East Oregonian : E.O., February 22, 2020, Image 1

WEEKEND EDITION
ATHENA UNDER
BOIL WATER
ORDER
REGION, A3
STANFIELD
GIRLS SECURE
STATE BERTH
BMCC PROFESSOR
COLLECTS HISTORY’S
MOST WANTED
SPORTS, B1
LIFESTYLES, C1
E O
AST
REGONIA
REGONIAN
FEBRUARY 22-23, 2020
144th Year, No. 91
WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
EO SPOTLIGHT
Dams debate
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: Removal of Snake
River dams critical to saving salmon
$1.50
Brown
attempts
to strike
a deal
With Republicans
ready to walk out
again, governor
looking to bargain
By LAUREN DAKE
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
WHEAT
According to Pacifi c Northwest Waterways Association, the Colum-
bia Snake River System is the largest wheat export gateway in the
U.S. United Grain Corps relies heavily on this export terminal at the
Port of Umatilla shown on Friday afternoon.
IRRIGATION
Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Ice Harbor Dam on the Lower Snake River holds back Lake Sa-
cajawea, a source of irrigation water for 47,000 acres of farmland.
Farmers are skeptical the water could be replaced if the dam were
to be breached, according to a study funded by the state of Wash-
ington.
P
By JESSICA POLLARD
East Oregonian
ASCO, Wash. — Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown shifted the political debate
from cap and trade during the
short-session in Salem to the waters
of the Columbia River’s largest tributary —
the Snake River — and the four lower dams
on the Eastern Washington portion of it.
Brown on Feb. 11 wrote a letter to Wash-
ington Gov. Jay Inslee expressing her sup-
port to remove the earthen portions from the
TRANSPORTATION
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Kim Puzey, general manager of the Port of Umatilla, explains the
current operations of the port while driving around the Port of
Umatilla Industrial Park on Friday afternoon. He fears removing
earthen portions of the four lower Snake River Dams could result
in heavy reliance on higher emitting rail and trucking industries
for transporting goods to market.
SALMON
Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Spring Chinook salmon are one of the most highly prized fi sh in the
Northwest. In a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee this month, Or-
egon Gov. Kate Brown stated that removing the earthen portions of
the four lower Snake River Dams could increase salmon populations
— a win for migrating orcas and tribal fi shing rights.
four concrete lower Snake River dams.
She stated the science was clear —
removal is the most probable answer to
salmon and steelhead population recovery in
the Columbia River Basin, which could aid
orcas in their forage for fatty spring Chinook
salmon off the mouth of the Columbia in late
winter each year.
However, she added, “much must be done
before this is accomplished in order to help
minimize and mitigate for potential harm to
other vital sectors.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the
mid-1970s built the Lower Granite Dam, the
Little Goose Dam, the Lower Monumental
Dam and the Ice Harbor Dam east of Pasco
where water discharges into the Columbia.
The dams supply water to irrigate farmland,
hydropower and transportation routes.
The Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, Warm
Springs, and Shoshone Bannock tribes all
relied on fi shing from the river, which was
once a main contributor and contained mil-
lions of salmon each year, well before the
SALEM — On Valentine’s Day,
Gov. Kate Brown and Republican
state Sen. Bill Hansell surveyed
fl ood damage in Eastern Oregon
from a Black Hawk helicopter.
The following Monday, the gov-
ernor stopped by Hansell’s offi ce in
the Oregon Capitol.
She wanted to discuss how the
state might give fi nancial help to
fl ood victims in Hansell’s district.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Brown
also had a request — one tied to a
bill the Democrats want to pass this
session, but which Hansell and his
party vow to block.
“I had begun to hear that maybe
there was going to be a quid pro
quo,” Hansell recalled Wednesday.
“The governor was going to hold up
relief work in order to try and extract
a commitment from me on some of
the bills or something.”
That’s not what happened.
According to Hansell, Brown
even told him: “I’m sure you heard
rumors I’m here to do a quid pro
quo. I am not.’”
But the governor did ask Hansell
for something — call Shaun Jillions,
an industry lobbyist who is among
the most forceful opponents to Sen-
ate Bill 1530, the climate change bill
Democrats are pushing this year.
Hansell said it only dawned on
him later what Brown was actu-
ally asking. She wanted him to
work with Jillions to fi gure out what
amendments to the bill might keep
Hansell from abandoning the 2020
legislative session altogether.
The odd meeting is a fi tting
example of the state of affairs in the
Capitol, as Democrats and Repub-
licans once again brace for a clash
on climate change. With the cap-
and-trade bill headed to a potential
See Snake River, Page A9
See Deal, Page A9
State releases funding proposal for Eastern Oregon fl oods
Gov. Kate Brown
announced a funding
proposal of $11.65
million Friday
By ALEX CASTLE AND
ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
UMATILLA COUNTY —
Eastern Oregon got its fi rst dose
of fi nancial relief from the state,
but local leaders are still waiting to
see how many federal agencies will
follow suit.
Gov. Kate Brown announced a
funding proposal of $11.65 million
Friday to assist the Eastern Oregon
communities devastated by fl oods
earlier this month.
“I saw and
heard on my visit
last week how dev-
astating this is for
residents, and I am
determined that it
Brown
shouldn’t be cata-
strophic to the sta-
bility of the community,” Brown
said in a press release. “I am com-
mitted to making sure that resi-
dents have what they need to stay
in place, reopen their businesses,
and rebuild their lives.”
The funding package includes
relief for businesses and homeown-
ers, along with assistance for levee
repairs. According to the release,
the state expects the federal govern-
ment to give “signifi cant funding”
through its disaster relief programs
and for the state’s $11.65 million
to go “toward fi lling the gaps of
immediate needs that are ineligible
for federal reimbursement.”
While he acknowledged there’s
still a lot of work and funding that
will be needed beyond this pack-
age, Umatilla County Commis-
sioner George Murdock said Fri-
day’s proposal was an essential
piece of good news.
“The important thing is that
the rapid response from the gover-
nor’s offi ce gives our area a lot of
hope when we needed it,” he said.
“We’ve been waiting for word like
this. It’s critical for the morale of
the community. This may just be
the tip of the iceberg, but it reminds
us that help is coming.”
The proposal lists $4 million for
the “expedited purchase and instal-
lation of manufactured homes,” $1
million in “rapid rehousing funds”
for immediate needs, along with
$500,000 for low- or no-interest
loans for damage costs not covered
by fl ood insurance.
“In an area already in short sup-
ply of available housing, having
so many homes wiped out has an
enormous impact,” Brown said in
the release. “People have been get-
ting by the best they can by staying
with friends and neighbors or by
driving farther away to fi nd a safe,
dry home — but that’s not practical
in the long term.”
To address long-term needs, the
See Funding, Page A9