OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
East Oregonian
the planet is subsidized one
way or the other,” Hamilton
said. “So, the question is how
is it subsidized and to what
extent? Consider how much
money you as taxpayers put
into highways, how much
money you put into the air
traffic control system, you
put into all the other forms
of transportation.”
According to Hamil-
ton and Bilka, the purpose
of Amtrak is not to make
money, but to provide a
service.
AANW:
Continued from Page A1
“We’ll always need cars
in rural areas and elsewhere,
but we really need to ensure
that communities of all sizes
can participate in mobility
that works for everyone,”
AANW President Daniel
Bilka said.
In November 2021, the
U.S. House passed a $1.2
trillion bipartisan infra-
structure bill, which allo-
cated $66 billion in funding
for Amtrak’s repair back-
log. This would allow for
improvements to existing
passenger rail networks and
potentially kick-start new
projects that would allow
passenger rail service across
the nation.
Meeting attendees pointed
out areas where they believed
a passenger rail could have a
positive impact for Northeast
Oregon — winter weather,
medical access and college
attendance.
“If you want to go to
Whitman College in Walla
Walla or if you want to go
to Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity, how do you get here if
you’re not driving? And what
does that do to the quality
and ability of that school to
survive?” Hamilton said.
Economy, environment
and equity
According to AANW,
passenger rail is an ideal
option for addressing what
they call the “three Es’” —
economy, environment and
equity.
Passenger trains provide
benefits to the economy
and taxpayers. On average,
overnight visitors traveling
to Eastern Oregon spend
$102 per day as a solo tourist
and $282 per day as a group,
Attorney:
Continued from Page A1
Pachico is slated to work
in the Hermiston office with
Jenkins, who grew up in
Hermiston and came home
to the community after
law school. She first joined
Umatilla County DA staff in
2009, and was promoted to
chief deputy in its Hermiston
office in 2015.
In 2019 she was Herm-
iston High School’s Distin-
guished Alumna of the Year,
and left for the federal post in
early 2021. Umatilla County
commissioners in January
voted unanimously to rehire
her in her former position.
Primus said she took the
helm of the Hermiston office
on April 1.
Ludington joined the
DA’s office in February 2011
and in February 2019 left
for private practice with the
Pendleton-based firm Mautz
& O’Hanlon. He also served
as a Pendleton Municipal
Court judge before returning
to the DA’s office in April .
“The dynamics were
different (in 2019),” Luding-
ton said. “I was maxed out
unless I could serve as a chief
deputy DA.”
He explained that to
advance as a prosecutor, he
would have needed to move,
but his wife’s family lives
in Pendleton, and they love
being here. So he opted for
civil practice.
Then the county decided
to change its approach to
hiring deputy DAs, he said.
“We used to hire young
deputies, who would get
experience here, then typi-
cally leave,” Ludington said.
“The county then tried to get
people who want to be here.
Senior deputy DA is not an
easy job, but you’re paid to
do the right thing. This is a
fantastic place to work. It
was the best move for my
family.”
Ludington also is Pendle-
ton Little League president.
“I’ve worked with most
of our deputies for a long
time,” he said. “We know
and respect each other. We
know our strengths and
support each other. It’s funny
to look back to 2011, at my
first collective bargaining
experience here. The average
lifespan of a deputy DA here
then was under two-and-a-
half years.”
Now Primus has been
A9
Next steps
All Aboard Northwest/Contributed Graphic
This map depicts All Aboard Northwest’s vision for what passenger rail lines could look like for Eastern Oregon and the sur-
rounding area.
according to the Economic
Impact of Travel in Oregon
2021 report. Easy travel
options help strengthen
local economies, according
to AANW.
“Travel means business,”
Bilka said.
This also is the case for
rural communities. For
example, Meridian, Missis-
sippi — which has a popu-
lation of 39,000 people
— invested $7.5 million in
a new Amtrak Station. This
has brought $200 million
into a three-block radius of
the station during the last 20
years.
Trains also can provide
more mobility for signifi-
cantly less cost. During the
presentation, Bilka refer-
enced a recent decision by
the state of Virginia to invest
in a new statewide passen-
ger and freight network
rather than expanded high-
ways. Adding one additional
as emitting less greenhouse
gasses, increased fuel effi-
ciency and reducing highway
pollution caused by conges-
tion.
Lastly, passenger rail lines
help with equity. There is a
large portion of the United
States that is not supported
by passenger rail. Bilka joked
about Amtrak’s “Connect
US” map because it does
not really connect the U.S.
if not all states — including
most of Oregon — are not
serviced.
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Passenger rail enthusiasts attend the Train Trek meeting Sat-
urday, Aug. 13, 2022, at Cook Memorial Library, La Grande.
All Aboard Northwest organized the meeting to advocate for
a return of passenger rail lines to Oregon, Idaho and Utah.
lane to 52 miles of highway
was estimated to cost $12.5
billion and was not expected
to reduce road congestion,
so the state opted to invest in
rail instead. The rail project
is estimated at $3.7 billion —
a third of the cost.
Rail transport provides
environmental benefits, such
A common critique
A com mon concer n
raised in conversations about
passenger trains is whether
the mode of transportation
should exist if it cannot run
without government subsi-
dies. Many critics point to the
fact that Amtrak operates at
a net loss.
“If you think about it,
every form of transport on
The Greater Northwest
Passenger Rail Summit is
scheduled for Aug. 22-23 in
Billings, Montana. At this
meeting, the Federal Rail-
road Association will share
how states can apply for
funding. Bilka and Hamil-
ton said this is the time for
communities to start advo-
cating for passenger rail
access in their communities
by reaching out to local and
state government.
The Oregon Department
of Transportation will need
to submit an expression of
interest to stay informed
about the process and apply
for the grant funding when it
becomes available, according
to AANW.
“This year is an amazing
opportunity because, again,
there is $66 billion on the
table. And they’re all going
to be sent out in grant forms,
which means local states,
communities, tribes, inter-
state organizations, have to
apply for it,” Hamilton said.
“And we know that other
states are going to be apply-
ing, so the first thing you
need to do is you need to be
asking your elected officials,
specifically your governor,
your state DOT, your state
legislatures, to submit an
expression of interest.”
here for more than 10 years,
and Jenkins and Pachico
even longer, Ludington said,
and other deputies came here
in 2014 or 2015.
The deputies’ experi-
ence allows the DA’s office
to achieve just results
while best utilizing county
resources, he said.
“Turnover has costs,” he
pointed out. “Younger depu-
ties are paid less, but how
many months does it take to
get up to speed? Then there’s
the type of case they can
handle. It takes time to accu-
mulate the experience neces-
sary to handle major cases.
Stability is worth the cost.”
The freshman
prosecutor
Blaire Lakatos is the
office’s newest deputy, also
joining the staff in April. She
graduated from law school
in 2020 and was in Portland
before joining Intermoun-
tain Public Defender Inc. in
Pendleton for about a year
during the pandemic.
“It was a decent paying
job,” she said. “It did not
involve courtroom work,
which I never envisioned
doing. I looked into join-
ing the DA office, but I’m a
moderate. I see both sides
of issues. With that mental-
ity, would prosecution be
doable?”
Lakatos met Primus, and
saw the veteran senior and
chief deputies coming back,
which helped her make up
her mind.
“Now I live in a court-
room,” she said. “In a rural
area, you can get more expe-
rience. You may start with
petty theft, but can soon
dive into felonies and do it
all. From the 7:45 a.m. meet-
ing on, I get support.”
Lakatos credited her
colleagues with helping tran-
sition her from the defense
side.
“They allow me to have
discretion and never be too
busy,” she said. “Even the
support staff are great. The
team made it possible for me
to hit the ground running,
since they knew judges and
courtrooms.”
Lakatos said she did enjoy
her year with the public
defender.
“I watched the deputy
DAs, and saw how tired they
were, when at their most
short-handed,” she recalled,
“yet what good work they did.
Now I’m very much enjoying
working with them.”
Monica Samayoa/Oregon Public Broadcasting
This April 15, 2022, photo shows Silvia Hernandez’s private well in the outskirts of Boardman. The Environmental Pro-
tection Agency lauded the state’s efforts to deliver clean drinking water to Morrow County residents affected by nitrate
pollution but wanted more action to address the issue at its source.
Polluters:
Continued from Page A1
Kowalski encouraged
the state to regulate indus-
trial discharge and animal
feeding operations through
a permitting system estab-
lished by the EPA’s National
Pollutant Discharge Elimi-
nation System.
Before ending the letter,
Kowalski left the door open
to the EPA taking emer-
gency action in Eastern
Oregon.
“T he Agency will
continue to closely monitor
the situation and continues
to assess options for addi-
tional Agency intervention
if necessary,” he wrote.
State agencies outline
their efforts
Responding to requests
for comment, represen-
tatives from the Oregon
departments of environ-
mental quality and agri-
culture explained the
enforcement work they
already were doing while
also emphasizing the barri-
ers to expanding it further.
DEQ’s Laura Gleim reit-
erated the agency’s position
on enforcement: It would
take action where it could,
but its reach was limited.
in this area.”
Liz Beeles of ODA said
her agency would continue
to monitor and regulate
groundwater pollution from
animal feeding operations
“DEQ IS USING WHAT
REGULATORY AUTHORITY WE
HAVE TO REDUCE NITRATE
CONTAMINATION FROM
SPECIFIC SOURCES, INCLUDING
ENACTING STRICTER LIMITS
ON FOOD PROCESSING
WASTEWATER FACILITIES.”
— Laura Gleim, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
“DEQ is using what
regulatory authority we
have to reduce nitrate
contamination from specific
sources, including enact-
ing stricter limits on food
processing wastewater
facilities,” she wrote in an
email. “However, DEQ only
has regulatory authority
over a small portion of the
identified sources of nitrate
and certain irrigated agri-
culture. But the latter could
be difficult to track.
“The current monitor-
ing framework makes it
difficult to identify specific
irrigated agricultural nutri-
ent sources and link them
to water quality outcomes
in groundwater,” she wrote.
Beeles added the depart-
ment was looking into ways
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to “support or enhance”
vol u n t a r y m e a s u r e s
proposed in a 2020 plan.
Instead of focusing
on enforcement, Oregon
Health Authority spokes-
person Jonathan Modie
detailed his agency’s legis-
lative efforts.
In an email, Modie wrote
that OHA will seek money
from the Emergency Board
for well treatment systems
and replacement water
filters for affected house-
holds through June 2023.
During the Legislature’s
long session next year, OHA
plans to ask for money to
pay for a new domestic well
safety coordinator position,
among other things.
Morrow County Emer-
gency Manager Paul Gray,
who has helped coordinate
the county’s emergency
response to the nitrate pollu-
tion, did not return requests
for comment.
Scott Lukas, the commit-
tee chair of the Lower
Umatilla Basin Groundwa-
ter Management Area, was
traveling and said he would
not be able to comment at
the time.