BOISE, Idaho -- A $33 billion infrastructure plan for the Northwest developed by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, continues to shake up the region.

While the potential removal of four dams on the lower Snake River has garnered attention, other parts of the proposal are equally important for the Northwest's future.

Justin Hayes, executive director of the Idaho Conservation League, said the plan includes the creation of voluntary watershed partnerships to bring together agriculture interests, communities and conservationists.

"There'd be $3 billion dollars to spend across the region to help address the widespread problem of agricultural pollution getting into rivers and causing water quality problems," Hayes noted.

Simpson's infrastructure proposal aims to bring back salmon while also investing in communities and clean energy, and addressing the needs of the agriculture industry in the Northwest.

Hayes contended the growing number of dairy operations, especially in southern Idaho, has led to water quality issues.

Simpson's plan would invest $400 million in each state for manure management in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Hayes explained devices called methane digesters are key to the plan, managing the waste better and creating energy.

"It also ensures that we lessen the climate change impact that dairies have, so harvesting that methane and using it to make electricity," Hayes explained. "That's a win-win here for the environment and for dairies. Helps us address climate change and it helps us clean up our water."

Hayes added the proposal could be a game changer and would provide the resources for people to work together.

"Simpson's proposal shatters the status quo," Hayes observed. "It invites people into a dialogue at a scale where all of the interests that people have been concerned about can be benefitted."

The plan could be included in a massive infrastructure package the Biden administration is putting together.

Oregonians have until July 22 to submit comments on the implementation of new environmental restrictions for the state's largest farms.

When the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 85 last year, regulations were signed into law for Confined Animal Feeding Operations. Now, the Oregon Department of Agriculture is working to implement them.

Brian Posewitz, staff attorney for the group WaterWatch of Oregon, said the new rules will help protect one of Oregon's most important natural resources.

"All Oregonians should care about that, because all Oregonians should care about our water supplies, both in the streams and rivers as well as in the groundwater," Posewitz emphasized. "Because those water supplies are precious to everybody."

The regulations mean more closely monitoring the amount of water used by the large farms and considering the placement of the operations to reduce nitrate contamination in groundwater caused by manure. The move to protect Oregon's water supply coincides with an increase in demand for water as the state reenters its wildfire season.

As important as Oregon's water is, regulations often come with a price tag. Large ag operations could be more limited in their site selection, disposal of waste and use of water. The Oregon Farm Bureau predicted tougher rules will affect people's trips to the grocery store.

Lauren Poor, vice president of government and legal affairs for the bureau, thinks the new rules will make it harder to buy local, and wonders if the changes are justified.

"There wasn't a clear indication that there needed to be changes to this program to protect Oregon's waterways or Oregon's water supply," Poor contended.

According to Poor, the previous regulations were working, and continuously changing them can be difficult for producers. The deadline is July 22 to submit public comments to the Oregon Department of Agriculture before the regulations are finalized the end of this summer.


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The CEO of Austin Master Services - owner of a fracking-waste storage facility in Martin's Ferry, Ohio - will attend a hearing by phone today in Belmont County, facing contempt-of-court charges for failing to clean up 10,000 tons of waste - far beyond what the company was permitted to store.

Advocates and local officials continue to express concerns about the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' handling of toxic fracking waste and oversight of these types of facilities.

Beverly Reed, director and community organizer with the citizens' group Concerned Ohio River Residents, said they are on alert about potential water contamination - noting the facilities' proximity to the city's water supply and football field.

"When you have one of these facilities by a water supply, by where people recreate - anywhere, basically," said Reed, "it's concerning because of what's actually getting into the environment and what could be getting to water. "

ODNR spokesperson Karina Cheung said in an email that the agency is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to clean up the facility if Austin Master Services fails to comply with the court's order - and that in April, before the court's contempt order, the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management removed hundreds of barrels of liquid waste from the facility.

Fracking waste contains high levels of radium, volatile organic compounds, and at least one thousand chemicals.

Mayor of Martins Ferry John Davies argued that ODNR hasn't taken enough action to clean up the public health threat as quickly as possible.

"I'd like to see ODNR take responsibility, because they were responsible to permit the waste, and they're the ones that allowed it to go from 600 tons to 10,000 tons," said Davies. "The city has no jurisdiction. So I would like to see ODNR take control of the situation and clean it up."

Davies said he hopes the state shuts the facility down permanently, rather than issuing a new permit to potential waste storage companies that want to buy it.

"We do not want it re-permitted in the city of Martins Ferry," said Davies. "It's too close to our water source, and we're hoping that ODNR doesn't permit another company to enter the facility."

Davies added that the city continues to check it's water supply more frequently to ensure the community remains safe.

Clean-water advocates are heading to state district court after Colorado regulators turned their back on a judge's decision last year calling for better oversight of factory farm waste.

Tyler Lobdell, staff attorney for the group Food and Water Watch, explained human sewage goes through water treatment plants or septic systems. But he said operations where thousands of cattle are confined in concentrated spaces have been dumping millions of tons of untreated manure onto nearby fields.

"It inevitably overwhelms the landscape and overwhelms watersheds," Lobdell pointed out. "Such that this pollution has nowhere to go but into our drinking water and into our lakes, rivers and streams."

Last year's ruling found Colorado was in violation of state and federal law because the state's general permit did not require monitoring of water quality near factory farms. But the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment dismissed the ruling, arguing because there was no evidence of leaks, there was no need to monitor. Industry groups also claimed current regulations are tougher than in other states.

Lobdell countered Colorado's rules are strict, as they should be, to protect one of the state's most valuable assets, its water supplies. Without monitoring and enforcement of any violations, public health will continue to be at risk.

"You can have the strongest restrictions imaginable on paper," Lobdell noted. "The problem is those restrictions have been rendered largely meaningless because the facilities aren't required to report their compliance with those restrictions."

Factory farms, also called concentrated animal feeding operations, have faced growing scrutiny as corporate farming practices have replaced family-scale ranches. Such operations produce 17 million tons of manure a year in Colorado, according to the lawsuit, and many are located along the South Platte River.

Waste runoff from concentrated animal feeding operations contains fecal pathogens such as E. coli, antibiotics and cleaning chemicals. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from manure can also produce toxic algae blooms in waterways capable of killing people, pets and livestock


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