams
BRIEFLY
Railroad sues to
force approval of
track expansion
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
BOISE — Environmental groups
are asking a federal court to halt 11
infrastructure projects on four lower
Snake River dams in Washington state
that could ultimately be removed if a
pending review determines the dams
need to come out to help salmon.
The 45-page notice filed late
Monday in Portland, Oregon, esti-
mates the cost of the projects at $110
million.
The National Wildlife Federation
and the other groups in a separate,
29-page filing also late Monday asked
that the federal government be ordered
to spill more water in the spring over
the four Snake River dams and four
more on the Columbia River to help
migrating salmon.
A federal judge ruled in May that
the U.S. government hasn’t done
enough to improve Northwest salmon
runs and ordered an environmental
impact statement that’s due out in
2021, urging officials to consider
removing the dams.
The environmental groups contend
that infrastructure improvements
shouldn’t be allowed at the dams
during the review.
“These kinds of investments
should be suspended to ensure a level
playing field for all of the alternatives
agencies must consider, including
the alternative of lower Snake River
dam removal,” Kevin Lewis of Idaho
Rivers United said in a statement.
The review process is being
conducted under the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act, or NEPA, an
MOSIER (AP) — Union
Pacific is asking a federal
judge to reject local rules that
threaten to derail its plans
to add a second main track
along the Columbia River
Gorge where a crude oil train
derailed last June.
The Omaha, Nebras-
ka-based railroad filed the
lawsuit Tuesday against
Wasco County and the
Columbia River Gorge
Commission, which moved to
block the project last fall.
Union Pacific says federal
rules govern railroads, so
local restrictions like the
ones Wasco County approved
don’t apply to the project.
The chair of the Wasco
County board of commis-
sioners, Rod Runyon, said
Tuesday that he was surprised
by the lawsuit. He says he
had not yet seen the lawsuit to
comment further.
The derailment last June
sparked a massive fire near
Mosier, Oregon, and renewed
concerns about the safety
of trains that carry crude oil
across the region.
The complaint was filed in
federal court in Oregon.
Bob Brawday/The Tri-City Herald via AP, File
In this 2013 aerial file photo, the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake Riv-
er is seen near Pasco, Wash. Environmental groups are asking a
federal court to halt 11 infrastructure projects on four lower Snake
River dams in Washington state that could ultimately be removed
following an environmental review now underway.
umbrella law that covers the Endan-
gered Species Act. Thirteen species of
salmon and steelhead on the Columbia
and Snake rivers have been listed as
federally protected over the past 25
years. Four of the listed species are
found in Idaho.
The Snake River dams cited in
the documents are Ice Harbor, Lower
Monumental, Little Goose and Lower
Granite. They’re the four lowest dams
on the 1,000-mile-long Snake River,
itself a tributary to the Columbia River.
The four dams are managed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
were built in the 1960s and 1970s.
Officials with the federal agency
didn’t return a call from The Associ-
ated Press on Tuesday.
Northwest River Partners, which
represents a coalition of businesses
and river users and has intervened on
the side of the federal government, is
against removing the dams.
“We need to keep investing in crit-
ical infrastructure like the Snake River
dams,” said Terry Flores, director of
the Portland-based group. “We need
to keep them well maintained so we
can keep the lights on and keep people
safe and warm, and the economy
running.”
The $110 million listed in the docu-
ment filed Monday is an estimate by
the environmental groups that said the
Army Corps of Engineers declined to
provide precise numbers. The groups
say more than half of the money is
being spent on Ice Harbor Dam and
includes new turbine blades.
Woman found dead
at crash may have
been stabbed
ONTARIO (AP) — A
woman who died in a head-on
crash following her reported
abduction has been identified
as an Idaho woman who
had been married to the man
suspected of kidnapping her.
Anita Harmon, 40, of
Weiser, Idaho, died at the
scene Monday after the Dodge
pickup in which she was a
passenger crossed a centerline
on an Eastern Oregon highway
and collided with an SUV,
Oregon State Police said. The
driver of the SUV, 38-year-old
David Bates of Vale, Oregon,
also died.
Police in Ontario, Oregon,
were chasing the pickup after
being alerted that a woman
was being held against her will
Delegates urge Trump to fund Hanford work
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The
entire congressional delegation from
Washington is asking President-elect
Donald Trump to make environmental
cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation a priority.
Hanford for years made plutonium
for nuclear weapons, and now is
engaged in a multi-decade cleanup of
the resulting waste at a cost of some
$2 billion per year.
Both of Washington’s senators
and all 10 members of the House of
Representatives sent Trump a letter
on Monday asking him to support
the cleanup that employs some 9,000
workers at Hanford, located north of
Richland.
“This work is essential to protecting
the health and safety of the Tri-Cities
community, the Columbia River,
Washington state, and our nation from
waste that was created from over 40
years of nuclear weapons production,”
the bipartisan letter said.
The letter noted that Congress and
previous presidents have recognized
the legal and moral obligation of
the federal government to clean up
Hanford, which contains some 55
million gallons of some of the world’s
most dangerous radioactive wastes.
“A critical component to this
support is proper funding levels,” the
letter said.
Studies have projected that the
Hanford cleanup will take decades
to complete and that funding should
be increased to $3 billion a year to
achieve deadlines.
The 580-square-mile Hanford site
was created during World War II as
part of the Manhattan Project to beat
Japan to the atomic bomb. During
four decades, Hanford produced more
than 65 percent of the plutonium for
the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
In addition to the 55 million gallons
of radioactive waste stored in 177
underground tanks, the site contains
thousands of tons of used nuclear fuel,
huge volumes of solid radioactive
waste, thousands of contaminated
buildings and contaminated soil and
groundwater.
“This is the largest and most
complex environmental remediation
project in the nation,” the lawmakers
said. “Any lapses in in funding for the
site puts workers and communities at
risk.”
The letter noted that the federal
government is subject to legally
enforceable milestones for cleaning
up the waste through a consent decree
with the state of Washington.
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 —
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home delivery Savings off cover price
EZPay
$14.50
41 percent
52 weeks
$173.67
41 percent
26 weeks
$91.86
38 percent
13 weeks
$47.77
36 percent
*EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge
www.eastoregonian.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255
or go online to www.eastoregonian.com
and click on ‘Subscribe’
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday
and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Single copy price:
$1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday
Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group
TODAY
THURSDAY
Very cold with a bit
of snow
Mostly sunny and
very cold
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Sunshine and very
cold
Very cold with
clouds and sun
SUNDAY
Cold with some
sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
23°
20°
9°
7°
20° 10°
24° 13°
29° 20°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
21°
25° 11°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
36°
24°
41°
27°
59° (2006) -21° (1909)
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
0.13"
0.68"
0.57"
0.68"
0.06"
0.57"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
30°
41°
69° (1959)
21°
28°
-3° (1993)
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
0.20"
0.41"
0.40"
0.41"
0.05"
0.40"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
Jan 12
Jan 19
New
Jan 27
21° 12°
24° 13°
28° 22°
Seattle
35/23
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
8°
7:34 a.m.
4:33 p.m.
4:14 p.m.
6:32 a.m.
First
Feb 3
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
17/-2
19/3
Tacoma
Moses
37/18
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 21/1
20/6
37/25
35/19
30/3
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
35/22
Lewiston
21/7
25/9
Astoria
27/14
37/26
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
33/21
Pendleton 26/5
The Dalles 25/11
23/9
29/11
La Grande
Salem
27/8
39/23
Albany
Corvallis 39/24
42/27
John Day
30/12
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
35/10
43/27
24/7
Caldwell
Burns
37/15
30/5
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
37
24
24
47
30
26
43
22
25
30
34
27
24
44
42
47
35
23
23
33
21
39
17
22
33
21
30
Lo
26
-1
7
35
5
5
27
8
11
12
15
8
8
29
29
33
10
1
9
21
3
23
-2
5
20
7
3
W
sn
sn
sn
sh
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
r
r
sn
c
sn
sn
sn
sn
pc
sn
sn
sn
pc
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
20
62
38
38
44
13
39
29
23
70
38
W
s
c
s
pc
pc
pc
c
s
s
pc
s
Lo
25
-2
7
34
-4
-4
21
4
8
10
0
3
2
23
27
30
5
-1
7
16
5
17
0
-2
16
5
-2
W
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
Thu.
Hi
42
70
57
43
73
22
45
53
35
80
53
Lo
21
61
41
33
44
19
33
49
17
71
41
W
s
c
pc
r
pc
sn
r
sh
pc
pc
s
WINDS
Medford
44/29
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
34/15
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Showers around today, but
a little snow across the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Snow today, 1-2 inches
across the north, in the south, central parts and the up-
per Treasure Valley and up to an inch near the Cascades.
Western Washington: Snow at times today,
accumulating 1-2 inches across the south;
partly sunny elsewhere.
Eastern Washington: Times of clouds and
sun today, but sunnier in the north. Partly
cloudy tonight.
Cascades: A bit of snow with little or no
accumulation today.
Northern California: Showers around
today; snow, accumulating 1-3 inches in the
interior mountains.
Today
Thursday
NE 4-8
WNW 4-8
ENE 4-8
N 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
0
0
0
0
0
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 •
fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News:
email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at
541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818.
• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian.
com/community/announcements
• To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel
Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email
editor@eastoregonian.com.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
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
44
72
54
52
72
18
52
45
35
97
47
Classified & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
Hi
40
17
27
48
22
21
36
21
21
30
29
21
24
40
41
46
24
14
20
32
22
35
15
21
33
16
18
BEND (AP) — A proposed
housing development on
a former mining site in
Deschutes County could again
be up for approval this year.
The Bulletin reports that
Lower Bridge LLC applied
to create residential lots on
157 acres at the site west of
Terrebonne, but they withdrew
the application in May.
Deschutes County Senior
Planner Will Groves says
he expects Lower Bridge to
submit a new proposal in 2017
for the same project.
Grove says Lower Bridge
officials intend to craft a new
application that will avoid
some of the issues the initial
proposal faced.
Before withdrawing the
application, county commis-
sioners said parts of the site
are zoned incorrectly.
A portion of the site was
used decades ago to extract a
type of rock containing silica.
Hazardous and radiological
waste was cleaned up from the
site in the 1980s.
Corrections
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
Developers eyeing
mine site expected to
re-submit proposal
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.
Advertising Director: Marissa Williams
541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com
Advertising Services: Laura Jensen
541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com
Multimedia Consultants:
• Terri Briggs
541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com
• Elizabeth Freemantle
541-278-2683 • efreemantle@eastoregonian.com
• Jeanne Jewett
541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com
• Chris McClellan
541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com
• Stephanie Newsom
541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com
• Dayle Stinson
541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
and had been stabbed. Ontario
Police Chief Cal Kunz said it
has yet to be determined if the
woman died from stab wounds
or the crash impact.
The suspect driving the
Dodge, Anthony Montwheeler
of Nampa, Idaho, survived
with serious injuries. He
remained in a hospital Tuesday
and has yet to be charged with
a crime.
Harmon’s car was found
abandoned in the middle of a
street in Weiser, 20 miles north
of Ontario.
It was not immediately
clear if Montwheeler and
Harmon were separated or
divorced.
The pair had co-owned a
scrap-metal business based in
Weiser. They were convicted
of first-degree theft in 2012
after underpaying an elderly
couple by more than $10,000.
Montwheeler was
sentenced to two years in
prison and his wife was
sentenced to 16 months in
prison.
0
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. ©2017
-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: Milder air with spotty rain will affect the South and East as spotty
snow and colder air seep into the North Central states. Rain will soak the California coast
with lowering snow levels inland in the West.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in McAllen, Texas
Low -17° in Lewistown, Mont.
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
58
66
51
49
7
69
38
50
71
56
42
50
78
50
44
70
-6
1
82
79
55
73
57
64
71
63
Lo
31
50
43
42
-2
59
15
39
52
53
25
49
62
29
39
42
-14
-11
68
65
53
50
17
47
60
52
W
pc
c
c
c
sf
c
sn
r
pc
r
c
sh
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
r
s
c
pc
sh
r
Thur.
Hi
55
69
61
63
11
70
27
54
75
64
30
56
77
36
39
68
-8
3
83
78
59
75
30
57
72
57
Lo
36
52
47
46
4
57
8
41
51
44
12
23
60
18
21
42
-29
-22
67
64
24
52
17
45
43
45
W
c
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
c
s
sh
sn
r
pc
c
r
pc
c
s
s
c
r
s
pc
pc
t
r
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
61
69
79
39
12
66
75
51
73
35
50
66
46
51
51
4
43
56
63
42
65
56
35
71
51
65
Lo
58
62
67
21
0
61
62
45
38
9
42
49
35
36
47
-2
27
43
43
26
54
46
23
42
45
21
W
r
sh
pc
c
sn
sh
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
r
r
c
sn
sf
sh
sh
sh
r
sh
pc
pc
c
pc
Thur.
Hi
65
70
81
26
12
69
76
58
51
23
61
66
46
53
66
13
37
51
43
34
61
52
35
72
64
38
Lo
33
48
70
8
-14
48
61
44
29
9
46
51
36
41
51
2
24
36
24
18
51
41
24
48
49
21
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
t
c
pc
sn
pc
c
pc
r
pc
c
c
c
c
c
s
c
sf
c
c
sn
r
pc
s
pc
c
pc