06/14/07 Farm Bureau asks for repeal of heat stress rule

Washington Ag June 14, 2007 The Washington State Farm Bureau says that emergency rule on heat stress put into effect earlier this month by the Department of Labor and Industries is based on hot air and not facts. And the Farm Bureau's Dan Fazio says they and the Building Industry Association and several other groups have asked the governor to repeal the rule. Fazio: "The agencies have wide discretion when they declare an emergency like this and there is really not much we can do other than we can ask the governor to look at the rule. That is another example of a ham-handed approach here declaring an emergency regulation where no emergency needed to happen. We worked with them last year. We got all the data. L&I said they were going to work on a rule with us over the winter. They did not for whatever reason." The Farm Bureau says Washington already has stringent rules designed to protect workers. Seven students majoring in organic agriculture at Washington State University have been selected as the first recipients of the Pacific Natural Foods Organic Agriculture Scholarship, the first scholarship dedicated to the new organic agriculture systems major at the university. The scholarships of just over 14-hundred dollars per student where made possible by a donation from Pacific Natural Foods. I'm Bob Hoff.