KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
State needs
to do more
in Morrow
County
M
orrow County is in the state of
Oregon in the United States.
It isn’t in the battered,
remote nation of Afghanistan.
It isn’t in war-torn Ukraine.
Nope. It is — arguably — located in
one of the richest nations on earth.
Yet much of its water isn’t clean.
That’s a problem.
Recently we utilized this space on this
page to laud the eff orts of the state federal
legislators to earmark money for the
lingering water crisis in Morrow County.
Most readers are most likely aware
of the recent controversy over the high
number of nitrates — a common ingre-
dient of fertilizer — in Morrow County’s
groundwater.
Yes, the problem isn’t a new one. The
high nitrate levels have been an issue for
more than three decades. Yet the recent
spate of testing of private wells in the
Boardman area found that may residents
had unsafe levels of the chemical in their
drinking water.
Late last month in a letter the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
urged state offi cials to be more proactive
regarding steps to solve the problem. The
letter to the Oregon Health Authority,
the Oregon Department of Environmen-
tal Quality and the Oregon Department
of Agriculture gave praise for some of
the early eff ort of mitigating the nitrate
problem but urged the state to hold those
with control over the nitrate sources be
held accountable by “requiring them to
assume some of the responsibilities” for
the problem and to change their practices.
One problem, state offi cials said, is
some of the monitoring agencies — such
as the DEQ — are limited on what they
can do regarding regulation and enforce-
ment. For example, a DEQ spokesperson
said the agency has regulator author-
ity over on a small part of the identifi ed
sources of nitrates in the area.
Up to a point, state agencies are
between a rock and a hard place. But only
up to a point.
The EPA could still take emergency
action on the matter. While we do not
believe it is the time for that kind of
action, we do believe the state can do
more. This shouldn’t be a major challenge
for a state inside one of the richest coun-
tries on the globe. It is a water contamina-
tion problem. It is unacceptable.
State, regional and local offi cials need
to work together with industry leaders to
solve this issue as soon as possible. We
are way past the time of vacillation. We
do not need, at least not yet, federal inter-
vention when we are perfectly capable of
solving this problem. So, let’s do it.
YOUR VIEWS
Oregon has a bad
habit of ignoring safety
“Poorly designed and maintained
power lines are particularly susceptible
to wind. When those lines slap together,
even more fi res can be started. Even the
best-managed private property can be
burned if the state and federal govern-
ment and the power companies aren’t
doing an adequate job of maintaining
their land and facilities.” — East Orego-
nian, Aug. 18, 2022.
This, along with the fi ndings of the
commission set up by the Oregon Public
Utility Commission, that Idaho Power’s
fi re prevention plan does not meet the
required standards set by the state of
Oregon to prevent fi res, only to then be
refuted by the OPUC board are part of
the problem. Why set up a commission to
review the fi re prevention plan submitted
by Idaho Power only to ignore the fi nd-
ings and recommendations set forth by
the “experts on fi re prevention?”
When it comes to common sense
issues, big business and state agencies
seem to be lacking. As Idaho Power
continues to roll over the private land-
owners of Umatilla, Union, Baker and
Morrow counties, all the state and county
offi cials see is more dollars fl owing into
their coff ers and the welfare of the forests
and farm lands be damned. Placing the
blame on the Oregon Department of
Forestry is only partially right as the ODF
has its hands tied many times by other
state agencies as well as state and local
politicians who care only about money.
Oregon has an energy corridor, which
is supposed to be where new utilities
are to be built, but Oregon Department
of Energy Facility Siting Council along
with the OPUC has decided to ignore
the corridor and make exceptions to
allow Idaho Power to do as they darn
well desire. To make things even worse,
the state has been holding hearings on
making it even easier to allow big busi-
ness to use condemnation of private lands
even though the proposed 500 kilowatt
line has to date not even been approved
or permitted. As anyone that has ever
watched the “hearings” knows, the
letters of 400 words or less on public
issues and public policies for publication
in the newspaper and on our website. The
newspaper reserves the right to withhold
letters that address concerns about
individual services and products or letters
that infringe on the rights of private citizens.
Letters must be signed by the author and
include the city of residence and a daytime
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of
the East Oregonian editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page
express the opinions of the authors and
not necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
The East Oregonian welcomes original
outcome is already determined prior to
the “show hearings.”
If the politicians are serious about
reducing fi re threats in our forests and
agricultural lands it is time to show it by
rejecting proposed projects, such as Idaho
Power’s for profi t power line, and stop
making exceptions to fi re reducing laws.
Oregon has a bad habit of ignoring safety
all for the sake of dollars.
John Harvey
Stanfi eld
Irrigon police department
In the 25 years that I have lived in Irri-
gon the Morrow County Sheriff ’s Offi ce,
under Sheriff Ken Matlock, has done a
superior job in providing police services
to the citizens of this community.
The idea of a one or even two-man
force is pretty farfetched and is probably
the reason that there have been no takers
for the position. The city would be better
off using our tax money for infrastructure.
John Carter
Irrigon
phone number. The phone number will not
be published. Unsigned letters will not be
published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. SENATORS
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129
REPRESENTATIVES
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford offi ce: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us