A4 The BulleTin • Friday, March 26, 2021
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
Illegally dumped radioactive
fracking waste will stay, state says
The Associated Press
SALEM — A state agency
has chosen to leave millions of
pounds of illegally dumped, ra-
dioactive fracking waste in an
Eastern Oregon landfill.
The Oregon Department of
Energy’s decision on Wednes-
day comes just over a year after
it issued a notice of violation to
Chemical Waste Management,
Oregon Public Broadcasting
reported. The company oper-
ates Oregon’s only hazardous
waste landfill, outside the Co-
lumbia River town of Arling-
ton. An investigation found
CWM had dumped 1,284 tons
of radioactive waste in the
landfill over three years.
Oregon law prohibits the
establishment of a radioactive
waste disposal facility.
After the violation, CWM
had to come up with a plan
and offered to dig it up and
ship it to another state, or to
leave it and monitor the effects.
Budget
Continued from A1
But the budget framework
of almost $28 billion from the
tax-supported general fund
and lottery proceeds will leave
$520 million of that federal aid
unspent until the 2023-25 bud-
get cycle, when tax collections
are also projected to fall short
of meeting current service lev-
els.
The budget committee lead-
ers also propose a record $250
million allocation to the state
emergency fund, given the
continuing uncertainties about
the coronavirus pandemic and
wildfires. (The Legislature gave
more money to the Emergency
Board, which decides budget
matters between sessions, but
only after two special sessions
in 2020.)
“Our framework addresses
unprecedented challenges as
we await further federal guid-
ance with respect to the Amer-
ican Rescue Plan money des-
ignated for Oregon,” said Sen.
Betsy Johnson, a Democrat
from Scappoose and a budget
co-leader. “Our document is
sufficiently flexible to respond
during budget negotiations.
However, it also prudently an-
ticipates potential challenges
Deckhands on
a Sandridge
Energy oil rig
change out a
drill pipe in a
fracking oper-
ation on the
Oklahoma bor-
der in Harper
County, Kansas.
Bo Rader/Wichita
Eagle/TNS, file
The state Department of En-
ergy said removing the waste
“would pose a greater risk to
landfill workers than leaving
the waste in place.”
CWM will be subject to
more stringent water-quality
monitoring, and the Depart-
ment of Energy has directed
the company to install a portal
to scan shipments of waste for
radioactivity.
In 2019, a tipster from North
Dakota alerted Oregon regu-
lators that the Oregon landfill
might have been accepting
radioactive waste from a com-
pany disposing of solid waste
from a project in the Bakken
Formation — one of North
America’s largest contiguous
oil and natural gas deposits.
An investigation found the
company, Goodnight Mid-
stream, contracted Oilfield
Waste Logistics to dispose of
the solid waste and it “mis-
represented” to CWM what
material it was sending to be
dumped, the Department of
for the 2023-25 budget.”
Counties and cities also will
get share of federal aid un-
der Biden’s plan. Cities with
populations of 50,000 and up,
and all counties, will get their
money from the U.S. Treasury.
Smaller cities will get theirs
through the state, based on
population.
Unlike Brown’s budget,
which proposed tapping the
state education reserve fund,
the legislative framework
would leave both the education
and general reserve funds un-
touched. Lawmakers did draw
$400 million from the educa-
tion reserve fund last year, cut-
ting it in half.
The state budget spends
more money than the tax-sup-
ported general fund and lot-
tery proceeds. But most of that
money is in the form of ear-
marked federal grants or other
sources, such as fuel taxes.
Leader Christine Drazan of
Canby said in a statement. “We
look forward to hearing from
our communities and working
with our colleagues to deter-
mine how we can provide on-
going support for recovery and
continue the programs and
services important to families
and children.”
Budget subcommittees have
heard agency presentations but
still have to do much of the de-
tailed work on individual agen-
cies. The first agency budget
emerged from the full commit-
tee on March 19.
Brown’s budget proposes a
shift of $280 million into pro-
grams intended to overcome
Shifting millions
The state’s new two-year
budget cycle starts July 1. In-
stead of field meetings, which
the pandemic precludes, the
budget committee will sched-
ule virtual hearings soon on
the framework.
“This is just the beginning of
the process,” House Republican
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Energy’s former assistant direc-
tor for nuclear safety Ken Niles
previously said.
The Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality, which
permits the facility, fined
CWM and Oilfield Waste Lo-
gistics $60,000 and $308,656,
respectively.
“In the manifest that they
provided to Chemical Waste
Management Arlington, it ba-
sically said that this waste does
fit within Oregon’s regulations,”
Niles said. “Chemical Waste
Management did not do their
due diligence to ensure what
they were being told by OWL
was in fact accurate.”
CWM spokesperson Jackie
Lang said CWM “had a gap in
our process” that the company
has now addressed.
“Today, I can say with confi-
dence that we are in full com-
pliance and that our protec-
tions are better and stronger
than ever,” Lang said.
the effects of discrimination
against Oregon’s racial and eth-
nic minorities.
The budget co-leaders said
they are continuing discus-
sions with lawmakers of color
— who now hold 12 of the 90
House and Senate seats — and
others about how to incor-
porate those changes into the
budget.
“It’s important to protect ser-
vices that Oregonians depend
on, and to make investments
to overcome disparities caused
by systemic racism,” Sen. Eliza-
beth Steiner Hayward, a Dem-
ocrat from Beaverton and a
budget co-leader, said.
e e
pwong@pamplinmedia.com
TODAY
It’s Friday, March 26, the 85th day
of 2021. There are 280 days left in
the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
In 1982, groundbreaking cere-
monies took place in Washington,
D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial.
In 1812, an earthquake devastat-
ed Caracas, Venezuela, causing an
estimated 26,000 deaths, accord-
ing to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In 1827, composer Ludwig van
Beethoven died in Vienna.
In 1874, poet Robert Frost was
born in San Francisco.
In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died
in Camden, New Jersey.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans
became the first U.S. team to win
the Stanley Cup as they defeated
the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4
of the finals by a score of 9-1.
In 1945, during World War II, Iwo
Jima was fully secured by U.S.
forces following a final, desperate
attack by Japanese soldiers.
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court,
in Baker v. Carr, gave federal courts
the power to order reapportion-
ment of states’ legislative districts.
In 1964, the musical play “Funny
Girl,” starring Barbra Streisand as
Fanny Brice, opened on Broadway.
In 1979, a peace treaty was signed
by Israeli Prime Minister Men-
achem Begin and Egyptian Presi-
dent Anwar Sadat and witnessed
by President Jimmy Carter at the
White House.
In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis
sentenced former heavyweight
boxing champion Mike Tyson to
six years in prison for raping a Miss
Black America contestant. Tyson
ended up serving three years.
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members
of the Heaven’s Gate techno-reli-
gious cult who committed suicide
were found inside a rented man-
sion in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
In 2010, the U.S. and Russia sealed
the first major nuclear weapons
treaty in nearly two decades,
agreeing to slash the former Cold
War rivals’ warhead arsenals by
nearly one-third.
Ten years ago: Former Demo-
cratic vice presidential candidate
Geraldine Ferraro, the first female
major party nominee for the of-
fice, died in Boston at 75.
Five years ago: Bernie Sanders
scored wins over Hillary Clinton
in the Washington state, Alaska
and Hawaii Democratic caucuses.
Author Jim Harrison (“Legends of
the Fall”) died in Patagonia, Arizo-
na, at 78.
One year ago: Federal officials
said two men who had been on
a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship
stalled for days off the California
coast had died; officials confirmed
that fewer than half the ship’s
2,400 passengers were tested for
the virus. More than 100 people
who were on the Grand Princess
were found to be infected with
the coronavirus; at least eight
died. The government reported
a record-high number of new
unemployment claims — nearly
3.3 million — amid an economic
shutdown caused by the corona-
virus. The U.S. surpassed official
Chinese government numbers
to become the country with the
most reported coronavirus infec-
tions, more than 85,000.
Today’s Birthdays: Retired Su-
preme Court Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor is 91. Actor Alan Arkin
is 87. Palestinian President Mah-
moud Abbas is 86. House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi is 81. Actor James
Caan is 81. Author Erica Jong is
79. Journalist Bob Woodward is
78. Singer Diana Ross is 77. Ac-
tor Johnny Crawford is 75. Rock
singer Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
is 73. Singer and TV personality
Vicki Lawrence is 72. Actor Ernest
Thomas is 72. Comedian Martin
Short is 71. Country singer Ronnie
McDowell is 71. Movie composer
Alan Silvestri is 71. Rock musician
Monte Yoho is 69. Former Trans-
portation Secretary Elaine Chao
is 68. Radio talk show host Curtis
Sliwa is 67. TV personality Leeza
Gibbons is 64. Actor Ellia English is
62. Actor Jennifer Grey is 61. College
and Pro Football Hall of Famer Mar-
cus Allen is 61. Actor Billy Warlock
is 60. Actor Eric Allan Kramer is 59.
Basketball and College Basketball
Hall of Famer John Stockton is 59.
Actor Michael Imperioli is 55. Rock
musician James Iha is 53. Country
singer Kenny Chesney is 53. Movie
director Martin McDonagh is 51.
Actor Leslie Mann is 49. Actor T.R.
Knight is 48. Rapper Juvenile is 46.
Actor Amy Smart is 45. Actor Bianca
Kajlich is 44. Moderator Margaret
Brennan is 41. Actor Sterling Sulie-
man is 37. Actor Keira Knightley is
36. Rapper J-Kwon is 35.
— The Associated Press