NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Boardman to Hemingway power line topic of 3-day meeting
By DICK MASON
The Observer
MEETING TIMES
The approximate times
the Oregon Energy Facil-
ity Council will meet at
the Gilbert Center, on the
EOU campus, La Grande,
will be 4-8 p.m. on Mon-
day, Aug. 29, from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on Aug. 30, and
from 8 a.m. to noon on
Aug. 31.
LA GR A N DE —
Emotions could run high at
Eastern Oregon University’s
Gilbert Center in La Grande
next week.
The Oregon Energy Facil-
ity Siting Council will meet
at the Gilbert Center for
three days starting Monday,
Aug. 29, to hear oral appeals
for 30 contested portions of
its proposed site plan for the
controversial Boardman to
Hemingway
transmission
line project.
“T h is
is a criti-
cal event,”
s a id Fuji
Kreider, of
Kreider
La Grande,
secretary
and treasurer of the Stop
B2H Coalition, a grassroots
organization of 900 individ-
uals and organizations.
The sessions for each
appeal will run about 25
minutes. At each session,
the organization or individ-
ual appealing the segment of
the proposed site plan will
speak along with those there
to provide clarification. All
sessions will be open to the
public but only those who are
petitioners or litigants will be
allowed to speak.
In many cases those
speaking in support of
EO Media Group, File
A crew works on a transmission line tower outside Boardman in this undated photo. The Ore-
gon Energy Facility Siting Council will meet at Eastern Oregon University’s Gilbert Center, La
Grande, for three days starting Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, to hear oral appeals for 30 contested
portions of its proposed site plan for the controversial Boardman to Hemingway transmis-
sion line project.
elements being challenged
will be representatives of
Idaho Power, a major funder
of the proposed B2H proj-
ect, which would run from
Boardman to the Hemingway
transmission line substation
near Melba, Idaho.
Sven Berg, an Idaho
Power public information
officer, said he respects the
concerns people have but
stressed that throughout the
process of attempting to get
the B2H transmission line
to become a reality, Idaho
Power has strived to work
with those who have worries
and those who could be
impacted.
“We also want to find
common ground with land-
owners and stakeholders. In
all but a few cases, we have
been able to do this,” he said.
“We have tried to find path-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
ways to address concerns,
while balancing this with
the need to provide clean
and affordable energy to our
customers.”
Berg supports the oppor-
tunity the meeting of the
Energy Facility Siting Coun-
cil in La Grande will provide
to those who are on opposite
sides of the B2H fence.
“We trust the process and
want to give those who oppose
Public Lands Day event set for Sept. 24
The Observer
Hot with abundant
sunshine
Mostly sunny,
breezy and hot
93° 66°
93° 60°
Not as warm;
windy in the a.m.
Sunny and
delightful
Sunny
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 54°
90° 60°
82° 55°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
97° 67°
95° 61°
84° 59°
91° 60°
86° 56°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. Wed.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
73/62
86/58
95/64
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
92/70
Lewiston
85/63
97/67
Astoria
71/62
Pullman
Yakima 95/64
88/59
93/67
Portland
Hermiston
92/63
The Dalles 97/67
Salem
Corvallis
91/57
Wednesday
Normals
Records
La Grande
88/58
Bend
94/58
91/59
91/56
Ontario
98/66
Caldwell
Burns
lands throughout North-
east Oregon on public and
private property and is home
to spring Chinook salmon,
summer steelhead, bull
trout, resident trout and other
native fish species along with
elk, deer, river otters, great
gray owls, goshawks, bald
eagles and many other wild-
life species.
The long-term resto-
ration vision for the Bird
Track Springs Fish Habi-
tat Enhancement Project
is to improve physical and
ecological processes by
rehabilitating and restoring
the river channel and flood-
plain to achieve immediate
and long-term benefits to
chinook, steelhead and bull
trout at all life stages.
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
99/65
IN BRIEF
0.00"
0.04"
0.13"
7.52"
2.46"
5.27"
WINDS (in mph)
95/62
92/54
LA GRANDE — The
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest and the Grande Ronde
Model Watershed are team-
ing up to celebrate National
Public Lands Day on Satur-
day, Sept. 24.
The two organizations are
hosting Public Lands Day at
Bird Track Springs Resto-
ration Site along the Grande
Ronde River, about 14 miles
southwest of La Grande.
The event will take place
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The
public is invited to engage
in hands-on projects includ-
ing trail maintenance, moni-
toring water quality, trash
removal and art and story-
telling activities. Free trans-
portation to the event is
available. A bus will depart at
8:30 a.m. from the Commu-
nity Stadium parking lot. The
bus will return at 1 p.m.
National Public Lands
Day is celebrated annu-
ally across the nation on the
fourth Saturday of Septem-
ber. Started by the National
Environmental Education
Foundation, NPLD is the
nation’s largest single-day
volunteer event for public
lands, which include city
parks to national parks and
forests.
The Grande Ronde subba-
sin is a tributary to the Snake
River and part of the Colum-
bia River basin. The water-
shed sustains thousands of
acres of forested and canyon
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
96°
64°
89°
55°
101° (1970) 40° (2010)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
93/56
0.00"
0.04"
0.24"
11.17"
4.35"
8.55"
through 3 p.m. Wed.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 84/54
94/59
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
93/66
100/71
94°
63°
87°
56°
105° (1898) 32° (1904)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
89/60
Aberdeen
86/64
92/69
Tacoma
Wednesday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
88/60
and support the project a
chance to be heard,” he said.
The transmission line
would cost between $1 billion
and $1.2 billion. Towers
along the transmission line
would be as high as 180 feet
tall. In comparison, standard
towers are between 75 and
90 feet tall. The proposed
line would run through the
Grande Ronde Valley.
Idaho Power is leading the
effort to gain approval for the
300-mile, 500-kilovolt B2H
line with the help of its part-
ner, PacifiCorp.
Elements of the proposed
site plan that will be chal-
lenged include the deci-
bel level of the sound that
would come from the B2H
power lines. Kreider said
the site plan states that the
sound level would exceed
the Oregon Noise Control
level standards by 10 deci-
bels. Kreider said she does
not believe a variance should
be granted for this within the
site plan.
Berg said Idaho Power
representatives at the hearing
may indicate the utility could
provide homeowners near
B2H power lines windows
that would better block out
the sound.
At each hearing the
Energy Facility Siting Coun-
cil will take a straw poll
among its members to deter-
mine how they feel about the
issue. The council will vote at
a later meeting on its official
response to each element that
was appealed. Kreider said
it is unclear how the coun-
cil’s response to the appeals
will influence its decision on
whether to support or reject
the B2H site plan. This deci-
sion will be made sometime
after leaving La Grande.
Should the council vote to
support the site plan, Kreider
said the Stop B2H Coalition
may then appeal the decision
to the Oregon Supreme Court.
Ultimate approval of the
site plan is not a guarantee
that B2H would become
a reality, since other steps
would have to be taken. For
example, the public utilities
commissions of both Oregon
and Idaho would have to vote
to authorize construction of
the B2H line, Berg said.
Berg said that Idaho
Power’s goal is to break
ground for B2H in 2023 and
have lines for the project
Today
Fri.
SSE 4-8
NW 6-12
WSW 10-20
W 10-20
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
92/52
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
6:08 a.m.
7:46 p.m.
4:01 a.m.
7:36 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Aug 27
Sep 3
Sep 10
Sep 17
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 108° in Merced, Calif. Low 33° in Afton, Wyo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Contributed Photo
A dump truck lies on its side on Adams Road in Canyon City Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
Dump truck hits power line,
flips in Canyon City
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals
postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home
delivery
Savings
(cover price)
$10.75/month
50 percent
52 weeks
$135
42 percent
26 weeks
$71
39 percent
13 weeks
$37
36 percent
EZPay
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Washington man dies in
cycle crash near Enterprise
ENTERPRISE — A Clarkston, Washing-
ton, man died Saturday, Aug. 20, as a result of
injuries suffered in a single-vehicle motorcy-
cle crash on Zumwalt Road near Enterprise,
according to a press release from the Wallowa
County Sheriff’s Office.
Karl Daniel Schmidt, 34, was pronounced
dead at the scene. The crash occurred less
than a mile from Crow Creek Road.
Deputies, medics and Oregon State Police
responded to the scene, the release stated.
No other information was available.
— EO Media Group
ADVERTISING
Classified & Legal Advertising
Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group:
Classified advertising: 541-564-4538
• Karrine Brogoitti
541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
EastOregonian.com
In the App Store:
80s
CANYON CITY — A dump truck driver
who flipped his truck Monday, Aug. 22, on
Adams Road in Canyon City suffered minor
injuries.
According to a press release from the Grant
County Sheriff’s Office, Timothy Hueckman,
66, of John Day left the dump box raised as he
drove down Adams Road and caught a power
line that snapped into multiple pieces and ulti-
mately flipped the truck onto its side.
McKinley said the wreck closed through
traffic on Adams and West Bench roads for
three hours on Monday. Oregon Trail Elec-
tric Cooperative and CenturyLink worked to
restore services in the affected areas.
Multimedia Consultants:
• Angel Aguilar
541-564-4531 • aaguilar@hermistonherald.com
• Melissa Barnes
541-966-0827 • mbarnes@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Office
Legal advertising: 541-966-0824
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items, engagements,
weddings and anniversaries: email community@eastoregonian.com,
call 541-966-0818 or or visit eastoregonian.com/community/
announcements.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips,
email sports@eastoregonian.com.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
• Dayle Stinson
Commercial Print Manager: Holly Rouska
541-966-0824 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
541-617-7839 • hrouska@eomediagroup.com