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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2020)
OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle A4 Wednesday, July 29, 2020 NEPA rule updates bring lawsuits two years closer E nvironmental advocates are howling over the Trump administration’s proposed update of rules that govern the National Environ- mental Policy Act — the first since its implementation in 1978. The update is long overdue and undoubtedly will be the subject of litigation. NEPA requires environ- mental reviews of projects and activities on federal land, including grazing, farming and logging. The reviews evalu- ate the benefits and impacts of a proposed project and of any alternatives available to achieve the desired goal. It was meant to promote informed, transparent deci- sion making and to give the public an opportunity to pro- vide input. Over the past 40 years, the reviews have grown too long and too complicated, according to a White House statement. The new regulations limit Environmental Impact State- ments to 300 pages and set a two-year deadline for their completion. Environmental assessments, for projects with- out a significant environmen- tal impact, must be done in one year. The new rules clarify that federal agencies must make broad use of state, tribal and local studies and decisions. They also incorporate the interpretations of Supreme Court decisions from relevant NEPA litigation. When the original rules for review under NEPA were implemented in 1981, reg- ulators estimated that even the most demanding analysis could be completed within 12 months. It turns out that was wildly optimistic. The Council on Environ- mental Quality, the agency in charge of making the rules, says today the average time is 4.5 years, and that doesn’t count the years of inevita- ble litigation challenging the validity of the final product. CEQ acknowledges that about a quarter of the reviews take less than 2.2 years. A quarter of them take more than six years. Federal Highway Administration projects take an average of seven years. And with more time comes more volume, much of which adds little meaningful insight. President Jimmy Carter signed NEPA into law. In 1977 he warned that to be useful documents had to be concise and readable. “We do not want (EISs) that are measured by the inch or weighed by the pound,” he said. In 1978 regulators con- templated that a thorough Environmental Impact State- ment would take 150 pages. Today the average EIS dresses out at 661 pages, not includ- ing appendices. In its back- grounder on the changes, CEQ says that padding is an attempt by agencies to avoid the law- suits often filed that claim the documents are not complete. By that measure, the extra ver- biage nearly always falls short of its mark. Environmentalists say the new rules are intended to rush questionable projects through the process, denying marginal- ized communities the opportu- nity to comment. We are fans of tight, con- cise writing. We also have a hard time describing two years as a “rush.” The original framers of NEPA never intended for the process to produce inertia as the default state of affairs. If nothing else, the pro- posed rules bring any project two and a half years closer to the inevitable lawsuit and the slow slog of judicial review. We will take progress where we find it. WHERE TO WRITE GRANT COUNTY • Grant County Courthouse — 201 S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-575-2248. • Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@ centurylink.net. • Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville 97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541- 987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net • John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@ centurytel.net. • Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@ cityoflongcreek.com. Blue Mountain EAGLE Published every Wednesday by • Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument 97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025. Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net. • Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt. Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ ortelco.net. • Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax: 820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net. • Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca 97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161. Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com. SALEM • Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: governor.state.or.us/ governor.html. OFF THE BEATEN PATH Plant hunting — Wuhan, China, and beyond few years ago, I wandered through the Shanghai air- port, clutched my backpack and wondered what in the world I’d been thinking when I agreed to join a plant hunting excursion to China with a leader and 10 fellow travelers I’d never met. The Plan: The owner of a plant nursery, an experienced traveler, agreed to lead a plant hunting trip to China. A food corporation paid him and an interpreter along with seed company researchers to search for unique, edible plants. The leader also invited a few “tag- alongs.” We paid our own way. I’m an amateur gardener who loves plants, and I have no Chinese language skills. Preparation: I’d studied up on Kunming in the Yunnan district in southwest China, a botanically rich area for our proposed travel. At the Shanghai airport, the leader announced, “We are heading west instead to an area previously closed to foreigners.” For the rest of the trip, I felt as if I was in a travel fog, not knowing the lay of the land. Our leader was blunt: “I am not your travel agent.” Food: With spotty refrigeration, we stuck to a vegetarian diet. During the day, I subsisted on packaged coco- nut-flavored crackers and tangerines. An occasional noodle shop in remote villages provided noodles and vegeta- ble soup. For dinner, we stopped at mom A and pop eateries, sometimes over- whelming the fam- ily with a dozen cus- tomers. We pitched in to help peel win- ter squash, cut up beans and broccoli, Jean Ann and chop greens. Moultrie Sometimes I added twigs to the wood burning stove to keep the woks hot for stir fry. A favor- ite dish: stir fried, freshly harvested Shiitake mushrooms. Travels: Our journey took us to valleys hot and muggy where the air felt like the insides of a laundromat dryer. In cloud-capped mountains, I shivered while wrapped in my coat and curled into my sleeping bag. We traveled in a van, on buses, on a train, on a workman’s boat up the Yangtze River, on a rickety tram and in a “sleeper” bus that consisted of sheets of plywood layered above the seats. I grabbed my sleeping bag and climbed onto my “extra-firm” bed. I felt like merchandise on a shelf in a hardware store. A lap belt kept me from being pitched onto the floor during the nighttime drive on a pot- hole-riddled road. We circled past cities to reach hill- side farms. In the shadow of skyscrap- ers, someone mentioned the name of a city we passed — Wuhan, a name I’d never heard of. I never imagined that in years to come, Wuhan would head- line international news. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR An imperfect man perfect for the time To the Editor: At times in the history of our great republic imperfect men have come forward who were perfect for the time and challenge. General Patton comes to mind. He was not a perfect man, but among his imperfections was the per- fect ability to lead men in bloody con- flict and defeat the German and Ital- ian war machines. He was perfect for the time. I recently read that Presi- dent Donald Trump is too imperfect to vote for because “he lies, he contra- dicts himself and doesn’t make sure he has his facts straight.” If the writer hadn’t named Trump I would have assumed she was generalizing about politicians. Our republic is in a bat- tle for its life. As Charles Krautham- mer predicted in an article Oct. 11, 2017, we are now being invaded by “The Enemy Amongst Us,” and we daily watch the growing insurrection, violence and chaos he accurately pre- dicted in our major cities. The coor- dinated attacks on these cities can- not be a coincidence. And sadly, these activities are allowed and supported by state and locally elected “lead- ers.” Many of us in Grant County con- firmed by oath to defend and protect the Constitution of our great republic. None that I know of have renounced that oath. We the people are ready to push back against the destruction of our country and our way of life, but we are all looking for the person to lead this effort. Bestselling author Ben Shapiro describes Trump in his latest book: ”His serious character flaws sim- ply become secondary concerns when the future of the nation is at stake.” Trump’s actions during his first term convince me that he is the perfect man to lead us through this national cri- sis. I submit to you that we should not let our great republic become history while we stubbornly seek that “perfect leader.” I think we have that imperfect man who is perfect for the time! Proud and blessed to be an American. Kenneth Delano Mt. Vernon ‘Lawless order alive and well’ To the Editor: This letter is in reference to the edi- torial “Oregon ranchers face tough choice” (vis-a-vis wolves) in the July 8 Blue Mountain Eagle. The issue was local law enforcement, rather than Oregon Department of Fish and Wild- life biologists checking out a carcass, are influenced by the rancher’s diag- nosis of “certain wolf kill.” Not so. In my experience, neither Grant County Sheriff’s Office nor Oregon State Police are persuadable even by the evidence. My pet buffalo was belly shot, through and through. None of the applicable agencies came out, escap- ing like Phaedrus between the horns of the beast. Hunting season had just started. More recently, I found the near-in- tact skeleton of a young steer with skin evenly pulled down over the leg bone and cleanly cut. Do wolves carry knives in Grant County? Verdict: inconclusive. The same for fresh carcasses of deer on my property, despite a clearly visible round hole in the side. A total of two bucks and four does were killed on my property that winter — in my opinion, a planned cull. I returned with a load of hay one evening late, road blocked by a vehi- cle. I barely squeezed by. That vehicle then followed me and sat in my drive- way for some time, blocking it. The next day, a week-old calf was dead. By week’s end, a young Jersey died. GCSO’s report omitted my statement totally. It was a lost dog someone was looking for. A cow pregged at eight-plus Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com Grant County .........................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$57 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Reporter ...................................................Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com Reporter ...................................................... Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com Sports ........................................................sports@bmeagle.com Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery Online: MyEagleNews.com Phone: 541-575-0710 months “left” the corral after dark. The next day, I found tracks leading to a boundary fence, through it and off into the snow. GCSO called two days later when the snow had melted. Photos don’t count. I have not seen a report. She did come back, alone. And prior to all this, after just hav- ing moved here, my young daugh- ter and I stood by the pond when a shot from the rimrock zinged over our heads aimed at a few mallards (hope- fully!) who rested there before mov- ing on. No peace for the weary here, but lawless order alive and well! Vega Nunez Ritter A compromise To the Editor: I have been thinking about signs on businesses that say “no shoes, no shirt, no service.” People obey those signs. I am not sure why stores and restau- rants have that policy. To my knowl- edge, bare feet and a bare chest are not known to be a health hazard. Well, maybe if someone uses their bare feet to eat instead of their hands, that would be a health hazard to that person. But, I have never heard anyone declaring that they have a right to be barefooted or shirtless when they shop or eat, or seen anyone marching into a business shirtless or shoeless to show their independence. But, during a pan- demic, a bare mouth, out of which an invisible, deadly virus can spew and infect others? “No mask, no service?” Revolt! Recall the governor! Storm the Capitol! If the sign, during a pandemic, said, “Wear a shirt and pull it over your nose and mouth when you enter, or hold a shoe over your mouth and nose when you enter, or no service” that might be the compromise that will save lives. Nancy Nickel John Day Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 USPS 226-340 Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION As we traveled, we collected sam- ples from arboretums, town parks, remote farms, roadsides, woodlands and around Taoist temples — with permission. At night, we cleaned seeds and labeled them. How does one deter- mine the genus and species of a jew- el-looking seed pod the farmer identi- fies as, “Snake bite cure?” While others in the group chatted with farmers, I often looked for fam- ilies with children and grandparents to engage with. Photos don’t show how delightful the children are and the deep, multi-generational bonds within families. Great Find for One Who Has Lagged in Seed Collecting: A farm- ers’ store with hundreds of packets of commercially packaged vegetable seeds. Pictures of the vegetables on the cover, instructions in Chinese. All cleaned and labeled. I cleared customs with no problems. When I returned from traveling overseas, I scrubbed and disinfected travel gear including boots. I won- dered if I appreciated the blessings of clean drinking water. Family stopped by to welcome me home. “Where’s Mom?” asked a family member. “In the kitchen hugging her water faucet and fridge,” answered another. Moultrie is a freelance writer in Grant County. Copyright © 2020 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. 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. facebook.com/MyEagleNews @MyEagleNews
