A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The
elephants
in the room
A
s the Oregon
Legislature pre-
pared to start work
this week, its leaders were
saying all the right things
about working together,
respecting rural Oregon and
doing what was best for the
state as a whole.
But, as the saying goes,
“only time will tell.”
In the Oregon House, the
Democratic and Republican
leadership have a more col-
legial relationship than in the
past. In the Senate, it seems
prickly.
Democrats gained super-
majorities in the House and
Senate, which enables them
to pass tax increases with-
out needing any Republi-
can votes — if all Demo-
crats stick together, which
is never a sure thing. Some
legislative issues, such as
potential changes in sen-
tencing laws, have an even
higher threshold for passage.
In any case, Democrats can-
not conduct business unless
enough Republicans are
present for a quorum.
Through the leadership
of Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, the Sen-
ate has acted as a moderating
infl uence on proposals ema-
nating from the more liberal
House. But the November
elections swung the Sen-
ate to the left, and Courtney
worries about how he will
balance the expectations of
progressive Democrats with
the need to work collabora-
tively with Republicans.
“We cannot do this, Dem-
ocrats, without Republicans.
You gotta understand that,”
Courtney said at the annual
Associated Press Legislative
Preview on Friday. “We can-
not do this without Republi-
cans. Without the elephants
in the room — another way
to put it — the donkeys can’t
do it.”
The question is whether
the 90 legislators, as well
as Democratic Gov. Kate
Brown, will give more
than lip service to that
collaboration.
The early signs are posi-
tive. They almost always are
at the start of a legislative
session.
Legislators went through
civility training last week.
Equal numbers of Demo-
crats and Republicans will
serve on the joint legisla-
tive committee charged with
improving the Oregon Cap-
itol culture and overcoming
the specter of sexual harass-
ment. Courtney appointed
non-urban and urban sen-
ators — Democrats Betsy
Johnson of Scappoose and
Elizabeth Steiner Hayward
of Beaverton — to jointly
serve as the Senate’s budget
leaders. He has introduced
Senate Bill 2, with Repub-
lican Sens. Bill Hansell of
Athena and Cliff Bentz of
Ontario, which could be a
breakthrough in providing
greater land-use fl exibility in
Eastern Oregon.
It might also be a good
sign that legislators are still
trying to write the carbon
cap-and-invest legislation,
which progressives demand
and conservatives dislike.
Some Democratic legislators
had long ago insisted that the
legislation, known as Clean
Oregon Jobs, was ready.
Republicans have strived
to make it less onerous for
businesses and consumers.
Most bills passed by the
Legislature are routine and
have bipartisan support. Few
of those will make head-
lines. But many contentious
proposals — from taxes to
fi rearms — likely will pit
business vs. labor, rural vs.
urban and minority Republi-
cans vs. majority Democrats.
Those are the bills that
will test legislators’ com-
mitment to collaboration,
to civility — and to all of
Oregon.
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Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
Federal hydropower delivers value
By Scott Corwin
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
Recently, some have asserted
that purchasing power from the
Bonneville Power Administra-
tion is an “outmoded” model that
should be jettisoned in favor of
other sources. In fact, BPA and
its utility customers are evolv-
ing with the dynamic electricity
industry, and it is the local utilities
like Oregon Trail Electric Coop-
erative that are best able to deter-
mine the precise mix of power for
future needs. With respect to the
federal hydropower system, to
paraphrase Mark Twain, reports
of the demise of this fl exible and
renewable source of electricity
have been greatly exaggerated.
BPA offers some of the clean-
est and lowest-priced power
in the country. But, in order to
retain this enviable position, it
will need to continue to address
the challenge of increasing costs
and reduced revenue. This is not
an issue unique to BPA or even
to the Northwest. Low natural
gas prices, and an infl ux of other
generation, have reduced market
prices for selling surplus power.
At the same time, an onslaught
of regulatory costs, including fi sh
and wildlife mitigation, physical
security, cyber security and the
need to maintain aging infrastruc-
ture have taken their toll.
Just as during a similar threat
rate of 998 pounds. Studies showed
that to replace just one-eighth of
BPA’s power with highly effi cient
gas generation would increase CO2
emissions by over two million met-
ric tons each year, the equivalent of
adding more than 400,000 cars to
the roads.
In addition, hydropower’s fl ex-
ible capacity enables more use of
generation from wind and solar.
With large, cost-effective battery
storage not yet available, intermit-
tent renewable sources have the
added operational need and cost of
being integrated into the grid using
other generation such as hydro-
power that can ramp up to meet
immediate demand.
The regional power planning
entity, the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council, stated,
“the federal hydropower system
has been, and continues to be,
the foundation of the Northwest’s
economy.” As BPA and its utility
customers evolve to meet future
needs, this valuable federal power
system is a far cry from being
outmoded.
Scott Corwin is the executive
director of the Public Power Coun-
cil, a nonprofi t association that rep-
resents consumer-owned electric
utilities in the Pacifi c Northwest
with respect to power and trans-
mission from the federal Columbia
River Power System. Corwin has
more than 20 years of experience
in Northwest energy policy.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
OTEC should
provide electricity,
not political
patronage
To the Editor:
Oregon Trail Electric Consumer
Cooperative is a nonprofi t corpo-
rate utility incorporated in the state of
Oregon as a consumer cooperative.
Its purpose, as stated in the articles of
incorporation, is to be a cooperative
electric utility providing the essential
public service of helping its members
to have access to the electrical energy
that is so necessary to their lives.
The purposes of the cooperative
are stated specifi cally in the Articles
of Incorporation:
“1. To benefi t primarily residential
and small farm consumers of electric
energy.
2. To generate, manufacture, pur-
chase, acquire and accumulate elec-
tric energy for its members only and
to transmit, distribute, furnish, sell
and dispose of such electric energy
to its members only, and to construct,
purchase, lease as lessee and in any
manner acquire, own, hold, maintain,
operate, sell, dispose of, lease as les-
sor, exchange and mortgage plants,
buildings, works, machinery, sup-
plies, apparatus, equipment and elec-
tric transmission and distribution
lines or systems, necessary, conve-
nient or appropriate to accomplish
any or all of the purposes of the coop-
erative. ...
5. To assist its members to wire
their premises and install therein elec-
trical and plumbing appliances, fi x-
tures, machinery, supplies, appa-
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ratus and equipment of any and all
kinds and character, and, in connec-
tion therewith and for such purposes,
to purchase, acquire, lease, sell, dis-
tribute, install and repair electrical
and plumbing appliances, fi xtures,
machinery, supplies, apparatus and
equipment of any and all kinds and
character.”
Please notice that there is no refer-
ence to a philanthropic or charitable
purpose that is unrelated to providing
essential electrical energy to mem-
bers. OTEC was formed to provide
its members with the benefi ts of elec-
trical energy, not to become a philan-
thropic foundation serving the special
interests of nine directors. Charita-
ble foundations adequately fulfi ll
that function. When OTEC takes the
membership’s money to give to indi-
viduals for purposes that are unre-
lated to the provision of essential
electrical energy, such as monetary
awards or trips to Washington, D.C.,
it begins to look more like political
patronage, wherein favors are given
in return for political support.
Christopher Christie
Baker City
No need for
‘conditional’
withdrawal
To the Editor:
I write in response to Mark
Webb’s Sept. 19, 2018, letter to the
editor titled “I (conditionally) offer to
withdraw my legal challenges.”
Jan. 9, Judge Cramer issued his
decision on Mr. Webb’s legal chal-
lenges, fi nding in favor of the county
1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(including online access)
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
from a dip in mar-
ket prices in the
1990s, BPA and
agencies that own
the
generation
assets are imple-
menting a strat-
Scott Corwin
egy to strengthen
fi nancial health
through cost and debt manage-
ment. Part of this plan is to mod-
ernize to meet industry change
and better provide competitive
power and transmission services.
Some assertions about a failing
federal power system appear to be
motivated by long-held advocacy
positions against dams. These
arguments are misguided in their
presumption that the needs of
fi sh (impacted by many factors)
should mean dismantling dams
through which the fi sh already see
96 to 98 percent survival rates.
There has even been fear mon-
gering about sediment buildup,
ignoring that the Army Corps of
Engineers very effectively pro-
vides any needed dredging in the
river.
These claims also tend to
ignore the enormous value and
unique aspects of power from BPA
that is safe, reliable, fl exible and 95
percent emission free. Including the
market purchases that could contain
coal or gas generation, BPA’s power
still enjoys a level of 27 pounds of
carbon for each megawatt hour of
electricity, compared to the national
Grant County .........................................$40
Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$51
Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60
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POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Phone: 541-575-0710
for dismissal. I will discuss one of
Mr. Webb’s issues, since he chose to
call out myself, Judy Kerr and Jim
Sproul in his letter. Mr. Webb alluded
that Jim, Judy and I were “people
who regularly peddle misinforma-
tion to manipulate county residents
and local government that verges on
criminal,” a statement taken from Mr.
Powell’s previous letter to the editor
about Mr. Webb.
If Mr. Webb can show where I’ve
“peddled misinformation,” I would
be glad to own it. Judge Cramer’s
decision speaks volumes to the verac-
ity of Mr. Webb’s legal challenges
and information he shares throughout
the community when deciding Mr.
Webb’s legal challenge — “(b) Fail-
ure to state ultimate facts suffi cient to
constitute a claim.”
So, I would ask, who is not pre-
senting suffi cient facts to the public?
I have not called into question
the validity of road closure based
on the County Ordinance 2013-1. I
have called into question the closure
of roads protected under RS 2477 as
public rights of way.
Ordinance 2013-01 (known as
the “roads ordinance”) is clear. The
county called for entities planning to
close roads to present and gain sup-
port by the county before extinguish-
ing a public right of way. Mr. Webb
takes issue with outside groups and
individuals having a say in such
things. By outside, I mean outside the
Blue Mountains Forest Partners, but
that’s what elected offi cials are there
for, whether it’s to Mr. Webb’s lik-
ing or not. So, no need for a “condi-
tional” withdrawal.
John D. George
Bates
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