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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 1998
98-050
Contact: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Officer, (509) 458-0839
SPOKANE, WA - Mechanical methods to manage grass-seed field residue can replace burning in most cases, according to a state Department of Ecology proposal. The department (Ecology) will ask the public to comment on a recommendation to certify the alternative, which would end burning for almost all grass-seed fields in the state.
"We have pressed forward aggressively to reach a solution to this important public-health issue," said Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons. "We are confident in the viability of the alternatives we have identified, but the public now has a chance to take a close look at the proposal and give us feedback."
A public hearing is planned for the afternoon and evening of May 5, 1998, at the Agricultural Trade Center in Spokane. Details will be announced soon.
The alternative being proposed is "mechanical residue management," which would involve removing the straw from a field using practices such as baling and raking.
Ecology expects that mechanical residue-removal techniques could apply in most cases. However, no single, certified alternative will necessarily apply to all conditions under which grass-seed fields are grown. Therefore, some burning may continue until alternatives are certified for all conditions.
In 1995, before Ecology began restricting burning of grass-seed fields, about 60,000 acres of fields were burned. That acreage was reduced to 22,000 acres in 1997, and Ecology expects its proposed alternative could result in only a few thousand acres being burned in 1998.
Agricultural burning produces large amounts of smoke that contain high levels of small particulate matter and compounds that are harmful to human health. Many members of the public have reported increased respiratory problems when grass-seed fields are burned in the fall.
Fitzsimmons said Ecology has worked hard to announce a proposed alternative early in the year so grass-seed growers could know as soon as possible that they may need to make other plans for managing their grass residues this year. Depending on the results of the public-comment period, Ecology expects to issue a final decision in June 1998.
During last fall’s burning season, Ecology had imposed a two-thirds reduction in acreage burned (based on 1995 base acreage). The state regulation on grass-seed field burning allows Ecology to end burning of the last one-third of the acreage as soon as "practical and reasonably available" alternatives are found and certified through a public process.
Fitzsimmons said he hopes this action will prompt Idaho and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take similar steps, and thus bring further relief to all residents of the Inland Northwest.
The next steps toward certifying an alternative to burning include:
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
