East Oregonian : E.O., October 31, 2020, Image 1

WEEKEND EDITION
BATTEN DOWN THE
HATCHES FOR A COLD,
SNOWY WINTER
DAYLIGHT
SAVING TIME
NORTHWEST, A2
Don’t forget to turn
your clocks back one
hour tonight.
PAC-12 COLLEGE
FOOTBALL PREVIEWS
SPORTS, B1
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 1, 2020
145th Year, No. 7
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
State eases rules for reopening schools
Umatilla County falls in ‘red zone’
where distance learning is mandatory
By JACKSON HOGAN AND
GARY A. WARNER
Bend Bulletin
SALEM — Oregon is simplify-
ing the COVID-19 infection stan-
dards that schools must meet to
get students back in the classroom
for the fi rst time since March,
Two killed,
one injured
in shooting
Incident occurred
on Sagebrush Road
outside Hermiston
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — An alterca-
tion between four males resulted
in the shooting death of two of
them and a gunshot wound to a
third, according to Sheriff Terry
Rowan.
Rowan said at 8:18 p.m. on
Thursday, Oct. 29, dispatch
received a call from Alejandro
Madrigal of Umatilla stating that
he and his father, Jaime Madrigal,
had been in an altercation with
Raymon Rios and Hugo Madri-
gal-Leon on Sagebrush Road near
Bensel Road outside Hermiston.
According to Rowan, Alejandro
said Jaime had been shot and that
Alejandro had shot Rios and Mad-
rigal-Leon in self-defense.
Law enforcement arrived to
fi nd Raymond Ryan Rios, 18,
of Hermiston and Hugo Mad-
rigal-Leon, 19, of Hermiston,
deceased. Rowan said Jaime was
treated at the hospital for a gun-
shot wound, and Alejandro had
some injuries stemming from the
initial altercation. Both cooperated
with law enforcement.
He said Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce, Umatilla Morrow
Major Crime Team, the Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown announced Fri-
day, Oct. 30.
Brown made the announce-
ment at a press conference along
with Colt Gill, director of the
Oregon Department of Educa-
tion, and Dr. Tom Jeanne, deputy
state epidemiologist at the Oregon
Health Authority.
“We need to give Oregonians
hope and encouragement,” Brown
said about the changes.
The new rules will move the
focus to infection rates based on
individual counties rather than
any statewide measurement.
While the majority of students in
the state will likely be required to
continue with distance learning,
an estimated 130,000 could return
to the classroom as early as next
month.
Brown said she believed the
moves were the best way forward
for the state, despite rapidly ris-
ing COVID-19 infections that led
Oregon to report 600 cases on
Oct. 30, a new daily record.
“Our updated metrics are based
on the latest COVID-19 studies
and data, are aligned with CDC
recommendations, and bring Ore-
gon in sync with the standards
of other states like California,”
Brown said. “They also help us
meet our priority of returning
students to in-person instruction.
These metrics still place a very
high bar for low case counts to
open schools, while at the same
time providing more fl exibility
for our younger students.”
The Oregon Health Authority
has reported 44,389 positive cases
and 675 deaths from COVID-19
since it fi rst appeared in the state
See Reopening, Page A9
INTENT TO SUE
Columbia River
Keepers claim
power company
failed to acquire
proper construction
permits for Umatilla
County-based
natural gas plant
By KATY NESBITT
For the East Oregonian
U
MATILLA COUNTY — To
stop the alleged illegal develop-
ment of a {span}proposed Uma-
tilla County natural gas plant{/
span}, a special interest group
could be looking to the courts
for help.
Columbia River Keepers of Portland
fi led a 60-day notice of intent to sue Peren-
nial-WindChaser LLC for building a road
at the site of a proposed 415 megawatt plant
near Hermiston without a stormwater per-
mit from the Department of Environmen-
tal Quality.
According to the notice of intent, dated
Oct. 20, Perennial is discharging pollut-
ants, including stormwater associated
with industrial activity, from the proposed
power plant site without the authorization
of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimina-
tion System permit and in violation of the
federal Clean Water Act.
Erin Saylor, an attorney for Columbia
River Keepers, said under the Clean Water
Act, citizens can’t immediately sue for per-
mit violations — they must fi rst send the
company a 60-day notice that indicates
their intent to fi le suit.
“That gives the company and DEQ a
chance to remedy the violation fi rst,” Say-
lor said. “If the company or DEQ fail to
remedy the violation in that time frame,
we will fi le suit at the end of the 60-day
period.”
According to Dan Serres, conserva-
tion director for Columbia River Keepers,
the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Coun-
cil granted a site certifi cate for the fracked
gas-powered plant in 2015. After fi ve years,
Serres said the facility has yet to secure
a purchaser for its potential power and
remains unbuilt.
The proposed plant is right next to
See Gas plant, Page A9
A cleared section of dirt marks the
beginnings of a roadway on the site
of the future Perennial Wind Chaser
plant on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
See Shooting, Page A10
States partner to study Walla Walla Basin groundwater
Washington, Oregon,
tribes partner to
understand basin’s
complex hydrology
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
WALLA WALLA, Wash. —
State, federal and tribal agencies
are teaming up to study declin-
ing groundwater levels in the Walla
Walla Basin, part of a new long-term
strategy to balance the region’s water
needs.
It is the fi rst comprehensive effort
of its kind in the 1,700-square-mile
watershed straddling Northeast Ore-
gon and Southeast Washington, and
builds on more than a decade of work
conducted individually by regulators
on both sides of the state line.
The Washington Department of
Ecology and Oregon Water Resources
Department recently formed a part-
nership, working with the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey and Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation to gain a better understanding
of the basin’s complex hydrology.
“Certainly there have been some
changes in water management the
last couple of decades, driven pre-
dominately by (endangered spe-
cies) concerns,” said Justin Iverson,
OWRD groundwater section man-
ager. “We’ve seen more dependence
on groundwater, as surface water
isn’t as available.”
Agricultural irrigation is by far
the largest demand on the ground-
COVID-19 NUMBERS
water system, Iverson said. There are
approximately 125 wells with water
rights on the Oregon side of the basin,
and 520 permitted groundwater users
on the Washington side.
In 2017, Oregon declared the
sub-basin a “serious water manage-
ment problem area” and stopped per-
mitting new agricultural wells. Over
the last two decades, Iverson said
groundwater levels fell 1-4 feet per
year on average in the deeper basalt
See Groundwater, Page A10
WEEK ENDING TOTALS FOR 10/30/20
IN UMATILLA COUNTY
RISK LEVEL TOTAL
HIGH CASE COUNT
121
TOTAL
CASE GOAL
8
OR POSITIVE
LESS TEST RATE
13.8 % 0.6
%
POSITIVE
TEST GOAL
%
5