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FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2023
VOL. 132, NO. 9 Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Rate payers may still face sewer plant cost JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
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he dust has settled at the Oregon Capital Building following the end of the state legislative session without approval of $6 million for the City of Clatskanie. The money is necessary to complete needed work at the site of the current sewer plant on NW 4h Street where a new wastewater plant is to be build. The Chief reached out to Clatskanie City Manager Greg Hinkelman for his reaction and what the next steps are in funding the facility. The Chief: What is your reaction to not receiving the need funding from the state? Greg Hinkelman: We are disappointed that we did not get the funding we had asked for ($6 million). It was a big ask, but that is why we went to the state. We had heard about greater than expected revenue and the possibility of a big kicker check to taxpayers. We were hoping that would translate into more funding opportunities for projects such as ours. The Chief: Specifically, what would that money have been used for? Hinkelman: The purpose for the money was to do the soil prep work for the new wastewater treatment plant. During the initial geotech evaluation, it was discovered that the soils where the new plant is to be built are “Liquefiable,” which means they will turn to mush during a seismic event.
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The new plant is slated to be built at the existing sewer plant site on NW 4th Street in Clatskanie.
The Chief: What are the city’s next steps in getting the needed funding? Hinkelman: I am going to have conversations with the representatives of the State revolving fund to see what financing is available, I have not wanted to do this. Should we have to go the financing route, there will ultimately be a substantial increase in city customer sewer bills to pay off the loan over the course of 20 years. I have also been in contact with our federal representatives to see if there is a funding route through the Feds. I will continue those efforts. The Chief: What is the status at this point of the design and permitting of the plant?
Hinkelman: We are almost concluded with the design. Once that is done, we then move to setting timetables for Request for Proposals (RFP) submissions. That timetable is also contingent upon getting the funding to do the soil work. We can’t build unless the soil is stable. The Chief: What is the total estimated cost of this new plant and why is it needed? Hinkelman: To build the plant structure itself is $10 million. We need the new plant because the existing plant is experiencing structural failure and we have had mechanical issues over the last couple of years. The biggest problem with the existing plant is there is no re-
dundancy which has proven to be a huge liability, especially during the last couple of mechanical failures. Background Hinkelman was successful work in gaining $10 million from the 2022 Oregon Legislature to build the wastewater treatment facility and a $720,000 community development block grant for the engineering and design of the new plant that will be built at the same location of the current facility at 100 NW 4th Street in Clatskanie. Challenging history The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a $2,800 fine to the City of Clats-
kanie in Dec. 2022, following repeated sewer plant failures. The violations are of the DEQ’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NEPDES) permit that regulates the city’s wastewater treatment plant. This fine is a result of two incidents that happened within weeks of each other earlier this year, according to Hinkelman. “The sewer plant experienced failure of a seal within the clarifier that resulted in high levels of E.coli that were discharged into the Clatskanie River in January and March of this year,” Hinkelman told The Chief in a published interview last February. Following the discharge, the city closed the Clatskanie River and issued warnings to the public not to use the river on both occasions of the plant failure. The failure of the seal also impacted other categories of reporting that showed elevated levels of Effluent limits; Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD’s) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS), according to the DEQ. Hinkelman said the city conducted a thorough review of each failing and determined that excessive debris was getting into the treatment system, which was caused by issues with the debris removal system, also known as the headworks, that required adjustments to a screen-cleaning brush and the replacement of a gear box. Part of the fix included hiring a diver to go into the wastewater area of the plant to remove the debris from the seal. See photos and read that coverage at thechiefnews.com. Follow this developing story at thechiefnews.com and in the Friday print editions of The Chief.
Bridge closure could affect emergency services WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
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he Lewis and Clark Bridge is slated to close for eight days on July 16, and local agencies are working to ensure efficient emergency services during the closure. Columbia River Fire and Rescue EMS Division Chief Jerry Cole said that their number one concern with the bridge is being able to provide emergency transport to its citizens. During the closure, there will be an estimated 10-hour full closure of the bridge that will halt efficient emergency transport. “During that 10 hours, our options are going to be transport to Astoria or Portland, and or for critical patients; our option is probably going to be air transport via Life Flight,” Cole said. The closure is to allow crews to make repairs on the 93-year-old bridge across the Columbia River between Rainier and Longview, Washington, according to a release from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). One of the issues for Cole and CRFR is that WSDOT does not
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Contact The Chief Phone: 503-397-0116 Fax: 503-397-4093 chiefnews@countrymedia.net 1805 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens, OR 97051
want return trips after emergency transport to go over the bridge. “Where we’re concerned is if our PAR levels are down in Rainier, we won’t have any coverage over here because they’ll be on transport,” Cole said. “What we’re trying to negotiate with WSDOT is allowing the ambulances to return back across via the Lewis and Clark Bridge.” WSDOT wants emergency vehicles to return via the ferry in Cathlamet or drive down and around through Portland on Highway 30. Cole said that while they are glad they will be able to transport people over the bridge, the restriction on return trips could affect responses on subsequent calls. The CRFR is negotiating with WSDOT and ODOT to find a solution to the issue and secure the ability to return via the bridge, and met Thursday, July 6. The result of the negotiation was unavailable at the time of print. The Lewis and Clark Bridge is the only span across the Columbia River between the Astoria-Megler Bridge at the river’s mouth and the Interstate Bridge between Portland and Vancouver. The closure may create hardships for communi-
ties along the Columbia River in Clatsop and Columbia counties in Oregon and require residents to reschedule medical and other important appointments. Securing additional units In addition to its negotiation with WSDOT, CRFR is seeking funding from the State of Oregon to add additional ambulance units to each affected district. CRFR presented a request to Governor Tina Kotek’s office, and the governor is working with the State Fire Marshal’s office on possibly funding an additional ambulance in each district they serve (CRFR, Clatskanie, and Mist). They initially presented their request to the Board of County Commissioners last week. Director of Public Health for Columbia County Jaime Aanensen said the county did not have the funds to support the request, and the request was elevated to the state. “The Department of Public Health and the County Emergency Manager, as soon as these concerns were brought to us, both departments took it to the Board
Courtesy photo from ODOT
The Lewis and Clark Bridge will close at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 16 for up to eight days.
of Commissioners and elevated this concern pretty immediately,” Aanensen said. Rainier has two staffed ambulance units, two 24-hour-a-day units and a 12-hour-a-day unit in St. Helens, and a single unit at the Fairgrounds Station, according to Cole. The funding would go toward staffing three more. “What we’re trying to get is one extra unit per district,” Cole said. As of now, whether they will receive the funding is not guaranteed. The CRFR hopes the state will
ultimately recognize the problem and supply additional funding; this will also be discussed at the meeting on July 6. “As soon as it became on our radar, we’ve been working really hard to get some more resources and to bring the visibility to the problems that our fire districts are going to encounter with the bridge closure,” Aanensen said. The benefit of the extra units would be to increase transport capacity in case units could not return efficiently due to the bridge closure.
Columbia County DA Auxier leaving office
County and has enjoyed living here for the past ten years, Auxier added that he feels compelled to rejoin his colleagues in Multnomah County. Auxier and Multnomah County DA worked together in the misdemeanor unit “ages ago.” “[Schmidt] is someone that I care about; I know he cares about that office, and he’s someone I’d be proud to work for,” Auxier said. Auxier said he’s been considering the move for most of the spring. While he will be stepping down, Auxier said he doesn’t foresee his successor changing approaches to cases and investigations that Auxier was managing.
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fter six years serving Columbia County, District Attorney Jeff Auxier is stepping down from his elected position effective July 7. Auxier has accepted a senior deputy district attorney staff position in the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office and he cited a number of reasons for stepping away prematurely before his team ended in Columbia County. “This is really a family decision. Something that my wife and I think is best for our family and our two boys. And I feel really good about the office that I’m leaving in Columbia County,” Auxier said. “I am someone who worked in Multnomah County for a little under ten years before coming out here, and I feel compelled to help with the public safety challenges that are happening in the city right now.” Compensation in Auxier’s new position was also a factor. In his new position, Auxier is slated to
What’s next?
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Columbia County DA Jeff Auxier has accepted a position with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
make $204,637 per year within the Multnomah County DA’s office. As District Attorney in Columbia County, Auxier said he received about $131,000 from the state annually, and about $19,740 in additional compensation from the county
per year, totaling approximately $150,000. Auxier was originally elected in 2017, before being reelected in May of 2022. Auxier was slated to serve a second four-year term. While he said he loves Columbia
The next step will be a governorappointed interim DA who works in the criminal justice division of the Oregon Department of Justice. That person will serve as acting DA until the governor makes an official appointment, according to Auxier.
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