In just a few days the comment period for Oregon’s Climate Protection Plan will close. It is especially important for rural Oregonians to let state officials know how they feel about the plan now. DEQ will only consider comments on the proposed rules that DEQ receives by 4 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2021. Email: GHGC*****@**q.state.or.us
As a result of Governor Brown’s 2020 Executive Order 20-04, we have a chance to encourage the Department of Environmental Quality to deliver a program that puts the state on track to do its share to address the climate crisis. DEQ has developed a Climate Protection Program that could put the state on a substantial downward greenhouse gas trajectory. While it has positive components, this program could be stronger, and historically, such plans can become weaker if constituents other than corporations are not heard from.
Although time is short, below are some resources to help you prepare your comments. Engaging at this level is one of the most impactful actions you can take to make a difference – don’t miss this opportunity to be heard.
Here are some quick tips for writing your letter to the Oregon DEQ; and there is more information from SOCAN here.
Below is example of a personalized letter submitted by SOPA core team member Catie Faryl:
Nine reason to include agricultural carbon sequestration in Oregon’s Climate Protection Plan
Submitted by Catie Faryl to O.D.E.Q at September 22, 2021 Hearing
- Carbon sequestration is a viable system being practiced worldwide to capture and retain carbon. There are many new tools to make measuring, sequestering, documenting and managing payments available. As more landowners and investors engage in the programs, monitoring and management have become simpler.
- Tilling soil at shallow levels to remove or reduce weeds is not detrimental to carbon sequestration. Carbon is stored deep in the soil, not on or near the surface.
- There are businesses and nonprofits that support the financial systems necessary to measure and determine financial payments to landowners based on their records of sequestered carbon. A few of these are Nori Corporation, COMET-Farm, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado State University, Cultivate Oregon, Friends of Family Farms, and many others
- Carbon Farming involves implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant materials and/or soil organic matter.
- Farmers and working landowners are interested in participating in carbon rewards programs.
- Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is both a long term and short term solution to reducing carbon emission and in offsetting other GHG emissions. We need more support from DEQ to allow the compost of food waste and the collection of manure and other organic materials that can be used as SOM. Also simply covering the soil during non-growing times can greatly reduce the amount of carbon that is lost to the atmosphere.
- Carbon sequestration practices can be adopted by ranchers, shepherds, orchardists, vintners, gardeners as well as farmers. Parks, golf courses and public lands can also join this movement.
- We must realize that the oceans have been absorbing our polluting GHG for centuries and they are now saturated. Ocean currents are collapsing as desalination occurs – icebergs and glaciers are melting and make the oceans less salty. The currents that regulate climate, moving warm water north and cold water south. are disappearing. The forests are under siege from fires, insect infestations, mismanagement and lack of understanding of the workings of nature. As terrestrials we humans must look to the land now to solve the problems of the climate crisis.
- Carbon sequestration in working lands is a large and accessible solution to climate change.
Submit written comments to DEQ by Oct. 4 at GHGC*****@**q.state.or.us or via snail mail (time is short for this method): Office of Greenhouse Gas Programs, 700 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 600 Portland, OR 97232-4100. Comments must be received by 4 p.m. Oct. 4, 2021. Visit https://socan.eco/cpp-comments/ to find more information.