Expanding Oregon’s Bottle Bill

As highlighted above, the expansion of Oregon’s bottle bill, SB 707, passed the House on Thursday and had its concurrence vote today in the Senate!  It is now headed to the Governor’s desk for his signature.  SB 707 adds water bottles to the list of containers covered for deposit in 2009.  It also establishes a task force, who could come back as early as the special 2008 legislative session with a recommendation for expansion to cover additional containers, increase of the deposit, and alternative methods of collection.

Protecting Oregon’s Wildlife

HB 2971 passed the Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee yesterday and is headed to the Senate floor. HB 2971 allows the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to appoint individuals (sport hunters) to act as agents of the state to hunt cougars and bears with dogs as part of the Cougar and Bear Management Plans. Although the bill has been amended, some OCN groups still feel this bill overturns the will of Oregon voters, who passed Measure 18 and reaffirmed that decision in 1996, which banned bear and cougar baiting and hunting with hounds and others have no position.

Protecting Oregon’s Farmland and Special Places

SB 30, which once again protects the Metolius Basin from the proposed development of a destination resort, passed the Senate and is now assigned to the House Elections, Ethics and Rules committee.  No hearings have yet been scheduled.

The Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee passed HB 2723, which 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.  It also creates safeguards to put a stop to the sale of illegal lots to unsuspecting purchasers, which protects natural resource lands from inappropriate fragmentation and provides certainty in the real estate market.  It is now headed to the Senate floor.

Protecting Oregon’s Coastal Ecosystems

SB 790, which places a moratorium on offshore drilling for oil, gas or sulfur off of Oregon’s coast until 2010 and allows the Governor to rescind the moratorium if there is an oil embargo against the United States, is waiting to be scheduled for a vote on the House floor.

One bill that we haven’t yet reported yet is SB 643, which creates the Shipping Transport of Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force.  The purpose of the task force is to study and make recommendations for combating the introduction of aquatic non-native species from ships entering Oregon’s waterways, and to evaluate ballast water policies.  On March 6 it passed the Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee, and it has a hearing and possible work session on Wednesday, May 30, 8:30am in H-174, in the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources.

Preventing Global Warming

We are still waiting for word of a hearing in Ways and Means for HB 3543, which codifies greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. HB 3543 also creates the Oregon Global Warming Commission which coordinates local and state efforts to halt growth of greenhouse gas emissions and it will fund the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.

Reducing Toxics in our Wastewater

SB 704 would require dentists to have an amalgam separator installed in any wastewater drain if materials containing mercury pass through the drain.  Dental amalgam, the most common tooth restorative material, contains 40-50% mercury. When amalgam fillings are placed or removed, mercury-containing waste is discharged into the sanitary sewer lines. The traditional in-line filtration and vacuum systems dentists use capture only 80% of the mercury. The remaining 20% bypasses these in-line systems and is handled as any other wastewater, and could end up on our waterways. SB 704 will be on the House floor on Tuesday and then is headed back to the Senate floor for concurrence.