Oregon Forest Water Protection from Pesticide Treatment Initiative (2020)

Oregon Forest Water Protection from Pesticide Treatment Initiative

Election date
November 3, 2020
Topic
Water and Environment
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
State statute| Origin
Citizens

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List of Oregon measuresOregon Measure 107Oregon Measure 108Oregon Measure 109Oregon Measure 110Submit

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The Oregon Forest Water Protection from Pesticide Treatment Initiative (Initiative #46) did not appear on the ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.

The measure would have regulated the use of aerial pesticide treatments near forest water by prohibiting aerial application within 500 feet of all forest waters.[1][2][3]

On February 10, 2020, petitioners announced that they had signed an agreement with petitioners of opposing ballot initiatives—Initiative #53, Initiave #54, and Initiative #55—to work together to achieve forest regulation reform via the legislature rather than the initiative process. Twenty-six groups signed the cooperative memorandum. One side of the debate included groups like Oregon Wild, the Audubon Society of Portland, and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. The other side included timber companies, like Stimson Lumber, Roseburg Forest Products, and Weyerhaeuser. The agreement focused on reforming the Oregon Forest Practices Act of 1971 with the aim to enact new legislation by the February 2022 legislative session. The agreement set up an 18-month process to establish a federally approved “habitat conservation plan,” which would take into account the Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts and the interests of the timber industry. Additionally, the two sides agreed to support a bill that would limit aerial pesticide treatments and allow regulations that would restrict logging near streams in southern Oregon’s Siskiyou region. On April 7, 2020, both sides of the agreement formally withdrew their petitions from the Oregon Secretary of State.[4][5]

## Contents

* 1 Text of measure
* 1.1 Ballot title
* 1.2 Ballot summary
* 1.3 Full text
* 2 Path to the ballot
* 2.1 The state process
* 2.2 Details about this initiative
* 3 See also
* 4 Footnotes

## Text of measure[edit]

### Ballot title[edit]

The draft ballot title for this measure was as follows:[3]

“  | Expands area around forest waterbodies where aerial pesticide spraying prohibited; increases notice requirements for spraying[6] | ”

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### Ballot summary[edit]

The draft ballot summary for this measure was as follows:[3]

“  | Oregon Forest Practices Act currently prohibits aerial pesticide spraying for forestry purposes near drinking water streams, fishbearing streams, and other waters, generally 60 feet. Certain chemicals require 300 feet. Notice to State Forester required at least 15 days before spraying, including pesticide name, location. Notice provided to public upon request.

Measure prohibits aerial pesticide spraying on forestland within 500 feet of any waterbody, including wetlands, lakes, ponds, streams, and springs. Notice required at least 14, no more than 21 days in advance, including pesticide amount. Forester provides notice to interested parties within one mile of spraying. Requires updated safety rules. Measure does not apply to federal/tribal lands or some state lands managed for the Common School Fund. No landowner compensation if property values reduced.[6]

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### Full text[edit]

The full text of the measure is available here.

## Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Oregon

### The state process[edit]

In Oregon, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signatures for Oregon initiatives must be submitted four months prior to the next regular general election. State law also requires paid signature gatherers to submit any signatures they gather every month.

Moreover, Oregon is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany an initiative petition application. The signatures of at least 1,000 electors are required to trigger a review by state officials, a period of public commentary, and the drafting of a ballot title. Prior to gathering these initial 1,000 signatures, petitioners must submit the text of the measure, a form disclosing their planned use of paid circulators, and a form designating up to three chief petitioners. The 1,000 preliminary signatures count toward the final total required.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2020 ballot:

* Signatures: 112,020 valid signatures were required.
* Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 2, 2020.

In Oregon, signatures are verified using a random sample method. If a first round of signatures is submitted at least 165 days before an election and contains raw, unverified signatures at least equal to the minimum requirement, but verification shows that not enough of the submitted signatures are valid, additional signatures can be submitted prior to the final deadline.

### Details about this initiative[edit]

* The initiative was filed by Kate Crump, Vikram Anantha, and Micha Elizabeth Gross on October 2, 2019, after initiatives #34, #35, and #36, which also concerned protection of forest waters, were rejected on September 24, 2019. It was filed with Initiative #45 and Initiative #47, which also establish regulations to protect forest water.[2]
* On March 9, 2020, the petition was approved for circulation.[2]
* On April 7, 2020, petitioners withdrew the initiative.[2]

## See also[edit]

2020 measures

* 2020 ballot measures
* Water on the ballot
* Environment on the ballot

Oregon

* Oregon ballot measures
* Oregon ballot measure laws

News and analysis

* Ballot measure lawsuits
* Ballot measure readability
* Ballot measure polls

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## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Complete Text of Initiative #46," accessed October 3, 2019
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Oregon Secretary of State, "Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division Initiative, Referendum, and Referral Search for 2020," accessed October 3, 2019
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Oregon Secretary of State, "Attorney General Letter for Initiative 46," accessed November 12, 2019
4. ↑ The Ridgefield Press, "Timber companies, environmentalists sign 'historic' pact," February 10, 2020
5. ↑ OPB, "Environmentalists And Timber Industry Reach Agreement On Forests, Avoiding Oregon Ballot Fights," February 10, 2020
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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