LA GRANDE, Ore – Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner) has called upon Speaker of the House Dave Hunt (D-Gladstone) and the House Natural Resource Chair Brian Clem (D-Salem) to advance House Bill 3608, a bipartisan piece of legislation that will provide financial incentives for the transportation and production of woody biomass materials originating from Oregon’s dead and dying forests.
HB 3608 establishes a tax credit for the transportation of woody biomass from forests to biofuels producers, a tax credit for biomass electrical generation, and a tax credit for the purchase of equipment to collect or process waste materials. The bill also directs the Oregon Department of Energy to conduct a study of biomass facility sites in Oregon.
“As we all know, there is a real need to put Oregonians back to work, especially in Union and Wallowa Counties,” said Rep Smith. “Forest experts have told me that approximately 4.25 million acres of Oregon forestland have the potential to profitably harvest woody biomass through thinning excess trees. By passing this legislation, we will not only create more jobs in the woods, but also increase forest health and help reduce the potential for wildfires.”
The legislation I am supporting compliments the work Congressman Greg Walden is advocating in Washington D.C.,” said Representative Smith. “While he works to open up the national forest for thinning, I am working to have the financial incentives in place to induce industry to return to Northeast Oregon.”
(Mace Cadwell: Owner of Bronson Lumber Co. in Union and Wallowa Counties)
In 2009, Representative Smith was successful in passing into law HB 3112, which provided for a personal property tax exemption for logging equipment until 2018 and allows machinery dating back to 1992 to be included.
Support for legislation:
“The legislation Representative Smith is working on is needed if we are to have a viable biomass sector in the logging industry in NE Oregon. Not only will the bill move Oregon loggers from the unemployment lines, it will move Oregon’s green energy into the nations power lines” said Mike Wiedeman, co-owner of Ant Flat Renewables of Enterprise. Wiedeman, is also president of the American Loggers Council. The ALC represents 30 state and regional logging associations whose membership comprise over 50% of the US logging capacity.
“It is only by returning to a natural resource based economy, where we can harvest timber, are we going to strengthen Oregon’s economy and put people back to work,” said Mace Cadwell, owner of Bronson Lumber in Union and Wallowa Counties. “I appreciate Greg’s work on this issue.”
“Representative Smith’s bipartisan legislation to promote the harvesting of biomass materials will greatly assist business and industry in Northeast Oregon,” said Gary Neal, General Manager at the Port of Morrow. “Financial incentives for the transportation and production of woody biomass materials originating from Oregon’s dead and dying forests will generate new jobs right here at home.”
