Let Them Know What You Think!

~ 100friendsofportorford

Before the workshop on August 8, it is imperative that you let each member of the Port Orford City Council know where YOU stand when it comes to the golf course pipeline! Do you want them to go ahead and approve an agreement for use of the effluent, in spite of the fact that the city has much, much more pressing utility needs? Why should state money, promised by Senator David Brock Smith, be funneled into this dicey project that will profit nobody but the owners of a private enterprise? Which, we might add, is showing no appreciable progress after 10 years.

Remember, you need to talk to the councilors outside of this workshop. They will not be taking public comment then. Call them and/or email them if you have their personal info. You can try their city email addresses, but often their boxes are full or just not checked. These official addresses are on the city council page. Go to or phone their place of business! Buttonhole them on the street or in council chambers before the workshop! Tag them in local Facebook groups! Email us and let us know how it went! info@100friendsofportorford.org

The actual decision on this is coming later, but the sooner they hear from us that the pipeline is a bad idea, the better! They are surely hearing from the other side. But they need to look out for us, the citizens — not an LLC that has different interests.

Keep watching for the complete agenda packet here: https://portorford.org/public-notices/

They Are Not Wasting Time

~ 100friendsofportorford

Port Orford is holding a workshop this Thursday to discuss an agreement to provide its treated wastewater to the proposed golf course on the Knapp Ranch. It was only three weeks ago, on July 18, that the council approved another one-year extension of the pipeline CUPs. We expect that a week later, at the August 15 regular council meeting, there will be a decision.

Buckle up! This is the make-or-break moment. If the city goes for this deal, it is locked in to the pipeline project. The devil is not in the details here. It is a watershed. We had all better hope that the terms are good for Port Orford, now and forever, in any eventuality down the road — including the failure of the golf course, taking the pipeline with it. In that case, we had better not be depending on that outfall.

If built, it will be the third outfall constructed in recent years, including a failed one that the city is still paying off. We have to make sure we get it right from the beginning.

Below is the agenda. Findings and agreement are not yet available to the public. You may keep checking the city web site https://portorford.org/public-notices/, and we will post them when available.

Port Orford Just Bought a Pipeline

~ 100friendsofportorford

All That’s Left Is Negotiating a Price

The Port Orford City Council voted on July 18 to extend the conditional use permits for the treated wastewater pipeline that’s proposed to serve a so far unconstructed golf course well outside the city. It was the sixth time in eight years, and once again, only one councilor voted against. Is the city going to put its own infrastructure needs on hold and allow Elk River Property Development to play through? It seems so.

The three-hour hearing, on appeal of the Planning Commission’s unanimous No vote, went round and round the basic question: What does the municipal code say about extending CUPs? Apparently not enough, and not with sufficient clarity, to give the Council the confidence to affirm Planning’s decision. Rehashing the arguments here, with all of their lawyerly spin and logical contortions, would not be useful — the vote is in on this year’s extension, and every future request is likely to follow suit. [Sidebar: Planning needs to start revising the code so future applicants will have to meet clear requirements and standards.]

Everyone knows this pipeline project is a train wreck just short of impact. Yet in all of their quasi-judicial extension discussions over the years, decisionmakers have been straitjacketed, limited to precious few criteria for a Yea or a Nay. In other words, it was impossible for councilors to take into account how much has changed since 2016 — both for Port Orford and for the golf course enterprise. Yet who could miss the looming elephant in the room? Namely, does anybody still think this effluent pipeline is a good thing for the city, whatever that means, and if so, can we afford it? It’s time to have that talk, and it’s past time to revise those CUPs to reflect current realities.

However, ERPD wants the city to jump ahead and ratify an agreement for use of the city’s treated water. Expect that demand to come soon, because they’ve been pressing for it at least since January, and it was mentioned at the hearing. But an agreement before even the basic permits are in hand and before engineering is complete? Whoa. The first stab at an agreement was laughably deficient. We look forward to the next, which we hope finally names the price ERPD is willing to pay for the commodity they so obviously consider valuable.

Speaking of money, at the hearing, State Senator David Brock Smith revealed some of his thoughts on funding for PO water and sewer upgrades. Speaking by phone from the floor of the Republican National Convention (not making this up), he framed it like this: The $750,000 legislative appropriation the city received in the last session is meant for the secondary outfall on the golf course. It is ten percent of what Smith says will be a $7.5-million-dollar project.

Executing this smaller grant for the outfall, Smith says, will show the state that PO is capable of handling such grants. And convincing Salem of this is the first step in going after “tens of millions of dollars for a holistic system of water and wastewater in Port Orford.”

The first question that occurs is, Why must THIS project go first? Why not a small grant for critical drinking water needs, or to shore up the sewer plant, which we heard at this same meeting had had equipment failures just days before? A cynical person might think some quid pro quo is being teed up.

The smart money says, Let’s keep our eyes on the ball.

Ignoring the Plain Facts

~ 100friendsofportorford

PO Council To Hear Appeal of the
Pipeline Denial on July 18

Here we go again. On June 10, the Port Orford Planning Commission unanimously denied Elk River Property Development a SIXTH extension of its conditional use permits for an effluent pipeline to serve its proposed/barely-begun/not-completely-permitted golf course north of the city. The
ill-conceived project is proposed for farmland that is leased, not owned by ERPD, and which abuts the Wild and Scenic Elk River, known nationally for its Chinook salmon run.

Highest and best use for such land? Of course not. Respectful of zoning and Oregon land use principles? No.

Now comes ERPD’s attorney with an appeal of the Planning decision. (Of course.) We concur with that decision, but with a significant caveat: The choice was made (by whom?) to hear that application for extension in spite of Port Orford Municipal Code that bars extending a conditional use permit AFTER the previous permit has expired. That’s right. An applicant MUST come before Planning, be heard, and obtain an additional extension within a year. That year was up on April 20, 2024. The documents are clear, the law is clear, but ERPD is denying the plain facts.

The City Council can and must affirm the decision of the Planning Commission and further deny this benighted project. Reasons, you ask? Just scroll down in this web log. There are years and years of our testimony against this pipeline, against this golf course, in this place. Join us in telling the Council to say NO, once and for all, to involving the city in a risky, for-profit golf course! The cost-benefit of such a project just doesn’t pencil out. Port Orford would be forever enmeshed in a public-private partnership that would add an additional burden on our utilities, our staff, and our budgets for years to come.

Make no mistake: Oregon law requires the operator of a municipal sewage system that is the source of treated effluent to assume ownership and exert full oversight over any effluent disposal system as if it were a public utility. We can’t afford it, and we shouldn’t be continuing to pass the buck down the road until there is no return. We say, No more extensions!

Here is the web page for the city that contains the agenda and all of the other documents related to the matter. https://portorford.org/public-notices/ Let the Council know what you think! Email a comment to City Recorder/Planning Technician Joseph Harrison at jharrison@portorford.org. Or, just show up at the meeting and speak.

Short and Oh So Sweet!

~ 100friendsofportorford

At last night’s planning commission meeting, ERPD lost their latest bid to extend their conditional use permits. It was a 4 to 0 unanimous vote of NO. Look for them to appeal, because they claim to have put more than a million dollars into the project in the last year. But one thing has not changed: It is still a terrible idea to put a golf course on farmland near our treasured beaches and the wild and scenic Elk River.

The Zombie Pipeline, Part 2

~ 100friendsofportorford

The Hearing, the Facts, and the Law

It is a plain fact that the latest extension of Conditional Use Permits 16-02 and 16-03 for the effluent pipeline to the proposed golf course expired on April 20. It is also a fact that Port Orford Municipal Code requires an applicant for an additional one-year extension to get planning commission approval before the expiration of the previous one. That did not happen.

Pay no attention to the legal hocus-pocus.

The lawyer for the applicant, ERPD LLC, has conjured up a circumstance that he says suggests his client’s 2023-2024 extension should run until 2025. But he had the duty, it seems to us, to get last year’s approval in writing long, long ago. Then another extension request could have proceeded according to the procedures laid out in Port Orford’s code.

Did he and ERPD act in good faith?

The planning commission must not allow the applicant to gain a two-year extension by some legal sleight of hand. The fact is, Port Orford has laws, and they must be upheld.

The packet for the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, June 10, can be seen at this link.
https://portorford.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/planning-6.10.2024-agenda-3.pdf
It came out on Wednesday the 5th. Only two testimony letters are included. Will the commissioners and the public be able to see what comes in between Wednesday and Monday, or will those letters only be provided at the last minute, as the gavel goes down?

There is still time to email a comment to: jharrison@portorford.org. Or, just show up at the meeting and speak.

The Zombie Pipeline

~ 100friendsofportorford

We Have So Many Questions!

Once again, the effluent pipeline proposed to serve an as-yet-unbuilt golf course on leased farmland north of town is set to come before the Port Orford Planning Commission. It’s annual extension time, so mark your calendars for the June 10 meeting at 5:30 p.m. (Yes, you read that right. The commission has changed its regular meeting to the second Monday of the month, and for the summer at least, it will meet in the evening.) You can provide testimony during the time reserved for public comment.

How many extensions have been granted since the original approval in 2016? It’s not easy to keep straight, given the number of appeals that have occasionally stopped the clock, but it’s been eight years since the pipeline conditional use permits (CUPs 16-02 and 16-03) were first approved. We don’t think they have aged well.

Elk River Property Development (ERPD), the golf course developers, have failed to obtain crucial permits, most notably from the Department of Environmental Quality, which oversees all land application of effluent. There has not been any city review of the permit conditions. Extensions have been regularly granted, no tough questions asked. After so long, we need to know exactly where this project stands. Is it financially viable? Is it on track? Is it even the same project described in the permits? As we have noted, no recent mention of Pacific Gales Golf Course can be found on the Internet, in the golf press, or on local media.

In the last few years, it’s become increasingly clear that our water and sewer infrastructure is in dire condition. Major repairs and upgrades are needed, and though grants are being applied for, it will be a long haul. Can Port Orford really take on responsibility for a utility tailored to a private, for-profit golf course? Despite what the developers have promised, the city, as the municipal source of the effluent, must assume management of the pipeline, from approval of construction plans onward. (We wrote about this on February 3: It Isn’t Over Until It’s Over) At a minimum, Port Orford will need to find the funds for expert advice and supervision.

This is the backstory we need to keep in mind. But the burning question is, why is another extension being considered at all? The last one expired on April 20, and the CUPs legally died. Yet Port Orford is bending over backward to resurrect them.

This year’s application for an extension, it is claimed, “fell through the cracks.” In January, it was emailed to the contract planner, who didn’t recognize it as an application, we were told. Really? (Read the applicant’s letter here Letter to Port Orford 1.3.2024) Months went by. A letter from the mayor appeared in March, stating that the 2023 extension was in effect until April 20, 2024. Was it a legal nicety (per the applicant’s letter), or a delaying tactic? We struggle to understand why no hearing was scheduled before the extensions expired. Why did ERPD allow this to happen? It should be fatal to the project, since the Municipal Code is clear that “Authorization of a conditional use shall be void after one year,” though “the Planning Commission may extend authorization for an additional period not to exceed one year, upon written application.” That, of course, did not happen in time.

Finally, we heard that Planning will consider new CUP extensions in June. But it won’t be a quasi-judicial land use hearing, which would mean, among other things, longer notice – especially to property owners along the pipeline route. And we were told at first that no testimony would be accepted! That’s just wrong, and it took some protesting to get them to acknowledge the public’s right to weigh in.

We have so many questions, but maybe the agenda for June 10 will provide some explanations. Or maybe we’re simply in for another frustrating ride on the pipeline merry-go-round, with the brass ring always out of reach.

It Isn’t Over Until It’s Over

~ 100friendsofportorford

When it comes to the proposed golf course, the end seems to be receding far into an uncertain future of roughs and hazards. Especially water hazards.

Speaking of uncertainties, what is up with this supposed project? For years it’s gone by the name of Pacific Gales, with a flashy Web site. But that’s just a blank space now. IT’S GONE And when the developer, Elk River Property Development, came to the Port Orford City Council on January 18 for a “workshop,” the agreement they presented referred to it as “the TBD golf course.”

Some kind of game is going on here, and it isn’t golf.

On the 18th, ERPD teed up a draft Sewer Treatment Facility Water Use Agreement [ see it below ], hoping for a quick approval at the regular council meeting that followed. The council didn’t go that far, but did suggest another workshop, with ERPD’s engineering firm, The Dyer Partnership, to be held prior to the March city council meeting. Even two months away, this is wildly premature.

What has paused the construction of the pipeline for eight years now is ERPD’s failure to complete the Department of Environmental Quality’s permitting process. Under Oregon law, in order to be able to apply recycled water for a beneficial purpose, such as landscape irrigation of a golf course, an applicant must first obtain both a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and a Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) permit from DEQ. This is to protect the quality of groundwater for public health as well as for the environment.

ERPD got the secondary discharge point on the proposed golf course piggybacked onto the NPDES permit for Port Orford’s wastewater treatment plant during a past renewal. The WPCF permit is solely the responsibility of ERPD, but they deliberately haven’t completed the Recycled Water Use Plan (RWUP) they need in order to get it.

A DEQ official confirmed: “I heard from Troy Russell last year after the city received fund[s] from the state legislature for water recycling (SB948 …), but I don’t have an update[d] recycle[d] water use plan from him yet. The application is a Water Pollution Control Facilities ‘individual’ permit.” This procrastination has enabled ERPD to come back to Port Orford for repeated extensions of their conditional use permits. Why? Because they don’t want to admit they don’t have enough money for their project. It’s just easier to blame DEQ for permitting delays that are ERPD’s own fault.

We suspect they would like to use their proposed water use agreement with Port Orford to escape the need for CUP extensions once and for all. But they can’t ignore state mandates, which are detailed and complex.

General Requirements for Permitting the Use of Recycled Water

Briefly, they include DEQ approval of

  • NPDES and WPCF permits
  • a recycled water use plan
  • compliance with rules for use of recycled water on land zoned Exclusive Farm Use
  • any additional requirements DEQ may specify to protect public health and the environment
  • a water right from the Oregon Water Resources Department
  • a separate NPDES permit if wetlands and/or groundwater are affected

These are not simply check-box forms, which completely deflates ERPD’s claim at the workshop that they just have to work out some additional chlorination of the recycled water, and then they’re good to go.

For further information, you can view the relevant Oregon Administrative Rules at DEQ, Chapter 340, Division 55, Recycled Water Use. HERE

But wait. There’s more.

Construction of the pipeline must also be approved by DEQ before work can begin. “Without first obtaining a permit from the Director, a person may not:
… Construct, install, modify, or operate any disposal system or part thereof or any extension or addition thereto …” (Chapter 340, Division 45, Regulations Pertaining To NPDES And WPCF Permits, Section 0015)  HERE

Underline that last paragraph and highlight it.

It’s reinforced under Submittal of Plans: “No construction, installation or modification shall be commenced until the plans and specifications submitted to the Department are approved.” ERPD cannot even begin work until it has permits in hand, plus DEQ approval of the engineering. (Chapter 340, Division 052, Section 0015) HERE

In addition, as owner of the sewage system that is the source of the recycled water, the City of Port Orford needs to pay close attention to the OARs that govern its duties regarding plans for the pipeline.

“The owner of the sewerage system (generally a municipality) as recipient of any construction work on its system has a vested responsibility to review and approve project plans prior to the start of construction. Department approval of plans under these rules does not preclude the right and responsibility of review and approval by the owner. The owner may adopt more stringent construction standards and impose special conditions for sewer use, service connection, and related activities.” (Chapter 340, Division 052, Section 0040; emphasis supplied) HERE

Then, if the applicant gets to this stage in the process, yet another NPDES permit is required — to monitor stormwater discharges to surface waters from construction and industrial activities. LINK

Public Notice and Participation Requirements for Permitting Actions

Last, but certainly not least as far as the public is concerned, notice will be required when issuing a new WPCF. There will be at least 35 days to submit written comments. If a hearing is scheduled, 30 days’ notice is required. DEQ may determine that a hearing is necessary, OR members of the public may request one. LINK

Whew. Let’s say the quiet part out loud — ERPD has a very long way to go and many steps to take before its pipeline is shovel ready. And we can guarantee it won’t be happening in spring 2024.

Meanwhile, the city council should make no commitments, sign no agreements, and hand out no money (especially not any of the $750,000 the legislature gave the city) until this project is much closer to completion. If it ever is. Otherwise the city would be buying a pig in a poke — with taxpayer money.

That isn’t the way a public-private partnership is supposed to work.

erpd-draft-water-use-agreementDownload

Senator Smith and the Christmas Tree

~ 100friendsofportorford

At the end of any Oregon legislative session, we’re likely to see a “Christmas tree” bill come up for a vote. That’s the term used to describe a bill laden with so many “ornaments” that it becomes a Christmas tree, including something for practically every legislator and thus guaranteeing a vote to pass.

In this already fraught session, it’s a 124-page omnibus budget reconciliation bill, which implements the remaining adjustments to state agencies’ legislatively adopted budgets for the 2023 to 2025 biennium, as well as providing many appropriations for favorite local projects around the state.

And onto this tree, Senator David Brock Smith has hung his gift to the proposed but severely cash-strapped Pacific Gales Golf Course of $750,000 for a recycled water pipeline for irrigation. Though we thought that his bill, SB 948, had died in committee, here on the Christmas tree the same appropriation glitters again.

Smith has been crystal clear about what the funds are to be used for. On April 20, 2023, he told the Port Orford City Council, “The City is the recipient of the [$750,000] resources to assist with the construction of the pipeline” to the golf course. He was testifying during the hearing of an appeal of the approval of the fifth extension of conditional use permits for that pipeline project.

“When it comes to this extension and these CUPs,” Smith said, “it’s very simple, colleagues, uh councilors, this will save the citizens of Port Orford millions of dollars, and the reason is that you have a public/private partnership where you have a private entity that is willing to put in a secondary outfall for the citizens of Port Orford.”

But Smith knows very well that this pot of money will not serve Port Orford’s real need – to shore up our failing drinking water infrastructure. The city has a functioning sewer outfall. What we desperately need are fixes for our water impound and the pipes that carry water to every home and business in the city.

What is Smith doing to help? Not much that we can see, though he blusters when you bring it up – as he did publicly on April 20. He insists he’s “having conversations” and “writing letters” and “talking with our federal partners all the time.” Really, Senator? Show us the money.

What’s plain is that he’s up in Salem diligently scrounging funds for Elk River Property Development, a private business, and calling it delivering for the city and citizens. Is it right to use taxpayer money to benefit a private business this way? We’re not going to get a hearing on the merits of this giveaway. It’s just one line on the budget, one shiny object among many on the Christmas tree.

We Don’t Need to Be Bandon!

~ 100friendsofportorford

Oregon’s south coast already has one village dominated by golf – the rich person’s sport.

Port Orford has been dogged for years by a golf course developer that offers nothing, but demands access to our recycled water. Why did the city ever think approving this was a good idea? Seven years on, it’s looking more dire than ever. It’s time to rethink renewing the conditional use permits for a fifth time when there’s been no progress from one year to the next.

There’s nothing standing in the way of the city council coming to a different decision at the hearing on April 20. The Land Use Board of Appeals said that Port Orford is free to interpret its code as it sees fit. In fact, there’s everything to recommend an about face.

After all, these golfers (like an increasing number of vacation rental owners and managers) don’t even live here. They just want to make money here. Will a golf course completely outside city control be good for us? No. It will be a completely self-contained system, with golfers playing, maybe eating, and then leaving. They even said that quiet part out loud years ago. “You won’t even know we’re here,” said the developer’s representative at a public meeting.

Think about it. Where’s the benefit?  

There’s plenty of downside. We have serious water infrastructure problems. The city struggles with governance that is dependent on volunteers. The lack of affordable housing hurts people who already live and work here. Money must go out, but it is not exactly flooding in. And the golf course developer will be getting the recycled water for free, according to an agreement made with a former council.

What You Can Do

Please look at the staff report included below. We’ve extracted it from the council packet, along with the agenda for the council meeting. As of today, Sunday, it is not yet publicly available on the city’s web site.

Don’t be fazed by the volume of detail. The important part starts on page 36 of the packet (page 16 of the PDF below). These are the “findings” that ERPD, the would-be golf course developer, has submitted for the city council to adopt. Technically, these are the only facts that can be considered. Never mind any underlying conditions and problems Port Orford is dealing with? You should mind.

po-cc-4.20.23-hearing-informationDownload

Number 10 of the findings is at the heart of the matter. It says in part that “DEQ approval is still needed.” What it doesn’t say is that ERPD has been dragging out DEQ’s recycled water permit process. They simply have not supplied information needed to complete the permit. This allows them to keep coming back for CUP renewals, implying that they need more time because it’s . . . difficult.

Without the permit, they are “excused” from doing any construction. But we suspect that they just can’t find enough investment even to get started. Maybe that’s because Bandon Dunes is building its seventh course now, and Mike Keiser has his eye on property south of Bandon for yet another golf course. A new Bandon Dunes-style megaplex? Where is the incentive in North Curry to compete with that?  

Tell the Port Orford City Council that time is up. Write a letter saying that you want them to deny this extension. They have every right to do so. They should do so. It’s just that simple.

Submit your letter as soon as you can so that the councilors have time to read it, but you have until noon on April 20. See “How to Provide Testimony” in the Appeal Hearing Notice reproduced below. You can also attend the hearing and give oral testimony — or both!

E-mail GMilliman@portorford.org to submit testimony. Gary Milliman is the Interim City Administrator. Jessica Ginsburg is no longer with the city. The main phone number of City Hall is 541-332-3681. The 541-366-4568 number in the notice is for the clerk, but may be more direct.

appeal-hearing-notice-4.20.2023Download