A recent opinion piece in this paper by two University of Iowa professors ( Pull the plug on ethanol, Jan. 10) made a curious case in favor of renewable energy but against ethanol.
January 12 2021
Willamette, Columbia Riverkeepers plan to sue Zenith Energy for violating the Clean Water Act in federal court.
Unpermitted construction at a crude oil shipping terminal on the banks of the Willamette River violated federal laws protecting several Oregon waterways from runoff pollution, two environmental groups claim.
The Riverkeeper groups for the Willamette and Columbia rivers announced their intentions to sue Zenith Energy Terminal Holdings, which operates the sprawling oil train unloading facility at 5501 N.W. Front Ave. in Portland, for impermissibly discharging pollutants since at least last April.
The pollution allegedly happens every time rain flows off the property into the river. In drizzly Rose City, that happened roughly 90 times every time more than 0.1 inches of precipitation fell in a 24-hour period the groups claim.
ELGIN â If the Boise Cascade plywood plant in Elgin closes this year, it could cost Eastern Oregon 446 jobs, nearly $21 million in labor income and more than $78 million in economic output within a year.
Thatâs according to an economic impact analysis conducted by the Eastern Oregon Center for Economic Information, a division of the Eastern Oregon University College of Business.
âThe reason I wanted to do something on this is really just to bring people to the table so that they can figure something out, because it would be catastrophic for our region,â said Scott McConnell, an economics professor at EOU who led the forecasting project.
Oregon lawmakers OK millions for pandemic, wildfire costs
Emergency Board meets for record 13th time before 2021 session starts Monday.
Oregon lawmakers have approved millions in state and federal funds to pay some of the mounting expenses of the coronavirus pandemic and the Labor Day wildfires.
The Legislative Emergency Board acted during a four-hour meeting Friday, Jan. 8, its record 13th since the end of the 2020 session and its last before the 2021 session gets under way on Monday, Jan. 11.
The 20-member board decides budget matters between sessions.
Leaders planned the meeting after the Legislature drew $800 million from the state s projected ending balance during a special session Dec. 21. Unspent money reverts to the full Legislature.
Landfill Gas Emissions 2021
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will conduct the Landfill Gas Emissions Reduction 2021 Rulemaking to address the effects of climate change and in partial response to Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order 20-04. The Executive Order directs the Environmental Quality Commission and DEQ to take actions necessary to reduce methane gas emissions from landfills. DEQ proposes to complete a rulemaking for the landfill gas emissions to:
Align Oregon’s landfill gas emission rules with the most stringent requirements of adjacent states and federal government
Define regulatory applicability and program requirements
Reduce methane emissions from landfills
DEQ is convening an advisory committee to review the technical issues and fiscal impacts related to the proposed rules. In convening this committee, DEQ has appointed members that reflect the range of entities that are both directly and indirectly affected by proposed changes to the rules.