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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/wyden-talks-basin-water-crisis-bipartisanship-at-town-hall/article_26c2bdc4-d534-5cd4-94d6-699eb6d54f49.html

Wyden talks Basin water crisis, bipartisanship at town hall

The ongoing Klamath Basin water crisis, investments in solar energy and Jordan Cove LNG pipeline project were among main topics discussed at Sen. Ron Wyden’s town hall Saturday.

More than 70 people gathered at the College Union Auditorium at the Oregon Institute of Technology to ask questions and talk on local policy issues that most impacted Klamath Falls and Klamath County residents. Saturday’s town hall marks Wyden’s 879th in the state.

Others in the audience called for improved veterans assistance, wildfire prevention, net neutrality and improved healthcare access. In a follow-up interview, Wyden said he was pleased with the town hall.

“I was particularly pleased about the tone of the comments with respect to this incredible challenge we have,” Wyden said of the water conflicts.

Some of the first comments centered around the ongoing Basin water crisis, which Wyden said was of urgency since this year’s snowpack has been 50 percent smaller.

Wyden said that he wanted to help ranchers, Klamath Tribe members and others get their stories out in the open. The senator said that several members of his senior staff would remain in the Klamath Basin for the next couple of days to speak with local stakeholders.

“I think, for a number of folks in the Basin, this is a survival issue,” Wyden said.

Becky Hyde, a Klamath Basin rancher, said she especially wanted to see more people stray away from insults based on partisanship, adding that true solutions could only be reached if people kept away from giving each other metaphorical “black eyes.”

“We’re going to try to make it a ‘black eye free zone,’” Hyde said. “You can’t solve this if you’re just throwing punches.”

Wyden acknowledged that keeping others out of the loop was especially damaging when the water crisis reached one of its worst points in the Basin back in 2001.

“What we’ve learned is that you can’t leave parts of the community out of the solution,” Wyden said.

Wyden also talked about the development of renewable energy options, including the need for more solar array efforts throughout the state.

Back in February, Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., announced that $40 million in loans across three Klamath County towns and Lakeview were slated for separate solar facilities in each community. A $10 million loan through the Rural Energy For America Program (REAP) will go to help construct facilities in Dairy, Malin, Merrill and Lakeview.

Each solar site would help power around 2,000 homes a year in each community, with power levels ranging from 10 to 13 megawatts at each rural facility, according to previous reports from the Herald and News.

But Wyden said he wanted to place greater importance on in-house manufacturing options.

“We shouldn’t just be bringing panels in from somewhere else,” Wyden said.

Several audience members also asked Wyden about his thoughts on the Jordan Cove LNG pipeline, a nearly 230-mile project that would connect to the Ruby pipeline from the Dakotas and stretch out to Coos Bay. Wyden responded by saying he would use his position to make sure both sides are “treated fairly.”

Concerns with how the Trump administration handles potential private property acquisitions and environmental safety were also among Wyden’s chief concerns in the project. Wyden told the crowd that he was against anyone “cutting corners” on either front.

 

 

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