REGION
Saturday, July 3, 2021
East Oregonian
A9
Oregon threatens to reject Easterday mega-dairy
Application
has been in the
permitting process
for two years
By KRISTIN M.
KRAEMER
Tri-City Herald
BOARDMAN — Oregon
officials have given Cody
Easterday 15 days to with-
draw his application to
operate a controversial mega-
dairy in Boardman, just
south of the Tri-Cities.
The application, which
has been in the permitting
process for two years, was
filed naming Easterday as the
owner or operator of Easter-
day Farms Dairy LLC.
But around the same time
the president of one of the
largest agricultural opera-
tions in Washington state
was pleading guilty to wire
fraud and trying to protect his
businesses with bankruptcy
filings, his 24-year-old son
bought all of his father’s inter-
est in the proposed Oregon
facility.
It is not known how much
Cole Easterday paid for the
operation.
But, now that Cole East-
erday is listed as manager
of the corporation and Cody
Easterday’s name has been
removed from official paper-
work, the confined animal
feeding operation application
is no longer valid.
Under Oregon’s laws
governing confined animal
feeding operation, or CAFOs,
the applicant listed must be
the owner or operator of the
facility.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture sent out
a news release Thursday,
July 1, saying the state has
requested that Cody Easter-
day withdraw his application.
The agency has not ruled
out whether it will consider
an application filed by
George Plaven/Capital Press, File/Capital Press
Wastewater lagoons are emptied at the former Lost Valley Farm as part of cleanup operations. The facility’s cleanup was
completed before the Oct. 31, 2020, deadline established under a legal agreement with Oregon regulators.
another person on behalf of
the dairy.
If Cody Easterday does
not withdraw by the July
15 deadline, the Oregon
departments of agriculture
and environmental quality
will issue an order denying
the application because it is
inconsistent with state regu-
lations, according to the news
release.
Easterday Dairy
Online Oregon corpora-
tion records show the annual
report was amended March
17 to reflect Cole Easterday
as manager.
Two days later, another
document was filed saying
that Easterday Farms Dairy
— first registered in Oregon
on March 20, 2019 — is now
to be known as Easterday
Dairy LLC.
It is a Washington corpo- which is 60 miles south of the
ration with a North Indus- Tri-Cities.
trial Way address in Pasco,
Since then, the two
just like the other fami- Oregon agencies have been
ly-owned businesses, East- working with Cody Easter-
erday Ranches and Easterday day on the individual permit.
Farms.
Dairy opposition
The Easterdays bought the
embattled Lost Valley Farm
There has been opposi-
in April 2019 after troubled tion to the application, with
owner Greg te Velde
a coalition calling for
was forced to shut
the state to deny the
Easterday permit and
down the dairy and
pushing the Oregon
sell the cattle in his
Legislature to enact
ow n ban k r uptcy
case.
a moratorium on
T he r e p or t e d
the creation of new
mega-dairies and the
$ 6 6 .7 m i l l i o n
Easterday
expansion of existing
pu rchase pr ice
covered the property
operations.
Stand Up to Factory Farms
but not the cows.
Cody Easterday applied in wants policies instituted to
June 2019 for a CAFO permit “meaningfully protect our
for a large-scale, commer- air, water and climate, and
cial dairy and feedlot with ensure the humane treatment
28,300 cattle near Boardman, of animals and the economic
vitality of family farmers.”
The coalition includes
community, environmental,
farm and social justice orga-
nizations at the local, state
and national level.
The Oregon Department
of Agriculture “is right to
require Cody Easterday to
withdraw the permit appli-
cation for a new mega-dairy
in eastern Oregon, particu-
larly in light of the federal
charges brought against him
and the uncertainty regard-
ing the future of the Easter-
day family’s enterprises,”
coalition organizer, Kris-
tina Beggen, said in a news
release after the state made
its announcement.
“The fact that ODA
continued to consider this
permit after the Easterday
scandal broke, despite clear
authority to deny the appli-
cation, is outrageous. But
returning the application is
not enough,” Beggen contin-
ued.
“Oregon is in the throes
of a record-breaking, climate
change-fueled heat wave and
drought that will be worsened
by a mega-dairy’s massive
greenhouse gas emissions
and water waste. Governor
Brown must prevent this
to prove herself a climate
champion. She must deny the
permit for this mega-dairy
outright, no matter who the
applicant is.”
The coalition renewed its
request involving the East-
erday operation in February
after allegations surfaced in a
lawsuit that Cody Easterday
had bilked Tyson Foods and
an unnamed company out of
more than $225 million total
by charging for the purchase
and feeding of 200,000 cattle
that never existed.
Easterday came up with
the scheme to offset the
money he lost in the commod-
ities trading markets, federal
investigators said.
At the same time, East-
erday Ranches and Easter-
day Farms separately filed in
federal court for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection.
Cody Easterday, now 50,
went on to plead guilty in
U.S. District Court in a case
that federal prosecutors are
calling a “ghost-cattle scam.”
The Mesa man faces up
to 20 years in prison, and
agreed to repay $244 million
in restitution.
Stand Up Factory Farms,
in calling for the applica-
tion to be denied, questioned
how Easterday Farms Dairy
would have the ability to
meet the permit’s financial
requirements with the parent
companies embroiled in
multiple legal matters.
The coalition has said
an estimated $15 million is
required to bring the former
Lost Valley site into environ-
mental compliance.
Brown declares drought disaster
Umatilla County
faces some of the
driest conditions
on record
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Contributed Photo
A bipartisan group of 21 Northwest lawmakers called on President Joe Biden to prioritize a
long-running effort to renegotiate a 60-year-old treaty that governs how the United States
and Canada share the waters of the Columbia River Basin.
Lawmakers seek progress
on Columbia River Treaty
The Associated Press
SPOKANE — A bipar-
tisan group of 21 Northwest
lawmakers called on Presi-
dent Joe Biden to prioritize a
long-running effort to rene-
gotiate a 60-year-old treaty
that governs how the United
States and Canada share the
waters of the Columbia River
Basin.
In a Tuesday, June 29,
letter to Biden, Washing-
ton Republican Rep. Cathy
McMorris Rodgers, Wash-
ington Democratic Sen. Patty
Murray and Oregon Demo-
cratic Rep. Peter DeFazio led
the group urging the presi-
dent to update the Columbia
River Treaty.
The Spokesman-Review
reported efforts to revise the
treaty, which was signed in
1961, began in 2013 amid
concerns over salmon runs,
flood risk and electricity the
U.S. sends to Canada under
the accord.
“Modernizing this treaty
is critically important to
protecting our region from
flood control risks and ensur-
ing we can continue to lead
with clean, renewable, reli-
able, and affordable hydro-
power,” McMorris Rodgers
said in a statement.
The treaty, which took
more than 20 years to nego-
tiate, came together after
a 1948 flood washed away
what once was Oregon’s
second-biggest city, Vanport.
It provided for the construc-
tion of one dam in Montana
and three in British Colum-
bia, completed between 1968
and 1973, that together more
than doubled the amount of
reservoir storage in the basin,
providing benefits for both
flood prevention and gener-
ating power.
Most of the treaty’s provi-
sions don’t have an expira-
tion date, but half a century
after its signing, changing
conditions spurred an effort
to modernize it. The Bonne-
ville Power Administration
and the Army Corps of Engi-
neers — which together form
the U.S. entity responsible
for the agreement — began
a review of the deal in 2011
and recommended a series of
changes to the State Depart-
ment in 2013.
The recommendations
included letting more water
f low through the dams
in spring and summer
to improve fish passage,
decreasing the treaty’s
impact on tribal resources
and updating flood manage-
ment plans. The BPA and
Army Corps of Engineers
also recommended chang-
ing a provision known as
“the Canadian Entitlement,”
which requires the U.S. to
send cash and half of power
generated downstream to
Canada in exchange for the
water resources.
The BPA and Army Corps
of Engineers have estimated
the value of the Canadian
Entitlement to be between
$229 million and $335
million a year, contending the
current treaty gives the U.S.
a raw deal. Canadian negoti-
ators have argued the current
entitlement is fair. Either
country can terminate the
treaty with 10 years’ notice,
but neither has done so.
The letter was signed
by lawmakers from Wash-
ington, Oregon, Idaho and
Montana.
A State Department
spokesperson said Friday
the agency doesn’t comment
on congressional correspon-
dence but promised to consult
with lawmakers on the treaty.
The White House did
not respond to a request for
comment.
PENDLETON — Gov.
Kate Brown declared
Umatilla County in a drought
disaster in an executive order
Tuesday, June 29.
The county was one of
four — along with Grant,
Union and Wasco counties —
that Brown announced was
facing “a severe, continu-
ing drought emergency”
that is projected to continue
as conditions are unlikely to
approve, the order said.
Now, the declaration
heads to Secretary of State
Shemia Fagan for her signa-
ture.
The move has the poten-
tial to bring relief to local
farmers in the form of state
or federal funding. It also
directs a variety of state
agencies to assist water users,
seek federal support, assess
the impact on the region’s fish
and wildlife and find ways
to mitigate the drought’s
impact.
The county is facing
drought conditions unparal-
leled in recent years, coupled
with a record-breaking heat
wave that sent temperatures
skyrocketing during the past
week. The conditions spell
disaster for the region’s agri-
cultural industry, one of the
region’s primary economic
drivers, officials say.
The order says the condi-
tions also “increase the
potential for fire, shorten
the growing season, and
decrease water supplies.”
Last weekend, a fire outside
of Pendleton stretched more
than 450 acres, much of
which was standing wheat.
The the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office is investi-
gating the cause of the fire,
but Pendleton Fire Chief
Jim Critchley said it was not
started by natural causes.
“If a fire starts, who
knows when it would stop?”
Umatilla County Commis-
sioner George Murdock said
of the conditions.
County declares
drought
In April, the Umatilla
County Board of Commis-
sioners declared a drought
disaster and asked Gov.
Kate Brown to follow suit.
Counties across Eastern and
Central Oregon have since
declared for drought disaster
en masse.
“We were very anxious
because we knew this would
have a big impact on our
farmers,” Murdock said. “It
positions them to get some
help because of the drought
conditions.”
Murdock said the county
was “delighted” to see
the state move to declare
drought. He added he fully
expects Fagan to sign the
declaration, saying he “can’t
fathom her not signing it.”
“We’re not happy that
we’re in drought conditions,”
he said. “But we’re certainly
happy that the governor
recognized that, along with
many other counties, and
approved it.”
LOCAL BRIEFING
Tribes announce
COVID-19
vaccine lottery
MISSION — As Oregon
prepares to announce the
winners of its COVID-
19 vaccination lottery, the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
has a lottery of its own.
Accordi ng to a
announcement on Tuesday,
June 29, tribal members
and CTUIR employees who
have received the COVID-
19 vaccination are eligible
for cash prizes.
All vaccinated tribal
members and employees
will get $100 and will be
eligible for the drawings.
For its $2,000 prize, the
tribes will draw 250 names
from its tribal membership
and 206 names from the
CTUIR workforce. One
person from each group will
be selected for the $50,000
grand prize. Tribal members
ages 12-17 also will be
eligible to win $10,000 or
$50,000 scholarships.
CTUIR employees must
be vaccinated by July 30 and
employed at a tribal entity
by the Aug. 3 drawing.
Eligible contestants can
enter into the lottery by
calling 541-240-8500 or by
scanning a QR code avail-
able at www.ctuir.org.
CTUIR fireworks
ban remains
M ISSION — T he
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
reminded residents and visi-
tors that fireworks remained
banned on tribal land ahead
of the Fourth of July week-
end.
In a Thursday, July 1,
press release, the tribes
reiterated the sale and use
of fireworks already are
banned through the CTUIR
criminal code. However,
“firework like devices,”
like sparklers, cap guns and
snakes, are allowed.
“We have been operat-
ing under a burn ban since
June 18,” Umatilla Tribal
Fire Chief James Hall said
in a statement. “Right now,
the risk of fire caused by
fireworks is at an all-time
high. We need to do every-
thing possible to reduce the
threat of fire. Tell your kids.
Tell your neighbors.”
While a permanent ban is
already on the books for the
CTUIR, Umatilla County,
Pendleton and Milton-Free-
water all took recent action
to temporarily ban fire-
works as the weather has
taken an extremely hot and
dry turn.
— EO Media Group