STATE AGREES TO WAIVE BILL

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- A man stuck with a $4,517.20 cleanup bill after
he reported finding a methamphetamine lab in a horse trailer on his
property near Eagle Point won't have to pay after all.

The state has agreed to waive the bill, said state Rep. Judy
Uherbelau, D-Ashland.

Uherbelau, a lawyer, said she checked state law when it looked like
landowner Al Doty would be penalized for having reported a crime.

"This guy was an innocent person in the whole thing," she said.

Uherbelau said the law was designed to make landowners pay because
it's usually the landowner's fault. The bills aren't supposed to go to
landowners who exercise due diligence in reporting an illegal lab, she
said.

"It's not a good idea to discourage people from doing this," she
said.

Doty said he still would encourage others to report drug
activity.

"They ought to turn in all the druggies," he said.

Doty still has several bills to pay, including the cost of having a
local firm test soil in the area, but "it's not so horrendous now," he
said. "That's a relief."

Uherbelau did not know if the state can go after other responsible
parties for the cleanup costs. If not, the state will absorb the cost,
she said.

Doty said he was grateful for Uherbelau's help.

"I just wanted it brought to people's attention that the state does
respond when it's brought to their attention," she said.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry