Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Jan. 5, 1999

99-003

CONTACT: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289

Wheat growers agree to decrease smoke emissions by 50 percent

SPOKANE- The Washington Association of Wheat Growers and the Washington state departments of Ecology and Agriculture have reached agreement on a seven-year plan to decrease emissions from wheat-stubble burning by half in the state of Washington.

The deal was discussed in Pasco today at a meeting of the Agricultural Burning Practices and Research Task Force.

"This decision is a big step forward in dealing with an air quality problem that concerns thousands of Washington residents," said Tom Fitzsimmons, director of the Department of Ecology (Ecology). "Fifty percent in seven years is a very healthy start and will put us on a path toward even greater emission reductions in the future."

Fitzsimmons praised wheat industry representatives for their willingness to step forward and tackle the issue cooperatively, rather than having to go through lengthy and costly procedures to change state laws and regulations.

"Instead of focusing on bureaucratic processes, we can put our time and effort into helping growers reduce emissions and find ways to deal with pests, disease and excess stubble without burning," Fitzsimmons said. "As much as possible, we want to minimize the economic effects on the wheat industry while also benefiting public health."

Burning of wheat and other cereal-grain stubble is treated differently than grass-seed fields under Washington state law. The law instructed Ecology to seek a process for finding and certifying an alternative to burning grass fields. That alternative was certified last year. The law did not extend this process to other types of field burning.

Burning was permitted last year on approximately 225,000 acres out of a total of 2.7 million acres of wheat and barley in Washington state, along with many more acres of other crops.

The state’s Agricultural Burning Practices and Research Task Force has spent several months discussing ways to reduce air pollution from wheat-stubble burning, but asked Ecology to designate a target reduction.

Fitzsimmons said that several details still must be worked out. The agreement will be formalized in a memorandum of agreement within the next two months.

"Although this is a voluntary smoke reduction, the wheat growers’ organization is committed to making it work, and we are committed to making sure the reduction actually takes place," he said.