02/01/07 Court ruling on grass field burning

A federal appeals court has told the Environmental Protection Agency that it has to reconsider its authorization for field burning in Idaho. The ruling by three judges from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals doesn't stop field burning while the EPA looks at health impacts. Environmental groups like SAFE, Safe Air for Everyone, claim the ruling is a victory for everyone. That's not the way that the North Idaho Farmers Association sees it. Kentucky bluegrass seed growers have always contended that their fields needed to be burned after seed harvest to insure a disease-free, healthy crop year in and year out. Other methods of cleaning up the fields have been and are still being tested but most are more expensive than burning or they don't give the same benefits as burning. About three thousand acres of the Rathdrum Prairie would be affected by the court ruling. The appeals court judges say the EPA was wrong to issue a clarification on Idaho agricultural field burning but instead should have amended the rules. Amendments require more documentation and additional study and research. Kentucky bluegrass seed produced in North Idaho is a multi-million dollar business and that seed is shipped nationwide for home, park and golf course uses. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott