Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Testimony at Council Hearing Sept 5, 2012

For the Record, Agenda Item 997 - September 5, 2012

Today I voice a position supported by the full MTNA by unanimous vote at our neighborhood meeting last month.

Hypalon-like covers are one of EPA’s approved methods of LT2 compliance.  They are cheaper and they make us fully compliant. 

At this moment it is Common Sense vs. Over Engineering.  It is Preservation vs. New Construction.  Always before, in the LT2 conversation you’ve been forced to align yourselves counter to Portland’s culture.  You’ve had to choose Over Engineering and New Construction when what you’ve wanted was Common Sense and Preservation.
But not anymore.  There is no reason to continue on with Kelly Butte, or any other part of PWB’s current compliance plan for LT2.  You have a new option, one that’s not been on the table before.  The groups that have opposed this option in the past, support it today.  Business, public health, environmental, equity, and neighborhood groups are all on board.  The groups that oppose your current compliance plan SUPPORT this plan.  Even the groups that have opposed compliance on principle, SUPPORT this plan.


We ask you to reject Water Bureau’s attempts to muddle the conversation at the last minute with untested claims that these structures are unsafe and too old.   These are tired arguments, they’ve been addressed before in other forums and we can address them again if the community so desires.

LT2 is a Federal beast that has stripped us of local power.  We dare not mix into our relationship with LT2  any other project, or we unnecessarily hand over local control of those issues too.  Every other, non-LT2 project should be staged, costs and approach, in a way that best suits our community without the LT2 gun to our heads.
MTNA supports a change in our compliance plan to include Hypalon-like covers.


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