THURSDAY
S I N C E
SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
1 8 9 5 Salmo author set to unveil book in Rossland
Vol. 117, Issue 172
110
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Page 2
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
River treaty renegotiation ‘preempted’ by U.S. bureau, warns lawyer
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
MONTROSE
BCGEU’S PICKET LINES GO UP
Well drilling delayed again BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
The Columbia River Treaty renegotiation is being “preempted” by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, says an attorney who just released a major document on climate change and the Columbia River. Rachael Paschal Osborn of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy in Spokane, Wash., said a newly released final plan from the bureau to expand federally-subsidized irrigation in eastern Washington will needlessly cost Americans more money and threatens to destroy salmon runs— and nullify the benefits of the ongoing CanadaU.S. treaty negotiations. As a critic of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington Department of Ecology, Osborn said their “never ending programs to try and get more water” out of the Columbia River were misguided. She was speaking after the bureau released its final environmental paper on the Columbia River late last month, with nothing contained in the report on the effect of climate change on the potential for increased demands. “It has become apparent that they are doing this as pre-positioning, getting projects underway and getting commitments of water before somebody in the U.S. government shuts them down and says it is really not appropriate for the U.S. to be making more commitments of water out of the river until the bigger issues of the treaty are resolved,” she said. She said the bureau was taking advantage of the fact there has not been full public recognition of the problem of climate change, and instead are just trying to grab water right now. In 2014 it will be tougher to justify taking more water out of the river. Osborn and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, as well as the Sierra Club’s Columbia River Future Project, believe the bureau should stop with their plan until they have sufficiently evaluated the implications of making another major commitment of water. “It’s not clear there would be wisdom in taking anymore water out of the river,” she said.
See CANADIANS, Page 3
GUY BERTRAND PHOTO
B.C. Liquor Store employees in Trail (from the left) Loren Koerber, Judy McLachlan, Sharon Thompson and Kim Nordquist, along with Kaz the strike dog, were among the over 27,000 members of the B.C. Government Employees Union that staged a one-day walkout on Wednesday. The liquor store employees also had a table set up for supporters to sign petitions stopping the privatization of distribution centres and preventing Sunday openings. See story on Page 4.
A month-long project to drill a new well in Montrose has been delayed. The contracted drillers did not show up to break ground on the project this week, Village of Montrose deputy clerk Amy Gurnett told council in their regular council meeting Tuesday. When asked for an explanation about the crew’s absence, Gurnett said she had “no idea” why. Instead, the village received an email from Robbin’s Engineering Wednesday afternoon indicating the crew would arrive on site this morning. “They’re from the Okanagan, so hopefully they show up,” Gurnett said. “Everything is going to be set back by a day or two now.” Initially the project was slated to run between Sept. 4-22. More than one year ago the Village of Montrose issued a boil water advisory because test results indicated low levels of total coliforms—a commonly used bacterial indicator of sanitary quality of foods and water—a verdict that sentenced residents with water that did not meet the BC Drinking Water
See CRASH, Page 3
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