The INDEPENDENT, April 7, 2011
Page 5
Conservation reserve sign-up now DEQ gives environmental okay to Weed Avenue site
Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack announced, in January,
that the next general signup for
the Conservation Reserve Pro-
gram (CRP) is underway and
will continue through April 15.
This is the second consecutive
year that United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture (USDA) has
offered a general CRP signup.
“Over the past 25 years,
support for CRP has grown
thanks to strong backing from
farmers, ranchers, conserva-
tionists, hunters, fishermen and
other outdoor sports enthusi-
asts,” said Vilsack. “Not only
has CRP contributed to the na-
tional effort to improve water
and air quality, it has preserved
habitat for wildlife, and prevent-
ed soil erosion by protecting the
most sensitive areas including
those prone to flash flooding
and runoff. This announcement
continues the Obama Adminis-
tration’s effort to conserve sen-
sitive areas and improve
wildlife habitat.”
Through
CRP,
eligible
landowners receive annual
rental payments and cost-share
assistance to establish long-
term, resource conserving cov-
ers on eligible farmland. Land
can be enrolled for a period of
up to 15 years. During the gen-
eral signup period, farmers and
ranchers may offer eligible land
at their county Farm Service
Agency (FSA) office. Land cur-
rently not enrolled in CRP may
be offered in this signup provid-
ed all eligibility requirements
are met. Additionally, current
CRP participants and contracts
expiring this fall may make new
contract offers. Contracts
awarded under this signup are
scheduled to become effective
October 1, 2011. The general
sign-up for CRP will not affect
cropped acres for this growing
season.
To help ensure that interest-
ed farmers and ranchers are
aware of the signup period,
USDA has signed partnership
agreements with several con-
servation and wildlife organiza-
tions that will play an active role
in USDA’s 2011 CRP outreach
efforts. They include: Pheas-
ants Forever, Ducks Unlimited,
National Association of State
Foresters, Playa Lakes Joint
Venture (Lesser Prairie Chick-
en/Sage Grouse), and the Lon-
gleaf Incorporated Bobwhite
Conservation Initiative.
The FSA implements CRP
on behalf of Commodity Credit
Corporation. FSA will evaluate
and rank eligible CRP offers us-
ing an Environmental Benefits
Index (EBI) that shows the en-
vironmental benefits to be
gained from enrolling the land
in CRP. The EBI includes five
environmental factors (wildlife,
water, soil, air and enduring
benefits) and cost. Decisions
on the EBI cutoff will be made
after the sign-up ends and after
analyzing all of the offers.
In addition to the general
sign-up, CRP’s continuous
sign-up program will be ongo-
ing. Continuous acres repre-
sent the most environmentally
desirable and sensitive land.
For more information, visit
http://www.fsa. usda.gov/crp.
CRP protects millions of
acres of American topsoil from
erosion and is designed to
safeguard the Nation’s natural
resources. By reducing water
runoff and sedimentation, CRP
protects groundwater and helps
improve the condition of lakes,
rivers, ponds, and streams.
Acreage enrolled in the CRP is
planted to resource-conserving
vegetative covers, making the
program a major contributor to
increased wildlife populations
in many parts of the country.
Through the 2008 Farm BIll,
CRP is authorized for a maxi-
mum enrollment of 32 million
acres. USDA estimates that
contracts on 3.3 million to 6.5
million acres are scheduled to
expire annually between now
and 2014.
Slightly fewer jobless in Columbia County
Columbia County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rate was to 11.6 percent in Feb-
ruary, essentially unchanged
from the previous month
(12.0%) but lower than the year
before (12.6%). February’s un-
employment rate was the low-
est in two years and the first
month it has been below 12.0
percent in two years. The rate
was above the statewide rate
(10.2%) and the national rate
(8.9%). Total employment
climbed by 90 to 21,752 and
the number of unemployed
people dipped by 5 to 3,149.
Total employment this February
was 518 more than one year
before and there were 279 few-
er people unemployed this
year.
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality (DEQ) has deter-
mined that current environmen-
tal conditions at the former Ver-
nonia Tank Farm & Warehouse
site will allow for future use as a
non-residential senior center
and food pantry. The City of
Vernonia and the Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency (FEMA) are working to-
gether to relocate facilities, like
Vernonia’s senior center, that
were damaged by the devastat-
ing 2007 floods.
After reviewing the results of
environmental investigations at
the site in 2009 and 2010, DEQ
concluded that the property
does not pose a risk to human
health and the environment and
that no environmental cleanup
is needed.
The Vernonia Tank Farm &
Warehouse site is located
south of Vernonia City Hall and
northwest of the intersection of
Umatilla Street and Weed Av-
enue.
From 1931 to 1960, Shell Oil
Company owned the site and
operated it as a small bulk oil
storage facility also called a
tank farm. The property was re-
Jobless benefits
extended by state
On March 24, Governor
Kitzhaber signed two pieces of
legislation that will extend un-
employment benefits up to 26
weeks for Oregonians who
have exhausted all other op-
tions.
“Although we are on the path
to economic recovery, there are
thousands of Oregonians who
are still struggling,” said Gover-
nor Kitzhaber. “Extending un-
employment benefits is a life
line to people in need right
now.”
Senate Bill 637, passed with
overwhelming support, allows
Oregon to use $225 million in
federal funds to extend unem-
ployment benefits for 20 weeks.
Nearly 50,000 Oregonians will
be eligible to receive the addi-
tional benefits by the end of the
year.
Senate Bill 638 will use $26
million from the State Unem-
ployment Trust Fund to extend
benefits for six weeks. This
money will go to an estimated
17,500 Oregon workers whose
benefits would otherwise expire
in April.
portedly vacant when the Ore-
gon Department of Transporta-
tion purchased it in 1974.
Since that time, the Oregon
Department of Parks and
Recreation purchased the
property and is transferring it to
the City of Vernonia for future
use as a senior center and food
pantry. Those facilities were
damaged by previous flooding
events in 2007. This relocation
is part of a joint effort by the city
and FEMA to relocate resi-
dences, schools, businesses,
and community services im-
pacted by the devastating
floods.
DEQ recommends that the
city develop a health and safe-
ty plan before site redevelop-
ment activities. If, during site
redevelopment, the city en-
counters contamination, it
should handle the materials ac-
cording to all applicable regula-
tions.
DEQ recommends the three
off-site monitoring wells on
Weed Avenue be kept in place
to monitor if there is any pollu-
tion in the soil around the prop-
erty.
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