A coal train passes through Montana

Yesterday, the Port of St. Helens approved agreements with two companies to export coal to Asia — potentially as much as 38 tons per year.  Other ports including Portland, Vancouver, Tacoma, and Kalama have all recently rejected similar bids to export coal from their facilities.  St. Helens (located on the Columbia River about 48 miles downstream of Portland), Longview, the Port of Morrow, and the Port of Coos Bay are three west coast ports still considering export proposals.

Coal has a terrible track record, as Crag Development Coordinator Suzanne Savell well knows from her time spent growing up in the Appalachian mountains.  ”It’s a dirty business.  From the safety of coal workers, to the way it’s transported, to the pollution created when it’s burned, coal is just dirty,” says Suzanne.

Coal exported from Oregon would begin in strip mines in Wyoming and Montana, crossing the west on slow moving, several-mile-long trains, which can obstruct a rail crossing for up to 18 minutes at a time.  Several of these trains, coming and going from the port facility, would block traffic each day in the communities of St. Helens, Rainer, Scappoose, and Portland, disrupting business in each community.  In addition, coal dust from the trains would pollute the air in all the communities through which the coal train travels.  Coal dust causes health problems, including increased rates of asthma in children and exposure to toxic heavy metals like mercury.

The U.S. is not the only country facing coal export. This image shows a rally against coal export in Melbourne, Australia.

As the U.S. moves away from coal as an energy source due to its harmful health and environmental effects, coal companies are looking to China as a market for coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana.  Oregon’s coal-fired power plant at Boardman will be entirely phased out by 2020.  The irony is that coal burned in China returns to the west coast as air pollution and acid rain, dumping mercury and other toxics into our waters, poisoning our air, water, fish and food supply.

In the end, it’s not enough to simply see Oregon as a transit point for coal.  We need to consider where it starts and where it ends up in order to fully understand the implications of a proposal like this for our community and our environment.  For more information, check out long-time client Columbia Riverkeeper’s webpage and fact sheet on coal export in Oregon, and Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.

2011 topped the records for the number of extreme weather events costing more than 1 billion dollars – we had 12 such events in 2011 totaling almost $200 billion. NASA’s two latest climate reports contain mind boggling conclusions.  The first report uses conservative temperature data from the IPCC, and predicts that by 2100 around 40 percent of our major ecological communities – places like forests, tundra, and grasslands – will be dominated by a different ecological community.  In other words, if you live near a forest, it could become a desert by 2100, or if you live near tundra, it could be transformed into a grassland by 2100.  The second report, relying on paleoclimate data analyzed by top climate scientist Dr. Jim Hansen, paints a harsh reality of what even a two-degree average increase in temperature will mean for our planet. Closer to home and more specific to Oregon, a senior Department of Interior official warned a Congressional subcommittee about the impacts from climate change on the water supplies of western states that rely upon snowpack to provide fresh water.

So, that’s enough about the darkness – where’s the light?  It seems to be stemming from the next generation.  Youth leaders are stepping up all around our country, and the world, to express their concerns over climate change.  A young U.S. woman interrupted the latest climate change negotiations out of fear for her future putting the U.S. Congress and Administration on the spot for not moving the negotiations forward.  Youth in Canada danced in protest of their government’s decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol.

Of course, youth here in Oregon and around the U.S. and the world took the courts last May to demand that the government protect their future from the harmful impacts of climate change. Led by Alec Loorz of Kids versus Global warming and Our Children’s Trust, these members of the next generation are also an amazing inspiration.

Nelson Kanuk on the Kuskokwim River, Kipnuk, Alaska. Photo by Christi Cooper-Kuhn and Kelly Matheson, courtesy of iMatter.org

Our Children’s Trust, the iMatter Campaign, and Witness just released the most recent video of one such climate leader who is involved in a legal case launched last May.  Trust Alaska documents the life and struggles of Nelson Kanuk and native subsistence people along Alaska’s rapidly eroding coastline.  Nelson’s dedication to his family, their traditional way of life, and to sustaining the planet and his home is a true inspiration. Please share it with your friends and family, and may it help light the seasons to come.

Measure 37 was passed in 2004 to provide landowners “just compensation” for land use regulations enacted after they acquired their property that allegedly diminished the value of the land.  Claimants did not need to prove an actual reduction in value in order to receive a waiver of those land use regulations that would allow development of the land according to the laws, if any, in place at the time the landowner acquired the property.  Measure 37 was very controversial because it allowed large-scale development on previously protected lands.  As a result, in 2007 the voters passed Measure 49, which provided alternative compensation for landowners and allowed completion of already-begun projects pursuant to Measure 37 waivers only where the landowner could demonstrate a “vested right” to complete and continue the project.  The closer to completion a project is, the more likely the landowner has a vested right to finish the development.

Most landowners chose the alternative compensation offered by Measure 49, but some pushed ahead seeking to develop the full extent of the use proposed under their Measure 37 waivers.  In doing so, many landowners attempted to cheat the system by changing the picture of their project to create the illusion that the development was closer to completion than it actually was.

I’ve been working to safeguard Oregon’s land use protections since I started at Crag three years ago, and Ralph has been fighting this battle since 2004.  Crag’s clients and many other Oregonians recognize that land use safeguards exist to protect everyone’s property values and rights.  The large Measure 37 developments threatened farm, forests and water supplies across Oregon.  The Supreme Court’s ruling safeguards the interests of all property owners and will help prevent further conversion of our irreplaceable farmland into subdivisions, strip malls, and gravel pits.  We congratulate those individuals across Oregon who were willing to stand up for their communities and who never gave up the fight for Oregon’s land use protections.

In Yamhill County, a number of property owners with claims under former Measure 37 had sought to go ahead with their large developments despite the passage of Measure 49.  The county granted these requests without considering the negative impacts of these developments on neighboring property owners.  These large development projects threatened rural land, the livability of these communities and the viability of local groundwater supplies.  The Friends of Yamhill County worked with neighbors, including farmers, vineyard owners and winemakers, to challenge four separate development proposals.

In 2008, the Yamhill County circuit court upheld the county’s decisions and the neighbors appealed the decisions. In the appeal, the neighbors pointed out that the landowners had not even started the large developments before Measure 49 passed. The owners had spent money on lawyers and consultants, but very little if any development had actually been done on the ground and the amounts the owners expended were a fraction of the total costs of these subdivisions.

While Yamhill County concluded the small amounts of monies spent on preparatory work were sizeable enough to allow the development to continue, the Oregon Court of Appeals rejected these arguments and reversed the trial court.  Now, instead of large subdivisions sprouting up on prime farmland and threatening water supplies, the owners will be able to pursue modest developments of up to three homes allowed under Measure 49.

Ilsa Perse from the Friends of Yamhill County stated: “While many people pursued modest claims under Measure 37, others pursued large developments that threatened farms, forests and water supplies.  Neighboring owners have property rights, too.  This ruling safeguards their interests as well. The court recognized the rights of neighbors while allowing owners to move forward with developments that meet the requirements of Measure 49.”

Measure 37 proponents insisted that its purpose was to allow rural landowners to build a few houses for their family.  In reality, Measure 37 resulted in over 6,800 claims.  More than half of those were for large subdivisions on valuable farm and forest lands.  When Oregonians realized the impact on local agriculture and water supplies, they passed Measure 49 to reign in the worst abuses and provide modest development options instead.  Measure 49 provided up to 3 houses per parcel without proof of financial loss, or more if the owner proved an actual financial loss. Measure 37 had not required any actual proof of loss.

David Adelsheim, President of Adelsheim Vineyard, stated: “Oregon winegrowers know the importance of preserving prime agricultural land. Oregon’s land use laws are the reason our industry exists today.  Without the establishment of Exclusive Farm Use zoning and Oregon’s comprehensive land use system, the hillsides our industry needs to produce the best grapes would have been dotted with housing developments instead of rows of Pinot noir vines.  No visitor would want to come to a Wine Country filled with rural subdivisions. We need to be able to count on the same protections going forward to insure that Oregon wines continue to flourish.”

In 2008, the Oregon wine industry had a $1.4 billion economic impact on the state, and the industry has continued to grow, even during the current recession.  Today’s court decision protects the industry from the development pressures encouraged by Measure 37. Ralph Bloemers, a staff attorney with the Crag Law Center, stated: “Many people sought to take advantage of Measure 37 and develop large residential subdivisions, commercial developments and gravel mines. These proposals threatened neighboring property rights, water supplies and undermined the efforts of people with more reasonable goals. This decision protects neighboring property owners and preserves Oregon’s valuable agricultural capabilities.”

For more information:

Read the complete decision:  Oregon Court of Appeals Decision – Friends of Yamhill County

Oregonian Story:  Controversial Yamhill County Measure 37 Claim

Oregonian Story:  Yamhill Cases Hinge on Vested Rights

Hinesight Blog:  Measure 49 Vested Rights Cases Reach Court of Appeals

Wines and Vines: Oregon’s Vineyards Protected from Developers

McMinnville News Register – Court Overturns Local Subdivision Ruling

In 2004, a majority of Oregonians voted for ballot initiative Measure 37 only to later discover that the measure threatened to unravel Oregon’s land use system. The measure permitted landowners to file claims demanding that all land use regulations be removed from their land while their neighbors were still subject to these laws. Neighboring farmers and rural landowners faced an onslaught of proposals from developers and logging companies seeking to convert Oregon’s farm and forest land into residential subdivisions, gravel pits and commercial developments. Over 7,500 claims were filed in the State of Oregon. In Hood River County alone, over one-quarter of all the farmland was threatened with rampant development.

Soon after the passage of Measure 37, the Crag Law Center was asked to help local landowners and citizen groups throughout Oregon to stop the worst abuses. We responded by providing a combination of quality legal support, education, outreach and advocacy to people seeking to protect their quality of life. We halted over 200 of the largest claims by filing challenges to the implementation of the law. Since 2004, we have worked for free or at a significantly reduced rate for local citizens to hold the line and protect Oregon’s natural resource lands.

We are currently working to defend the rugged headlands on the Oregon Coast, wine country in Yamhill County and important farmland in Clackamas, Marion, Linn, Josephine, Jackson and Polk Counties. On behalf of local citizens, we are working to make sure that developers are not able to game the system and continue with their plans under former Measure 37.

Our staff and volunteers are also working on a book that will capture the lessons that Oregonians have learned from its experiment with Measure 37 from a diverse range of perspectives.

Consider supporting us because we work with local people and citizens groups to protect the farmlands, forestlands and water supplies that you as Oregonians enjoy.

The Crag Law Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization and your support is tax deductible as allowed by law.

Five years after Measure 37 became law and two years after the voters passed Measure 49 to reign in the worst abuses of Measure, Crag is still working with local citizens, neighboring landowners and watchdog groups throughout the state to clean up the mess that Measure 37 created and to ensure that farmland, forestland and groundwater supplies are protected.

We are handling a number of legal actions in both state and federal court.  To allow us to continue this important work, we ask that you consider making a special donation to support our work this year by sending us a check or by making a donation online through our secure giving service.