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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1997)
> Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, January 1,1997 The <fSS •' i • A INDEPENDENT Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice monthly on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Editors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen (503) 429-9410. v ’ 4 * *1 • J ■ -, J ‘t V. Opinion Voters’ message is, at best, ambivalent The experts, elected or otherwise, who claim that voters have mandated less government spending, are wrong. The only thing clear is that the “experts" are looking at ballot Measure 47, not at other considera- tions. Last September, for instance, Columbia County vot- ers approved a two-year, $1-million serial levy for road repairs and maintenance. That was a vote for more taxes and more spending. Then» ,n November, the voters approved Measure 47, which reduces the amount of property taxes that can be collected for everything supported by property taxes, including roads. This was a vote for reduced taxes and reduced spending. Another example in Columbia County is the election By Rep. TimJosi landowners to be exempt from the law if they Oregon Representative, Dist. 2 of a treasurer. The voters had a choice: Paul Downey produced and followed SB1010 management the county’s highly-qualified director of finance’ Legislation enacting the Governor’s Clean plans. Governor Kitzhaber and the agricultural planned to incorporate the operations of the treasur Stream Initiative will be one of the main issues community, in an effort to defeat Measure 38, er s department into the finance department without facing the upcoming legislative session. How developed the “Clean Streams Initiative” which accepting the salary and benefits now going to that of ever, to understand the importance of the ini addressed the Federal law requirements and a fice (about $57,000 per year). The other candidate tiative one must first review Oregon’s past ef funding source needed to reach compliance. forts to improve our waterways and the role lit was Paulette Kuiper, a bookkeeper with neither expe Measure 38 was defeated at the polls. igation played. rience nor training in investments. The Clean Streams Initiative recognizes the It all started in 1987 when an environmental « « J ™ / 016’8 elec,ed KuiPer> approving the use of need for conformance of federal water quality group filed a lawsuit against the State Depart $57,000 in property taxes for on-the-job training This standards and provides a funding source ment of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the was a vote for neither reduced spending nor increased needed for compliance. The plan calls for the Federal Environmental Protection Agency spending; it was a vote for unnecessary spending identification of sources of pollution, strategies (EPA). The lawsuit alleged that DEQ and EPA Although final details of Measure 47 must still be articulated to remedy pollution and identify were not doing enough in their efforts to en ironed out, some results are predictable. One result is prohibited agricultural practices. Governor force the Federal Clean Water Act. As a result Kitzhaber has proposed a three-cent beverage that money for law enforcement will be greatly re DEQ signed a consent order with the Federal container tax which would raise about thirty duced because it is the largest expenditure on the Io- Court which created a Water Quality Limited million dollars per biennium. $5.8 million would cal level. List for eleven streams in Oregon. The Oregon be used to fund nineteen new positions each Approximately one-third of Columbia County’s gen Department of Agriculture (DOA) then began for DEQ and DOA. The rem aining dollars eral fund budget goes to law enforcement In the City developing a water quality management plan would be used as grants to fund projects. Lo of Vernonia, some 70-percent of the general fund is for the Tualatin River basin. cal Soil and Water Conservation Districts and budgeted for law enforcement. With local govern DEQ and EPA subsequently objected to the Watershed Councils would be the primary re ments facing funding reductions ranging from 10-30 voluntary compliance aspect of the plan and cipients of the grants. percent, it’s obvious that law enforcement budgets will required DOA to create a mandatory element Most agricultural organizations believe the be reduced. to management plans. As a result Oregon federal water temperature requirements are agriculture interest groups met and developed Voters would be wise to remember that taxes paid too stringent and should be relaxed. They also the language for SB1010, which created civil to local governments provide services on the local lev believe a good faith effort to comply with the penalties for non-compliance. SB1010 passed el. If you don’t want to pay for the services, they won’t federal Clean Water Act must first happen be during the 1993 legislative session. exist. fore the EPA will be willing to listen to our con ¿i ■lût ? I ; a Start the New Year right! Now is the perfect time for people who think qov- ernment is wasting their taxes to step up and start working on solutions to that problem. More than 15 elective positions will be on the ballot in March for candidates to sit on the boards of direc tors of Vernonia and Banks School Districts, and Ver nonia, Mist-Birkenfeld and Tri-City Fire Districts. These are the people who make decisions about fiscal policies, in other words, how to best utilize the taxes that are available to provide the district’s services. Best of all, all of these positions are strictly voluntary unpaid which means the directors provide their time, their effort and their ideas free, instead of “wast ing” precious tax dollars. Step up now, your efforts are needed. • •. i'" ’ * ' DEQ was sued again by an environmental group who contended the state planning pro cess was taking too long and that new federal Clean Water Act standards required more streams be listed as polluted. The new stan dards included water temperature require ments. DEQ again entered a consent agree ment with a federal court which required the listing of 870 streams as water quality limited. As a result, the civil penalty provisions of SB 1010 now encompass 870 rivers and streams in Oregon! Measure 38 was then placed on the ballot this year, through the referendum process, by a group of environmental organizations. The authors of Measure 38 contended SB1010 was moving too slowly, with little enforcement of the compliance measures written in the bill. A key p ro visio n of M easure 38 allow ed <•> • . 1 » • I •.» “ ♦ < - óì- V /• t . cerns and relax the standards. The agricultural community also understands that further foot dragging will result in another Measure 38. Adding to the problem is the very real threat of a federal Endangered Species listing for the coho salmon. If the coho salmon is listed as threatened or endangered, the federal govern ment will produce recovery plans which could be extremely expensive to enact. Governor Kitzhaber is being prudent in his efforts to avoid a listing for coho salmon. His Clean Streams Initiative is an integral part of his salmon recovery plan. Legislators would be prudent to follow his lead. Rep. Tim Josi may be contacted at: 6740 Baseline Bay City, OR 97107 Phone/Fax: (503) 377-2111 E-Mail: Repjosi @oregoncoast.com
