Environment
Oregon lawmakers hear pitch to pay $1 billion toward replacing Interstate 5 bridge
State transportation officials and local leaders from Portland and Vancouver on Thursday urged an Oregon legislative panel to approve $1 billion to replace the aging Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River. The bridge is actually two bridges – a northbound bridge built in 1917 and a twin southbound bridge built in 1958. Tens of […]
Biden vetoes attempt to repeal WOTUS rule on wetlands
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday vetoed a measure that would repeal a rule expanding which types of wetlands can be regulated under the Clean Water Act. Biden promised to veto the legislation that saw Democrats crossing party lines in both chambers to join Republicans in rolling back a rule that is unpopular with […]
Biden administration rolls out $585 million for Western water projects
The Biden administration will send $585 million to water projects in 11 Western states, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The funding, provided in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will go toward 83 projects in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, California, North Dakota and Washington. The law provided $8.3 billion for […]
Oregon Senate passes ban of foam containers for prepared food
The Oregon Senate on Monday passed a bill that would ban prepared food venders from using foam containers, which take centuries to decompose. Senate Bill 543 banning polystyrene takeout containers, also called Styrofoam, a trademarked name, passed 20-9, with bipartisan support. It now goes to the House. “Polystyrene is a threat to the health of […]
Advocates urge more funding for Oregon fish and wildlife programs
In her proposed budget to the Legislature, Gov. Tina Kotek called for nearly $500 million in funding for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. That sum would mark a 2.5% increase in the department’s budget – but it falls short of the more than $550 million the department requested. Without that extra money, advocates […]
Port of Morrow allows thousands of gallons of wastewater to leak and fails to alert DEQ
The Port of Morrow, the state’s second-largest port, faces a new violation over contamination in eastern Oregon that may have been going on for some time. The violation is linked to a spill of port wastewater in an area reeling from years of water contamination from the port and other sources. The Department of Environmental […]
Legislative Black, Indigenous and People of Color Caucus release sweeping agenda
The Oregon Legislature’s 17-member Black, Indigenous and People of Color Caucus released an agenda Wednesday that includes a range of issues, from equity and health care to justice and environmental problems that affect underserved communities. The four-year-old caucus, now at its largest with the Legislature more diverse than in the past, is supporting 18 bills […]
Oregon drivers must remove studded tires by Friday, March 31
Drivers need to remove their studded tires by Friday or face fines, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced Monday. Studded tires are allowed in the state from Nov. 1 until March 31, though transportation officials encourage drivers to use stud-free traction tires that can be just as effective for most drivers and cause far less […]
New finding: Lack of humidity, not rainfall, is bigger problem for trees
From “Firmageddon” to Western red cedars, drought has been implicated in the death of multiple tree species across the Northwest. Yet, how exactly drought is stressing and killing the region’s trees has remained something of a scientific mystery. But that is changing. A recent study out of Oregon State University provides new light on drought’s ability […]
Chicken industry officials host tour of mega chicken facility as part of a lobbying effort
BROWNSVILLE – Donning plastic booties and coveralls, about 30 state lawmakers, agency officials and industry executives gathered in a control room on Randy Hiday’s chicken farm in Linn County. The room, equipped with temperature and other monitors, looked into a 600-foot-long steel barn housing about 48,000 fuzzy chicks. Hiday, who runs the largest broiler chicken […]
Scientists pursue project in eastern Oregon that could stem climate change
Scientists and energy executives are pursuing capturing carbon emissions produced in Oregon and storing them underground, a novel process that could reduce the effects of climate change some day. The project, located in Hermiston, would involve capturing carbon dioxide emitted by the town’s natural gas facility and storing it in rock thousands of feet below […]
New study sounds alarm, provides hope for Western red cedars
Though no one realized it at the time, the beginning of the end for many Northwest Western red cedar trees began about a decade ago. Drought had come. Early on, the cedars did what trees do: they adapted to the dry conditions. They conserved water and grew less. This strategy had worked during past droughts. […]