The state legislative board that was counted on to rescue the Treasure Valley Reload Center won’t even consider a $3 million taxpayer bailout of the project, interviews and documents show.
That’s trouble for the Nyssa project, which is behind schedule and facing millions in cost overruns. Without the money to finish the work, the plan to move onions by rail out of Nyssa this fall now appears doomed.
Project leaders had hoped to forestall that outcome by getting money from the state Emergency Board, a group of legislators with authority to make spending decisions when the Legislature is not in session. The board is scheduled to meet Friday, June 3, but Malheur County’s request for $3 million won’t be considered.
The reason has more to do with legislative practices than the merits of the project.
Legislative leaders signaled more than a month ago that the Emergency . . .
