Burnt River Irrigation District

19498 Hwy 245

Hereford, Oregon 97837

Phone 541-446-3313

E-Mail: briver@ortelco.net

March 18, 2011

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Water Quality Division

811 SW 6^th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97201

Subject: TMDL Rulemaking

To: Andrea Matzke

A. I, along with several members of this district, attended the public meeting on February 7, 2011 in Ontario Oregon. Several items stood out in the presentation and prompts a few questions:

(1)  Why must Oregon impose significantly more stringent water quality standards than our neighboring states when much of our water either originates in those states or at least passes through them?

(2)  Why was the fish consumption of Puget Sound tribes used as a guideline to base fish consumption from Oregon streams?

(3)  From what body(ies) of water did the fish come from that was used to determine the amount of fish consumed by these tribes? Was it local northwest fish, fresh water live stream fish, or did it include imported fish, farmed fish, or fish from the sea?

B. We strongly object to DEQ being involved with, and overseeing, ODA’s Agriculture Water Quality Management Program (AGWQMP). Our people spent many hours working with ODA to develop a plan that addresses the water quality issues while allowing producers the ability the continue to use their land for agricultural production. Over the years, producers have developed a strong and productive working relationship with ODA. We would hate to see that partnership compromised by the unnecessary intrusion and overzealous regulatory activity of DEQ.

C. While any attempt by DEQ to directly regulate farming practices through any mechanism, particularly “Implementation-Ready” TMDLs would be in direct conflict with Oregon law, we look on this effort as a

back-door approach to accomplish that objective.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input and express our concerns.

Jerry Franke, Manager