Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the Democrat majority in the Legislature want to make sure that nobody in the state, especially farmers and ranchers, get any help from EPA regulatory reforms.  The brain trust of city dwellers that couldn’t do a day’s farm labor at gunpoint came up with HB 2250.  The same people who thought closing off managed timber stands to create wilderness only to watch it burn decade after decade, was somehow a good idea.

It’s bad news for farmers. It’s nothing short of a slap in the face to everyone who hoped for reforms based on ACTUAL EFFORT.  Citizens groups were depending on those reforms to be able to assist with the massive workload Oregon has refused to get off their collective rear ends to accomplish.  The chief complaint was “Why can’t I just <insert freely offered public service>”.  Spelled out in these reforms was just that language, but it didn’t start with Orange Man bad or come with a campaign donation check attached so it was dismissed out of hand.

Much of President Trump’s campaign stressed badly needed regulatory reform.  He has already begun following through.  Oregon received over $300 Million for trails alone.  Further efforts to treat Sudden Oak Death and Aquatic Invasive Species are also in progress.  Not that you would hear any of this from Salem.  We actually had to publish copies of the press releases to prove they were genuine because Oregon refused to publish the material and make it available to citizens.

The administration proposed new clean water rules with less room to “invent” benchmarks as opposed to the infamous “Waters of the U.S.” rules offered in the final days of the Obama administration.  President Trump worked with the EPA to ensure that results are just as important as enforcement actions.  Removing the “Do Nothing” option in project scoping took away the ability to honestly say that doing nothing to an environmental issue, was in ANY way, shape or form, productive.

People will always have disagreements on environmental policy, but Democrats in Oregon have taken a decidedly low information route: Obama good, Orange Man bad.

Under HB 2250, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Health Authority would deem in their self proclaimed infinite wisdom, which federal regulations have been, in their sole opinion, rendered “significantly less protective” since Obama skipped town.  How’s that’s Measles Epidemic working out thanks to your “Hard work serving the health needs of Oregonians”?  You can’t even remove the prescription drug residues from the water supply you drink.  And you actually want us to trust you with water quality in the rest of the state?

The DEQ and OHA would then have to recommend or take actions to ensure that Oregon’s environmental standards, in word only, are at least as protective as federal standards, which require actual effort.  The current model is revenue generation only.  The vast majority of watershed work targets rural Oregon.  It’s that mystical part of the state where that wet stuff called water bubbles up out of the earth.  Every last improvement happens upstream of cities.  Making those in cities the LEAST qualified to respond to and participate in an educated debate.

Proponents of HB 2250 argue it’s necessary because the Trump administration has sought to undermine the purpose of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  None of those voices could point to any real rule or policy.  We did have more than a few laughs reading of their imaginary concerns though.

Rep. Werner Reschke, R-Klamath Falls, isn’t buying any of the bull pucky Kate Brown is shoveling. He says the bill won’t accomplish anything, but invite state government to burn through it’s litigation budget from environmental groups and every other “1000 Friends Of…” who disagree with its assessments of changes to federal policy.

“In effect, the bill by default assumes new environmental rules are and will be worse than what previously existed and uses a date to set the bar,” Reschke said. “I find this kind of policy making under the guise of protecting Oregon’s environment to be more political science than science.”

We tend to agree.  I can’t tell you how many times I have posted a story with documents to correct the half read article, or discredited study used by the Salem’s Chief Executive Dilettante.   There are more than 3 cities in this state and it’s long past time she gets that into her head.  Never landing an OREGON airplane in CALIFORNIA to visit the Southern Oregon Coast is a marching order, NOT a suggestion.

Kate Brown is certainly welcome to attempt to respond but will find little sympathy with this Editor.  We don’t hold a high opinion of people who sell out the state they seek to represent by selling state contracts for campaign donations.  If this were any, and I do mean ANY other state, Kate Brown would be serving 7-10 in Coffee Creek.

HB 2250 ignorantly assumes that any regulations passed prior to Jan. 20, 2016, are as infallible as the Pope. It’s a position that probably plays well to the willfully ignorant  base, but doesn’t do a damn thing to serve the interests of Oregonians that are actually hurt by such a disgraceful spite mongering bill.