The latest Klamath Falls News around the Klamath Basin from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM/102.5FM, BasinLife.com and The Herald & News.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019
Klamath Basin Weather
Today
Areas of morning fog, otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 62. Overnight, cloudy with a low around 36 degrees.
Tuesday
A 20 percent chance of showers. Snow level 5500 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 48.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 47.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 49.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.
Today’s Headlines
The Klamath County Public Health Air Advisory is Red until noon today.
The Klamath County Sheriffs office says a suspicious package reported at a Klamath Falls grocery store Saturday afternoon proved to have posed no threat.
At about 12:35 p.m. Saturday sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Grocery Outlet for a reported suspicious package at the business. Store management alerted law enforcement after workers performing maintenance discovered a suspicious package. Deputies after arriving on scene and observing the device quickly evacuated the store and other surrounding businesses.
Bomb Technicians from Oregon State Police were called in and removed the device and after X-raying the device advised deputies that it was inert and posed no threat.
Agriculture producers in the Klamath Project may start the 2020 primary irrigation season with a new biological opinion that informs and governs water management according to environmental requirements under the Endangered Species Act.
That’s because a consultant hired to assist Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin Area Office and federal wildlife agencies provided “erroneous” data that informed the most recent 2018 biological opinions, according to a news release. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and federal wildlife agencies announced Friday they have started the process of the Endangered Species Act consultation for a new biological opinion for the Klamath Reclamation Project.
The agencies plan to complete the biological opinion by March 31, 2020, in time for the beginning of the irrigation season that starts tentatively on or around April 1, 2020.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says a proposed natural gas pipeline and export facility in Southern Oregon would cause significant environmental impacts, but those impacts can minimized. FERC issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Project and Jordan Cove export terminal.
“As described in the final EIS, the FERC staff concludes that approval of the project would result in a number of significant environmental impacts: however, the majority of impacts would be less than significant because of the impact avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures proposed by Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector and those recommended by staff in the EIS,” FERC said in a summary of its findings. Release of the document doesn’t mean the project has won final approval from federal, state and local governments that are considering permits for various aspects of the project.
According to project spokesman Paul Vogel Today’s FEIS release represents a significant step forward for the Jordan Cove terminal and pipeline project and its investment in Oregon. He also said the release of the document is a necessary step before FERC can issue an order approving the project.
Around the state
Oregon is not very good at recycling, and it’s getting worse, according to a new report.
Overall recycling rates in the state have steadily declined for the last several years, even as the amount of waste generated per person in the state has grown. The report, published Thursday by the group Environment Oregon, uses data released yearly by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It finds that Oregon faces major barriers to meeting its recycling goals. Nationally, recyclable plastics are being replaced with lower-value plastics. In Oregon, polystyrene isn’t recyclable, and a proposal to ban it statewide failed last year.
This doesn’t mean that Oregonians aren’t passionate about recycling. The biggest barrier to recycling in Oregon is structural: less of the material placed in recycling bins can be repurposed by domestic facilities, and exporting recyclables to countries like China has become more difficult.
…For complete details on these and other stories see today’s Herald & News. Wynne Broadcasting and the Herald and News…stronger together to keep you informed.