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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2017)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 NEWS Depot transfer set for Dec. 1, one hurdle left to clear Protection of cultural and historical resources is the last major hurdle to clear stakeholders and then a year to vision,’” he said. Smith and Puzey said the CDA needs the help of their Congressional delegation to give the Army bureaucrats a push. Puzey said Rep. Greg Walden, in particular, is nav- igating through some tricky political circumstances right now and it “becomes un- seemly for a Congressman or woman to go out of their way to push a bureaucrat to do their job.” Walden has assisted the CDA in the past, most re- cently with a phone call that helped get the CDA a “deal points memo” needed to get some of the depot’s infra- structure projects included in the state legislature’s trans- portation package. He also wrote a letter to then-Secre- tary of Defense Chuck Hagel in 2015 when there was talk about charging the CDA for the land. His offi ce said he understands the importance of the project and will contin- ue to provide assistance any way he can. Smith has always repeat- ed the mantra that the land needs to be free, clean and come with adequate water before the CDA is willing to accept it. Those issues have been worked through, but the holdup now is negotiating with the CTUIR and other entities over protection of cultural and archaeological resources. There are preserved sec- tions of the Oregon Trail on the depot, as well as areas By JADE McDOWELL STAFF WRITER After years of delays on transferring the former Uma- tilla Chemical Depot to local control, Columbia Develop- ment Authority director Greg Smith believes the project could be just a few months away from the fi nish line. “We’ve set a hard dead- line of December 1,” he said before adding, “The joke is, ‘What year?’” Locals have reason to be skeptical that the depot is less than three months away from being opened to pri- vate economic development that could mean millions of dollars of investment and hundreds of jobs for the area. They’ve been prom- ised “soon” for several years. Smith said when he was hired in July 2015, he was told the transfer was about 90 days away. That was after a previous timeline had set a transfer date at the beginning of 2015. In the time since, Smith said the area has lost out on many large projects. He’s had to tell companies inter- ested in the land — for data centers, rail car storage, fac- tories, solar panels, mining FILE PHOTO Congressman Greg Walden, center, gestures while asking a question while on a tour of the Umatilla Army Depot with the Columbia Development Authority in May 2016. or other operations — that he has no idea when they would be able to buy or lease the property. “They’re gone. They’re not coming back,” he said. Other companies will like- ly be interested. Smith called the fl at area where the chemi- cal weapons incinerator used to stand some of the best in- dustrial land in the state. But the delays in projects means delays in job openings that development on the depot could produce. “Folks in Hermiston, they’re not going to hear it, they’re not going to smell it,” he said of proposed projects that have come across his desk. “All they’re going to see is cars heading out there and coming back with big paychecks.” In some cases, Smith said, delays have come from the Columbia Development Authority (a partnership between Umatilla Coun- ty, Morrow County, Port of Morrow, Port of Umatilla and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation) wanting to negoti- ate to make sure the transfer is done right. The Pentagon wanted to give most of the water rights on the land to the Oregon National Guard, for example, despite the fact that the Guard’s own study estimated it needed only about 13 percent. Smith and the board held fi rm on need- ing 73 percent of the depot’s water. But Smith and CDA board member Kim Puzey lay most of the blame for delays on the federal government. “I have never met a more ineffi cient form of govern- ment than the military,” said Smith, who is also an Oregon state representative. Puzey said the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. aren’t motivated to work quickly, so it’s hard to get anything to move. “They come in, they say ‘I need a year to get to know the of religious signifi cance for the tribes. A lithic fl ake — a piece of stone chipped off by percussive force during the making of tools like ar- rowheads — was discovered on site, as was a fi repit that could be archaeologically signifi cant. Smith said he’s willing to work with the tribes and historical societies to be accommodating, either by blocking off signifi cant sites to the public or by taking the opposite route and putting up an educational kiosk. How- ever, the tribes have marked a section stretching through the depot as a religiously signifi cant Coyote Coulee. Smith said he was willing to preserve sections that run through the portion of the depot destined to become a wildlife preserve, but not the section that runs through the former incinerator site that was previously agreed upon for industrial use. The CTUIR’s economic and community director Bill Tovey now represents the CTUIR on the CDA board. Smith said he has been work- ing with Tovey and has had good conversations with oth- er CTUIR leaders that lead him to believe they will be able to work out a resolution. “If we can get this fi nal issue resolved, there’s no rea- son we can’t get fi nished in the very near future,” he said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. City, irrigation district recognized Tacos y Mas opens near by state for water reuse project Hermiston High School By JADE McDOWELL STAFF WRITER A water-reuse project by the city of Hermiston and West Extension Irri- gation District that is the fi rst of its kind in the state is being recognized for its innovation. The Oregon Water Re- sources Department gave the project, which uses re- cycled water from the city for irrigation, the Tyler Hansell Agricultural Effi - ciency Award. The water being used comes from the city’s recy- cled water treatment plant, which churns out a fi nal product that plant manag- er William Schmittle calls “virtually indistinguish- able from drinking water.” It is clean enough to be piped into the Umatilla River, but not always cool enough during summer months (rivers that get too warm are unhealthy for fi sh that swim upstream to spawn). A year ago the city started sending it into the West Extension Irrigation District’s main canal in- stead during warm months. Bev Bridgewater, man- ager of the irrigation dis- trict, said every additional bit of water helps the dis- trict. “It’s been consistent, reliable and we’ve been able to put it to good use,” she said. Bridgewater said the project’s uniqueness is probably what contribut- ed to the award. When the district and the city got the needed permits to start using the water in August 2016, it was the fi rst time anyone in the state had done so. “We had a city willing to step up and get the work done,” she said. Hermiston city man- ager Byron Smith said if the city hadn’t been able to send the water to the irrigation district, it would have had to install some sort of cooling equipment instead. The process to get the needed permits was long and complicated, but he said it was worth it in DISH DEALS!! ! 190 Channels $ . 99 /mo. Now only ... 49 for 24 months ADD HIGH-SPEED INTERNET 14 $ . 95 /mo. order to make sure the wa- ter was able to be reused in a way that helps con- tribute to the area’s econ- omy. “That was a driver for us,” he said. He said from the city’s standpoint the arrange- ment has been working well, and they are pleased to have been able to part- ner with the irrigation dis- trict to make it happen. The Tyler Hansell Agri- cultural Effi ciency Award is given each year to “a recipient that has demon- strated leadership in the area of agricultural water management, increasing the effi ciency of water use, while continuing to support agriculture as a vi- tal part of Oregon’s econ- omy,” according to the Oregon Water Resources Department website. HERMISTON HERALD Owners of a new Mex- ican restaurant in Hermis- ton hope its location near Hermiston High School will help keep business booming. Socorro and Maria Orozco have opened Ta- cos y Mas at the corner of Highway 395 and High- land Avenue. The building had previously been used by 395 Quickstop to serve a combination of Mexican and American food. The Orozcos have expe- rience working as cooks at other Mexican restaurants in the area and are serving up street tacos, enchiladas, tamales, menudo and other authentic Mexican dishes. “It’s authentic,” Ma- ria’s daughter Jessica said. “They cook here every STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL Tacos and a burrito sit on a table at Tacos y Mas. day. It’s homemade every day.” She said people can call ahead to order take-out if the prefer, and the Orozcos hope to get the building’s drive-thru up and running too. The restaurant will of- fer specials to high school students during lunch. The proximity to the high school, where students 40th Anniversary SALE-A-BRATION SALE! Switch to DISH and Get a FREE Echo Dot “Alexa, go to HGTV.” Control your TV hands-free with DISH Hopper + Amazon Alexa LIMITED TIME! 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