Beet piles are getting large at this beet dump along Railroad Avenue, west of Clark Boulevard in this photo from October of 2016. From there, the beets will be hauled to Amalgamated Sugar Company’s processing plant at Nampa.
WASHINGTON — As part of the government funding measure, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden was able to secure key priorities for Oregon, including two that will help Malheur County.
In a news release issued Thursday, Walden announced the Payment in Lieu of Taxes was fully funded at $500 million for counties as reimbursement for property taxes not paid on federal lands. For Malheur County, PILT amounts to more than $2 million to the General Fund.
“These funds ensure communities in our district have law enforcement, infrastructure and local services,” Walden said in statement. Because the majority of the land in our district is controlled by the federal government, the PILT program provides vital fund to rural Oregon.
“Nice, nice,” was the response of Malheur County Judge Dan Joyce on the PILT funding.
He said there has been a lot of cooperation from the Department of Interior which disperses the funding.
In another provision, the bill provides the federal weight exemption for sugar beet growers in Malheur County to use heavier trucks. Up to 120,000 in hauling beets to the processing plant in Nampa.
“It will lower our freight rates,” said Bruce Corn, Ontario area farmer.
“By lifting an onerous transportation regulations on Oregon’s sugar beet growers, they will be able to use the same trucks on the Oregon and Idaho highways to haul their beets,” Walden.
In addition, the bill appropriates funding for research on wheat production.
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