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OCTOBER 5-6, 2019
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LIFESTYLES, C1
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WEEKEND EDITION
143rd Year, No. 252
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WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Brown
issues ban
on vaping
products
Oregon has seen
eight cases of
vaping-related
respiratory illness
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Oregon Capital Bureau
plan to inject it into a nearby natural gas
pipeline, which will transport it to South-
ern California to produce cleaner-burn-
ing fuel for trucks.
“Renewable natural gas is gaining a
lot of momentum in the marketplace,”
said Marty Myers, general manager of
SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
has imposed a six-month ban on the sale
of fl avored vaping products.
Eight cases of respiratory illness asso-
ciated with vaping have been reported in
Oregon as of Oct. 1.
In two of those cases, the patients
died, according to the Oregon Health
Authority.
People vape by breathing in and out
through electronic cigarettes or vape
pens that heat liquid to create a vapor.
That liquid can contain nicotine, THC
and other ingredients, such as fl avor-
ings. The industry has been criticized for
promoting sweet-fl avored products that
appeal to children, such as bubble gum
and crème brulee fl avors.
The ban does not cover unfl avored
vaping products.
“My fi rst priority is to safeguard the
health of all Oregonians,” Brown said in
a statement Friday. “By keeping poten-
tially unsafe products off of store shelves
and out of the hands of Oregon’s children
and youth, we prevent exposing more
people to potentially dangerous chemical
compounds, and help lessen the chance
of further tragedy for any other Oregon
family.”
Brown added that the “safest option”
for people right now is stop vaping alto-
gether, in line with what Oregon Health
Offi cer Dean Sidelinger advised Sept. 26.
“Until we know more about what is
causing this illness, please, do not vape,”
Brown said. “Encourage your friends and
family members to stop vaping imme-
diately. Talk to your children about the
dangers of vaping. The risks are far too
high.”
Last week, the state health agency had
suggested a six-month ban as one of the
policy options Brown could consider.
She is also ordering state agencies to
develop “long-term solutions” for the
See Manure, Page A9
See Vape, Page A9
George Plaven/Capital Press
Methane captured at the Threemile Canyon Farms manure digester is currently fed into three generators capable of produc-
ing 4.8 megawatts — enough power for a city the size of Boardman.
Rural meets
non-rural through
unique method —
cow manure
Anaerobic digesters explained
Biogas is generated when microorganisms convert manure into methane in a closed space,
absent of oxygen. This process is known as anaerobic digestion and digesters can produce
hundreds of kilowatt-hours of electricity. Other useful by-products from this process
include fertilizer and solid bedding material.
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
OARDMAN — A thou-
sand miles separates
Threemile Canyon Farms
in Eastern Oregon, sur-
rounded by high desert and sagebrush,
from the crowded freeways of Los
Angeles.
Though they might seem like dis-
tant strangers, the mega-dairy and the
megalopolis are about to be connected
by a most unexpected resource — cow
manure.
Threemile Canyon Farms is Oregon’s
largest dairy with 68,340 cattle, includ-
ing 33,000 milking cows. In 2012, the
B
Electricity
sold to
utility
Methane
handling
Manure
collection
Digester
one
Co-gen
Digester
two
Methane storage
Sources: Revolution Energy Solutions;
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Capital Press graphic
Separator
farm built an anaerobic digester to cap-
ture methane emissions from all that
manure. It has since used the gas to
generate electricity, which it sells to the
interstate utility Pacifi Corp.
In June, state regulators approved an
expansion of the facility, and Threemile
Canyon installed new equipment to
purify the methane. Farm managers now
Generator
burns methane
to produce
electricity
Solids: liquid fertilizer and bedding
Oregon DMV warns of crunch for Real ID
Getting passport
means bypassing
long lines at DMV
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Oregonians
have little less than a year to con-
tinue using their state-issued driv-
er’s licenses or identifi cation cards
for domestic fl ights. Come Oct. 1,
2020, they will need to show pass-
ports or driver’s licenses or other
identifi cation that meet the stan-
dards of the Real ID Act.
The Oregon Driver and Motor
Vehicle Services Division is urging
residents to have their passports at
the ready.
The Real ID Act of 2005 came
out of a recommendation from the
9/11 Commission to establish fed-
eral security standards for driver’s
licenses and other forms of identi-
fi cation. According to the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security, 47
states have complied with the law
while New Jersey, Oklahoma and
Oregon have extensions to become
compliant.
Tom McClellan, administrator
of the Oregon DMV, during a press
conference Tuesday at the Port of
Portland said the 2020 deadline is
“hard and fast,” and the agency is
moving as fast as it can to meet it.
The DMV set the weekend of July
4 to overhaul its computers systems
to meet Real ID requirements.
“It’s absolutely as soon as we
could have it ready to go is July 6
of next year,” McClellan said.
Going with the Real ID option
on driver’s licenses and the like
could cost an extra $20, and Ore-
gon would become the last state to
provide the options with less than
three months before the federal
Transportation Security Adminis-
tration stops accepting the state’s
regular forms of identifi cation.
Tom Fuller, Oregon Department
of Transportation communications
manager, told reporters present
that’s “not enough time for DMV to
produce enough Real ID licenses to
meet the demand of nearly a mil-
lion Oregonians who are going to
want one and who will need one to
board a commercial fl ight.”
MORE INFORMATION
For more information about pass-
ports, visit www.co.umatilla.or.us
and click on the link for “Records”
on the drop down menu under
the “departments” tab or call the
records offi ce at 541-278-6236.
You also can fi nd passport infor-
mation at https://travel.state.gov.
But a passport, McClellan said,
“is a defi nite way to get through
security at the airport.”
Oregon has more than 75 centers
that handle passport applications,
including most county clerk offi ces.
Steve Churchill, public records offi -
See DMV, Page A9