TEN-The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, March 2, 1978
MORROW SWCD ANNUAL REPORT
Water quality plan required by November
by Ben Mouchette
Installing conservation
practices on Morrow County's
farmland will be receiving
more attention under the
requirements of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act
amendment of 1972.
This act dictates that the
nation's water will be "fish
able and swimmable" by 1983
wherever attainable. To ac
complish this each state must
complete their water quality
plan by November 1978.
Nationally, the Environ
mental Protection Agency
(EPA) has the responsibility
for carrying out the provision
of this law. Statewide, the
Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) has been
assigned the responsibility for
this law.
DEQ has established a
Policy Advisory Committee
(PAC) to help them develop
Oregon's Water Quality Pro
gram. Paul Jones from Hepp
ner is a member of this
committee. The PAC has two
subcommittees working on the
problems of non-point pollu
tion for forestry and agricul
ture. Dick McElligott from
lone is a member of the
agricultural subcommittee.
The agricultural subcommit
tee is working closely with the
individual county committees
as they develop their indivi
dual county plans.
Ken Turner is Chairman of
the Morrow County Water
Quality Committee that is
developing the county's part
of the state wide plan with
assistance from the State Soil
and Water Conservation Com
mission. The committee is
considering all possible sour
ces of "non-point" pollution
such as crop fields, range
lands, streambanks, roads,
urban areas and construction
sites in their planning work.
To date the committee has
identified the sources of pollu
tion or erosion and established
a list of Best Management
Practies (BMP's) that can be
used to control the non-point
pollution.
A key element " of the
county's plan is the section
that outlines how the needed
conservation work will be
accomplished and who is
responsible to see that it is
Cost sharing plan
assists local farmers
The Morrow County ASC
Committee cost-shared
through the Agricultural Con
servation Program (ACP),
with approximately 50 farmers-ranchers,
in the amount of
$58,728.00 in 1977 for perform
ing needed conservation mea
sures. The cost of the following
practices were shared at
approximately 75 percent on
diversion ditches, terraces,
sediment dams, grass seed
ing, forestry improvement
practices, ponds.etc.
In addition to the regular
ACP, some 54 farmers-ranchers
received $87,519.00 in
emergency assistance
through the Drought Conser
vation Program, as the result
of the drought the county
suffered. The emergency
practices cost-shared on were
livestock ponds, livestock and
irrigation wells, livestock
pipelines, etc.
Signups are now being taken
for participation in the 1978
ACP program, according to
Ken Nelson, Chairman of the
Morrow County Committee.
Practices are basically the
same as last year with a
major difference in the cost
share rate. Major emphsis (90
percent cost share) was
placed on terrace outlet struc
tures, waterways, sediment
retention structures and per
manent seedings. Other prac
tices will vary between 30
percent to 75 percent on cost
sharing. For additional infor
mation consult your local
ASCS office.
done The Implementation
Program.
Landowners have been in
stalling conservation prac
tices for years under a
voluntary program which in
cludes development of pro
grams and assignment of
priorities for technical assis
tance through the Soil and
Water Conservation District,
technical assistance from the"
Soil Conservation Service,
cost sharing assistance from
the Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service, and
informational and educational
programs through the Cooper
ative Extension Service.
Most people would like to
continue this type of program
but to meet the requirements
of the law the water quality
plans must include some form
of a regulatory component.
At their January meeting
the agricultural sub-commit-,
tee presented a policy state
ment to the Policy Advisory
Committee on key elements
they felt should be incorpor
ated into the statewide imple
mentation program for non
point pollution control. The
local water quality commit
tees feel that these elements
need to be included to achieve
as much local control as
possible and have the maxi
mum amount of voluntary
compliance with the program.
rftiars....
iisod mor6
fern sforcne?
i
Cull us!
T&C STORAGE
I0IIE 422-7220
STORMORE GRAIN BINS
Sales and Erections
WHO SHOULD GET
BONNEVILLE'S POWER?
How should the Bonneville Power Administration divide the
power that it sells? Should BPA continue selling to its present cus
tomers? Should BPA sell to new customers? What about industries?
WHO GETS BPA POWER NOW?
BPA currently contracts for the sale of firm power with 115
preference customers (public bodies and cooperative utilities), 6 Fed
eral agencies, and 17 direct-service industrial (DSI) customers in the
Pacific Northwest. These contracts will expire between 1981 and
1994.
BPA has given notice to its current preference customers that it
won't have enough firm power to supply their load growth after July
1, 1983. There is also a strong interest in the formation of new public
bodies to qualify as BPA preference customers. With these demands
on its firm power supply, BPA does not anticipate being able to
continue its present service to DSI customers when their contracts
expire.
BPA realizes that, with the increasing demand, it is advisable to
develop a formula to allocate its power. BPA will consider many
alternatives and variables. We expect to consider: class of customer
served, customer-owned generation, type of load, grades of energy,
rates, energy conservation, and other matters.
WE WANT YOUR IDEAS
If you have ideas concerning how BPA should divide its power, we
would like to hear from you in writing by May 1, 1978. Next year, after
assessing your recommendations and analyzing the alternatives,
BPA will announce a proposed allocation policy and conduct public
information and comment forums to hear from you again.
Send your written recommendations to the Public Involvement
Coordinator, Bonneville Power Administration, PO. Box 12999, Port
land, Oregon 97212. For further information, write to the above
address or call 503-234-3361, Ext. 4715.
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION