Oregon DEQ suppresses report ...

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miah66
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Oregon DEQ suppresses report ...

Post by miah66 » January 10th, 2017, 9:27 am

After Pushback, Oregon Scraps Report Linking Private Forests To Water Quality Risks

"Studies have shown forest loss can lead to greater water quality problems, including higher treatment costs. DEQ’s draft report stated that “clearcut timber harvesting is known to increase landslide rates on steep slopes and increase streamflows and erosion.”

"Industrial forest companies are by far the single largest owner of land in coastal drinking watersheds, owning 100 percent of some source water areas."

"A draft of DEQ’s unpublished report included these statistics. The timber industry didn’t like that. Neither did the Department of Forestry, which regulates the timber industry. They deny any link between forest loss and increased turbidity, let alone problems with harmful disinfection byproducts."

"Public records also show Peter Daugherty, now the state forester, sent four pages of comments to DEQ after the agency solicited his feedback. In them, he questioned both the science and the purpose of the report.

Daugherty, who was the department’s head of private forests at the time, said “the document seems to be responding to citizen group concerns about forest management, rather than doing an unbiased analysis of threats to drinking water."

No conflicts there, right!?

"Forestry officials suggested DEQ remove language about the connection between timber harvests and landslides or sediment in streams. They said the report needed to be reworded so that it didn’t suggest the state’s forestry laws were too weak to protect clean water."

So guess what?

"The agency now plans to conduct a statewide water assessment in the future, which won’t single out logging or any other industry for degrading drinking water."

:x :roll:

http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon- ... ity-risks/
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Peder
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Re: Oregon DEQ suppresses report ...

Post by Peder » January 10th, 2017, 10:05 am

Well, I must admit I am not surprised. I know that logging is also very harmful to salmon habitat. I do not expect things to get better after January 20.
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Chazz
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Re: Oregon DEQ suppresses report ...

Post by Chazz » January 10th, 2017, 10:20 am

Who would ever guess that the water quality associated with salmon habitat would also be desired for drinking water? ;)

My question is what obligation does DEQ have to shield the DoF from bad publicity? My personal feeling is that a department whose sole purpose is to provide for and protect environmental quality for the citizens shouldn't give a damn when their own reports reflect badly on how any other state agency authorizes or enabled land use.

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miah66
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Re: Oregon DEQ suppresses report ...

Post by miah66 » January 10th, 2017, 10:45 am

"The fate of that report offers a glimpse at what can happen when a state environmental agency’s work runs afoul of a politically influential industry. It also shows how, on certain forestry issues, the agenda of state regulators aligns more closely with the timber industry than with concerned citizens."
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