February I. 187J
f,1 O K R 0 17
GAZETTE-TIMES
trjsL .iri .... Jir
Nuclear Siting &
tbvy
Doabing Raago
By IIKNKV GANTENBEIN'
Farmers are the "Lifeline" of
our country. They have a basic
philosophy born of living and
working with nature. They have
taken a lead in the nation's
progress from the very begin
ning. It is this progress in which
we are now involved.
The time is right for new
ideas, new approaches and new
methods to be put to work. This
is why we are anxious for this
bold plan, multiple use of
coolant water from nuclear
power generating plants, to
become a reality as soon as
possible.
Morrow County and Western
Umatilla County have 70
percent of Oregon's irrigable
land with available water below
elevation 1000 MSL. This land
will produce early crops and a
variety of crops. These lands
have been proven; 6,800 acres
. intensively irrigated land in
Morrow County produced
$6,180,000 of the finest potatoes
in 1972.
We would be extremely
- pleased to have Portland Gen
eral Electric Company to come
to Morrow County and help our
district to irrigate the dry land.
Relocation of the Navy to
another suitable site is essent
ial. The bombing range block
contains some of the best soils
in the heart of an irrigation
development. The increased
value of the bombing range as
irrigated cropland indicates the
best use of the resource.
District
Consolidation
By DICK McELLlGOTT
1972 was the year of the
merger for the Heppner and
Boardman Soil and Water
Conservation Districts. A joint
meeting of the two boards was
held in Boardman for the
districts to legally merge. This
meeting was conducted by
Chuck Liles of the State
Commission staff.
This meeting was held De
cember S in Boardman and was
the culmination of a years
exploratory talks, public hear
ings, joint meeting i nd finally,
approval by each board. At the
December meeting the follow
ing supervisors were elected for
the new Morrow Soil and Water
Conservation District: Ken
Turner, chairman; Henry
Gantenbein, vice-chairman;
Arnold Hoffman, treasurer;
Dick McElIigott, secretary.
Other supervisors elected were
Gary Grieb. Fred Frederick
son, and Rudy Bergstrom.
At the present time we are
working to consolidate the
finances of the two districts,
dispose of some of the equip
ment and clear up outstanding
debts. When this is squared
away we feel that we can
develop a budget and have a '
district that functions as well as
previously but with greater
economy. We know that we will
save money where we had
duplication in dues to our state
and national organizations, and
that our reports and publica
tions will no longer be dupli
cated. We feel that the greatest
advantage of the consolidation
will be that we now have a
district whose boundaries are
the same as the county bound
aries and for this reason we
should be able to maintain a
closer working relation with the
County Court and the County
ASCS Committee.
Soil & Water Conservation District
Annual Report
Good Land Use
and
Resource
Opportunities
As Leverett Richards of The
Oregonian put it recently, the
Boardman area Friday wel
comed with open arms Portland
General Electric's proposed
nuclear power plant on the
Boardman industrial area.
. About 100 residents of Mor
row, Gilliam and Umatilla
counties turned out for a public
hearing held by the Oregon
Nuclear Thermal Energy Coun
cil. Of the 25 public witnesses,
not one was against PGE's
proposed nuclear reactor.
No one expressed any concern
about radiation or other haz
ards. "We're not concerned about
hazards. We are interested in
taxes," said Dorris Graves of
Hardman.
We're in more danger on the
freeway than we are living next
door to a nuclear reactor," said
Mrs. Joe Bartlett of Boardman.
"We know. We lived next door
to the Hanford Works for
years."
The hearing was called
Our first thoughts of consoli
dation came from joint meet
ings held during the past four
years in which we discussed
problems with new land de
velopment and attempted to
organize a wind erosion control
district. We met with no success
in organizing a blow control
district, not for lack of need, but
because there were so few
people living within the pro
posed district and the election
laws under those circumstances
made it unfeasible. We now feel
that we can best meet this
problem by promoting the wind
erosion control recommenda
tion published under the leader
ship of the Columbia Blue
Mountain RCiD.
Boardman Speakers
Support N -Plant
" . fhintf mm
specifically to determine "the
desirability and feasibility" of
locating PGE's plant 7.7 miles
from the target on the Navy's
practice bombing range.
John Grund, PGE nuclear
safety engineer, submitted a
detailed analysis of the chances
of a bomber hitting the nuclear
plant, which showed the
chances were less than one in
100 million if the Navy would
change its present approach
patterns, as Rear Adm. John
tierney, Navy commander,
promised to do.
"The probability of an indi
vidual getting killed by lightn
- ing is 10 times higher than the
probability of an aircraft hitting
the PGE nuclear site," Grund
concluded. "For all practical
purposes, the ' chances of an
accident are zero," he told the
council.
Richard McElIigott, presi
dent of the Morrow County
Wheat Growers Association,
called PGE's proposed safety
measures "needless overkill."
. He said that as a former
military pilot, he was not
concerned about the danger of a
Navy bomber hitting a nuclear
plant. "In fact, construction of
the nuclear plant will serve as a
checkpoint and help the pilot hit
the target," he said.
H.H Phillips, PGE's vice
president and general manager,
testified that the probability of
an airplane crash was so
insignificant as to require no
additional hardening of the
plant. But he added, "The
company is willing to further
harden the plant at a cost of $8
million to $20 million if
required."
Dean Smith of The Oregon
Journal reported:
"YOU CANT ask for any-
thing more from the Navy,"
said Rupert W. Kennedy, co
ordinator of the Port of Morrow.
They've offered to move, but if
they can't' they've offered to
co-exist."
PGE officials reiterated tes
timony presented Monday at a
Portland hearing, suggesting
they could "live with" the
dummy bombing range and
would "harden" their plant to
protect against a plane crash.
When PGE filed its notice of
intention to build the plant, last
February, it was assumed that
the Navy range would be
vacated by 1980 when the plant
is to become operational. How
ever, Adm. John Tierney,
commander of the Navy's A6 jet
squadrons, said a new site has
not been located for the range.
. . HE SAID the Navy could not
leave the Boardman site until
early 1978 - assuming Congress
appropriates about $10 million
for relocation. He indicated that
the appropriation is not likely in
the near future.
Coattauwl Fag S
M or row Soil
& Water
Conservation
. District
SUPERVISORS
Ken Turner, Chairman
Henry Gantenbein,
Vice Chairman
Dick McElIigott,
Secretary
Arnold Hoffman,
Treasurer
Rudy Bergstrom
Gary Grieb
Fred Frederickson