NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Ag dismisses ‘flawed’ study of breaching Snake River dams
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
PORTLAND — Agri-
culture representatives say
a recent study that calls for
removing four dams from
the Lower Snake River relies
on outdated and flawed data.
“They start with flawed
information and a flawed
premise,” said Kristin Meira,
director of the Pacific North-
west Waterways Association.
Meira disputes the study’s
suggestion that a non-use
value of the river can be
quantified, especially when
compared to the value of the
products moved on the river,
the impact on farmers and
renewable hydropower.
In its report on the eco-
nomic tradeoffs of remov-
ing the Ice Harbor, Lower
Monumental, Little Goose
and Lower Granite dams,
economic consulting firm
ECONorthwest claimed:
• The lock system that
supports shipments of goods
by barge on the Lower Snake
River operates at a net loss.
• The cost of replacing
irrigation infrastructure is
comparatively inexpensive.
• Removing the Lower
Snake River Dams will be
expensive and generate sub-
stantial positive economic
impacts in the region.
“Benefits accruing to
the public from a restored
AP Photo, File
The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. An environmentalist-sponsored study claims taking out it and three other dams
would be beneficial to the region’s economy.
natural river system and a
reduced extinction risk of
wild salmon outweigh the
net costs of removing the
dams by over $8.6 billion,”
the study states.
Much of the data used in
the study is outdated or from
unreliable sources, including
from a group committed to
Snake River dam removal,
Meira said.
The study hasn’t gained
much traction for decision
makers because it doesn’t
follow the procedures fed-
eral agencies must follow
under the National Environ-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
Nice with
abundant sunshine
THURSDAY
Mostly sunny and
nice
FRIDAY
Clouds and
sunshine
SATURDAY
Turning cloudy
Cloudy
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
87° 60°
89° 61°
86° 59°
84° 55°
92° 59°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
90° 60°
92° 63°
90° 62°
87° 58°
OREGON FORECAST
94° 64°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
77/57
82/52
87/58
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
88/64
Lewiston
83/57
90/61
Astoria
73/57
Pullman
Yakima 88/59
83/54
88/62
Portland
Hermiston
87/61
The Dalles 90/60
Salem
Corvallis
86/55
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
84/54
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
88/56
85/51
88/53
Ontario
91/60
Caldwell
Burns
83°
55°
89°
58°
106° (1971) 45° (1966)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
87/56
0.00"
0.05"
0.08"
4.61"
5.10"
6.00"
Today
Medford
91/59
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
85/49
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
WSW 4-8
W 7-14
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:53 a.m.
8:07 p.m.
7:29 p.m.
3:52 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Aug 15
Aug 23
Aug 30
Sep 5
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 109° in Zapata, Texas Low 29° in Stanley, Idaho
By ALEX CASTLE
East Oregonian
HEPPNER — Crews
have contained more than
half the HK Complex fires
in the Umatilla National For-
est after a weekend of rain-
fall and cooler temperatures
aided their efforts.
“It’s been a solid, coopera-
tive effort,” said public infor-
mation officer for Northwest
Incident Management Team
6 Lauren Maloney.
Overall containment of
the fires is at 59%, almost
double the reported contain-
ment on Saturday morning.
A ninth fire was completely
extinguished in the complex
over the weekend while its
largest, the Little Bear/Sul-
phur Springs fire, remains
controlled to the south with
mop-up operations happen-
ing to the north, according to
a press release.
The release also notes an
isolated area of unburnt fuel
inside its fire lines that will
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
produce heavy smoke over
the following days, though
Maloney said even high
winds fanning the flames is
of little concern.
“The worry is if the
embers could blow beyond
the fire line,” she added.
The storms over the week-
end also presented challenges
for the crews, which insti-
tuted night patrols to check
for new potential fires. On
Sunday afternoon, a patrol
located a new fire within the
complex and quickly con-
tained the blaze. The release
states that it will be moni-
tored over the coming days.
The temperatures are
expected to rise on Mon-
day with low humidity,
which Maloney said will
allow patrols to watch for hot
spots where seemingly sub-
dued fires continue to emit
heat and rekindle under the
warmer, dryer conditions.
Other operations include
mopping up the smaller fires
and beginning the process of
Public employees sue Oregon
over pension law
SALEM — Nine Oregon public employees
have sued the state, saying their pension bene-
fits are unfairly reduced by a new law.
The Statesman Journal reported that the
lawsuit, filed Friday in the Oregon Supreme
Court, contests Senate Bill 1049, which the Ore-
gon Legislature passed and Gov. Kate Brown
signed into law this year. The lawsuit says the
legislation amounts to a breach of contract and
illegal taking because it reduces the amount of
retirement benefits for the employees.
The measure was passed by lawmakers in a
bid to rein in the state’s unfunded pension lia-
bility tied to the Public Employees Retirement
System, which is about $27 billion. Policymak-
ers have long grappled with how to keep those
costs under control, which are tied to the pen-
sions of local, state and school district retirees.
Father pleads guilty to death
of toddler
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
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ice
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cold front
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BAKER CITY — A Baker City man
pleaded guilty Friday in Baker County Circuit
Court to criminally negligent homicide, unlaw-
ful possession of methamphetamine and reck-
lessly endangering another person in connection
with the November death of his 2-year-old son.
Peter Lee Mankins, 33, of 1905 Birch St.,
was sentenced to 34 months in prison and will
be placed on three years’ post-prison supervi-
sion upon release, District Attorney Matt Shirt-
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equipment removal. Crews
are also beginning rehabil-
itory work around the com-
plex, which Maloney said is
mostly trying to cover up the
paths firefighters have cre-
ated amid the fighting.
“It’s really to do whatever
they can to allow the area to
heal as naturally as possible,”
she said.
Sunday also consisted of
restocking some of the local
water sources the crews drew
from over the last week.
Maloney said some locals
pointed out that their ponds
had gotten low, and while
they were happy to assist in
fighting the fires, it could
affect them in the fall.
Fire managers announced
Monday afternoon they were
lowering the fire danger rat-
ing and lifting all restric-
tions on public use, including
recreational chain saw use,
effective Tuesday.
However, a portion of 21
Road remains closed due to
the fire traffic in the area.
BRIEFLY
Wed.
NW 3-6
NNW 6-12
Boardman
Pendleton
“We just don’t see (the
ECONorthwest study) being
a useful part of the conver-
sation,” Meira said. “When
you have flawed data coming
in, the conclusions that result
are unreliable.”
“The report is dismissive
of the fact that wheat grow-
Over half of HK Complex fires contained
WINDS (in mph)
90/58
86/48
0.00"
0.10"
0.15"
9.71"
6.49"
8.10"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 81/50
88/58
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
87/60
90/63
81°
53°
88°
58°
105° (1971) 42° (1907)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
82/56
Aberdeen
82/59
85/62
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
82/61
mental Policy Act , she said.
Those
agencies
are
already studying the effects
14 dams have on fish and
other species as part of
Columbia River systems
operations. A draft environ-
mental impact statement is
due in February.
ers in the Palouse may have
a significant increase in the
cost of getting their prod-
uct to market,” said Don
Schwerin, chairman of the
Washington State Demo-
crats agricultural and rural
issues caucus. “That is sim-
ply not acceptable.”
Schwerin said the report
is flawed, but ag needs to
take it seriously.
He cited a Save Our Wild
Salmon survey, which indi-
cates that “solid majorities”
of Washington voters, about
63%, would spend up to $7
per month on their electric
bill to restore wild salmon
and improve water quality.
“It tells us that there is a
genuine threat that the state-
wide majority could over-
ride the interests of Eastern
and Central Washington,” he
said.
The caucus will hold a
forum about possible effects
of dam removal on barges
and rail before Christmas,
Schwerin said.
Tours that allow legisla-
tors to actually see the dams
and salmon survival rates
are more helpful, said Glen
Squires, CEO of the Wash-
ington Grain Commission.
“It’s almost like the study
was designed to get a lot of
media hype about dams and
breaching, just to keep the
whole breaching idea out in
the media,” Squires said.
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cliff stated in a press released.
Mankins was charged with criminally neg-
ligent homicide, a Class B felony, after 2-year-
old Liam Mankins got control of a loaded
.380-caliber semi-automatic pistol at his home
on Nov. 4, 2018, and shot himself in the head.
Peter Mankins was asleep in his bedroom
when the boy got access to the gun, Shirtcliff
said. Liam was playing with the gun on the
floor when it discharged.
The boy was transported to St. Alphon-
sus Hospital in Baker City, and then flown by
Life Flight to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in
Boise, where he later died.
Oregon paid leave law 1st in
U.S. to fully cover lowest wages
SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on
Friday signed what advocates are calling the
nation’s most progressive paid family and med-
ical leave measure, making the state the first
in the country to offer 100% wage replacement
for minimum-wage workers.
The law, which will pay out benefits begin-
ning in 2023, gives 12 weeks paid time off to
new parents, victims of domestic violence and
those who become ill or need to care for a sick
family member. It also includes people who
may be in the country illegally and those work-
ing part time. Residents need to work 1,000
hours a year to qualify.
The state joins eight others and the District
of Columbia in offering paid family leave.
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