The Trump administration has agreed to resume litigation over the expansion of Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument on Jan. 15 unless the dispute is resolved beforehand.

The monument’s size was increased from about 66,000 acres to 114,000 acres by the Obama administration in early 2017, spurring several lawsuits against the proclamation.

When the Trump administration decided to reconsider the expansion, those lawsuits were stayed by a federal judge pending the potential reduction of the monument’s boundaries.

Roughly six months later, two plaintiffs — the Association of O&C Counties and the American Forest Resource Council — have grown impatient with the delay.

The groups recently attempted to revive the active litigation of their lawsuits but have now agreed to the Jan. 15 deadline as long as the Trump administration seeks no further postponements.

The American Forest Resource Council hopes the president takes executive action scaling back the monument before that date, said Travis Joseph, the group’s executive director.

However, AFRC won’t be easily satisfied: Unless the monument’s boundaries are revised to entirely exclude so-called O&C Lands, which are dedicated to timber production, the group won’t drop its lawsuit, he said.

Congress enacted the O&C Act to make those federal lands permanently available to logging, so the president’s authority to create national monuments under the Antiquities Act doesn’t override that statute, Joseph said.

“The O&C Act applies to all of the acres by the plain meaning of the law,” he said. “It’s not about the specifics of the designation. It’s about the law.”

If a president were allowed to wipe out such decisions made by Congress, it would have “extraordinary implications for land management in the Western U.S.,” Joseph said.

The prolonged interruption of the litigation has been frustrating because the plaintiffs want to delve into the merits of the case as soon as possible, said Rocky McVay, executive director of the Association of O&C Counties.

“Timber sales that were in the works in the expanded area have been canceled,” McVay said.

While commercial logging within the national monument is banned, the expanded designation is also troublesome for ranchers who fear grazing curtailments within its boundaries.

It’s unclear what the Trump administration’s drastic reduction of two Utah national monuments — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — may foreshadow for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, McVay said.

Environmental groups are already lining up to file lawsuits against over that action, he said. “There will be a lot of fallout from this decision.”

The circumstances surrounding each national monument under review by the Trump administration are unique, said Joseph.

That’s particularly true for the Cascade-Siskiyou, which is the only monument containing lands devoted to timber harvest by statute, he said. “That legal conflict doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country.”

On Dec. 5, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke released recommendations for revising the Cascade-Siskiyou’s borders to “address issues” related to O&C Lands and commercial logging. However, the recommendations did not specify the number or location of the acres involved.

Ok, so this was given to me years ago…it is the best. Just try it.  The sauce is put on the cake AFTER it is baked for 40 minutes in 350 degree oven.  

PORTLAND — Gov. Kate Brown plans to propose tax overhaul and cost-containment measures in the coming months to address the state’s ongoing revenue deficit, she told the annual Oregon Leadership Summit Monday.

Without revealing details of the proposals, Brown said her office is developing policy options that could be presented in time for the Oregon legislative session in February.

Her office is examining “a handful of options to solve the structural deficit issues Oregon faces, not just for the short-term but for the long-term,” Brown said. “It is time that we quit kicking this can down the road.”

But the Legislature’s ability to consider such proposals could hinge on potential policy changes at the federal level, Brown said.

The federal tax reform bill being worked out by Republican lawmakers has Oregon revenue experts and state economists scrambling to come up with an analysis showing how the proposals could impact Oregonians’ finances and the state’s budget and services.

“Certainly, what is happening at the federal level makes it really hard for us to have a detailed conversation about (state) tax policy right now,” she said.

Also distracting from negotiations toward a state tax overhaul is a statewide referendum Jan. 23 to repeal a health care funding bill passed by state legislators earlier this year. The bill was intended to maintain health insurance for more than 350,000 low-income Oregonians. Its repeal would compel state leaders to come up with a way to offset the loss in revenue, including the possibility of reducing subsidies for health coverage.

Any state tax overhaul conversation likely would spark calls for the state to curtail employee benefit costs and up employee contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System to help offset a $21 billion unfunded liability in the system.

“I think the role of the state is to make sure that we are incenting local employers … on paying down their (unfunded actuarial liability) so the entire number comes down,” Brown said. “That will eventually reduce employer rates and enable us to put more money into classrooms … and services that vulnerable Oregonians need.”

She said she also could ask employees to “have some skin in the game.”

“We are looking at cost sharing/risk sharing,” she said.

Her staffers also are examining recommendations by a PERS task force to come up with policy proposals for February.

“I have asked my team to put together a handful of options and I look forward to working with the business community on what those look like,” Brown said.

The 15th annual summit — founded by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden — drew more than 1,200 businesspeople, policy wonks, politicians and others to the Oregon Convention Center.

The event also serves as the vehicle for unveiling the annual Oregon Business Plan, a policy roadmap for stimulating the economy and supporting business in the state.

(BPT) - The holiday season is about spending quality time with family and friends. Many people will host gatherings and parties during this time of year. Keep stress levels at an all-time low by taking some seamless shortcuts to pull…

Wolves may very well be responsible for killing a 250-pound adult llama on a private forested pasture in Union County, though the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stopped short of confirming the incident as a wolf attack.

Investigators instead ruled it a “probable” wolf attack, taking place just 10 miles away from where wolves with the Meacham pack preyed on cattle at Cunningham Sheep Company earlier this summer.

The landowner found the dead llama Friday, Nov. 24 about 200 yards from the residence. The carcass was mostly intact, except most of the hide and muscle tissue along the right rear leg above the hock and around the anus had been consumed.

ODFW arrived the next day, and according to the agency’s investigation report, the llama likely died sometime between late Wednesday, Nov. 22 and before dark Thursday, Nov. 23. At least two sets of wolf tracks were seen in the mud about 20 yards away, which were one to two days old. Investigators also documented trail camera photos taken about 300 yards from the carcass, showing a wolf moving toward the area on Nov. 23.

However, wounds to the llama were not consistent with extensive wolf-caused injuries, the report went on to state. Taking all evidence into consideration, the agency determined that “there was sufficient evidence to confirm predation on the llama by a large predator, but not enough evidence to confirm which predator.”

The same landowner also reported another dead llama earlier in the month, which had been largely consumed except for its neck, head and left shoulder. ODFW investigated Nov. 14, and determined there was no evidence of a predator attack at the scene. The cause of death is unknown.

Oregon’s work of managing wolves in balance with the varied interests of people takes another turn this month when the state wildlife commission meets Dec. 8 to review draft management plan.

Representatives of livestock, hunting and conservation groups get the first word when the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission meets in Salem. The public can attend, but testimony won’t be taken until the commission meets again Jan. 19. Comments also may be made by email to odfw.commission@state.or.us.

A “working copy” of the revised Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, which includes edits made by ODFW staff, is available at http://bit.ly/1OPoneb.

Wildlife issues in the West, especially those hinged to endangered species concerns, are a thicket of often-opposing points of view. In the case of Oregon’s wolves, the ODFW Commission’s complicated task is laid out in the plan’s straightforward language: “To ensure the conservation of gray wolves as required by Oregon law while protecting the social and economic interests of all Oregonians.”

Oregon adopted a wolf plan in 2005, updated it in 2010 and began the current revision in 2016 after taking wolves in Eastern Oregon off the endangered species list.

A few highlights from the current revision:

• The plan suggests 300 wolves as the “minimum population management threshold” through 2022. The figure is based on current data and computer modeling. Oregon had 112 documented wolves at the end of 2016, but wildlife officials believe Eastern Oregon could have 300 wolves as early as 2018, based on current population growth rates.

• Since being documented in Oregon in 2008, wolves have expanded in population and territory and now can be found within 6,674 square miles of the state.

• They primarily use forested habitat but follow prey to more open habitat in season, such as when elk move to lower elevation areas in winter. Tracking data from collared wolves showed they are on public land — primarily Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land — 60 percent of the time, on private land 38 percent of the time, and on tribal land 2 percent of the time.

• Much of the state’s potential wolf habitat is used seasonally to graze cattle and sheep. “...(I)t is expected that depredation on livestock will continue to occur in places where wolves and livestock are closely associated.”

• The plan recognizes ranching and farming as “important components of the Oregon economy” and says addressing conflict between wolves and livestock is an essential element of the management plan.

• Oregon has approximately 1.3 million cattle and 215,000 sheep. From 2009 through 2016, ODFW confirmed 89 depredation incidents and the loss of 45 cattle, 89 sheep, three goats, one llama and one herd protection dog.

• “Natural dispersal,” in which young adult wolves leave their birth packs to find new territory and mates of their own, is providing “continued expansion and ongoing genetic connectivity” to wolves in other states. Continued dispersal from Idaho into Oregon is likely; Idaho had 786 wolves in 108 packs at the end of 2015.

• Oregon’s two-zone management protects wolves in Western Oregon, where packs are just getting started, while allowing the flexibility of “lethal control” of wolves in Eastern Oregon, where most of them live and livestock attacks are a major concern.

• “Variation in local conditions will likely cause some areas to be more prone to livestock depredations than others, and chronic conflict may preclude survival of some wolf packs in certain circumstances.” This past August, ODFW killed four wolves from the Harl Butte pack for repeated attacks on calves, and authorized a rancher to shoot a Meacham Pack wolf for the same reason.

• The draft document said classifying wolves as “special status game mammals” provides the most options for long-term management. Among other things, the status allows “responsive” hunting and trapping when required. Such action would require a permit, and hunters and trappers would have to be pre-certified by ODFW.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to scale back two sprawling national monuments in Utah, responding to what he has condemned as a “massive federal land grab” and an important move for “state’s rights.”

Trump is traveling to Salt Lake City on Monday to outline his intention to shrink the Bears Ears and the Grand-Staircase Escalante national monuments spanning millions of acres in Utah. The two national monuments were among 27 that Trump ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review earlier this year.

Utah’s Republican leaders, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, pressed Trump to launch the review, saying the monuments declared by Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton locked up too much federal land.

Trump’s plans to curtail the strict protections on the sites have angered tribes and environmentalist groups who have vowed to sue to preserve the monuments.

In December, shortly before leaving office, Obama irritated Utah Republicans by creating the Bears Ears National Monument on 1.35 million acres of land sacred to Native Americans and home to tens of thousands of archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.

Trump signed an executive order in April directing Zinke to conduct a review of the protections. Trump is able to upend the protections under the 1906 Antiquities Act, which gives the president broad authority to declare federal lands as monuments and restrict their use.

The president said in April his order would end “another egregious abuse of federal power” and “give that power back to the states and to the people where it belongs.”

Trump said at the time that he had spoken to state and local leaders “who are gravely concerned about this massive federal land grab. And it’s gotten worse and worse and worse, and now we’re going to free it up, which is what should have happened in the first place. This should never have happened.”

The move marks the first time in a half century that a president has attempted to undo these types of land protections. And it could be the first of many changes to come.

Zinke also has recommended that Nevada’s Gold Butte and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou monuments be reduced in size, although details remain unclear. The former Montana congressman’s plan would allow logging at a newly designated monument in Maine and more grazing, hunting and fishing at two sites in New Mexico.

Democrats and environmentalists have opposed the changes, accusing Trump and Zinke of engaging in a secretive process aimed at helping industry groups that have donated to Republican campaigns.

——

Associated Press writer Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

(NAPSI)—Invite the spirits of holidays past, present and future into your home this year. Blend the best of then and now, here and there, and try a few twists on tradition.

The first picture I am sharing this week was taken in 1978 when the Bandon Historical Society museum was located in the Masonic (old bank) building. Although the negative envelope says that this is the opening of their timber display,…

Thanks Toon for these photos…I finally got around to posting! I have to say, this is really different than growing them in Wisconsin…

Not too long ago I received word from a reader who is growing Cranberries in a different way. Check out these photos and descriptions of how he is doing it.

The plants grow in 1,3 meter planters on a frame of old 51 mm heating pipes. Everything had to be cheap because I didn’t know if this way of growing will work  about 8 years ago. It turned out quite well. So I gowing to plant 3 times more meters tabletop this winter. I’m looking now for a good variety, perhaps you have some suggestions. Over here it is diffcult to become the newest variety’s with good potentials. I have collected Pilgrim, Stevens, Red Star, Crowley and Langlois. Stevens is my main variety. It has a good dark red color because the sun can reach all the berry’s and they drys quikly what is good for storage.

I sent also a few fotos from the tabletopframe to give you an impression.

If anyone wants to chat with this grower, send me a message and I will get you in touch…

The holiday season revolves around food. It all starts with a feast for Thanksgiving. Then, we jump right into a whole month of parties with plenty of tasty treats. That can add up to a lot of time in the…

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Two members of Congress — one an Oregon Democrat and the other a California Republican — are pushing to ensure that protections against federal intervention remain for another year for 46 states, Washington DC, Guam and Puerto Rico that allow some form of medical marijuana.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California have sent a letter with the signatures of 64 colleagues to congressional leaders supporting the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment that prevents federal officials using public funds to enforce federal laws against medical marijuana.

“The provision, which first became law in December 2014, has successfully protected patients, providers, and businesses against federal prosecution, so long as they act within the confines of their state’s medical marijuana laws,” they said in the letter that was sent this week.

It asked Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to include the provision in any final package as they negotiate a fiscal year 2018 appropriations bill to fund the government beyond Dec. 8.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May told congressional leaders in a letter that it would be “unwise” to renew the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, saying marijuana is harmful and is banned by federal law.

Blumenauer, in a message to marijuana stakeholders and supporters, said that despite bipartisan support for the provision, the leadership of the House didn’t allow a vote on it or any other marijuana-related amendments. But the Senate Appropriations Committee included the provision in its bill.

“I’m working hard to ensure Rohrabacher-Blumenauer remains in effect to protect individuals in 46 states and thousands of state-legal businesses from federal intervention,” the Oregon congressman said in his message, emailed to The Associated Press by the Oregon Cannabis Business Council.

Blumenauer, in a telephone interview with AP last summer, said Sessions is “out of step” with most members of Congress, who have become more supportive “of ending the failed prohibition on marijuana.”

PORTLAND — Representatives of Oregon agriculture say they are wary of a proposal to reduce the state’s carbon emissions. While farmers could attract new revenue under the system, they could also face higher costs for fuel, electricity and other inputs, they say.

Oregon lawmakers in the House and Senate are currently devising carbon emission “cap-and-invest” bills to be introduced during the 2018 legislative session. The goal is to mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of “greenhouse gases” such as carbon dioxide that gets into the atmosphere.

The basic idea of the legislation is to cap the amount of carbon emissions by certain companies, with the greatest impact falling on those consuming or importing significant amounts of fossil fuels.

Facilities that fall below the cap would earn credits that can be sold to offset the emissions of companies that exceed that level.

“It harnesses market incentives by putting a price on carbon,” said Kristen Sheeran, carbon policy adviser for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown.

The State of Oregon would also sell emission allowances to regulated firms, generating money that will be used for highway improvements and to relieve the effects of higher electricity or natural gas prices, said Sheeran.

“Governor Brown wants to decarbonize the Oregon economy,” she said during the Nov. 30 meeting of the Oregon Board of Agriculture in Portland.

Some of the funds generated by the system would also fund projects that decrease or offset carbon emissions, which would benefit agriculture, she said.

“If people don’t want to do it, they don’t have to participate,” Sheeran said of the role that would be played by farmers and ranchers, who wouldn’t be regulated as emitters under the current proposals.

However, related industries, such as large food processors and pulp mills, would fall under the regulatory scheme.

For farmers, the proposal is concerning because it would raise the cost of doing business for manufacturers of fertilizer, fuel and energy — major inputs in agricultural production.

About 80 percent of Oregon’s farm goods are shipped out of state, so growers here can’t afford to have higher production costs than farmers elsewhere, said Mary Anne Cooper, public policy counsel for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

“It will make Oregon agriculture less competitive,” said Cooper.

Growers could potentially sell carbon credits they earned by turning dairy emissions into energy with anaerobic digesters, for example, or by growing crops that sequester carbon.

In California, though, farmers have often found the paperwork and verification process for generating carbon credits too cumbersome to be worthwhile, she said.

Also, growers who have already invested in reducing carbon emissions with energy efficient equipment and no-till cropping systems would likely not be compensated for past investments.

In effect, the policy would penalize early adopters of technology, Cooper said.

“We’re looking at it as a net loss for agriculture,” she said.

California and British Columbia have already implemented such carbon regulation systems, but there still isn’t enough information available to learn from those experiments, said Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

“We just don’t know its impacts,” he said.

There are opportunities for agriculture, such as investing money in planting trees along roads to absorb carbon, Stone said.

However, these possibilities must be studied more thoroughly, he said.

For example, it’s too early to know exactly how much carbon is “sequestered” through the production, sale and planting of Japanese maples or rhododendrons, Stone said.

“It needs to be part of the conversation,” he said.

Another issue is ensuring the cap-and-invest system would not drive emitting industries from Oregon to other states, which would hurt the economy without reducing emissions.

To this end, the government would probably offer free or discounted emission allowances to companies that are prone to flee, said Sheeran.

“We will provide some sort of differential treatment under the cap,” she said.

HERMISTON, Ore. — Heading into its second year at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, the Hermiston Farm Fair continues to add new lectures and seminars highlighting previously overlooked aspects of Columbia Basin agriculture.

Historically speaking, the Farm Fair has focused on the latest and greatest developments in potato production — the signature crop supported by Oregon State University’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

The 44th annual event, however, introduced a number of new presentations Thursday covering topics such as organic crops, precision irrigation and pollinators.

Phil Hamm, station director at HAREC, said he did not know the exact attendance, but estimated it was in the hundreds.

“What we’re trying to do is (reach) as many of our stakeholders as possible in our region,” Hamm said.

Last year’s move to EOTEC from the Hermiston Conference Center has certainly helped, Hamm said, providing a larger venue to bring in more presenters and hold more sessions. This year’s trade show featured 48 different vendors, including multiple farm suppliers, Energy Trust of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency.

Attendees filled the room for a morning seminar on pollinators, which discussed the importance of bees and bee habitat in agricultural systems. Andony Melathopoulos, with OSU’s Pollinator Health Extension Program, said Oregon is home to more species of bees than there are east of the Mississippi River.

“It’s a hotbed of diversity,” Melathopoulos said. “People are just amazed by them.”

Melathopoulos went on to explain how farmers can treat their crops for weeds and pests while taking care not to harm pollinators. He ran through a litany of available products, demonstrating how to properly read labels and determine if and when a grower should apply certain chemicals in the field.

“Without a doubt, pollination is very important for the production of many crops,” Melathopoulos said. “I hope people came out of this session knowing pest control is possible and compatible with pollinators.”

For the first time, the Hermiston Farm Fair also organized a seminar dedicated specifically to growing organic crops. It takes three years before a farm can be certified organic, and growers must adapt to a very strict set of approved standards.

Local organic production is on the rise, said Alexandra Stone, a former organic farmer and cropping system specialist for OSU. In eastern Washington, Stone said organic sales grew sixfold at the farm gate between 2005 and 2015, from $100 million to $600 million.

“There’s already a lot of organic production out here,” she said.

Yet demand for organics is still outpacing production in the U.S., with imports exceeding exports by $1.1 billion, Stone said. With that in mind, she led a survey among 20 farmers in the room to determine what they want and need from the university to tap into the organic marketplace.

Of those polled, 79 percent said they expect demand for organics will continue to increase, yet 40 percent said they did not have the tools to control pests and disease. The vast majority of farmers said they would benefit from some kind of technical training through OSU, with more than half favoring a hybrid online undergraduate and professional development certificate program.

Later in the afternoon, Clinton Shock with the OSU Malheur Experiment Station detailed how precision irrigation can optimize yields and save farmers money, all while protecting the environment.

“We really want high and stable production of horticulture and crops,” Shock said. “Precision irrigation is really the key.”

Shock said researchers are working to determine a set of criteria known as the soil-water tension for different crops, which essentially describes the amount of energy a plant must expend to suck up water in the ground. If the tension is too high, a plant may shut down. If the tension is too low, water may leach away nutrients, leading to waste.

But if a grower knows the soil property, Shock said they can find the sweet spot. That means healthier crops for less money. Plus, as a side benefit, he said the more efficiently nitrogen is used, the more it protects groundwater quality.

“A lot of the public thinks growers are not innovative, or stuck in the mud,” Shock said. “That just isn’t so.”

The Hermiston Farm Fair will continue Friday at 8 a.m. at EOTEC before coming to a close at noon.

Oregon State University’s veterinary hospital resumed normal operations Nov. 29, ending a three-week quarantine instituted as it treated a horse with a contagious and potentially deadly neurotropic illness.

Erica McKenzie, professor of large animal internal medicine at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said no other horses got sick during the quarantine period. “The college thanks everyone for their patience and assistance during the quarantine period,” McKenzie said in a news release. The horse recovered and was taken home.

The horse became severely ill Nov. 4 at its owner’s property in Coos Bay, Ore., and was taken to OSU’s Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital for treatment.

The horse developed a mutated form of Equine Herpes Virus-1, or EHV-1, which is a common sickness in horses. It usually causes minor respiratory problems and is something like a cold is to humans, but in its mutated form the virus attacks the nervous system.

The illness often first shows up as weakness in the hind quarters, with animals stumbling or developing an unusual gait. Other signs include weak tail tone, nasal discharge, fever, and difficulty urinating. Geldings and stallions may be unable to retract their penis. Pregnant mares may abort. In rare cases, EHV-1 can cause blindness and central nervous system damage in alpacas and llamas.

Because the virus is contagious, OSU suspended elective procedures on horses, alpacas and llamas. The virus doesn’t harm humans, but people can spread it to animals after picking it up by hand or clothing contact with sick horses.

A vaccine for EHV-1 can ease symptoms of the common form of the virus, but it does not prevent animals from developing the more serious nervous system illness.

More information about EHV-1 and biosecurity recommendations are available from the American Association of Equine Practitioners at https://aaep.org/guidelines/infectious-disease-control/equine-herpesvirus-resources.

March 21, 1929 – Nov. 23, 2017

PENDLETON, Ore. — While few people attended Tuesday’s public hearing in Pendleton about proposed regulations for industrial air polluters, one industry in particular was on hand to express its displeasure with Cleaner Air Oregon: food processing.

According to the state employment department, food processing makes up 6 percent of overall employment in Umatilla County and a whopping 28 percent in neighboring Morrow County. Food processors accounted for 3,426 jobs between the two counties in 2016, along with $143 million in combined payroll.

But Craig Smith, director of government affairs for the Northwest Food Processors Association, said those companies face another layer of burdensome regulations under the Cleaner Air Oregon rules, spearheaded by Gov. Kate Brown to lower health risks posed by industrial air emissions.

“We don’t like this rule at all,” Smith said. “It’s way too broad, and the cost of the program will be enormous for very little benefit.”

Smith was one of 14 people who attended the hearing Tuesday at the Pendleton Public Library, and half of those were employees of the Oregon Health Authority and Department of Environmental Quality, which are working to develop the rules. Similar meetings were held Nov. 15 in Medford, Nov. 16 in Coos Bay and Nov. 20 in Corvallis, with future dates scheduled in Portland, Eugene, Salem and The Dalles.

Debbie Radie, vice president of operations at Boardman Foods and chairwoman of the Northwest Food Processors Association Board of Directors, was the only person to testify Tuesday, saying the proposed rules are “poorly designed and unworkable.”

Cleaner Air Oregon was established last year in response to toxic air emissions in 2016 Bullseye Glass in southeast Portland. Yet rather than address sources of emissions that DEQ knows to be an issue, Radie said the agency is targeting companies like hers that are already subject to regulation.

“There is no plan in this rule to identify sources of emissions that are not currently permitted,” Radie said. “The only way this rule will reduce emissions is to force companies to curtail or stop production. The level of uncertainty does not create an environment where businesses and communities thrive.”

The draft rules, released Oct. 20, would require companies to report their use of 600 chemicals, including heavy metals and other air pollutants. Facilities would then need to calculate potential health risks to nearby communities, considering what if any health problems may be caused by short- and long-term exposure.

From there, DEQ may require additional steps — such as a risk reduction plan or conditional permit — to mitigate the risk. Keith Johnson, who serves as special assistant to the director of Cleaner Air Oregon, said the goal is to use health-based standards for reducing harmful air toxics.

“A facility that’s in a remote location would be much less risky than a similar one located in the middle of a city or town,” Johnson explained. “Smaller facilities would likely not be impacted because of low risk and low emissions.”

Out of 2,500 businesses with DEQ air quality permits, Johnson said only the 80 highest-risk facilities would be regulated by the program in the first five years.

But in her testimony, Radie said the rule would not be based on verified science and data, but rather by asking already permitted facilities to submit data that would be entered into a “very crude, inaccurate and misleading formula to determine theoretical risk.”

Cleaner Air Oregon also factors the cumulative effects of industrial emissions in a given area, which Radie said may cause some companies with minimal emissions to be dragged into a full-blown risk assessment process just by being near an industrial location.

Boardman Foods, an onion processing plant, is located at the Port of Morrow’s East Beach Industrial Park near Boardman, which includes other value-added processors such as Lamb Weston and Tillamook Cheese.

Smith said the added cost of complying with the program might not force food processors to close their doors, but could make them less competitive moving forward.

“That’s a huge deal,” he said. “Right now, there is a lot of investment being made both by the processors and our suppliers.”

The Oregon Legislature is expected to consider a fee structure for Cleaner Air Oregon in the coming session, and the Environmental Quality Commission may decide to adopt all or part of the rule as early as July 2018.

Jonathan Smith’s Cransations are now at WalMart under the Sunkist brand….I tried these a while back and loved them!