PNWA mourns the loss of Don Hosford 

We are saddened to report that Don Hosford, retired commissioner of the Port of Hood River has passed away. Don was a tireless advocate for the economy and community of Hood River. He was a long time member of the Northwest port community, serving on the Port of Hood River commission for 12 years. During that time, he tackled the Port's economic development needs while working to improve environmental quality and recreation opportunities. Don lived in Hood River County for over 40 years and is well remembered as a former local insurance agent, teacher, and coach in addition to his service at the Port.

We were extremely lucky to have Don as a friend and supporter of PNWA. His friendly demeanor and advocacy for our organization will be very much missed.

Odessa Subarea Special Study Record of Decision Signed

Submitted by the Columbia Basin Development League    

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Pacific Northwest Regional Director Lorri Lee recently signed the Record of Decision for the Odessa Subarea Special Study Final Environmental Impact Statement. After a long formal process, the Bureau designated the Modified Partial-Replacement-Banks Alternative (Alternative 4A), as the Preferred Alternative for the project. The designation of the Preferred Alternative concludes the environmental review phase of finding a way to replace irrigation water drawn from the Odessa aquifer with Columbia Basin Project water.

The Record of Decision does not commit Federal funding for the project, but allows the project to proceed. The state and irrigators plan on moving forward with the project with non-Federal funding. The state would fund construction of conveyance infrastructure, and the irrigation district would fund the distribution systems from the canal to the farm through local improvement districts, loans, or other funding mechanisms.

While there is a possibility Reclamation will request federal funding for some aspect of the Columbia Basin Project in the future, there is no current Federal funding committed or expected to be used for implementation of this phase of project development.

Benefits of thePreferred Alternative include conserving groundwater, slowing decline in aquifer levels, preserving 70,000 acres of irrigated agriculture, contributing to employment, reducing losses in farm income, and reducing or avoiding social consequences on communities in the Odessa Subarea. The Record of Decision states Alternative 4A was chosen because it provides more benefits to the Odessa Subarea aquifer with less overall impact to environmental resources and it maximizes utilization of existing facilities.

Reclamation has identified a number of mitigation and best management practices involving avoidance, minimization, reduction, compensation, and monitoring within the Preferred Alternative. They will work with Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to focus on the Endangered Species Act and Fish and Wildlife Coordination during implementation. For example, Reclamation will reduce impacts and identify adequate mitigation on agricultural infill lands in coordination with Ecology and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Reclamation has applied for a secondary-use water permit from the State Department of Ecology for the use of 216,300 acre-feet of water from the Columbia Basin Project water storage right. The average annual diversion for the Preferred Alternative from Lake Roosevelt will be 164,000 acre-feet. For the recovery of reimbursable project costs and the use of Federal facilities, Reclamation will also need to contract for delivery of project and non-project water with the East Columbia Irrigation District.

For more information, please contact Sara Cornell.

PNWA welcomes BNSF and Columbia County Grain Growers to our membership 

BNSF 

BNSF is a Major Class I railroad with operations in 28 states and 2 Canadian Provinces. They conduct operations in Washington and Oregon to serve river ports in both states and ports on Puget Sound. One of their major lines runs along the north side of the Columbia. For more information, contact Terry Finn.

Columbia County Grain Growers

Columbia County Grain Growers is a locally owned farmer cooperative engaged in the handling, storage and marketing of member's commodities. Primarily handling Soft White Wheat, the cooperative also handles and markets WHCB, HRW, HRS, Barley, Peas and Garbanzo beans. The cooperative has 10 locations with 7,000,000 bu. of storage capacity within Columbia County in Southeastern Washington. The cooperative owns and operates Lyons Ferry River Terminal located on the lower Snake River where it barges its small grains to export markets in the Columbia River District. For more information, contact Mitch Payne.

Register today for PNWA's Summer Conference!  

PNWA Summer Conference 

June 24th-26th, 2013

Conference at Maple Hall 

Lodging at La Conner Channel Lodge & Country Inn 

Registration fee: $360 before June 3rd ($385 after June 3rd)

This year's event will be located in beautiful La Conner, Washington. The conference will take place at Maple Hall. For lodging, PNWA has negotiated discounted room rates at the La Conner Channel Lodge and Country Inn. These rates will be offered until June 3rd on a first come, first served basis. To make your hotel reservation at the discounted rate, please call 1-888-466-4113.

We need your sponsorship to make this event the best yet! If you are interested in sponsorship, please click here for more information or contact Natalie Whitlock. Sponsors receive ample recognition throughout the event as well as our website and newsletter. Thank you for your support.

We look forward to seeing you there!