Improving Oregon’s Bottle Bill

The expansion of Oregon’s Bottle Bill will more than likely be decided on the Senate floor early next week! SB 707 adds water and flavored water in PET, glass or metal containers to the list of beverages covered by the $.05 deposit.   It also establishes a task force to come back to the 2009 legislature for a recommendation on alternative collection methods and increasing the recycling of beverage containers while maintaining customer convenience.

Some in the grocers’ lobby have been able to get a minority report filed.  On its surface, it looks to remove all redemption from grocery stores by 2014, which is bad enough.  However, the last provision actually (somewhat subtly) removes redemption from grocery stores immediately – eviscerating the existing bottle bill.

We expect the Senate to pass SB 707 and reject the minority report, but this shows the animosity that big, corporate grocers have for our bottle bill.

Improving Oregon’s Pesticide Use Reporting System

A hearing is expected soon for SB 683, which reduces the size of the area to be used when reporting pesticide use under the Pesticide Use Reporting System.  Check with the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee for further developments.

Improving Oregon’s Air Quality

Thanks to letters from many of you, the amendments to put some "teeth" into SB 235 were adopted and SB 235-A passed out of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee!  SB 235 is now headed to Ways and Means.

Although we still have a long way to go (a minority report without the amendments will be filed), this was a major victory for making sure all Oregon producers of air pollution comply with the Clean Air Act.  It also helps in the fight to keep Oregon home to healthy family farms and to stop the flow of corporate factory farms from locating in Oregon.

HB 2172, which establishes the Clean Diesel Engine Fund and creates incentives to replace old diesel engines, passed the House Revenue committee and is headed to the House floor.

Protecting Oregon’s Farmland and Special Places

A workgroup has been formed for SB 30, which would prohibit destination resorts in or within three miles of the Metolius River Basin.  Stay tuned as we follow this bill.

HB 2723 had two hearings this week in the House Energy and the Environment committee and on Wednesday it passed out of committee.  HB 2723 gives cities and counties the ability to create a process that legalizes illegally divided lots or parcels that were purchased without knowledge of the legal status of the land.

On Monday there will be a quick hearing on HB 3343 in the House Revenue committee (for the sole purpose of moving the bill to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee.)    This is a statewide version of the awful Hood River school siting bill, which allows new schools to be sited on prime farmland three miles outside urban growth boundaries.   This bill usurps statewide land use planning goals and would extend public services outside of urban growth boundaries, which encourages development and sprawl onto our prime farmland.  Siting schools on prime farmland also interferes with farm operations, such as aerial spraying, which should not be done in the vicinity of school children. We will let you know when this bill comes up for a hearing.

A good bill (HB 3461) relating to aggregate mining operations will probably be heard in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources on April 24^th.  This bill requires that the class 1 and class 2 soils that are removed from farmland for mining operations be replaced after the mining has completed.

Reducing Toxics in Oregon

SB 20, which restricts the spraying of pesticides near schools, had a hearing on Tuesday in the House Energy and Environment committee.  Stay tuned for more information.

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