Ron Wyden: “I am joined by my Oregon colleague, Senator Smith, in offering an amendment to S. 2513. My amendment will provide the…”

“I am joined by my Oregon colleague, Senator Smith, in offering an amendment to S. 2513. My amendment will provide the critical final step to enable Deschutes County, Oregon, in the completion of more than three years of intense work that they have done to find an effective way to protect their groundwater and wetlands from inappropriate residential development. Deschutes County has completed several years collaborative work to resolve a number of extraordinarily difficult land use problems in that county. In particular, the County faces the prospect of development of more than 13,000 subdivided lots in the vicinity of the Deschutes River in the southern half of the county. More than half of these lots have not yet been developed, and the county now knows that if it does not prevent the further development of these lands, they are going to have major, intractable pollution of the groundwater and of the Deschutes River. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality tells us that at present rates of growth, this area faces serious ground water quality problems over the next decade. Further, these lands constitute the most important wildlife and wetlands habitat in the area.”