>
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