' W-' 'Hr'-
' f'.' H tf Tjf' -qp, -j. fA- f
The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, March 23, 1978 THREE
Morrow County Ag Advisory Committee initiate
Dealing with the county's
agricultural lands in the
context of revising the Com
prehensive Plan will be the
general topic of discussion
when the recently-formed
Morrow County Agricultural
Advisory Committee convenes
next week.
Next week's meeting, only
the second for the new
tmittee, will be held Wed
nesday, March 29, at the
Dodge City Inn, Boardman,
beginning at 8 p.m.
The 10-member committee
has been formed to assist the
Morrow County Court and the
Morrow County Planning
Commission in the develop
ment of the agricultural
element of the county's Com
prehensive Plan and in the
implementation of accom
panying ordinances. Acting in
an advisory capacity, the
committee plans to work in
conjunction with members of
both the Citizen Involvement
Advisory Board and the Mor
row County Planning Commis
sion. Recommendation made
directly to these bodies by the
committee will be forwarded
to the County Court.
Morrow County Planning
Director Dave Moon, who
worked on the selection of
committee members and will
attend the meetings, said the
committee is still open to new
membership and he encour
ages all interested citizens to
attend Wednesday's meeting.
Moon identified several ob
jectives that the new commit
tee will work towards in the
coming months. Among the
Letter aiire elimination
of flood plain by dam
The Honorable D.O. Nelson
Chairman, Board of County Commissioners
Morrow County Courthouse
Heppner, Oregon 97836
Dear Judge Nelson :
This is to clarify the nature of the process Senator
Hatfield intends to follow if local officials report to him that
the people of Morrow County still desire to obtain flood
protection by establishment of a federal dam and reservoir
project above Heppner.
As you know, Congress in 1965 authorized construction of
the Willow Creek Project, a 155-foot-high dam controlling an
11,500 acre-foot reservoir. The authorization was contained in
Section 204 of Public Law 89-298 (the Flood Control Act of
1965), which stated simply,
"The project for flood protection on Willow Creek,
Oregon, is hereby authorized substantially in accordance
with the recommendations of the Chief of Engineers in
' House Document numbered 233, Eighty-Ninth Congress,
at an estimated cost of $6,680,000."
The recommendations of the Chief at that time called for
1,300 acre-feet of exclusive flood control storage space in the
reservoir, 300 acre-feet of storage for water quality control,
100 acre-feet for municipal and industrial water supply, and
7,900 acre-feet for the joint uses of flood control, irrigation,
sport fishing and recreation. The remaining 1,900 acre-feet
were intended for sedimentation and fish survival at
minimum pool. At maximum pool the reservoir would have
had a surface area of 224 acres, and at minimum pool 76
acres.
During the advance engineering and design work
following authorization, several developments forced the
Corps of Engineers to revise the project. In a Special Report
dated May 15, 1974, the Chief of Engineers requested that
Congress revise the authorization to allow municipal water
storage to be dropped as a project function (Heppner had
withdrawn its request), to eliminate the channel
improvement aspect downstream from the dam (emergency
work by the Corps in recent years had acomplished what was
needed), to defer irrigation until such time as it becomes
economically feasible (potential irrigators had balked at the
cost of the water for which they were being asked to sign
contracts), to increase the exclusive flood control space in
the reservoir (the size of the potential thunderstorm flood
bad been re-estimated and found to be larger), to reduce the
recreation aspect at the reservoir (recreation and fishing
were expected to be adversly affected by the poor water
quality that would develop from operating at minimum pool
a greater percentage of the time), and to eliminate water
quality control as a project funcion ( EPA had found that
sewage treatment was sufficient to eliminate the need for
additional dilution of waste discharges into the river). The
Chief's recommended plan was for a dam and reservoir
identical in size to that authorized in 1965, but with the
functions altered as described above.
As you recall, Senator Hatfield and Congressman
Ullman introduced the required legislation, got it through the
Senate and the House, and saw President Ford veto it at the
very end of the 93rd Congress, in December 1974. The
following year Senator Hatfield and Congressman Ullman
Womens
Hush Puppys
& Casuals
Dress Shoes
mens
Aspen
Sport Shoes
Hush Puppys
Pedwin Casuals:
10f3
Childrens
$ Red Goose
& Youngset
School Shoes
lata
Boys
Dress Zippered
Boots
EH.
WomenJLGIrls
Vinyl Boots
Se&ct Croups
reintroduced the legislation and stated they would try to
protect it from veto by getting it included in a larger bill
covering many projects around the country. However, when
they were informed that local assurances of cooperation and
support would no longer be forthcoming, they dropped the
matter; and the 1976 Water Resources Development Act
passed the Congress and was signed into law without Willow
Creek.
Today, if local support is expressed by the County of
Morrow and the City of Heppner, Senator Hatfield has said he
will attempt to obtain an immediate appropriation to begin
work on the Willow Creek Project at the point the Corps left
off in 1974. In order to do this, he will seek an appropriation of
funds for Willow Creek in this year's Public Works
Appropriations Bill, and try to specify in this bill that these
funds are to be expended in accordance with the
recommendations of the Chief of Engineers in his 1974
Special Report. Of particular interest to you, in the
consideration of the size of the flood plain in Heppner, is the
description on page 8 of the Special Report, which says in
part,
"Under the proposed initial plan of development, a total
of 9,500 acre-feet is provided for exclusive flood control
use, providing protection against thunderstorm floods in
excess of a 500-year recurrence interval. Under ultimate
development, 6,000 acre-feet will be available exclu
sively for flood control and, with varying amounts of the
3,500 acre-feet of irrigation storage, the project will pro
vide a 360-year degree of protection."
If the project initially controls the 500-year flood, and,
when irrigation deliveries begin (expected in about 1990), it
ultimately controls the 360-year flood, then the 100-year flood
from Willow Creek and Balm Fork is completely contained
by the reservoir and would not contribute to flows
downstream. Willow Creek's and Balm Fork's contribution
to the 100-year flood plain is therefore completely eliminated,
and only contributions from uncontrolled side canyons, such
as Hinton and Shobe, could provide any damage. It should be
noted that with complete control of Willow Creek and Balm
Fork by the dam, which can dry up the channel immediately
below the dam, the affect of the addition of waters from the
side canyons will also be lessened somewhat.
I should hasten to point out there is no assurance that
Senator Hatfield will succeed, but he will certainly do
everything he can if you decide to ask him. And there does
not appear to be any harm in trying. If he is not able to obtain
construction of this project, I expect he will move to
deauthorize it once and for all, so that it no longer will be a
threat to the landowners who would be displaced by
construction of the project.
If there is any other information I can provide, don't
hesitate to call again.
Sincerely,
Steven G. Hickok
Field Representative
Ufa)
I - I
a
2-8x10 - 2-5x7
10-Wallets
Entire Pkg. $12.95
Less Deposit 2.95
Uaiai IOC Dlw.ry i r m
Entlrt Pick.g. Oram Only
As Shown .
Sil'sUction Gua'in!ed
O' OtOOSif Atunod
You get 2 sets of photos, 2 poses!
You pay nothing tf you aren't satisfied
with photos - full deposit returned!
M A'l ages welcomed children and adults
SI extra per person for group photos
Fast deliver professional quality!
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Q Q HOURS:
" U.-5PJL
SQ r0 ffi MARCH Q Q JfJ
OflO 24-25 aoo
mum fJ u
HEPPNW OREGON .
AND
march 27
AT
rietmakh's hardware
loriE
objectives are: developing
goals relating to the preserva
tion or development of agri
cultural lands in Morrow
County, identifying and cate
gorizing various types of
agricultural practices and
agricultural lands within the
county, assisting in develop
ing standards to be used in
administering the Compre
hensive Plan, and reviewing
and commenting on the crea
tion of Urban Growth Bounda
ries which define potential
areas for transition from rural
to urban land use.
"In order to protect the
agricultural element of the
county's economic base, pro
ductive farm lands should be
protected from encroachment
by non-agricultural uses,"
Moon said. "Farm land is best
managed in large units and
the best interest of the county
is not served by dividing
agricultural land into small
parcels."
Currently serving on the
Agricultural Advisory Com
mittee are: Harold Kerr,
Heppner; Kurt Gantenbein,
Boardman ; Don Brewer,
Hermiston; Dick Wilkinson,
Heppner, Dick McElligott,
lone; Joe Tatone, Boardman;
Joe Bartlett, Boardman, Gene
Trumbull, Boardman; Dorris
Graves, Heppner and Virginia
Grieb, Lexington.
CLASSIFIEDS
WORK FOR YOU
676-9228
VAONkyAK
PIANO
Coming March 31 &
April I To The
WAGON WHEEL
CAFE & LOUNGE
DM
Western Family
Boneless
Fully Cooked
HAMS $169lB.
J
BonTi; MS $1
Smoked Shank Half U LB-
Butt Half $1.19 Center Slice $1.39
Western Family
Thick Sliced
irvi iy2-Lb.
ly pkg.
Schilling
Whole Cloves
Nalley's French -1000 Isle
i
)) Blue Bell
Potato
Chips
fif c
r- r-
Salad
Dressings
4fc
8-or.
Gold Medal
v Flour
vj f $'jjC3
U
10-lb. Bag
89e
m m
Darigold
Butter
$123
j Mb.
Money's
Seafood
Sauce
12-Oz.
Baker's
Coconut
(1 16-oz.
1.
ft.
Stalk
Nancy's
Mayonnaise
48-oi.
Welches
Grape
Jelly
32-oz.
Campfire Miniature
Mcrshmsllows
Pkgs
For
10 16oz.
Chiffon
Dinner
FJapkins
4fc
Higgins Bros.
Large
Eggs
7SL
(
AVOCOQOS
ipi :
Each
Piiifi Grcpefruit
Broccoli
8 LB. Bag
Each
3fC
PRICES EFFECTIVE
MARCH 23, 24, & 25
GR0C. 676-9614
MEAT 676-9223
WE DELIVER OH
TUESDAY & FRIDAY
J
! KRCa- It-Slit