12/23/1974 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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measures as soon as' possible to protect the upper McKenz.ie River by creation of an authority to control development and assure domestic water supp,ly and water quality protection. lIe said development could occur under condi;tions outlined in reports, issued by DEQ and the County which could apply particularly to developments along the banks of the McKenzie were effluent could seep into the river. He thought a .. metropolitan sewer system was the only answer for that a.rea but there exist no ad- I ministrative bodies now to accomplish the work. He noted LCOG development of a , I master plan for water supply and watersheds in the area l;vere three to six months in I I the future. He also noted recent bills in Congress with regard to- water purity in I, the entire nation, and asked Council approval, consent, or criticism of his bill as presented. Councilman Williams asked why Mr. Freeman had brought the legislation to the Council for endorsement rather than to EWEB. Mr. Freeman answered that he believed it to ! be a city-wide problem, and that EWEB authority was limited under ordinances creat- i ing it. He said he would welcome referral of the legislation to them or to the DEQ or County or any other agency deemed appropriate. But he felt a statement from the Council endorsing the bill would especially influence any action taken. He added that EWEB had adopted a resolution recommending purity of the McKenzie River,'~ be maintained by appropriate agencies,. and that the question was what agencies were the appropriate ones. Mr. Murray moved seconded' by Mr. Williams that the' Council go on record ! indicating concern with the issue and refer the proposal to the Eugene Water & Electric Board for comment and recommendation. I , ; Lloyd Staples, geology professor at the Universi ty of Oz'egon, expressed concern that e- ! the issue might be dJ,6jtical from a standpoint of time, that large dev~lopments could ,occur in the upper McKenzie, many with guarantees that no effluent wo~ld reach near~ ' , , by water streams which in some cases would not hold true. Careful stutlies of ter- rain were needed and an authority established with results of those studies before them to determine where building should occur. There was no knowledge or mapping available at this time to determine where seepage could occur. Councilman Keller wondered whether the proposed legislation would duplicate efforts of the DEQ,or Lane County. And he wondered about residents in the McKenzie area, whether they had met ip this regard. Mr. Freeman said the DEQ had advised that the Land Conservation and Development Commission would not be in operation for at least a year and it was doubtful whether it would have police power. He said that accord- ing to the County Sanitarian the only solution would be a master sewer system and that was borne out in the comprehensive plan for that area. He said he was a member of several McKenzie River community groups and although he wasn't speaking for them he was sure they all were concerned. Mayor Anderson restated the motion at the request of Councilman McDonald. Then in 1 response to Mr. McDonald about EWEB's position with regard to the bill, Glen Stadler, I EWEB public relations, said a resolutio~ making a general statement with regard to water purity had been prepared for the Board's consideration but had not yet been I I adopted. Mr. Freeman recalled that EWEB itself was created because of a crisis i e situation in the early 1900's, and he felt this also was a crisis situation. Jmrn "" .,'"" Mayor Anderson brought the discussion to a close and vote was taken on " the motion as stated. Motion carried unanimously. I Approve -- -_._._~.-_._._- - -~~----_._----- -- "-+- ---.- -_. -----_.~..__.- .--... - ''12118/74 J. ;Legislative Program, 1975 Session - Ed Johnson, attorney, was introduced as the city's \SJ- !legislative liaison, working full time in developing a program for the 1975 session. IManager noted that Lane County had asked to share in Mr. Johnson's services, paying I :part of the cost, whj.ch had not been discouraged al thou~Th there was some question i that he would have time to handle programs for both agencies. Copies of memo from I 'Mr. Johnson outlining probable legislative issues were previously distributed to I 1 Council members with the idea of review and discussion at a later meeting. Manager said he would add to the list legislation to define and improv~ procedures under , , : the Fasano ruling to effect some procedures for .making :mne chan'ge and land use Idecisons less complicated. Also, copies of final wording of various League of Oregon :Cities resolutions and reworded League municipal policy would be made available to the Council. , Manager said there had been some discussion of the city's hiring another lobbyist I to work in Salem specifically on field burning legislation since it was learned I the grass seed growers had employed a very capable, well regard lobbying firm to . i help them in their efforts to obtain extension of the ban on f.ield burning beyond the January 1, 1975 deadline. Estimated cost of an extra lobbyist for this purpose was between $5,000 and $10,000; money would have to come from the emergency fund. Manager added that Fred Mohr, now co-ordinating efforts to hold firm on the ban, had indicated it desirable to have a person at the Legislature to do this work. -- . --.---.-.-- -'-------..---,-", 12/2'3174 - 5 ~21-