Wasco County Commissioners on Wednesday approved a settlement with Union Pacific Railroad in a long-running legal dispute over the County’s denial of in 2014 of an application for a track expansion in the Mosier area because of the impact on Treaty Rights in the area.  Union Pacific appealed that decision to several venues, including in federal district court where the County won a ruling on a corollary issue, leading to mediation that produced this settlement.  The settlement contains a moratorium that prevents Union Pacific from submitting any other land use application within the Mosier footprint for five years.  County Commissioners expressed relief that the issue was behind them…but Commissioner Scott Hege noted the County did not receive reimbursement for legal fees in the settlement.  The settlement also requires Union Pacific and Treaty Tribes enter into a written memorandum of agreement to establish a conferral process for current and future railroad activities within the Portland Subdivision that may affect the Treaty Tribes’ interests.