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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, November 7, 2012 Youngs Bay area reopened for salmon and steelhead fishing The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has an- nounced that salmon and steel- head fishing reopened in Youngs Bay, Youngs River and the Klaskanine River (including the North and South Forks) on Wednesday, October 31, and will remain open through the rest of 2012. Fishery managers decided to reopen these fisheries be- cause area hatcheries have now met their brood stock ob- jectives for chinook salmon. These fisheries closed October 13 due to poor hatchery returns resulting from low water condi- tions. Under permanent rules for these areas, anglers are now permitted to retain up to two adult fin-clipped salmon/steel- head in combination, plus up to five fin-clipped jack salmon per day. For more information, refer to ODFW’s 2012 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations or visit ODFW’s regulation update page on the Internet at www.dfw.state.or.us/resour ces/fishing/reg_changes/in- dex.asp. West Coast salmon discussed in Virginia courtroom recently by Chris Thomas, Oregon News Service The week of October 22, a federal court in Virginia was asked to overturn a decision that has major impacts on Northwest salmon and steel- head. In four western states, in- cluding Oregon, the National Marine Fisheries Service rec- ommends buffers around salmon streams of at least 500 feet where certain pesticides cannot be sprayed. However, Dow Chemical and two other manufacturers are fighting the decision, say- ing buffers are not necessary and will cost them business. Steve Mashuda, an Earthjus- tice attorney representing wildlife advocates in the case, says the feds had discussed banning these pesticides alto- gether, “But after studying it some more, they came to a compromise position, in some ways, that said ‘As long as we’re not spraying them direct- ly next to the salmon streams and we have a no-spray buffer along those streams, they can still be used. That will minimize the amount that’s making its way into the water.’” Mashuda says the chemi- cals, called organophosphates, are lethal to the fish even in low concentrations, but are still widely used on farms. The case is being heard in Virginia because that is the closest ap- peals court to the Fisheries Service headquarters in Wash- ington, D.C. The other states where the no-spray buffers would apply around salmon streams are California, Idaho and Washing- ton. An interesting twist to this case is that these buffer zones are not currently being en- forced. Mashuda says environ- mental groups have their own separate battle going with the Environmental Protection Agency about that, “In some ways, it’s slightly ironic that Dow is suing about these pro- tections, because they’re es- sentially right now written only on paper. They do not exist out there on the landscape. We have a whole other piece of lit- igation that’s designed to try and get these protections im- plemented.” The chemicals are chlorpyri- fos, malathion and diazinon, See Salmon on page 14 Power of the People By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager, West Oregon Electric Cooperative Residential Rates Rising in Northwest We are not alone. Northwest residential elec- tric rates indeed are on the rise, confirms a new report from Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Com- mittee, (PNUCC). The committee’s survey of 26 Northwest utilities – collectively representing about 80 percent of regional load – showed all but one with higher residential electric rates since 2007, and most greater than 10 percent cumulatively. Although each utility’s situation is unique, PNUCC reported frequent mentions of common themes underlying the increases – volatile wholesale power prices, demand changes, new resources, infrastructure im- provements, and regulatory/policy requirements such as renewables portfolio standards. “What is clear, regardless of whether you are a utility that buys most of its power from BPA, a utility that has added a gas-fired generating plant in recent years, a utility that has an aggres- sive conservation program, or a system that sells large quantities of power into the wholesale market, costs and rates are going up,” conclud- ed PNUCC. The regional utility association said it undertook the study “to test the conventional wisdom” about rising electric rates, and to dis- cern key influences. It gathered information from public as well as published sources, later veri- fied and elaborated on by utility staffers. PNUCC’s sample incorporated all six Northwest investor-owned utilities, the largest public-power utilities, and a few smaller ones throughout the region. “The most important thing is to see the range and the direction,” PNUCC Deputy Director Shauna McReynolds. “The really important fact is that customers have seen changes in rates, and it’s safe to say it’s all on the increase.” There were a lot of rate increases over the past three Pet of the Month Find the pet that’s right for you at the Columbia Humane Society 2084 Oregon Street, St. Helens. Phone 503-397-4353 Open Mon - Fri 1 pm to 5 pm & Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm Angel is a long-haired calico cat, who was a stray taken in by a good Samaritan. They thought about keeping her but decided she would do best finding her forever home through the shelter. We do not have any past history on her. She is currently being showcased at Natures Pet in Portland, please call 503-360-1244 for more infor- mation.. The Columbia Humane Society is a No-Kill non-profit shelter dedicated to helping friends find each other since 1985. This Month’s Pet is Sponsored by: THE Page 13 INDEPENDENT News & Information you can use years: 12 increases in 2009, 16 in 2010, and 18 in 2011. To date in 2012, the 27 utilities have had 14 rate increases. The vast majority of an- nual rate changes, up or down, have been in the single digits; only seven of the entire six-year period are in double digits. Ten utilities showed cumulative increases from 2007-2012 that were below 10 percent. Nine utilities were in the 10.3- 17.7-percent range for that period, while three were in the 20s, two others were in the 30s, and one was 49.2 percent. “The changes in utility rates shown…do not reflect utilities’ actual resi- dential rates (cents per kWh), nor are they an in- dication of a utility’s rates in relation to other util- ities,” said the report. “Therefore, some systems that experienced significant percentage increas- es may still have low rates relative to others.” It also said Northwest residential rates “remain some of the lowest in the nation.” U.S. Energy Information Administration data for 2011 shows all four Northwest states are well below the na- tional average residential price for full-service electric providers of 11.6 cents/kWh. Idaho’s 7.87 cents/kWh and Washington’s 8.28 cents were the two lowest. Oregon (9.54 cents) and Montana (9.75 cents) are among the lowest 15. While emphasizing differing circumstances of utilities – in resources, rate designs, market roles, power demand, regulatory policies and other local situations – the PNUCC report said several themes were apparent in rate influ- ences. “The drivers are really important,” said McReynolds. “Whether it’s a policy decision or a business decision or a change to meet cus- tomers’ needs, there are implications to those actions to rates, and they’re not always what you think they will be.” One of the drivers is reduced wholesale pow- ermarket prices, which reduces revenues for sellers. “With less revenue to offset costs, rates go up,” said the report. Reynolds said utilities can find themselves helped or harmed by pow- er-market circumstances, depending on the sit- uation. Power demand is another significant rate in- fluence, PNUCC said. Recently, load reductions Please see page 19