Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 1999

99-038

Media Contact: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Manager, (509) 456-4464; pager (509) 622-1289

New guidelines adopted to reduce field-burning smoke

SPOKANE-A special task force has adopted a new set of guidelines designed to reduce the amount of smoke produced from burning stubble on wheat and other cereal-grain fields.

The Agricultural Burning Practices and Research Task Force put the finishing touches on the guidelines, or "best management practices" (BMPs), at its meeting yesterday in Walla Walla.

BMPs are procedures that farmers are required to follow to address particular problems in their fields, such as insect infestations, plant diseases and excess field residue. They identify alternative measures for controlling these problems and require farmers to use "any reasonable, non-burning alternative."

"These new best management practices redefine what is permissible and what isn’t," said Mary Burg, air-quality manager for the state Department of Ecology. "The old BMPs did not reduce emissions enough to adequately protect public health."

The task force was created by the Washington State Clean Air Act in 1991 to set permit fees, recommend research projects and develop management practices designed to reduce smoke. The group includes representatives of various farming groups, public health, colleges and universities, conservation districts, and the state departments of Ecology and Agriculture.

Under the new BMPs, growers are required to do a thorough field inspection and carefully document the need to burn before a permit is considered. Growers are held accountable for the information they provide and are strongly encouraged to consult with a professional agronomist. This may be a county extension agent, university scientist, conservation-district representative or other professional agronomist.

Burning is discouraged in most cases for ridding a field of excess residue from a prior harvest. Under some circumstances, burning will not be allowed at all. Economics cannot be the sole justification for the need to burn.

When burning is allowed, it will be authorized only on the part of the field affected by the insects or weeds, not on any adjacent land.

Burg noted that the recent agreement between Ecology, the Department of Agriculture and the Washington Association of Wheat Growers to reduce smoke emissions by at least 50 percent over the next seven years supplements the BMPs.

"The BMPs are further bolstered by the agreement reached earlier this month to make sure we see immediate improvements this year," Burg said.