A4
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
OPINION
OUR VIEW
Let high court
have its say
on WOTUS
I
t9s rare that an issue creates near-unanimity among agricul-
tural groups, but the federal government9s continued mishan-
dling of the Waters of the U.S. rule has done just that.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers
Union, the National Association of State Departments of Agri-
culture and scores of other agricultural groups agree that the
Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers should stop, back up and wait for the Supreme Court
to rule on WOTUS. Then if they need to clarify WOTUS in
some way, they rst should listen to farmers and ranchers about
their concerns.
The EPA and the Corps have been bumbling their way
through WOTUS rewrites for years, ever since the U.S.
Supreme Court rst muddied the rule with its own interpreta-
tions. The justices used nebulous terms such as <nexus,= which
sounds more like a brand of automobile than a way to manage
water.
The EPA and Corps have done no better. Any middle school
English teacher would unk the agencies9 authors for their lack
of clarity. Injecting legalese and vagueness in nearly every facet
of the rules, a farmer would need a lawyer, hydrologist and a
fortune teller to determine what, exactly, the agencies are trying
to say.
First the Obama administration tried to clear up WOTUS and
failed, then the Trump administration tried with some success.
Then for a reason yet to be explained, the Biden administration
jumped into WOTUS again. They say any project that doesn9t
involve meddling by the federal government threatens clean
water 4 despite the fact that states are also involved and per-
fectly capable of protecting water not within the federal govern-
ment9s purview.
Which would be funny if it didn9t demonstrate how feckless
the folks at the EPA and Corps are. They must not have anything
else to do. What9s missing from their work product is proof the
Clean Water Act needs to be strengthened. All they seem to be
doing is bowing to environmental groups.
At issue is the portion of the federal Clean Water Act that
includes navigable waters. Time was, navigable water meant just
that 4 rivers and lakes on which boats can travel.
But that was too clear 4 and too narrow 4 for some folks,
who want to include not only rivers, lakes and streams, but
ditches, seasonal creeks and everything up to and including mud
puddles.
Later this year the U.S. Supreme will take another swing at
WOTUS. Hopefully, it will do a better job than before. Jus-
tices, who are trained in the law but not in plain English, are not
known to be wordsmiths.
In the meantime, the eager beavers at the EPA and the Corps
of Engineers would do well to take a break and let the Supreme
Court decide the issue. If any changes to WOTUS are required,
the justices will let them know.
My Tongan riter s retreat
O
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
n Jan. 15, an underwater vol-
cano erupted in the Ha9apai
Islands group, Kingdom
of Tonga. News updates related
the destruction from ash and the
tsunami.
I9m stunned by the news, even
more so as I9ve visited there.
Several years ago, I announced to
my adult children, <I9m taking a trip
to the South Paci c.=
<How come the South Paci c =
one asked.
<Writer research.=
<What Mom means 4 that9s an
excuse to take a vacation.=
Since I travel on the VLB (Very
Low Budget) travel plan, some of
the kids helped me reserve places to
stay so I wouldn9t end up stranded
overnight on a deserted beach with
only a beach towel.
Years ago, I visited the Tongan
Ha9apai Island group, the small-
est and least developed of the island
groups and now the o shore site of
the eruption.
When I ew there, from the air I
spotted the road that ran the length
of the island. The landing strip ran
across the island. I saw airport sta
running to close gates on the road
to keep vehicles and animals o the
runway while the plane landed.
After I got settled in my one-
room fale (cottage), I took a taxi to a
nearby café. The few customers sat
outdoors around one table at dusk.
<You traveling American,= the
German backpacker said to me,
<you now o cial Travel Writer.=
The cook, Tongan taxi driver,
and a young English couple on their
way to New Zealand agreed.
I savored the words, Travel
Writer, like a morsel of suckling
pork from an umu.
I9d met the English couple a
week before on another Tongan
island over dinner
illuminated by cit-
ronella candles and
lamplight. They ini-
tiated a multicul-
tural discussion
with fellow travel-
Jean Ann
ers on how to save
Moultrie
pigs 4 speci -
cally, Tongan pigs
destined for banquets and Sunday
feasts.
While our food cooked, the
English couple gave a project
update. <We9re making e orts to
establish a no- y zone over the pro-
posed Piggie Island.=
They heartily endorsed my
Travel Writer status. Even though
I was staying at a place where my
shower consisted of a garden hose
draped over a fence, I noted them to
be a couple with incredible insight
regarding my credibility related to
travel writing.
I attributed these illuminating
bursts of brilliance from all of us
to large doses of South Paci c sun,
sand-encrusted sunscreen, the per-
sistent scent of mosquito repellant,
and time spent o the power grid.
After dinner, I returned to
my fale. As the power generator
growled to a halt and I fumbled in
the dark to light a candle, my rst
Travel Writer insight emerged.
Travel Writer9s Tip #1. Do not
accidentally burn your passport.
The next morning, I strolled past
palm trees and a beached boat to the
ocean. I yelped with pleasure.
I discovered the quintessential
Travel Writer9s Retreat. My Retreat!
The beach shack consisted of
ve poles that supported a roof
composed of crossed poles topped
with woven palm fonds as weath-
ered and brittle as corn shocks on an
Amish farm. The structure was large
enough to accommodate two beach
towels or one eager Travel Writer.
I announced my plans to the
owner9s wife.
<You9ve got to be kidding,= she
said.
She was immune to sea- and sun-
crazed tourists.
I yearned for something o cial.
<You can use the beach shack
anytime you visit,= she insisted.
A Travel Writer is persistent. I
begged.
She relented. <OK, a token pay-
ment for 8utilities.9= This covered
heat, lights and cooling, basically
covering sun, wind, and bring your
own drinking water.
A few days later at sunrise, I
hiked to the beach to bid the retreat
farewell.
I plopped down on the ground in
my <decorated cubicle= and hefted
a sea-washed coconut, papaya-sized
hunks of coral and a handful of
shells. The sand I squished through
my toes felt coarse like the coral
chunks it was 4 not yet evolved to
soft and powdery.
Now as I hear the news about
charitable groups rushing sup-
plies and aid to the Tongan Islands,
I recall the frightening times when
Mount St. Helens erupted. It seems
most anytime in the news, there are
reports of forest res, winter storms,
hurricanes, earthquakes, torna-
does, or droughts 4 with humani-
tarian-minded people reaching out
hands to help.
Jean Ann Moultrie is a Grant
County writer. Her VLB (Very
Low Budget) travel plan has not
caught on, with her fine dining
consisting of bread and peanut
butter from a grocery store and
the airplane choice filled with
200 mothers and grandmothers
and 100 crying babies.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Aquatic center survey This is just a few problems with senseless. We know better. Passing
this city of John Day project which the the River Democracy Act is a modest,
is ata y a e
yet important, step towards protecting
P&R has decided to pursue even after
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
USPS 226-340
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
Email: www.MyEagleNews.com
Phone: 541-575-0710
John Day, Oregon
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
E DITOR
R EPORTER
S PORTS
M ULTIMEDIA
M ARKETING R EP
O FFICE A SSISTANT
Bennett Hall, bhall@bmeagle.com
Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com
sports@bmeagle.com
Alex Wittwer@awittwer@eomediagroup.com
Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Alixandra Hand, oo ce@bmeagle.com
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY EO Media Group
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
Copyright © 2022 Blue Mountain Eagle
Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and
additional mailing oo ces.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(including online access)
One year ..................................................$51
Monthly autopay .............................. $4.25
Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery
POSTMASTER — send address changes to
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
covered by the copyright hereon may be repro-
duced or copied in any form or by any means —
graphic, electronic or mechanical, including pho-
tocopying, taping or information storage and
retrieval systems — without written permission
of the publisher.
www.facebook.com/MyEagleNews
@MyEagleNews
To the itor
In the Feb. 9 BME, <Survey says:
Voters split on pool bond.= While the
editor gives a fairly positive outlook
using the right facts, I feel we must
look at the <other side= also.
To start with, this survey is terri-
bly awed for the following reasons:
Some citizens could not address the
platform provided by the hired Cali-
fornia rm on their computers. I know
also of at least two households out of
the JDCC Parks and Rec district that
were included. So when Lisa Weigum
<emphasized= the fact that voters
<only included voters inside the dis-
trict= is false.
I informed her at a P&R meet-
ing of the issues why the survey they
approved with taxpayers9 money was
awed. Failing to realize it shows a
continued level of incompetent behav-
ior by the district. $25,000 down the
drain like unused water.
Weigum also should have recused
herself from any vote in reference to
this project of the pool. She has been
an advocate of an earlier e ort and tes-
ti ed in favor of this project thrown at
taxpayers by the city of John Day.
If you agree with the narrative
of this survey being legit, then you
should not have to go very far into the
analysis of it. On the subject of <seri-
ous problems locally,= the issue states
<A lack of activities for young peo-
ple= places on the bottom of the list. It
was fth out of seven items. This has
been the top selling point in the JDC-
CPR narrative of this latest, continued,
assault on taxpayers.
being rejected by a survey executed
in the town of Canyon City, which
Weigum now is a councilor. Talk
about hypocrisy!
This is about the city of John Day
trying to raise everyone9s tax liabilities
in the county. Now beyond the coun-
ty9s borders with Green9s involvement
in the Tri-Cities Coalition (3R), cost-
ing the city9s taxpayers money while
abolishing the police.
I hope <all= voters show up and
vote no when this levy/tax shows up
on the ballot.
Bob Pereira
John Day
River Act a step
in right irection
To the itor
Like many of our Northeast Ore-
gon friends and neighbors, we support
the River Democracy Act proposed by
Sens. Wyden and Merkley. We o er
here a few of our reasons:
Meaningful action addressing
life-threatening climate change is
overdue. Our waterways pay a heavy
price for our drive to squeeze every
last penny from natural resources.
Centuries of destructive practices
have damaged every ecosystem on
earth and threaten planetary life itself.
Our full-speed-ahead enterprise
destroys plant and animal species
at mass extinction rates, canceling
them from our intricate web of life.
In light of climate change and biodi-
versity collapse, destructive <business
as usual= practices are worse than
and restoring our natural world.
The River Democracy Act does
not <lock up= our public lands. They
remain as accessible as ever. Wild
and Scenic designation allows resto-
ration of these waterways and protects
them from future degradation. Sen.
Wyden and his sta have carefully lis-
tened to stakeholders and speci cally
addressed their concerns in the bill.
Maps abound: A statewide map
depicting all of the proposed stream
reaches is found at tinyurl.com/rda-
map. The River Democracy Act itself
forms an atlas, its stream names and
geographic details easily found on
any map or GPS device. Acquiring
ourselves a detailed map of Killa-
macue Creek, we nd its reach length
is indeed 4 miles, contrary to a pub-
lic o cial9s complaint it was but 2
miles, as printed in the Feb. 2 Baker
City Herald.
We need long-range thinking to
protect the natural systems on which
all life depends. Two years ago local
citizens, businesses and organizations
answered the call for nominations, did
their homework, and made their rec-
ommendations, since reduced to pro-
tecting just 4% of Oregon9s water-
ways. The River Democracy Act
represents local knowledge and exper-
tise in managing local resources for a
sustainable future.
Thank you, Senator. Now is the
time to pass the bill. Our kids, grand-
kids, and future generations will thank
you, too.
Mike Higgins
Mike Beaty
Halfway