Port considering burning mint waste at Heppner plant
By Frank Lockwood
Hermiston Herald staff writer
|From the Nov. 29 edition of The
Hermiston Herald|
DEQ has confirmed that
the Port o f Morrow' is considering
b u rn in g m in t w a s te in th e
electrical generating p la n t at
Heppner.
The question o f DEQ
perm its cam e up after a citizen
expressed concerns the plant in
Heppner was cranking up to bum
some mint waste along with the
usual hog fuel beginning Dec. 2.
The DEQ had not heard o f the
planned changes.
“ I spoke to the plant
contact today and he inform ed
me that the Port o f M orrow is
just considering what options are
a v a ila b le as fa r as fu e l is
c o n c ern e d ,” M ark F ish er o f
DEQ reported on Nov. 21. So
far, the port had not been burning
anything but wood fuel in the
boiler, Fisher said he was told.
The permittee is required
to notify the departm ent and
obtain approval before making a
change in operations, including
changing the type o f fuel.
B c sa ie Vietzell
U o f 0 S e . a p a ;?r L ib r a r y
E u ^ s n e , UR
9/4J3
Christmas at the
Courthouse just
around the corner
VOL. 121
NO. 49
8 Pages
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
ATV Park site bid proposal accepted
Proposed ATV park
at Kinzua re-load site
Camping
area-----
M orrow C ounty has
been notified that they are the
successful bidders for the parcel
o f land know n locally as the
K in z u a R e lo a d . W ith th e
successful purchase o f this land,
located 33 miles from Heppner
on Hwy. 207, the proposed All
Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Park w ill
be on its way to construction.
D ue
to
fu n d in g
contingencies still in the process,
details about the park and the
purchase are not available. To
help w ith the funding, the County
has applied to the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Departm ent for
a grant from the O regon All
Terrain Vehicle Program. A grant
funded from a portion o f the gas
tax and from the issuance o f ATV
operating permits.
O ne hold-up has been
that while the money is in the ATV
fund, and has not been affected
by the grow ing budget crisis, it
was not included in this y e a r's
budget. T h u s, the “ S tate E-
Board”, a board o f legislatures
that will approve the changing of
th e b u d g e t, w ill d e c id e on
w hether to add the money from
the ATV program fund to the
budget, so that it can be used this
year. The Board meets in January
and will hopefully have a response
soon after.
M orrow County Public
Works has been working with a
ste e rin g c o m m ittee o f local
la n d o w n e rs , g o v e rn m e n t
agencies and business owners to
develop the initial plans for the
park. N ow that the purchase o f
the land is p ro g re ssin g , the
committee will begin discussing
the park in m ore detail. Earlier
plans for the park included tent
and RV cam psites, m otocross
and ATV tracks, and trails, with
m any other plans in the m aking
as well. Electricity and an 800-
ft. well are also available on the
s ite . O n c e th e p u rc h a s e is
complete, hopefully by March 1,
2003, according to Karen Wolff,
executive assistant for M orrow
County Public Works, details will
be made available.
If by som e chance the
deal is not closed, the bid deposit
m ade by M orrow C ounty is
refundable.
An interest from people
a ll o v e r O re g o n h a s b e e n
expressed in this new project,
according to Wolff. T here are
many families that enjoy this form
o f recreation and the park would
provide a great opportunity for
them . There are also trails in
U k ia h , w h ic h w o u ld be
complimented by this new area,
W olff said.
I f you h av e any
questions regarding this project,
you can contact M orrow County
Public Works by calling 989-
9500 and ask to speak w ith
Burke O 'B rien , public w orks
d ir e c to r , o r K a re n W o lff,
executive assistant.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
C h r is tm a s
at th e
C ourthouse w ith the first-ever
liv e a u c tio n o f d e c o ra te d
C hristm as trees will be held
Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m.
Everyone is invited to the
c e le b r a tio n , h e ld a t th e
courthouse, ending the yearlong
100th anniversary. There will be
tours, refreshm ents, music and
the Cham ber tree auction. There
will also be an opportunity to
vote on your favorite tree. The
auctioneer for the event will be
Ken Grieb o f Lexington.
P ro c e e d s go to w a rd
C h a m b e r n o n -d u es p ro je c ts
such as the decorative Christmas
w reaths, flow er baskets each
spring, and banners as needed.
Sponsors o f the event
include: Sharon H arrison and
Trish Sweeny, Bank o f Eastern
Oregon, W heatland Insurance,
J o h n ’s O th e r P lace, M urray
Drugs and C ountry Rose, The
Morrow County Courthouse and
Central Red Apple Market.
Chamber raffle
gun recovered
after robbery
M o rro w
C o u n ty
Sheriff’s Office reports that the
C h a m b e r ra ffle gun sto le n ,
W ed n esd ay , N ov. 27, from
H eppner H ardw are has been
recovered and they have the
suspect in custody.
Philbert Dean Lossing,
20, was arrested for Theft-1 and
Burglary-II. He is lodged at the
Umatilla County Jail.
A c c o r d in g to th e
SherifTs office, the Heppner Fire
D epartm ent w as involved in
finding and recovering the stolen
gun, which was found outside a
Heppner residence.
O n the evening o f Nov.
27, in a group effort, one part o f
th e g ro u p e n te re d H e p p n e r
Hardware asking for some items
in the back, w hile another person
entered asking for a bird stamp.
H aving g o tten , C liff G reen,
ow ner o f H eppner Hardw are,
busy in the back o f the store,
Lossing entered the store and
took the raffle gun that w as
hanging in the front w indow.
“ The
s h e r i f f 's
department did an excellent job,”
said G reen o f the d epartm ent’s
efforts in recovering the gun.
A
T,
,
.
.
7 ne department routinely
inspects perm itted facilities to
m ake sure they are com plying
w ith the p erm it co n d itio n s.
Among other things, the inspector
would look at the type o f fuel
b e in g b u rn e d . T h e re a re
provisions for 10 or 60 day
default approvals, depending on
the env ironmental significance o f
the change. Significant changes
can take six months or longer for
final approval.
P o rt M a n a g e r G a ry
N eal had m e n tio n e d at the
B o a rd m a n
C ham ber
of
Com m erce that the supplier o f
this mint waste is B&G Farms, a
private source said.
Legally disposing o f mint
waste has become a difficulty for
some mint farmers, apparently
in clu d in g B& G, w h ich has
operations in Royal City, Wash.,
and in Boardman.
It was the subject o f a
several-page report in a Tri-City
Herald special report o f July 21 -
24, which chronicled pollution,
fines, deaths, thefts and illegal
d u m p in g as B & G F a rm s
struggled with piles o f waste left
over from distilling mint. The
article also cited “hundreds o f
pages o f inv estigatory reports by
a d o z e n s ta te a n d fe d e ra l
agencies,” and "misadventures”
by B&G over the last decade.
If the plan goes forward.
it will not be the first time B&G
ow ners have attem pted to use
mint waste to produce electrical
energy. B&G earlier this year
discussed w ith the Grant County
Public Utility District an interest
in producing green pow er by
burning m int waste. But Grant
P U D o f fic ia ls at th a t tim e
reported there was no imminent
project w ith B&G and they were
not in negotiations with B&G
toward that end.
The Port o f Morrow and
B&G had not notified the DEQ
o f an in te n t to b e g in
supplementing their tuel with mint
w aste on Dec. 2, but a citizen
notified the DEQ last w eek. The
burning o f alternative fuels has
b e e n a p p ro v e d
by th e
departm ent for other facilities,
especially if the quality o f the
alternative fuel im proves the
combustion efficiency.
“ W ood w a ste is n ot
always the greatest fuel because
it is variable and contains high
moisture. Adding other fuels w ith
higher heating values can improve
c o m b u s tio n . H o w e v e r, th e
department needs to be notified
in a d v a n ce so th at th e fuel
properties and constituents can
be fu lly e v a lu a te d ,” F ish er
reported. “ I reminded (the Port)
that they need to notify the
Department and obtain approval
before changing fuels," Fisher
said.
Health district prognosis good
It’s official. The patient is
on the road to recovery and the
prognosis is good. A fter near
closure several years ago and
m onth after m onth o f dismal
financial reports, the M orrow
County Health District has taken
a turn for the better. A ccording
to Michael R. Bell & Company,
Certified Public Accountants and
Consultants, the district is in a
“better financial position and
m ore stable position” and they
e x p e c t th e tu r n a r o u n d to
continue. “The balance sheet is
m uch, m uch stronger. W e're
starting to see a trend as to how
the facility has come around. The
district is overall in a much better
position than last year, w ith a lot
more cash and better able to deal
with upcom ing problem s," said
Konrad Capeller, a cpa with Bell
& C om pany, at the d istric t’s
m onthly m eeting in H eppner
November 25. Bell & Company
gave the district an “unqualified
opinion" and noted no significant
problems in the audit. TTie audit
show ed a gain o f $142,930 in
excess o f expenses for 2001 and
a loss o f $ 133,505 for 2002.
Michael R. Bell credited
M C H D C E O V ictor V ander
Does for his “mature guidance"
o f the district and noted that
Vander Does was a “big factor"
in the district’s turnaround. Bell
said that Vander D oes' work to
o b ta in P io n e e r M e m o ria l
H o s p ita l’s d e sig n a tio n as a
" C r itic a l A c c e s s ” h o s p ita l
resulted in a dramatic increase in
th e
d i s t r i c t 's
M e d ic a re
reimbursement rate, crucial to the
district’s financial health.
B e ll a ls o p ra is e d
M CHD C hief Financial Officer
N ic o le M a h o n e y fo r h e r
ex p ertise in su p erv isin g the
d is tr ic t’s fin a n c ia l m a tte rs,
including providing accurate
f in a n c ia l s ta te m e n ts an d
improved collections. “She does
a great job and is a great asset,”
said Bell.
Bell said that the
d is tr ic t's n ex t c h a lle n g e is
improving the ailing bottom line
o f Pioneer M em orial Nursing
Hom e, but he outlined a plan
w hich could accom plish that
goal. According to Bell, Pioneer
M emorial Nursing Home costs
are around $ 180 per patient/per
d ay . H o w e v e r, th e s ta te
reim burses the district at a rate
o f only $ 110 per patient/per day.
Bell said that a change in the
designation from “nursing home
beds” to “hospital sw ing beds”
could dram atically increase the
reim bursem ent rate, w hile still
allowing the hospital to retain the
beds for nursing home patients.
Bell said that the change could
in c r e a s e y e a r ly M e d ic a re
reim bursements to the hospital/
n u r s in g h o m e as m u ch as
$ 3 2 0 ,0 0 0 . V a n d e r D o e s
estimated that accomplishing the
c h an g e in d esig n atio n from
nursing home beds to sw ing beds
could take at least tw o years,
w hich is about the time that the
fed eral Pro S hare pro g ram ,
w h ic h h a s a llo tte d a ro u n d
$240.000 yearly to PM NH the
last several years, may run out o f
funds. Bell also said that the
district would save “very little" by
closing the nursing hom e and
added that a large part o f the
overhead o f running the facility
would still remain.
CBEC meter reader travels
rural areas on motorcycle
Columbia Basin Electric Co-Op wants to inform their rural
consumers that the contracted m eter reading service, Accu-Read o f
Spokane, is now utilizing a motorcycle to travel the rural routes w hile
reading electric meters.
The local employee, Mike Stahl, rides a red motorcycle w ith
an orange-colored helmet. Consum ers should not become alarmed
if they see Stahl riding the rural roads, stopping to note meter readings.
“All our meter readers carry full identification," said an Accu-
Read spokesperson. Anyone w ith questions or concerns regarding
suspicious visitors should call the sh en ft's office or 9 - 1 -1.
CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE
'
Friday, December 13th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
COME JOIN THE FUN!
Refreshments, cookies and hot apple cider
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
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