NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Court ruling could green light contested energy projects
By JAKE THOMAS
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Two contro-
versial energy projects in
the Columbia River Gorge
area could move forward as
the result of a ruling by the
Oregon Supreme Court.
The court’s ruling on
Jan. 15 concerns admin-
istrative rules adopted in
2018 by the state Energy
Facilities Siting Coun-
cil, which oversees and
imposes conditions on the
construction and opera-
tion of large energy proj-
ects. The rules would have
changed the process for the
certification of energy sites
and drew a challenge by
conservation group Friends
of the Columbia Gorge.
Last year, the court
determined that the rules
were invalid after Friends of
the Columbia Gorge argued
the council didn’t follow the
right procedures in adopt-
ing them. In response, the
council adopted nearly
identical rules but on a tem-
porary basis.
Friends of the Colum-
bia Gorge, joined by other
conservation groups, again
challenged the rules. But
the court found the state
could legally adopt the
rules on a temporary basis.
Nathan Baker, staff
attorney for Friends of the
New York Times Photo/Leah Nash, File
Turbines spin at a large wind farm launched more than a decade ago in Sherman County in
north-central Oregon. Other projects would bring more turbines to Eastern Oregon if approved.
ects that have drawn hun-
dreds of public comments
in opposition. He said the
state authorization for both
projects were issued years
ago and would have expired
if not for amendments
allowed under the contested
rules.
One project affected is
the Summit Ridge Wind
Project, proposed for a site
14 miles southeast of The
Columbia Gorge, said his
group’s primary concern
was that the way the rules
were adopted shut out the
public and made it difficult
for citizens to participate.
“That’s never a good
thing,” he said. “There
needs to be transparency
and an open public process.”
He said the temporary
rules were used to advance
two controversial proj-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Dalles in Wasco County.
According to the state
council’s website, the proj-
ect would include 72 wind
turbines that would have a
peak generating capacity of
194 megawatts that would
be sold to the Bonneville
Power Administration.
Friends of the Colum-
bia Gorge contended the
project would impair views
along the lower Deschutes
A few showers in
the afternoon
43° 35°
44° 41°
Cloudy; rain at
night
Mostly cloudy
Rather cloudy
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
54° 44°
53° 42°
55° 40°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
44° 34°
45° 40°
53° 43°
55° 43°
56° 41°
OREGON FORECAST
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
48/43
39/31
42/28
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
42/36
Lewiston
49/44
44/37
Astoria
50/44
Pullman
Yakima 41/32
47/42
42/31
Portland
Hermiston
50/44
The Dalles 44/34
Salem
Corvallis
51/43
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
42/30
Bend
53/44
44/33
43/31
Ontario
41/29
Caldwell
Burns
0.00"
0.13"
0.84"
0.13"
1.14"
0.84"
WINDS (in mph)
45/30
40/23
PORTLAND — Mari-
juana sales in Oregon along
the Idaho state line are
420% the statewide average,
according to a state report.
Idaho residents are pur-
chasing recreational mari-
juana in Oregon because it
is illegal in Idaho, the report
released Friday by the Ore-
gon Office of Economic
Analysis said.
The report also showed
stronger marijuana sales for
Washington along its bor-
der with Idaho in 2019 than
along its borders with Ore-
gon or Canada.
“The sales in counties
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
41°
31°
42°
29°
60° (2010) -32° (1930)
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
51/44
0.00"
0.86"
1.00"
0.86"
1.45"
1.00"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 41/27
51/44
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
43/35
41/35
39°
30°
42°
28°
67° (1968) -18° (1930)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
48/41
Aberdeen
38/32
36/28
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
49/44
Today
Medford
48/39
Wed.
SSW 4-8
S 6-12
Boardman
Pendleton
S 4-8
S 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
38/27
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:28 a.m.
4:45 p.m.
4:52 a.m.
1:56 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Jan 24
Feb 1
Feb 8
Feb 15
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 77° in Hollywood, Fla. Low -30° in International Falls, Minn.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
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ice
60s
cold front
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70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
Chiloquin man arrested
following shooting, house fire
that closed Highway 97
KLAMATH FALLS — A Chiloquin
man is in custody after a prolonged standoff
in which Klamath County Sheriff’s Office
deputies were shot at and a home set on fire,
according to a sheriff’s office news release.
Steven Earl White, 55, is being held at the
Klamath County Jail.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. Sunday,
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office deputies
responded to a call of shots fired in a resi-
dence on U.S. Highway 97 near Chiloquin,
about 100 miles south of Bend. Upon arrival,
deputies were fired upon by a subject inside
the residence.
Deputies made several unsuccessful
attempts to encourage the suspect to give
himself up, and at approximately 9:30 p.m.
deputies prepared to make entry into the res-
idence in order to take the subject into cus-
tody. The subject had started a fire in the res-
idence in an attempt to evade arrest. White
was arrested and is being held at the Klamath
County Jail.
Law enforcement officers from Klamath
Falls Police Department, Oregon State Police
and the U.S.Forest Service assisted Klamath
County Sheriff’s Office in taking White into
custody. There were no injuries suffered by
110s
high
low
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75% of Oregon sales and
about 35% of Washington
sales in counties along the
Idaho border were caused
by the border effect.
Idaho borders three
states that have legalized
recreational marijuana sales
including Oregon, Wash-
ington and Nevada, officials
said.
Advocates for legaliz-
ing medical marijuana have
started collecting signatures
to get an initiative on the
general election ballot, the
Idaho Statesman reported.
The number 420 is a
colloquial term referenc-
ing marijuana or cannabis
consumption.
responders or White and light damage to one
KCSO patrol vehicle when it came under fire
from the suspect.
Grand jury charges SOU
hall-of-famer in Ashland
poaching case
ASHLAND — A Southern Oregon Uni-
versity football Hall of Famer who had a brief
career in the NFL will face a felony charge for
an alleged deer poaching within Ashland city
limits in which a bullet struck a house.
A grand jury charged Dustin “Dusty”
McGrorty, 38, of Riddle, with a felony charge
of unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor
poaching and trespassing crimes surrounding
the taking of a “4x4” trophy-class buck last
fall, according to documents filed earlier this
week in Jackson County Circuit Court.
McGrorty allegedly fired a round from the
seat of his truck while the animal was sleeping
underneath a large bush near a house, accord-
ing to an Oregon State Police press release
issued days after the Oct. 16, 2019, shooting.
After the gunshot passed through the animal,
the bullet hit a home near its front door.
McGrorty briefly went pro after his time at
SOU, according to the Hall of Fame, after he
signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis
Rams.
— EO Media Group
CORRECTION: In the Page A1 story “Vintage Discovery,” published Thurs-
day, Jan. 16, Sandra J. Parker should have been credited as the person who started the
Parker House bed-and-breakfast at 311 N. Main in 1994. The B&B is now known as
the Pendleton House.
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52 weeks
26 weeks
13 weeks
along the Idaho border were
much stronger than I antic-
ipated,” analyzer Josh Leh-
ner said. “Obviously, rec-
reational marijuana is not
legal in Idaho, but even after
throwing the data into a
rough border tax model that
accounts for incomes, num-
ber of retailers, tax rates
and the like, there remains a
huge border effect.”
A border effect occurs
when two neighboring
jurisdictions have different
rules prompting residents
to travel to nearby regions
to take advantage of the dif-
ferent regulations, experts
said.
The report found about
BRIEFLY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
comment. Asked if the proj-
ect was moving forward, he
replied, “We hope so.”
Jennifer Kalez, com-
munications director for
the Oregon Department of
Energy, said in an email
there are three other energy
facilities currently under
review for amendments.
The projects, which don’t
appear to have generated
controversy, include two
wind farms near Arlington,
as well as a transmission
line between Eugene and
Medford.
The state council will
consider making the dis-
puted rules permanent at its
meeting in Hood River on
Friday, Jan. 24.
A dozen conservation
groups, including Friends
of the Columbia Gorge, sub-
mitted a 22-page letter ask-
ing the council to not make
the rules permanent, citing
concerns that they would
conflict with state law and
reduce public input.
Baker said the rules
would allow staff to decide
on project site expansions
that should be made by the
council. He said his group
believes that the rules
would conflict with state
law and they could draw a
third court challenge.
“It all depends on what
(the council) does next
week,” he said.
Report: Oregon marijuana sales
are 420% stronger near Idaho
Associated Press
A couple of rain or
snow showers
River and the Columbia
River Gorge National Sce-
nic Area, in addition to
harming bald and golden
eagles.
The state council cer-
tified the project in 2011.
LotusWorks, the Vancou-
ver-based company behind
it, has been granted mul-
tiple amendments to its
certification.
The second is the Peren-
nial Wind Chaser Sta-
tion, a natural gas facil-
ity that would produce up
to 415 megawatts of elec-
trical power on approxi-
mately 20 acres in Umatilla
County, according to the
council’s website. Accord-
ing to its application, the
facility would be used to
compensate for when wind
energy can’t meet demand
for electricity.
Baker said there were
concerns that the natu-
ral gas facility would pol-
lute air in the gorge. Rep-
resentatives for the project
could not be reached for
comment.
Both projects need to
be completed by 2023. But
Baker said there are doubts
that the companies are
even actively pursuing the
projects.
Steven Ostrowski, the
president of LotusWorks,
said he wasn’t aware of the
court ruling and declined to
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