Walden spurs state on floods

Officials from the Oregon Division of State Lands are scheduled to survey Baker County flood damage today and potentially streamline the process so farmers and ranchers in the Pine and Eagle valleys can get permits to repair their irrigation networks.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he called Gov. Ted Kulongoski and other top state officials after listening to concerned residents during a public forum Sunday in Richland.

“I was frustrated to learn the Division of State Lands was not going out until June 23,” Walden said.

Walden, who represents Eastern Oregon, said he asked Kulongoski and other members of the State Land Board, including Secretary of State Kate Brown and State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, to summon Division of State Lands staff sooner.

“The governor got right on this and I appreciate his personal attention on it,” Walden said.

The DSL is the agency that issues permits to property owners who need to repair ditches, headgates, fish screens and other items damaged by severe flooding earlier this month in both of the valleys in eastern Baker County.

Walden said he and state Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, along with members of the Baker County Board of Commissioners and other area officials who attended Sunday’s meeting immediately afterward started calling state officials to raise awareness of the deadline facing irrigators.

Crops could be damaged if they don’t get water within seven to 10 days.

Walden said farmers and ranchers expressed concern Sunday that “They can get the permits and do the work, but that DSL can come along later and rule it needs to be done differently, and levy charges, fees and penalties against them.”

Walden said he hopes DSL officials will clarify to farmers and ranchers what they can and can’t do to repair flood damage.

In addition to working with DSL, Walden said he and Bentz are also communicating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Farm Services Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and others to see what help and financial assistance is available to help landowners repair irrigation systems, stabilize eroded streambanks and do other work.

One of the specific things Walden has asked NRCS to look into is the possibility of extending flood damage assistance to cover the cost of repairing or replacing fish screens, which generally aren’t currently covered.

On another flood-related repair issue, Walden said he has talked with top Forest Service officials about repairing a washed out section of the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road between Halfway and Joseph.

North Pine Creek ripped away a 500-foot section of the two-laned paved route, and caused significant damage in four other places.

The Loop Road, also known as Forest Road 39, is part of the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, one of Oregon’s four All-American Roads.

“It is an important economic corridor for the three counties (Baker, Union and Wallowa),” Walden said.

Walden said Steve Ellis, supervisor of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, is working to get authority to take as much as $5 million already allocated to repave a 13-mile stretch of the Loop Road and use the money to re-open at least one lane of the route during the busy summer tourist season.

The Loop Road is closed due to snow during the winter and early spring.

Forest Service officials also are hoping to get repair money from the Federal Highway Administration.

“The last time we had a washout on this highway 12 or 13 years ago it took two years to get the road open, partly due to all the red tape and appeals filed by the Hells Canyon Preservation Council,” Walden said.

This time around, he said it looks like a judge’s decision allowing repairs to the highway more than a decade ago will apply to the current washout repairs, which Walden said should significantly speed up the repair timeline, if federal money is forthcoming.

In the meantime, Ellis also is trying to add $200,000 to the budget for a project already scheduled to improve Forest Road 66, which could serve as a detour around the washed out section of the Loop Road.

Road 66, the Fish Lake Road, is a gravel route that’s accessible to passenger cars but is not suited for motor homes or large trailers.

 “It won’t accommodate a Winnebago, but it will accommodate fire trucks and other vehicles,” Walden said.