News
Blue Mountain Eagle
A9
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Harney groundwater worries halt new well permits
Area in
detail
Groundwater pumping is exceeding recharge in Harney basin
OREGON
Water regulators have
largely stopped permitting
new agricultural wells in Or-
egon’s Harney Basin due to
concerns about groundwater
depletion.
Groundwater
pumping
is exceeding the rate of re-
charge in the area, which has
prompted the Oregon Water
Resources Department to
deny most new permits until
it conducts a multi-year study
of the situation, said Ivan
Gall, the agency’s groundwa-
ter section manager.
“You can see these de-
clines occur over a fairly
broad area of the valley,”
groundwater rights are used
each year, while only about
170,800 acre feet are avail-
able for use.
Heavy rains only offer a
temporary reprieve from the
problem, Gall said. “A really
wet year helps for a period
of time, but then it rolls over
and begins its downward
trend again.”
Once the agency com-
pletes the study, it may con-
tinue denying new well per-
mits for agriculture and only
allow “exempt” domestic
uses, he said.
However, the OWRD will
establish rules for the region
that may allow an existing
permit to be canceled — like-
ly in return for money — so
that a new well can be drilled,
Gall said.
OWRD’s decision to halt
new well permits came af-
ter WaterWatch of Oregon,
an environmental non-pro¿ t,
protested several approvals
last year.
The group became con-
cerned after seeing the agency
issue multiple well permits
without determining if water
is available or whether the
wells would affect surface
water, said John DeVoe, its
executive director.
“This was happening over
and over,” he said.
Even so, it was becoming
apparent that groundwater
pumping in the basin was
unsustainable, which would
require action to prevent the
area from developing more
severe problems such as those
seen in the Umatilla Basin,
DeVoe said.
“I think it’s an area that
was going to get some scruti-
ny whether we were involved
or not,” he said.
The Harney Basin expe-
rienced a major increase in
well drilling over the past
decade for farm uses, said
Gall.
However, it’s dif¿ cult for
OWRD to deny permits un-
less it has data to support such
a decision, and the agency’s
resources are limited, he said.
“The development got
ahead of the data collection,”
he said.
Fight over fuel standard kills transportation plan
It represented the best of what we
do. It was bipartisan. It took into
account urban and rural interests.”
“
By Peter Wong
Capital Bureau
SALEM — One day af-
ter it surfaced, Oregon law-
makers gave up Thursday
on a transportation funding
plan linked to alternatives
to a recently approved stan-
dard for low-carbon fuels.
Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, said
there were too many politi-
cal roadblocks for the pack-
age to win legislative ap-
proval this late in the 2015
session.
“The issue remains to
try to find a way through
the politics of this building
— and the politics outside
— to do what I think every-
body wants to do,” Court-
ney said Thursday.
“I’m just so sorry we
could not break through…
It’s not over. But it is over
for this session. We will
keep working at it.”
Courtney created a spe-
cial Senate committee,
which heard testimony
Wednesday on the elements
of the plan crafted by a bi-
partisan group of lawmakers
in closed-door meetings in
Gov. Kate Brown’s office.
One of them was Sen.
Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose
Betsy Johnson of Scap-
poose, one of a handful of
Democrats who opposed the
fuels standard.
“It represented the best
of what we do,” Johnson
said. “It was bipartisan.
It took into account urban
and rural interests. It took
time to craft a plan on this
complex subject. Some may
quibble with the particu-
lars, but I thought this was
a good effort.”
But
environmental
groups were firmly against
including repeal of a new
law, which Democrats sup-
ported and Republicans op-
posed, requiring the carbon
content of fuels to drop by
10 percent over the next de-
cade. Brown signed that bill
in March.
Nineteen House Demo-
crats signed a letter to that
effect last week, and House
Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Port-
land, added her voice to
theirs Wednesday.
“Today’s hearing made it
clear that the Senate proposal
does not live up to the Clean
Fuels Program in terms of
reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and growing Or-
egon’s clean economy,” she
said in a statement.
Environmental
groups
and others also raised ques-
tions about the projected
reductions in carbon emis-
sions from the alternatives
contained in the Senate pro-
posal.
During the hearing, Matt
Garrett, director of the Or-
egon Department of Trans-
portation, said that an es-
timate of reductions from
proposed technological im-
provements in traffic flows
would yield only 20 percent
of the amount calculated
originally for the bipartisan
group.
“We had some unex-
pected numbers thrown our
way,” said Sen. Jeff Kruse,
R-Roseburg, one of the ne-
gotiators and a member of
the Senate committee.
“Basically what I think it
did was to solidify the po-
sition of House Democrats,
and some of the Senate
Democrats, on this issue.
“Given more time, we
could have refined the num-
bers and shown a carbon
reduction that would have
beaten the low-carbon fuel
standard. But now we have
not been given that opportu-
nity.”
Kruse also said that en-
vironmental interests told
him a couple of weeks ago,
during the closed-door nego-
tiations, that they preferred
the standard to any alterna-
tive package of reductions.
Proposed alternatives in-
cluded a gradual reduction
in carbon content of fuels as
they become available com-
mercially — to 5 percent —
plus conversion of more cars
and buses to electric or nat-
ural gas, and improvements
in bus systems and traffic
flows.
“Sometimes this building
is frustrating,” he said.
Environmental groups
say there should not be a
linkage of the issues.
“Oregonians
deserve
clean air and safe roads. To
pit one against the other is
a false choice and helps no
one. We need both,” said
Andrea Durbin, executive
director of the Oregon En-
vironmental Council.
For funding, the plan
called for an increase of 4
cents per gallon in the cur-
rent 30-cent state tax —
plus increases in vehicle
registration fees — to raise
money for road and bridge
repairs and specified state
highway projects.
Separate tax and fee in-
creases would have funded
expanded transit service in
some districts — TriMet,
Wilsonville, Canby and
Sandy — and a computer
upgrade for driver and vehi-
cle records.
Courtney said he in-
formed Brown in a tele-
phone call late Wednesday
that “we cannot get to the
top of this hill.”
Brown said in a state-
ment after Courtney’s an-
nouncement:
“The testimony at the
hearing from business lead-
ers and local government
officials, as well as news-
paper editorials and input
I have received from many
Oregonians,
underscores
the significant statewide
support for investments in
transportation. As I said
back in March, if it takes
longer than this session to
accomplish, I’m willing to
continue these discussions.”
26
GRANT
Seneca
N
10 miles
395
20
Burns
20
395
78
HARNEY
Wagontire
+DUQH\
Crane
0DOKHXU
/DNH
ain
Capital Press
Gall said during a recent
meeting of the Oregon Wa-
ter Resources Commission,
which oversees the depart-
ment.
Preliminary data indicates
the basin is experiencing an
overall downward trend in
groundwater levels, but the
agency hopes to gain a better
understanding by measuring
a larger number of wells and
conducting detailed geologi-
cal mapping, Gall said.
“We have some signi¿ -
cant holes in our data,” he
said. “We don’t think it’s at
a crisis right now, but that’s
also based on not a lot of in-
formation.”
The agency estimates
that 201,250 acre feet of
Harney Basin
Greater Harney
Valley area
205
Steen
By Mateusz Perkowski
$OYRUG
/DNH
Fields
Ore.
Nev.
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Crews
replace
breakers at
OTEC site
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – Oregon
Trail Electric Cooperative
crews were busy at the John
Day substation last week,
replacing outdated equip-
ment and making other im-
provements.
Lara Petitclerc-Stokes,
OTEC spokeswoman, said
the work included routine
replacement of two 69-ki-
lovolt transmission circuit
breakers and some gener-
al maintenance work. The
equipment being replaced
was more than 50 years old.
The new circuit break-
ers will provide improved
protection for transmission
lines from John Day to Prai-
rie City and Unity and to
Seneca and Burns, she said.
They also are expected to be
maintenance free.
OTEC also is painting
part of the structure.
The work, expected to
wrap up July 2, is not re-
lated to the plans to erect a
new ¿ re station on adjacent
property.
Greetings, Grant County!
THANKS
to everyone who made the
5th Annual CASA Golf Scramble
A HUGE SUCCESS!
To the John Day Golf Club for hosting the event; and to
Melissa Galbreath and Ryan Torland our MCs. To all the
golfers, everyone who joined us for the barbecue and auction,
and special thanks to those that made the fantastic food
possible: Ed McCrary – Ribs Extraordinaire, Margie McCrary
and Bonnie Britton in charge of the kitchen, Dan Propeck on
the grill, fantastic salads by Lori Hickerson, Linda Watson, and
Sandie Gilson, delectable brownies and homemade cookies by
Alena Smith, Hailey Delaney and Aaron Roth, chips donated
by Frito Bob, bottled water donated by Gardner Enterprizes,
and Judy Hudson for making her famous cinnamon rolls to
kick off the day!
EVENT SPONSORS:
Debbie Ausmus, COUNTRY
Financial
Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair
Boyd Britton Welding
Mobile Glass of Oregon
Iron Triangle, LLC
Triangle Oil, Inc.
Ed Staub & Sons Petroleum
Ed Staub & Sons Shell Stations
Cornerstone Surveying, Inc.
The Outpost Pizza Pub & Grill
True Value Hardware
Squeeze In Restaurant
Duke Warner Realty
Southworth Brothers Ranch
Bank of Eastern Oregon
Les Schwab Tire Center
The Grubsteak Mining Company
Nydam’s Ace Hardware
JD Rents & Power Equipment
Len’s Drug
Land Title Company
Ferguson Surveying & Engineering
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship
AUCTION DONORS:
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
Tidewater Contractors
Malheur Lumber Company
Redeemer Lutheran Church/
Thrivent Financial
Mobile Glass of Oregon
John Day Floral
John Day Video Shoppe
Tourist season is upon us! Your Chamber
now has seven-day-a-week coverage for
visitors to our county! The bicycle shop
that rented space from the Chamber has
been busy, and as businesses we like
being busy! Since they are also providing
visitor services on Saturdays, another
volunteer has stepped up to provide
coverage on Sundays. This gives us terrific
coverage over the summer!
The Grant County Greenbacks program is
beginning to gain traction. We sold our
first batch of $15 and $25 Greenbacks to
merchants in June. A separate bank
account has been opened at Bank of
Eastern Oregon specifically for the
Greenback program.
Greenbacks that you, as a merchant, take
as payment from customers for goods
and services, can be redeemed at any
time from the Chamber on a dollar-for-
dollar basis. This is not a discount
program. It is a “shop local” program.
Think employee incentives, promotional
contests, radio “winners”-- and ask
customers who buy from you if they
would like a Grant County Greenback in
change. Let’s keep it local! It helps
businesses, employees and families, and
gives visitors one more thing to
remember us by.
AND A SPECIAL
THANKS TO
EVERYONE WHO
DONATED THEIR PRIZE
WINNINGS:
This is the one-year mark from when the
Chamber accepted its problems, you
reached out to help, and we followed
through and recovered! Thanks to each
and every one of you who had faith in
us.
Longest Drive Winner: Alex
Finlayson and Melody
Jackson
Closest to the pin: Randy
Horner
Funds raised will meet all
program costs to support
volunteer advocacy for the
children for a MONTH!
GRANT-HARNEY COUNTY CASA
721 W. Main St.
John Day, OR
541-575-1850
Just a brief recap of Greenbacks. Think of
it as Grant County’s “The Buck Stops
Here” program. Anyone can buy
Greenbacks at face value from the
Chamber. Participating merchants honor
them on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Radio Shack
Pioneer Feed & Farm Supply
GIBCO Ag & Industrial
1 st Choice Auto Body
A Flower Shop N More
Field’s Grassfed Beef
Java Jungle Tropical Tan
Jeanette Hueckman
Ed Herrera –CASA Volunteer
Advocate
CASA Board members -
Sandie Gilson, Stacie
Holmstrom, Lori Hickerson,
Linda Watson and Aaron
Roth
1 st Place Winners: Roof
Creek Guttering Team –
Scott Myers, Mitch Saul,
Colt Carpenter, and Alex
Finlayson
JOHN DAY
AUTO NAPA
Grant County
Chamber Members
Advertise Here
Contact the Grant
County Chamber for
more information
541-575-0547
The end of June also marks the time that
I rotate out as president. The turnaround
has attracted new board members who
bring a lot to the chamber and work well
together. Staying on another year would
have been a joy, but book two of my
Armageddon Story novel series will be
out next month! The series has three
more books remaining, so I will be busy!
Jerry Franklin takes his turn in the
president’s hot seat beginning in July.
And I think someone new may be
looking at that spot for next year.
Craige McMillan,
President
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