A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Biomass experiment delayed
at Boardman coal facility
Plans to test burn
biomass at the
Boardman Coal Plant
delayed by weather
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Staff Writer
A major step toward de-
termining whether the Board-
man Coal Plant can run en-
tirely on biomass will have to
wait a little while longer.
Portland General Elec-
tric had planned to con-
duct a full-day test burn at
the plant using nothing but
woody debris by the end
of December. However, as
winter weather had Orego-
nians cranking up the heat,
PGE needed all resources
on deck to keep up with the
surge in electricity demand.
Steve Corson, PGE
spokesman, said the biomass
trial at Boardman will instead
be held sometime during the
first quarter of 2017.
“We were in the midst of
the coldest weather we’ve
had this month, and we
needed that power genera-
tion at the coal plant,” Cor-
son said.
Workers at the plant did
use a partial mix of coal and
biomass for three days —
Dec. 6, 8 and 12 — which
Corson said provided fur-
ther information about how
the material behaves with
the facility’s pulverizers.
“It is similar to coal, but
there are distinctions,” Cor-
son said.
PGE has until 2020 to
decide what to do with
the Boardman facility, the
state’s last remaining coal-
fired power plant. Rather
than install costly emis-
sions upgrades, the utility
is researching whether the
station can be converted to
run on an alternative source
of fuel. If not, the plant will
be shut down completely.
Earlier this year, PGE
REPORTS:
continued from Page A5
• Credits inc. vs. Liobaldo Villa Cam-
pos: seeks $809.55 plus interest, costs
and fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Jeannitte K. and
Randall Case: seeks $1,096.20 plus in-
terest, costs and fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Raymond Douglas
Sinclair: seeks $2,780.77 plus interest,
costs and fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Deann Cravin: seeks
$708.49 plus interest, costs and fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Deana L. Dedera:
seeks $3,688.62 plus interest, costs and
fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Kristina Engel:
seeks $6,199.05 plus interest, costs and
fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Beann and Scott
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2017
COMMUNITY
Teen injured after
car hits skateboarder
A Hermiston teen was
injured when he was
struck by a car Friday
night while riding his
skateboard down North
First Place between West
Harper Road and West
Elm Street.
Hermiston
Police
Chief Jason Edmiston
said that according to
witnesses, the 15-year-
old boy, Costa Maldo-
nado, was riding his
skateboard in the middle
of the roadway and was
wearing dark clothing
when he was hit by a ve-
hicle, driven by 19 year-
old Nicolas Magana of
Hermiston.
Maldonado, who had
been riding the skate-
board, was taken to
Good Shepherd Medical
Center for treatment.
Edmiston said the
cause of the crash is still
under investigation.
— Jayati Ramakrishnan
IN BRIEF
Eppenbach shares ‘bits & pieces’
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC
A pile of biomass has arrived at the Boardman Coal Plant for a full-day test burn, now
scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.
partnered with a newly in-
corporated business called
Oregon Torrefaction, made
up of the U.S. Endowment
for Forestry and Commu-
nities, Bonneville Envi-
ronmental Foundation and
Ochoco Lumber Compa-
ny, based in Prineville.
The corporation is provid-
ing 8,000 tons of torrefied
biomass needed to run the
Boardman plant for one
day, at full capacity.
The process of torre-
faction refers to roasting
biomass, such as wood
waste, at high temperatures
in the absence of oxygen,
resulting in a brittle, char-
coal-like material that can
be crushed inside the plant.
The hope is that low-val-
ue timber, small-diame-
ter trees and forest clutter
can become a sustainable
source of fuel for the plant,
while simultaneously im-
proving forest health and
creating rural jobs.
Not everyone is as opti-
mistic. The Sierra Club re-
cently issued a report flag-
ging several concerns with
the project’s impact on air
quality and forest health.
Among its findings, the
Sierra Club reports that PGE
N. Smith: seeks $2,541.96 plus interest,
costs and fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Jeanette Willman:
seeks $9,979.27 plus interest, costs and
fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Jose Luis Frias:
seeks $2,991.16 plus interest, costs and
fees.
• Credits Inc. vs. Tiare Kay Morlan:
seeks $10,000 plus interest, costs and
fees.
• Discover Bank vs. John A. Pad-
berg: seeks $5,617.74 plus interest, costs
and fees.
• Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC
vs. Megan A. Escamilla: seeks $1,310.48
plus interest, costs and fees.
• Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC
vs. Jessica L. Reyes: seeks $1,091.07 plus
interest, costs and fees.
• Citibank N.A. vs. Mischelle C.
Thomas Keyser: seeks $1,992.94 plus
would actually need 12,800
tons of dry wood daily at
the Boardman plant, since
torrefaction does burn off
some of the material’s total
mass. Assuming the plant
runs at peak capacity for
five months, that adds up to
1.9 million dry tons of un-
processed wood annually.
Logging residue would
provide just 6-8 percent of
that feedstock, according
to the report’s estimates.
As for additional thinning
projects, the Sierra Club
cautions against tailoring
forest management to meet
future energy needs.
“Forest
management
practices motivated to meet
energy needs sets a danger-
ous precedent for our pub-
lic forests, especially when
continuous large volumes
are needed in the supply
chain as is the case with the
Boardman proposal,” the
report reads.
Alexander Harris, con-
servation organizer with
the Sierra Club in Portland,
spearheaded the report.
He said the organization is
not pursuing a campaign
against biomass, but is
watching closely to see that
climate and forest conse-
interest, costs and fees.
• Worlds Foremost Bank vs. Vern
Hamblen: seeks $2,842 plus interest,
costs and fees.
• Swift Transportation Co. of Arizona
LLC vs. Peter Henry Rachor: seeks $5,720
plus interest, costs and fees.
• Justin Lieuallen vs. Scott and Holly
Kenworthy: seeks $2,310 plus interest,
costs and fees.
Judgments
The following judgments have
been rendered in Umatilla County
courts:
• Midland Funding LLC vs. Daniel
Burton: judgment for $765.17 plus inter-
est, costs and fees.
• Rocky Mountain Therapy Services
Inc. vs. Gregory and Melody A. Demas-
ter: judgment for $955.48 plus interest,
costs and fees.
quences are being closely
monitored by PGE.
Corson reiterated the
project is still in the research
and development phase, and
many questions still need to
be answered before the pro-
posal could even be consid-
ered feasible. He chided the
Sierra Club report for mak-
ing some faulty assump-
tions, such as sourcing of
the biomass, which Corson
said would come from mul-
tiple sources.
“There seems to be a
decent possibility the an-
swer to the questions could
point to a sustainable, re-
newable, environmentally
responsible solution for
the plant that would ben-
efit our customers and the
local community,” Corson
said. “We’re continuing our
research to make sure we
have the best information
we can collect before we
make any decisions.”
A successful full-day
test burn would mark the
next milestone in the pro-
cess, and could lead to ad-
ditional multi-day trials in
the future.
———
Contact George Plaven
at 541-966-0825.
• Donald G. Hoke vs. Safeway Inc.:
judgment for $1,018.80 plus interest,
costs and fees.
• O’Hanlon Law Offices LLC vs.
James Dale Standley III: judgment for
$3,691.27 plus interest, costs and fees.
• Ray Klein Inc. vs. Carey Leanne
Reuben: judgment for $4,259.42 plus
interest, costs and fees.
• Quick Collect Inc. vs. Eric Purcell:
judgment for $926.04 plus interest,
costs and fees.
• Quick Collect Inc. vs. Norma Men-
doza and Sergio Mendoza Jr.: judg-
ment for $608.52 plus interest, costs
and fees.
• Ray Klein Inc. vs. Mica Bartlett:
judgment for $397.68 plus interest,
costs and fees.
• Quick Collect Inc. vs. Danielle Ma-
rie and Darren K. Holden: judgment for
$449.79 plus interest, costs and fees.
JANUARY
EVENTS
Oregon Truffle
Festival
Longtime Irrigon resident Don Eppenbach will share
stories and historical facts about the region during a
weekend presentation.
The second in a three-part series, The Columbia Riv-
er: Bits & Pieces, Stories & Facts is Saturday at 5 p.m.
at the Irrigon branch of the Oregon Trail Library Dis-
trict, 490 N.E. Main St. A social hour with refreshments
will follow the presentation.
For more information, call Eppenbach at 541-922-
3197.
Worship
Community
1255 Hwy. 395 S. • 567-5834
oasisvineyard.us
Worship 10:00 AM
“come as you are”
LANDMARK BAPTIST
CHURCH
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever

Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm
www.hermistonlmbc.com
The Full Gospel
Home Church
235 SW 3rd
Phone 567-7678
Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker
Sunday:
Sunday School........10:00 am
Worship...................11:00 am
Evening Service........7:00 pm
Wednesday Service..7:00 pm
“Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.”
1 Pet. 5:7
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
567-8241
855 W. Highland • Hermiston
Grace Baptist Church NEW BEGINNINGS
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Nursery provided for all services
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 pm
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
Echo
Community Church
21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR
Phone: (541) 376-8108
Sunday School • 9:30am
Worship • 10:45am
Children’s Church • 11:15am
Potluck & Communion ~
First Sunday of the Month
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Worship Service 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:00 AM
Pastor J.C. Barnett
Children’s Church
& Nursery Available
700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
541-567-8441
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday
...............................English 7:00 am
Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm
SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm
...............................Spanish 7:00 pm
SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am
..........................Bilingual 11:00 am
..............................Spanish 1:00 pm
Offi ce..............................567-5812
First Christian
Church
“Proclaiming the Message of
Hope, Living the Gospel of Love”
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
W
Bible School: 9:15am
Worship Gathering: 10:30am
567-3013
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
FRESH TRUFFNE MARKETPNACE
With or without wine tasting
Sunday, January 22 • 11am-4pm • Newberg, OR
Sunday, January 29 • 11am-4pm • Eugene, OR
THE JORIAD™ TRUFFNE DOG COMPETITION
Thursday, January 26 • 9am-Noon • Eugene, OR
OREGON TRUFFNE M AC D OWN
Thursday, January 26 • 6:30-9pm • Eugene
Something fun for everyone at OTF 2017!
TICKETS & INFO: oregoutrufflefestival.com
To share your worship times call
Terri Briggs
541-278-2678