Power struggle puts LRAPA in jeopardy.Byline: Diane Dietz The Register-Guard A power struggle on the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority board is threatening to shut down the 37-year-old agency. The Springfield City Council is on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of withdrawing support for LRAPA LRAPA Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (formerly Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority) , air board Chairman Dave Ralston said Tuesday during an executive session. And the Lane County Board of Commissioners will follow suit if Springfield leaves, he said. Some politicians feel the agency is in the thrall of anti-pollution and anti-business activists, he said. "We do cater to our businesses. They are part of the formula. If we're not satisfying our businesses, we're not doing our job," he said, in a digression during a nonpublic executive session on who to hire as the agency's new director. Under Oregon Public Meetings law, journalists are allowed to attend closed sessions of a governing body Noun 1. governing body - the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something; "he claims that the present administration is corrupt"; "the governance of an association is responsible to its members"; "he but may not report on the discussion as long as board members stick to the narrow subject - such as hiring or real estate transactions - that state law allows them to discuss in private. LRAPA is the only locally controlled air pollution regulating agency in the state. It operates by virtue of a governance formula with representatives from Lane County, Eugene and Springfield. Oakridge and Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). share a seat. And the board adds at-large members as needed as needed prn. See prn order. to maintain an odd number. Eugene supplies 9 percent of the agency's $1.3 million operating funds, Lane County chips in 8 percent and Springfield pays 4 percent. Most of the agency's operating revenue operating revenue Revenue from any regular source. Revenue from sales is adjusted for discounts and returns when calculating operating revenue. Compare other revenue. comes from pollution permit fees. The law requires six months notice should Springfield or any other government choose to withdraw from the agency. LRAPA monitors levels of pollutants pollutants see environmental pollution. in the air, cites industries that violate allowed levels of pollutants and regulates wood stove stove, device used for heating or for cooking food. The stove was long regarded as a cooking device supplementary to the fireplace, near which it stood; its stovepipe led into the fireplace chimney. It was not until about the middle of the 19th cent. use when the soot soot, black or dull brown deposit of fine powder resulting from incomplete combustion of fuel of high carbon content, e.g., coal, wood, and oil. It consists chiefly of amorphous carbon and tarry substances that cause it to adhere to surfaces. in the air approaches hazardous levels. The state Department of Environmental Quality performs those functions for the rest of the state, and it would take over the job for Lane County should the local air agency disband dis·band v. dis·band·ed, dis·band·ing, dis·bands v.tr. To dissolve the organization of (a corporation, for example). v.intr. 1. . The power struggle broke into the open in May, when the Eugene City Council pressed its right for one additional representative on the agency's seven-member board. Based on a complicated formula that involves population size, Eugene had qualified for the additional representation since 1998, acting air agency Director Jim Johnson said. However, nobody thought to ask until recently. Now the hot political question is: Should the new Eugene member take the place of a current board member or should the new member bring the total board size to eight. Eugene neighborhood activists wanted the board size to stay at seven, which would give Eugene a total of four seats and control the board. "We're interested in having the board be more assertive as·ser·tive adj. Inclined to bold or confident assertion; aggressively self-assured. as·ser  tive·ly adv. in protecting the public health and enforcing its regulations to do
so," said Becky Riley, an activist who has urged the board to take
a tougher regulatory stand against polluters.
But the air board decided in May - under another provision of the statute that requires an odd numbered body - to increase the size of the board to nine and to appoint another Springfield representative to the ninth place so no single city could control the regulating agency. Under the board's direction, Johnson placed an advertisement in The Register-Guard asking for volunteers from Springfield. The ad yielded two applications, one from a retired educator who's an anti-toxics activist and another from a former Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri, is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. Approximately 50% of greeting cards sent in the United States every year are manufactured by Hallmark. employee. But after the application deadline passed, Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken asked the agency to consider appointing Springfield City Councilman John Woodrow. Betty Taylor, LRAPA board member and Eugene city councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun , said backpedaling to please critics in Springfield would make the board look ridiculous. "We're going to make this agency an object of laughter if we keep doing things of this sort," Taylor said during part of Tuesday's meeting that was open to the public. "Maybe it would be better for DEQ DEQ Abbreviation for the Incoterm "Delivered Ex Quay." to take over," she said. "That's what might happen if we don't behave in a responsible manner. People are losing respect for the agency every time we do something whimsical whim·si·cal adj. 1. Determined by, arising from, or marked by whim or caprice. See Synonyms at arbitrary. 2. Erratic in behavior or degree of unpredictability: a whimsical personality. ." With eight seated members, the board deadlocked dead·lock n. 1. A standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions. 2. Sports A tied score. 3. 4-4 on the question of whether to consider appointing Woodrow. So the board is left with its two original candidates, and it's scheduled to interview them both at its June 12 meeting. Gary Rayor, LRAPA board member and former Eugene city councilor, apologized for his hand in perpetuating the apparent conflict. He said the two applicants applied, and in a "straight-up" process, and deserved an outright decision. "I want to do whatever I can to depoliticize de·po·lit·i·cize tr.v. de·po·lit·i·cized, de·po·lit·i·ciz·ing, de·po·lit·i·ciz·es To remove the political aspect from; remove from political influence or control: the board," Rayor said. "Our decisions should be based on trying to improve the airshed in Lane County." Ralston, who fought for the Woodrow nomination, said that was his goal, too. But activists with an agenda to ban - not regulate - pollution were giving the process its political charge, he said. "It's getting worse, not better," he said. Tuesday's executive session was to consider the board's second-choice applicant to take the helm at LRAPA. The first- and second-choice candidates were not publicly named. In-house candidate Sharon Banks was among the top three finalists. The agency has been without permanent leadership since since Jan. 15, when the board forced the previous director, Brian Jennison, out of the job. The board criticized Jennison for fraternizing with junior members of the staff, inappropriately interfering with midlevel mid·lev·el n. The middle stage or level, as in a series, course of action, or career. managers' decisions and exhibiting anger problems. AIR BOARD Here's the current composition of the Lane Regional Air Pollution Board and their tenure on the board. Members are appointed to two-, three- or four-year terms using a population-based formula. Faye Stewart: A current Lane County commission member, was appointed to LRAPA by the Lane County Board of Commissioners and has served five months Vice Chairman Gary Rayor: A former Eugene city councilor, was appointed by the Eugene City Council and has served 1 1/2 years Betty Taylor: A current Eugene city councilor, was appointed by the Eugene City Council and has served 7 1/2 years Earl Koenig: The Eugene resident was appointed by the Eugene City Council and has served 6 months Drew Johnson: Worked as an environmental engineer at the agency for 6 1/2 years until February, when he was laid off because of budget shortfalls, was appointed by the Eugene City Council in May and has served 3 weeks Chairman Dave Ralston: The Springfield city councilor was appointed by the Springfield City Council and has served 3 1/2 years Glenn Fortune: The Oakridge city councilor was appointed by the Oakridge City Council and has served 4 months Carol Tannenbaum: Appointed as the at-large member by other members of the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority board, lives in East Lane County, and has served 5 years |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion