Latest news with #AgricultureCommittee
CBC
06-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Rural councillors deny support for battery facility, as company seeks 'clear political signal'
Rural councillors rejected a second attempt by Gatineau-based company Evolugen to win support for a large battery facility in rural west Ottawa, after 68 people weighed in over the course of a nearly 10-hour meeting Thursday. Members of the city's agriculture and rural affairs committee voted unanimously to deny the company official backing for the project, though city council will have the final say next week. The company has already won a contract to build the facility from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), a Crown corporation responsible for managing Ontario's energy market. Now, it needs a statement of support from Ottawa councillors. West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly, whose ward would be home to the new facility, said he heard a clear message from residents. "I feel like it's overwhelmingly against the project," he said in an interview. "I think even more specifically — against the project proposed in the location where it has been proposed." That location is an approximately 4.5-hectare plot of rural land off Marchurst Road — roughly the area of eight Canadian football fields — located about 30 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa. Evolugen, a Gatineau-based renewable energy company owned by Brookfield Renewable, is seeking to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) at the site. BESS facilities are large batteries housed in containers that store renewable energy and feed it back into the grid at off-peak hours. The process to receive city council support for projects has proven difficult, though not impossible, with an Evolugen BESS in Coun. David Brown's ward garnering the unanimous backing in late 2023. The technology is a key part of the Ford government's plan to solve a looming energy supply crunch, as demand in the province is expected to increase by 75 per cent by 2050. But for many residents, the location of this particular battery trumped any broader provincial picture. 'Devil's bargain' Across the dozens of people who spoke at the meeting, views were mixed. Speakers representing business interests in the Kanata North tech park said companies there have "extreme needs" for power, and a local family-run construction company said building the facility would create good jobs. Members of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, which is partnered with Evolugen on the project, called on the city to support Indigenous-led investment. But most speakers were vehemently opposed. A petition against the project garnered more than 1,400 hand-written signatures. Loss of farmland and the risk of fire or well water contamination were the most common concerns. Courtney Argue, one of a large contingent donning matching t-shirts that read "Stop Marchurst BESS," lives about 400 metres from the proposed site. "We are David vs. Goliath here. We have been stripped of our voices to fight this," Argue said, breaking into tears. "We need you [councillors] to be loud and courageous to reject this [motion]. Our lives and our lands are depending on it." Another speaker, Brian Martin, said he and other residents aren't afraid of the technology but are opposed to building on what he considers to be an ecologically sensitive location. "This is the devil's bargain," he said. "They get all the gold, we get all the risks." Company seeks 'clear political signal' Evolugen is taking a second crack at winning support in the area. The company previously tried to sell residents on a similar project that would have been built south of Fitzroy Harbor, about 13 kilometres away from the current site. That project also faced intense community backlash, and the company later said its attempt at garnering support had not gone well. The new site, according to the company, has fewer trees and does not encroach on wetlands. Crucially, it sits on a connection to the grid. And this time around, Evolugen said it has redoubled efforts to win over locals. "We've knocked on, I would say, almost every single door within two kilometres of the site," said Geoff Wright, senior vice-president of the company. "We've had a number of conversations with people at their door. We've sat at peoples' kitchen tables." Wright is now asking the city to endorse the project and send a "clear political signal" of interest. Pressure from province The renewed bid for support comes shortly after Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce sent a letter to Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe warning that slowing down BESS projects endangers growth. The letter asked the city to "promptly review and approve" the projects, specifically singling out the South March BESS. On May 25, the mayor's office received a letter from Evolugen seeking support, just days before a walk-on motion to council waived procedure and drastically accelerated the approval process. Kelly pressed Wright on that timeline in a tense exchange during the meeting. "Cutting that process short left my community in a difficult spot to prepare for today," he said in an interview. "The message to my residents — so far in this process — is that provincial policies and the whims of provincial ministers and the IESO are more important than my residents' voices." The committee unanimously approved a motion by Kelly asking city staff to request that Evolugen pays at least $250,000 per year into a community development fund for at least 20 years, should the project go ahead. The issue goes to city council on June 11.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Upstate Democrats oppose cow limit for dairy farms
(WIVT/WBGH) – Some Upstate Democrats in the New York State Assembly are pushing back on a proposal that would limit the size of dairy farms. Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, who is chair of the Agriculture Committee, and three of her Democratic colleagues issued a news release this week in opposition to a proposal by downstate Democrats to end the authorization of dairy farms with more than 700 milking cows. Lupardo says she was disappointed that the bill would be crafted without consulting anyone in the dairy industry. She also says dairy farmers are some of the best stewards of the land that she knows. Lupardo added that she doesn't foresee the bill going anywhere. Eucharistic Procession makes way through Binghamton Celebrate Pride Month with an evening of laughter at Schorr Family Firehouse Stage Roosevelt reflects on the legacy of Principal Dave Chilson Mercy House prepares for $2.1 million expansion Upstate Democrats oppose cow limit for dairy farms Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
He Built an Airstrip on Protected Land. Now He's in Line to Lead the Forest Service.
Michael Boren, founder of a billion-dollar tech company, Idaho ranch owner and Trump donor, has clashed with the U.S. Forest Service for years. He was accused of flying a helicopter dangerously close to a crew building a Forest Service trail, prompting officials to seek a restraining order. He got a caution from the Forest Service, and criticism from his neighbors, when he built a private airstrip on his Hell Roaring Ranch in a national recreation area. And in the fall, the Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing a company that Mr. Boren controlled of building an unauthorized cabin on National Forest land. Now, Mr. Boren is Mr. Trump's nominee to oversee the very agency he has tussled with repeatedly. On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Mr. Boren's nomination to be the under secretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment, a role that would put him in charge of the Forest Service. If confirmed, he would manage an agency that oversees almost 200 million acres of public lands across the United States, including maintaining trails, coordinating wildfire response and overseeing the sale of timber and other resources. He would also oversee the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which helps farmers and ranchers conserve natural resources on their own land. Mr. Boren would be leading the Forest Service at a tumultuous time. In April, the secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins, issued an order removing environmental protections from almost 60 percent of national forests, or more than 112 million acres, mostly in the West. That came after Mr. Trump issued an executive order to increase logging on those lands by 25 percent. The Forest Service has also fired thousands of workers as part of Mr. Trump's drive to shrink the federal government. Hangar Land before Boren purchase. Grass airstrip starts to take shape Fenced-in airstrip Hell Roaring Ranch 2014 2016 2024 IDAHO 1,000 feet Hangar Land before Boren purchase Grass airstrip starts to take shape Fenced-in airstrip 2014 2016 2024 1,000 feet Hangar Land before Boren purchase Grass airstrip starts to take shape Fenced-in airstrip 2014 2016 2024 1,000 feet Hangar Land before Boren purchase Grass airstrip starts to take shape Fenced-in airstrip 2014 2016 2024 1,000 feet Hangar Land before Boren purchase Grass airstrip starts to take shape Fenced-in airstrip 2014 2016 2024 1,000 ft. Source: Airbus DS via Google By Mira Rojanasakul/The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sales tax, tobacco tax push doom Nebraska's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill' for property tax relief
State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, at podium, with Gov. Jim Pillen and State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara, from left. Brandt serves as chair of the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee. DeKay chairs the Agriculture Committee. May 7, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraska's version of 'One Big Beautiful Bill' for property tax relief went up in smoke Monday despite an effort to narrow new revenues to increased taxes on cigarettes and vapes. It becomes the third property tax package in the past year to propose and fail to garner traction to use new sales tax revenues to lower property taxes. It also deals a significant blow to Gov. Jim Pillen's pledge to keep property taxes flat this year as he eyes reelection. Legislative Bill 170, led by State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, failed 30-15. It needed 33 votes to overcome a filibuster from opponents across the political spectrum who opposed the tax 'shift. The proposal originally sought to add sales taxes to 20 currently exempt goods or services, including pop, dating services, chartered jets, swimming pool cleaning and maintenance services and pet grooming. It also sought to hike the taxes on cigarettes (up to $1.36) and vapes (up to 40%). The original package anticipated $110 million in new revenue, with $100 million directed to property tax credits to offset property taxes paid to local K-12 school districts. 'Property taxes remain one of the most painful burdens our residents face, impacting everyone from family farmers to first-time homeowners,' Brandt said. 'This legislation is a responsible, targeted effort to address the burden by broadening Nebraska's tax base.' However, as happened at the end of both the 2024 regular session and an 18-day special session Pillen called last summer, lawmakers ultimately rejected expanded sales taxes on several goods and services, which could have raised about $53 million, Brandt's estimates indicated. 'It's just rebranded or repackaged from the prior two failed attempts that this Legislature has not moved forward for a variety of different reasons, with strong support across a politically diverse coalition,' said State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln. Brandt sought to narrow LB 170 to a lower revenue target of $80 million for new property tax relief each year by striking any broadening of the sales tax base. Instead, he proposed to increase cigarette taxes to $1.64 per 20-pack, which he said would raise nearly $60 million each year, and to increase vape taxes to 40% wholesale, which he said would raise about $15 million. Both versions of LB 170 also included a proposal from Fremont State Sen. Dave Wordekemper to capture a 20% tax on cigars, cheroots and stogies purchased online, which senators estimated would raise $100,000 in revenue. That left roughly $5 million that would have needed to be made up later, such as by adding back a handful of expanded sales taxes to the package. State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, who has fought for increased taxes on vapes, said property tax relief is necessary for the grandmas or grandpas across Nebraska, as well as retirees and veterans, who are being priced out of their homes because of property taxes. Hughes, State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte and a handful of other conservatives in the officially nonpartisan Legislature defended the shift to new sales tax revenue as targeting 'optional' goods or services. 'We are so dang lazy we can't even go to the McDonald's drive-through by ourselves to go pick up our food. We hire someone to pick it up, and that's a service, and we're not even talking about taxing that service,' Hughes said. A vote against LB 170, supporters said, was a vote against property tax relief. 'Don't tell me you're representing your constituents when you say you don't want to lower property taxes, because you aren't representing your constituents,' said State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte. 'You're representing some ideology.' Much of the pushback to LB 170 was bipartisan, including from Republican State Sens. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area, chair of the Legislature's Revenue Committee, and Stan Clouse of Kearney, who said the bill was not 'sustainable' relief. Clouse, a former longtime Kearney mayor, said the relief was 'not real' and was 'simply increasing revenue streams.' He suggested eliminating unfunded mandates was a better focus. Added von Gillern: 'This is putting dollars into the top of a bucket that has a hole in the bottom of it.' State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, a Pillen appointee, criticized LB 170 and its narrower components as a 'tax increase with no end in sight' that wasn't the right path forward, even as he identified property tax relief as a top priority for his district. Von Gillern and State Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman said the increased revenue also wouldn't keep up with property tax growth, which was nearly $300 million in two of the past three years. The exception in annual increases that high was last fall, after the state took on the tab for property taxes previously levied by community colleges. The state budget passed last week included about $57 million in expanded property tax credits for next year, and about $11 million more for homestead exemptions. Even combined with the $80 million in Brandt's bill, property taxes would likely increase statewide next year. That stands in direct contrast to Pillen's pledge to hold property taxes flat. He has said that, without 'a shadow of a doubt,' he and allies would find additional property tax relief this year. Storer, a rancher in north-central Nebraska, said she was concerned that the continued reliance on property tax credits was 'feeding the demon' and taking away accountability from local taxing authorities. 'We still haven't pulled the right triggers,' Storer, a freshman lawmaker, said. Another path forward for property tax relief includes buying down property tax levies directly, an approach led by Hughes in a Pillen-backed LB 303, which also sought long-term changes to how the state funds K-12 schools. However, the provision to lower property taxes directly has since been stripped out of LB 303 to give time for senators to further study the approach before returning next January. On the Democratic side, State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, who has consistently opposed expanding the sales tax to exempted items without lowering the 5.5-cent statewide sales tax rate, said the latest package would pick 'winners and losers.' Dungan criticized repeated efforts for a 'grand slam swing' at tax policy when expansive adjustments need more time to be effective. State Sens. Ashlei Spivey and Terrell McKinney, both of Omaha, noted LB 170 wouldn't have helped renters. Conrad and State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha cautioned that an increased tax on nicotine products also wouldn't be paid by 'Big Tobacco' executives, but everyday Nebraskans. Dungan and State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha added that increasing taxes on cigarettes and vapes would hopefully decrease tobacco usage, which could lead to less tax revenue. 'If we continue to just try to put a piece of tape over the hole in the boat,' Dungan said, 'it's not going to fix the actual problem.' After the vote, Brandt said he was disappointed and that he had made his 'run' for more relief. 'If the Legislature doesn't want to give property tax relief, I don't know what else I can do,' Brandt told the Nebraska Examiner. Voting to move forward on LB 170: Democratic State Sens. Wendy DeBoer of Omaha, Jason Prokop of Lincoln, Dan Quick of Grand Island, Jane Raybould of Lincoln and Victor Rountree of Bellevue. Voting against LB 170: Republican State Sens. Bob Andersen of Sarpy County, Beau Ballard of Lincoln, Stan Clouse of Kearney, Glen Meyer of Pender, Tanya Storer of Whitman, Jared Storm of David City and Paul Strommen of Sidney. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Budzinski reacts to SNAP cuts approved by Agriculture Committee
ILLINOIS (WCIA) — Cuts could be coming to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP. The cuts were voted on by the Agriculture Committee in the U.S. House Wednesday evening. The bill will move on to a full vote by the House of Representatives. Over 13% of Central Illinoisans are food insecure: EIF, Feeding America Supporters of the cuts said that SNAP has ballooned in cost. Some changes the legislation would make includes: Requiring states to shoulder a share of the benefit costs beginning in FY2028 Blocks future increases to the cost of Future Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) Increases the work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents from 54 to 64 Ends SNAP-Ed (an educational program that helps people stretch out their SNAP money, cook healthy meals, and lead active lifestyles) Requires that to be eligible for SNAP, an individual must be a U.S. Citizen or green card holder Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) spoke out against the cuts during the budget reconciliation bill in the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday evening. She said the the $313 billion in SNAP cuts would impact families in need, as well as farmers and the food supply chain. 'This will take away food for SNAP households that are home to a child, an old adult or a disabled adult,' Budzinski said. 'And for what? To pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest people in this country.' You can find the full text of the budget resolution here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
