--- kind: section source_pdf: oregon-prosperity-council-report-june-2026.pdf fingerprint: 8ac9aef8ca1b page_range: [171, 172] breadcrumb: ["Appendix E: Submissions & Feedback", "11. SEDCOR (email forwarded by Lois Cho, CHO Wines)"] source_links: pdf: "https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=171" raw_pages: - "../../.extracted/pages/page-0171.txt" - "../../.extracted/pages/page-0172.txt" --- # 11. SEDCOR (email forwarded by Lois Cho, CHO Wines) ## TL;DR *(generated · confidence: high)* SEDCOR (via Abisha Romano) submitted three case studies of Oregon businesses constrained by regulatory barriers: Chapul Farms blocked by 18-month composting permits for innovative waste-to-feed operation; The Estate Bakery defeated by LUBA standing and agricultural-product classification; hazelnut processor facing multiple separate air-quality permits. SEDCOR also proposes simplifying BOLI prevailing-wage rules when projects are both state and federally funded. **Key points** *(each cites a PDF page)*: - Chapul Farms (McMinnville): DEQ requires 18-month composting facility certification for black soldier fly operation upcycling food waste into animal feed and fertilizer, causing funding and launch delays. ([p. 171](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=171)) - The Estate Bakery (Yamhill County): Project collapsed after 1,000 Friends of Oregon challenged it at LUBA; owner faced tens of thousands in legal costs. Bread not classified as agricultural product (unlike jams/jellies/pies). ([p. 172](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=172)) - Hazelnut processor: Requires three separate air-quality permits plus land and water permits from multiple state departments. SEDCOR cites Washington's Department of Ecology model as more efficient. ([p. 172](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=172)) - BOLI prevailing-wage proposal: When projects are both state and federally funded, defer to higher wage instead of tracking hours per person per project, saving time and cost for construction and housing projects. ([p. 172](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=172)) - SEDCOR reports 643+ business-support examples available beyond this short list. ([p. 171](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=171)) Amounts: tens of thousands of dollars · 643+ · Dates/FTE: February 16, 2026 · February 17, 2026 · Programs: BOLI prevailing wage · Davis Bacon · LUBA · Parties: SEDCOR · DEQ · CHO Wines · Chapul Farms > **Source:** PDF [pp. 171-172](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=171) · raw: [171](../../.extracted/pages/page-0171.txt) · [172](../../.extracted/pages/page-0172.txt) Breadcrumb: Appendix E: Submissions & Feedback > 11. SEDCOR (email forwarded by Lois Cho, CHO Wines) --- From: Lois Cho lois@GETCHOWINES.COM Subject: Fw: SEDCOR/CHO Wines Discussion Follow-up Date: February 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM To: Harry Clapsis harry@amperecomputing.com Cc: Bogue, Emerald Emerald.Bogue@portofportland.com, renee@625.onmicrosoft.com, Robinhold, Curtis Curtis.Robinhold@portofportland.com EXTERNAL EMAIL: Some further input from the EDO perspective. Lois Get Outlook for iOS From: Abisha Romano Sent: Monday, February 16, 2026 10:36:50 PM To: Lois Cho Cc: Erik Andersson Subject: SEDCOR/CHO Wines Discussion Follow-up Hi, Lois Thanks again for the great discussion regarding business support needs. I had it in my notes to send you a few examples of how the state might be able to better support business innovation and investments. Though we collective have 643+ examples to share, our team selected the short list below to start with. Please let me know if these types of examples are representative of what you’re looking for. I have copied in our President, Erik Andersson, for follow-up questions or additional requests. 1. The Company: Chapul Farms is based in McMinnville and uses food industry waste streams as feedstock for black soldier flies. In this process, they upcycle organic waste streams into high-value feed and soil fertilizer. The majority of black soldier fly larvae and soil amendment we use in domestic farming comes from international sources. Their process provides a beneficial use for organic waste material, while creating a high-protein organic feed for chickens and other animals (larvae), and high value fertilizer. a. The Problem/Opportunity: DEQ does not know how to handle this company’s request for managing their organic inputs (which is feedstock for the black soldier flies, and also waste from the food industry), like it’s feedstock. Instead, they are forcing the company to secure local and state permits as a composting facility. Composting facility certifications can take upwards of 18 months and have very high requirements for product movement and air quality management. But this business is not composting any materials. Their system is fully enclosed and the inputs re handled like cattle or hog feed. Cost and timing to permit has caused several funding and timeline launch obstacles for the company. This would be a great opportunity for DEQ to be entrepreneurial and find stop-gap solutions for this company as they determine how best to classify this new, innovative and environmentally beneficial business process. 2. The Company: The Estate Bakery was a project that attempted to land in Yamhill County several years ago. This was seen by the owning partners and regional supporters as vertical integration on farming property near Perrydale. The partners owned farmland with existing facilities and grew ancient grains on-site. Their goal was to begin milling the grains and producing high quality breads on-site. They also was to begin milling the grains and producing high quality breads on-site. They also wanted to be an educational site for youth and students to learn about on-farm and processing practices. Plans were approved by the county and ultimately opposed by the 1,000 Friends of Oregon. a. The Problem/Opportunity: The biggest issue is how standing is established. In this instance, the project “died on the vine” because the 1,000 Friends took the issue to LUBA and for a nominal fee, they were able to put the business owner in a position of spending tens of thousands of dollars to secure an attorney to defend themselves. In Oregon, bread is not considered to be an agricultural product, therefore it does not fit into rules associated with farmstands, etc. As a point of comparison, jams, jellies and pies are considered to be agricultural products. 3. The Company: A local hazelnut processor is exploring investment in a biomass facility to help manage their waste stream. a. The Problem/Opportunity: In order to move forward, they would need to secure three separate air quality permits. That’s just to manage air related environmental concerns. They also need to get permits related to land and water impacts. There are so many separate state departments for permitting these types of facilities and, though they do work to coordinate, it is a complex process. An example of how this is managed differently – in Washington state, they have the Department of Ecology, under which all the other environmental departments sit (DEQ, State Lands, Forestry, Water Resources, etc.) We would also like to share insight into a few seemingly “easy” ways to streamline or simplify state programs for business. One example is the BOLI prevailing wage burden. When a project is both funded at a state and federal level, the project is required to pay both prevailing wage (state) and Davis Bacon (fed) wages, and track the hours and activities by person, per project to ensure they are being paid the right amount, based on which specific activity is being funded by which entity. This is big for the construction industry who vastly prefers paying the higher of the two wages, versus the very onerous task of tracking task by hour which contributes to a very high cost for administration and reporting. If the state simply said “If the project is both federally and locally funded, defer to the higher wage requirement” this would save huge amounts of time and cost. This simple change could be a big time and cost saver for municipal infrastructure projects and affordable housing projects. Lois, this is already a very long email so I will stop here. Please let us know if we are hitting the mark and/or whether we can be of support in any way. We sincerely appreciate your participation in the Governor’s Prosperity Council – thank you for being a busy person who committed to being even busier for the greater good. Take care, Abisha Romano SEDCOR 503-507-4175 --- Parent: [Appendix E: Submissions & Feedback](./INDEX.md) · PDF: [pp. 171-172](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/Oregon%20Prosperity%20Council%20Report_June%202026.pdf#page=171)