A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 29, 2015 New water rule just bad policy L et’s just cut to the chase The new rule on the Waters of the US needs to be rewritten The sooner the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers do that, the better The 73-page rule, which was supposed to clarify certain aspects of the Clean Water Act, doesn’t do that If anything, it raises more questions than it clari¿es Most troubling is the fact that any determinations over WOTUS are left to agency staff members Landowners have no means of appealing those determinations This is among the many shortcomings pointed out in the 12 lawsuits ¿led against the EPA and the Corps over the rule The plaintiffs are 28 states, ranchers, farmers, and environmentalists Pretty soon you’ll see a bumper sticker reading, “Honk if you’re sued over WOTUS” Such complaints and reservations were voiced all through the public comment period for the rule If EPA and Corps of¿cials read the comments, they sure didn’t do enough about them Other agencies listen to the public When the Food and Drug Administration jumped the tracks writing the regulation for the Food Safety Modernization Act on irrigation water for onions and handling spent distillers’ grains, its bigwigs at least went to farmers and others who were impacted and listened to them Not the EPA and Corps, which apparently seek to establish a facade of infallibility for themselves The EPA and Corps are telling all farmers, ranchers and other landowners, “trust us” That’s not good enough Trust is earned, and the EPA and Corps have a long way to go Considering the EPA’s track record in such matters, that would require a massive leap of faith After all, this is the agency whose bigwigs maintained off-the-record email accounts that served as hotlines to their friends in environmental groups This was the agency that insisted on closed-door meetings about rules on dust Yes, dust Apparently, even the most mundane issue is worthy of secrecy and intrigue for the EPA We assume that not everyone at the EPA is secretive and has a personal agenda But we also understand that such an assumption does not derive from some past activities Last spring, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy characterized the problem with the WOTUS rule as being primarily public relations “I want to tell you up front that I wish we had done a better job of rolling out our Clean Water Rule, from calling it WOTUS instead of the Clean Water Rule, to not being more crystal clear out of the gate about what we were and were not proposing, to not talking to all of you and others before we put out the interpretive rule,” she told the National Farmers Union But this battle is not about public relations It’s about good public policy That’s what WOTUS or the Clean Water Rule lacks So the EPA and Corps can do the right thing They can go back and consider the more than 1 million public comments that Àooded into their of¿ces suggesting improvements to the WOTUS rule Or they can wait until a judge orders them to ¿x the mess they created L etters policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express them- selves on local, state, national or world issues. 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No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. 6HQDWH5HSXEOLFDQVUHÀHFW on 2015 legislative session Oregon’s middle class will pay the price for Democrat partisan priorities SALEM ± ReÀeFting on the re- cently concluded 2015 Legislative Session, Senate Republicans char- acterized the session as one of the most partisan and harmful to work- ing families and small businesses in Oregon history “Sadly, Oregon’s middle class will pay the price for the Democrat majority’s partisan priorities,” said Senator 7im .nopp R-Bend “7he policies passed by Democrats this session will hurt families and busi- nesses across Oregon, especially in rural areas Oregon is already the second-worst state in the nation to make a living, and it’s only going to get harder for families and small businesses to survive and thrive” Throughout the session, Senate Republicans advocated tirelessly for new jobs, full funding for K-12 edu- cation, and protections for Oregon’s small businesses In contract, Sen- ate Democrats rejected 50 pro-jobs bills that would have created new family-wage jobs and strengthened the economy in both rural and urban communities They also intention- ally underfunded K-12 education, leading to fewer school days, larger class sizes and cuts to programs like art and PE “Recent studies show Oregon kids and families are struggling, and our poverty rates haven’t improved since the start of the Great Reces- sion,” said Senator Chuck Thomsen R-Hood River “We can’t leave our kids and families in the dust Dem- ocrats refused to put kids ¿rst, and now school districts will have to cut class days and lay off teachers This has to stop” In their 2015 Legislative Session Summary, Senate Republicans out- lined key initiatives proposed and pushed for by Republican members, including programs to create jobs and expand job training; protections for small businesses against harmful Portland-style mandates; full fund- ing for K-12 education and commu- nity colleges; blocking an attempt to steal the constitutionally-mandated ‘kicker’ from Oregon families; fund- ing for infrastructure investment in rural communities; preservation of Second Amendment rights; the modernization of privacy laws and expanded statutes of limitations for rape cases; and stronger ethics laws to protect Oregon citizens from mis- conduct by elected of¿cials “While Democrats intentional- ly underfunded K-12 schools and increased transportation costs for working families, Republicans worked hard to improve the qual- ity of life for all Oregonians,” ex- plained Senate Republican Leader Ted )errioli R-John Day “If this is the new modus operandi for the Democrat majority, Oregonians need to know their elected leaders are looking out for themselves and their own partisan agenda, not for kids, working families and small businesses” L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR WOTUS has far reaching implications In case you don’t know, WOTUS stands for Waters of the United States It is a word and an issue citizens of Grant County and especially anyone engaged in agriculture should research The Envi- ronmental Protection Agency (EPA), un- der Director Gina McCarthy, has issued new regulations to govern all the water in the US, including that which should be under the purview of Oregon State WOTUS has far-reaching emphasis and will affect the use of all water There are numerous websites that discuss the matter; in addition, several livestock publications have good articles about it As of my last notice, 28 states and also various agricultural related associations have signed on in litigation against EPA and also the Corps of Engineers Watching C-Span with Director Mc- Carthy present testifying before a DC legislative committee was especially informative She de¿nitely is not what would be considered an advocate for agriculture At this time, I’ve heard noth- ing about the State of Oregon becoming involved, and being the liberal state that it is, I doubt it will be included in any objection to WOTUS Incidentally, as an aside, did you know 92 percent of the water in Oregon stays instream, and agriculture only uses 4 percent of it, yet constantly there is the push to keep more instream and off ag lands! Sharon Livingston Long Creek Request for recusal I formally request that Boyd Britton recuse himself from voting, deliberat- ing, discussing, or representing Grant County on any )orest Service business I would ultimately ask for Mr Britton to resign his position as well Mr Britton has a strong appearance of a conÀict of interest in dealing with or discussing Forest Service business being brought to the County Court His business dealings as the sole proprietor of Boyd Britton Welding Inc with the Malheur National Forest leads to that conÀict of interest While Mr Britton claims what he is doing is “legal,” it does not pass the high moral/ethical standards that an elected of¿cial should be held to When a commissioner as an individual or a business ¿nancially ben- e¿ts from an entity that brings business in front of the court, it gives the appear- ance of impropriety Technically, yes, Mr Britton is within the “law,” or lack thereof, but just remem- ber, a man or woman that cheats on their signi¿cant other is within the law, but not morally or ethically within the constraints of the bond they made to their partner – much like the commitment an elected of¿cial makes with the voters Mr Britton has a misplaced alle- giances to an outside interest through his business dealings I again call for Mr Britton to recuse himself from voting, deliberating, dis- cussing, or representing Grant County on any Forest Service business from here on out and I encourage others to do the same John D. George Bates Forest Service ‘restoration’ project needs scrutiny More recently the primary focus of the Forest Service (FS) has been land- scape restoration, but this time they are deviating from vegetation and riparian restoration The FS presented a draft plan for the Summit Creek Landscape Restoration to the Blue Mountain For- est Partners (BMFP) environmental group for ¿ne-tuning before publish- ing an environmental assessment to the public for another attempted public land take over This restoration propos- al is an attempt to draw public attention away from their intent to turn large ar- eas of our forest roads and byways into non-motorized and some non-equestri- an trails for cyclists Missing from this plan are provisions for trash receptacles/disposal and toilet facilities along what appears to be 132 miles of proposed bicycle routes What part does this plan play in “restoration” when you will likely see piles of cyclists’ granola-laden waste, toilet paper, and trash decorating the landscape? Encour- aging concentrated masses of cyclists to invade our forest lends little credence to the generic over-used FS excuse for ac- cess closures to restrict wildlife harass- ment and enhance watershed protection Support for this “restoration” project is reportedly coming from questionable bicycle-oriented outside funding sources and environmental groups that obvious- ly have no concept what “restoration” actually means for Grant County’s unique historical characteristics We need to be reminded that a pre- vious plan to promote bicycle paths us- ing historical railroad grades in Summit and Logan valleys met with defeat and strong opposition because of cyclists’ arrogant disrespect for motorists and private property Other than groceries and campground rent, it is questionable whether cyclists contribute signi¿cant- ly to the general local economy I suggest Grant County residents and private property owners in the proj- ect area prepare to address this issue in the near future and watch the Blue Mountain Eagle for the scoping notice the Forest Service promised Judy Kerr Canyon City Do not take away one’s self-respect We all know someone that has made some bad choices in life and had to pay for them, whether a family member, a friend, or a friend of a friend They have paid for their mistakes through our judi- cial system It has been brought to my attention that several of our citizens that paid for their mistakes (although still on proba- tion) have now become productive in the community We live in an area where the unemployment rate is high and jobs are few Still, these citizens have struggled through the obstacle of returning to ci- vilian life and obtained gainful employ- ment They want to work and not use the system for handouts My congratulations and respect goes out to them! I have now learned that some of them that work for a reputable business here in Grant County are not allowed to perform their duties as productive citizens in the ¿eld of work they have obtained due to the Grant County parole and probation department These men and women have chosen the heroic profession of ¿re¿ghting (saving lives and land from the destructive and devastating results of wild¿res) God bless them! Grant County is one of the few coun- ties in Oregon that will not let people leave the state to perform their duties of being responsible and productive mem- bers of the community I believe that if these people were going to break the law they would not have shown the re- sponsibility of getting jobs, paying bills and trying to get their lives together My request to our probation department is please do not take away the self-respect or incentive to make their lives better These people have earned the right to travel as required by their employer Also, please remember that these men and women are highly trained pro- fessionals at their jobs They may be pro- tecting your son, daughter, niece, neph- ew or grandchild that just started in this profession Wouldn’t you want someone that knew what they were doing next to them? I sure would How many of our Grant County children are out there and could use these men and women to help them through the next ¿re? Cheryl Neault Prairie City