Commissioner Hamsher requests help in resolving PC mill shutdown
By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, March 13th, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
PRAIRIE CITY – Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher has issued a letter to local elected officials, asking for help following the shutdown of the Prairie Wood Products lumber mill in Prairie City. The mill has been shut down since March 1st with the majority of its workers laid off, due to a misinterpretation between Dr. Johnson Lumber Company, PWP’s parent company, and the USDA Forest Service regarding reimbursement for a transportation grant.
Commissioner Hamsher hopes that his efforts in reaching out to elected officials will prompt in-depth conversations to resolve the issue. Commissioner Hamsher told our newsroom, “It is crucial for the benefit of all Grant County that we maintain sufficient timber supply to both Prairie Wood Products and Malheur Lumber Company, which are key economic drivers in our county. Grant County’s economy relies heavily on the wood products industry and agriculture, which will continue to drive growth for years to come.”
When asked to provide insight on the situation, Malheur National Forest Public Affairs Specialist Amy Franklin said she had spoken with District Ranger Ann Niesen, and “Ann highlighted that it’s important for us at the Forest Service to support rural, timber, and wood-based economies. These sectors are not only vital for the sustainability of our natural resources but also for the livelihoods of the communities we serve.
We are working with Prairie Wood Products to address a current matter concerning the application of a $3 million Hazardous Fuels Transportation Grant they were awarded in December 2023.
The intent of the Hazardous Fuels Transportation Grants is to treat hazardous fuels that traditionally would not be economically viable, while also safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders involved to ensure fairness.”
Elkhorn Media Group has been reaching out to DR Johnson Lumber Company and Prairie Wood Products for comment since Thursday, March 7th, and will provide updates if any comments are submitted.
Find Commissioner Hamsher’s letter to elected officials below:
(Letter from Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher)
“To whom it may concern –
I am reaching out for your assistance in addressing the impact of the Prairie Wood Products (Mill) shutdown in Prairie City not only for the city of Prairie City but also for Grant County and Eastern Oregon as a whole.
The closure will impact all water and sewer customers within the city of Prairie City. Many elderly and low-income families will be facing rate hikes due to lost revenue from the mills’ water and sewer bills. The results of our last income survey indicated that fifty-seven percent of the population in Prairie City is living with low to moderate incomes. The prospect of losing these Mill families due to job scarcity and their subsequent departure from the area poses a significant threat to the stability of the educational programs our schools’ offer and the economic viability of local and county businesses, as it heavily depends on those Mill families’ patronage.
For your greater understanding I am providing some history and background information.
The Mill reopened its sawmill in July 2022 after being closed for over a decade. Within a year, they had a workforce of nearly fifty employees and were also pursuing the re-permitting of the cogeneration facility at that site. In the last few weeks, a sudden change in the Forest Service interpretation of a grant subsidizing transportation costs put the future of the Mill at risk. On March 1, the Mill shut down the sawmill operations and laid off most of its employees and will remain shut down until the dispute over the transportation grant with the Forest Service comes to a resolution.
When the Mill was awarded a Timber and Biomass Transportation grant in December 2023, it was understood that the grant would provide matching funds covering transportation costs on timber sales on the Malheur National Forest. In February, after submitting reimbursement paperwork, they learned that the Washington Office of the Forest Service had decided that costs on existing timber sales were ineligible for reimbursement under the grant. This was completely inconsistent with discussions that took place with the Forest Service personnel at the local level, both with John Day and at the Regional Office in Portland.
The key purpose of the grant is to ensure that wood products industry infrastructure “is maintained into the future.” These recent developments imperil a key piece of that infrastructure owned by Prairie Wood Products. As noted above, the Mill is in the process of re- permitting and modernizing its cogeneration electrical plant, which would provide a regional center for processing the large volumes of woody debris and biomass generated by thinning and other forest treatments designed to minimize wildfire risk. In fact, the goal is to dedicate this plant to the production of clean hydrogen as part of the regional clean energy hydrogen hub for Eastern Oregon that has been established and funded through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023. It would be a terrible shame to lose such a key piece of infrastructure capable of consuming twenty truckloads of biomass per day upon start-up with expansion capability in the future.
When you have a moment, kindly reach out to me for an in-depth discussion on both the urgency of this matter as well as eradicating biomass to keep our woods healthy which helps shield our county against wildfire risks.
I would very much appreciate your help resolving this crisis. My hope is this grant can be reviewed and to make sure that the intent of the Grant is being followed.
Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher”
