City Hopes Asking for Extension on Surface Water Rule
By Andrew Clevenger/The Bulletin
Bend has hired a lobbyist to help the city make its case for a longer timeline to comply with state and federal rules regarding its drinking water supply.
The city chose Dan Bates of Thorn Run Partners — a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm — to help it deal with rules concerning the potentially fatal microbe cryptosporidium. Before joining Thorn Run, Bates served as director of government relations for Portland.
“(The City) Council had made the decision a couple of months ago to get some assistance with our surface water project,” city manager Eric King said. “Dan Bates with Thorn Run Partners was hired to help us put together our case for the state.”
Bates refused to comment for this article, and referred all questions to King.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water (LT2) rule — which has been in effect since 2006 — targets high-risk water systems, particularly those that include open-air water storage. The cost for a water treatment plant for Bend’s Bridge Creek water system is projected at $29 million.
In November, the Oregon Health Authority announced that it intends to give Portland a 10-year variance from the stricter standards. Bend considered formally requesting a similar variance, but concluded that it was unlikely to succeed, King said.
Since the city began testing its water in 2005, it has found cryptosporidium in amounts higher than allowed under the regulations seven different times. Portland had no occurrences during the year leading up to its application.
Earlier this month, Bend officials wrote to the Oregon Health Authority, acknowledging that they were not seeking a variance like Portland’s but would like more time to allow the city to put in pipes under Skyliners Road to replace aging conduits built in the 1920s and 1950s.
Bates, who is a registered lobbyist on Capitol Hill, will also monitor developments as the EPA reviews its LT2 rule in 2012, King said.
The decision to hire Bates “came from Dan’s experience in working with Portland – he had a very good handle on the issues,” King said.
Bend’s contract with Thorn Run Partners runs through April 1 and is “not to exceed $9,900,” said Bend purchasing manager Gwen Chapman.
Bates joined Thorn Run Partners in 2010. The Portland resident worked for the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying giant Patton Boggs, LLC, before working for Portland.
A cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee’s drinking water in 1993 led to more than 100 deaths, largely elderly people and people with weakened immune systems. More recently, the pathogen sickened dozens of people at an Idaho water park in August 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
