Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2000)
3 &z Perce express comcermi weir river toxins FEBRUARY 1, 2000 N LEWISTON, ID (AP) Fish are not the only creatures that can be affected when Potlatch Corp.'s wastewater is released at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers. People who eat fish taken from the rivers could be digesting chemicals used in the process of mak ing pulp and paper and tribal officials are con cerned. The Environmental Protection Agency is charged with setting limits on chemicals that can enter the river and possibly humans and those limits are included in Potlatch's draft permit. Alan Prouty, Potlatch director of environmental engineering, says the limits in the draft permit already are be ing met by the company. But the limits were formulated using outdated and inaccurate figures about fish consumption, Nez Perce tribal officials contend. "The fish consumption rate doesn't consider tribal health," said Rick Eichstaedt of the tribe's water resources division. "The EPA is responsible for protecting the most vulnerable portion of the popu lation and that is the population which eats fish." The limits are based on a complicated risk as sessment formula that involves the rate at which the chemicals are absorbed by fish, the potential effect on human health and how much fish is eaten by the human population. Tribal fish consump tion is much higher than the fish consumption rate used by the Environmental Protection Agency, Eichstaedt says. The Environmental Protection Agency's fish con sumption number used to develop human health criteria is 6.5 grams of fish per day, about five pounds a year. But an agency-funded study con ducted by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission released in 1994 found members of the four Columbia River tribes the Nez Perce, Yakama, Warm Springs and Umatilla consume 10 times that much. The survey showed tribal members consumed about three times as much anadromous fish as resident fish. Salmon was the fish most often eaten, followed by trout, lamprey and smelt. The agency must also consider the detection level of dioxin, a cancer-causing chemical consid ered to be the most dangerous by-product of the pulp and paper bleaching process. And there is another angle on the fish consump tion rate. Both the EPA and the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality contend the Environmen tal Protection Agency must change the fish con sumption number. But Jim Bellatty of the state Division of Envi ronmental Quality said those changes are up to the federal agency. Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chair man Samuel N. Penney sent a letter to the Envi ronmental Protection Agency with concerns about the fish consumption rate in 1998. "To ensure the protection of our treaty resources as well as the health of tribal members, EPA must consider a fish consumption rate that more accu rately reflects tribal fish consumption," Penney wrote. Eichstaedt said both agencies need to address fish consumption. "It's definitely something we're going to address in the comment period and in talking with the EPA. This somehow needs to be addressed in either a change in EPA rules or Idaho's water quality stan dards," he said. Governor honors scholarship donor By Brent Merrill Portland resident Jean Vollum was recently honored by Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber as the 1999 Scholarship Donor of the Year. Vollum is the chair of her late husband's (Howard Vollum) scholarship fund at the Or egon Community Foundation. According to Gene Evans, of the Student As sistance Commission in Eugene, the Howard Vollum Scholarship Fund has granted more than $800,000 in educational scholarships to Portland area Native Americans and funded $1.4 million in special education projects in Ashland, Eugene and Portland. Vollum was honored "for her extraordinary efforts in establishing and guiding one of the state's major educational funds dedicated to helping Native Americans," said Patricia Adworth. Adworth is the executive director of the state's Student Assistance Commission. The late Howard Vollum co-founded Tektronix one of Oregon's largest technology companies. According to Jean Vollum, he wanted to see people pursue science, math, engineering and educational opportunities at the college level. Jean Vollum also contributes to both public and private colleges in the Portland area. The Student Assistance Commission was cre ated by the state legislature in 1959 and ad ' ministers a variety of state, federal and privately funded educational benefits aimed at college bound students. ft ,4, ; V -I f I i 1 h j '1 vt w.;,..rt . . M s . f h Jean Vollum (with Governor Kitzhaber) chairs the scholarship fund named for her late husband, Howard Vollum. The fund has granted more than $800,000 in scholarships to Native Americans. 4:00 p.m. Meeting called to order by Kathryn Harrison, Tribal Council Chair. With Butch La Bonte (arriving late), a full Council was present. Bob Mercier moved, Reynold Leno seconded to approve the previous December 15, 1999 Tribal Council meeting minutes as submitted. Motion carried. TRIBAL GOVERNMENT, MANAGEMENT, & BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE B CTGR Trucking, LLC Short-Term Loan resolution. Reynold Leno moved, June Sell Sherer seconded to adopt Resolution No. 154 99 approving a short-term loan for CTGR Truck ing, LLC in the amount of $50,000 from the Tribe's Economic Development Fund for shareholder con tribution. Motion carried 8-0-0. D Emergency Enrollment Determination resolution. Bob Haller moved, Reynold Leno sec onded to adopt Resolution No. 155-99 to approve Helen Giovanna Tonso for enrollment under the emergency determination clause of the Enrollment Ordinance. In addition, it is recommended that Helen Giovanna Tonso be listed opposite 4933 on the official membership roll. Motion carried 8-0-0. B Chartering of Playworld, Inc. resolu tion. Val Grout moved, Butch LaBonte seconded to adopt Resolution No. 156-99 authorizing the following actions: 1) Chartering Playworld, Inc. ("Playworld"), as a corporation existing under the laws of the Tribe, as governed by Articles of Incorporation that state (a) the Tribe shall be the sole owner of Playworld, (b) that all capital stock in Playworld shall be reg istered in the name of the Tribe, (c) that no transfer of any interest in Playworld shall be made or effective without the prior ap proval of the Tribal Council by resolution, and; 2) Extending sovereign immunity to Playworld and authority to Playworld to waive same as to Playworld's own transactions and dealings. Motion carried 8-0-0. B Capitalization of Playworld, Inc. reso lution. June Sell-Sherer moved, Ed Larsen sec onded to adopt Resolution No. 157-99 authoriz ing the following actions: 1) Allocating $75,000 of the Tribe's Economic De velopment Fund for shareholder contribution to the Playworld, and; 2) Authorizing Tribal Council officers to take such action as is necessary to cause the Tribe to make said shareholder contribution to the company. Motion carried 8-0-0. B Extend Line of Credit with Commerce Bank resolution. Ed Larsen moved, Reynold Leno seconded to adopt Resolution No. 158-99 to approve extending the line of credit with Com merce Bank to July 31, 2000 and authorized the Tribal Council Chairperson to execute one or more extensions through December 31, 2000. Motion carried 8-0-0. B CY 2000 Operating Budget Approval resolution. Ed Larsen moved, Bob Mercier sec onded to adopt Resolution No. 159-99 to approve the CY 2000 Operating Budget for the Tribe. Motion carried 8-0-0. r (gUGQfiftKl
