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H0243...............................................by AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS SMOKE MANAGEMENT - Repeals and adds to existing law to provide for instances when burning crop residue is permitted; and to provide for a pilot program for Benewah and Kootenai counties. 02/15 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/16 Rpt prt - to Agric Aff 02/25 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 02/26 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/01 3rd rdg - PASSED - 59-10-1 AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Black, Boe, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase, Clark, Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Gould, Hadley, Hammond, Hansen(23), Hansen(29), Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones, Judd, Kellogg, Kunz, Lake, Limbaugh, Linford, Mader, McKague, Meyer, Montgomery, Mortensen, Moyle, Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Ridinger, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson, Stone, Tilman, Tippets, Trail, Watson, Wheeler, Williams, Zimmermann, Mr Speaker NAYS -- Bieter, Geddes, Kempton, Kendell, Loertscher, Ringo, Robison, Stoicheff, Taylor, Wood Absent and excused -- Marley Floor Sponsor - Mader Title apvd - to Senate 03/02 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Agric Aff 03/09 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/10 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/11 3rd rdg - PASSED - 34-0-1 AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron, Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Thorne, Twiggs, Wheeler, Whitworth NAYS--None Absent and excused--Parry Floor Sponsor - Keough Title apvd - to House 03/12 To enrol 03/15 Rpt enrol - Sp signed 03/16 Pres signed - to Governor 03/26 Governor signed Session Law Chapter 378 Effective: 07/01/99
H0243|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 243 BY AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF SMOKE MANAGEMENT AND CROP RESIDUE DISPOSAL; 3 REPEALING CHAPTER 23, TITLE 39, IDAHO CODE; AMENDING TITLE 22, IDAHO CODE, 4 BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 48, TITLE 22, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE A 5 STATEMENT OF LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT, TO DEFINE TERMS, TO PROVIDE 6 FOR INSTANCES WHEN BURNING OF CROP RESIDUE IS ALLOWED AND TO PROVIDE FOR A 7 SPECIFIC PROGRAM FOR BENEWAH AND KOOTENAI COUNTIES. 8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 9 SECTION 1. That Chapter 23, Title 39, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 10 hereby repealed. 11 SECTION 2. That Title 22, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended 12 by the addition thereto of a NEW CHAPTER , to be known and desig- 13 nated as Chapter 48, Title 22, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 14 CHAPTER 48 15 SMOKE MANAGEMENT AND CROP RESIDUE DISPOSAL 16 22-4801. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. The legislature finds that the 17 current knowledge and technology support the practice of burning crop residue 18 to control disease, weeds, pests, and to enhance crop rotations. It is the 19 intent of the legislature to promote agricultural activities. Currently some 20 of those activities include crop residue burning. The director of the Idaho 21 department of agriculture may promulgate rules relating to crop residue burn- 22 ing under this chapter. Further, the legislature encourages the Idaho depart- 23 ment of agriculture and the Idaho department of health and welfare, division 24 of environmental quality to cooperate with the agricultural community and 25 establish voluntary smoke management and crop residue burning programs. The 26 legislature encourages the Idaho department of agriculture and the agricul- 27 tural community to pursue alternative means to crop residue disposal. Nothing 28 in this chapter shall prohibit the Idaho department of health and welfare, 29 division of environmental quality from enforcing the environmental protection 30 and health act, chapter 1, title 39, Idaho Code, and the rules promulgated 31 pursuant thereto, as they relate to air quality and protection of the state 32 and national ambient air quality standards. 33 22-4802. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 34 (1) "Adequate smoke dispersion" means that favorable meteorological and 35 air quality conditions exist to allow crop residue burning to occur without 36 endangering ambient air quality standards. 37 (2) "Cereal grain field" means a field of grass cultivated for edible 38 seeds such as wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, maize, grain, sorghum and proso 39 millet. 40 (3) "Crop residue" means any vegetative material remaining in the field 2 1 after harvest and shall not include weeds along ditch banks or waterways, 2 orchard prunings, or forest slash piles. 3 (4) "Department" means the Idaho department of agriculture. 4 (5) "DEQ" means the Idaho department of health and welfare, division of 5 environmental quality. 6 (6) "Director" means the director of the Idaho department of agriculture. 7 (7) "Field grass" or "forage grass field" means a field which has been 8 planted with one (1) of the following varieties of grass for the purpose of 9 producing seed: canary grass, bromegrass, oat grass, Timothy grass, wheat 10 grass, or orchard grass. 11 (8) "Person" means a natural person, individual, firm, partnership, cor- 12 poration, company, society, association, cooperative, two (2) or more persons 13 having a joint or common interest, or any unit or agency of local, state or 14 federal government. 15 (9) "Reasonable efforts" means, but is not limited to, the obtaining of 16 any available information on local meteorological and air quality conditions 17 and observing the smoke plume from small test fires or from other field burns. 18 (10) "Turf grass field" means a field which has been planted with one (1) 19 of the following varieties of grass for the purpose of producing seed: blue- 20 grass, bent grass, fescues or perennial ryegrass. 21 22-4803. AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING. (1) The open burning of crop residue 22 grown in agricultural fields shall be an allowable form of open burning when 23 the provisions of this chapter, and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto, 24 and the environmental protection and health act, and any rules promulgated 25 pursuant thereto, are met, and when no other agricultural viable alternatives 26 to burning are available, as determined by the director, for the purpose of: 27 (a) Disposing of crop residues; 28 (b) Developing physiological conditions conducive to increased crop 29 yields; or 30 (c) Controlling diseases, insects, pests or weed infestations. 31 (2) The following provisions shall apply to all agricultural field burn- 32 ing: 33 (a) Any person conducting crop residue burning must make every reasonable 34 effort to burn only when weather conditions are conducive to adequate 35 smoke dispersion, and the burning does not emit particulates or other 36 material which exceed the state and federal ambient air quality standards; 37 and 38 (b) The open burning of crop residue shall be conducted in the field 39 where it was generated. 40 (3) In Kootenai and Benewah counties, the legislature finds that there 41 are a great many cereal grain, field grass, forage grass, and turf grass 42 fields, and it is a practice to burn these fields to control disease, weeds 43 and pests in these counties. Therefore, in Kootenai and Benewah counties, no 44 person shall conduct or allow any crop residue burning without first register- 45 ing each field with the DEQ each year burning is conducted. Approved forms for 46 registering fields when needed may be obtained at the DEQ's Coeur d'Alene 47 office. This provision is not met unless the forms contain all required infor- 48 mation and are received by the DEQ prior to field ignition. 49 (4) The use of reburn machines, propane flamers, or other devices to 50 ignite or reignite a field for the purpose of crop residue burning shall be 51 considered an allowable form of open burning when the provisions of this chap- 52 ter, and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto, the environmental protection 53 and health act, and any rules promulgated thereto, are met. 3 1 22-4804. KOOTENAI AND BENEWAH COUNTIES -- AGRICULTURAL BURNING FEES -- 2 ACCOUNT -- RULES -- RESEARCH -- MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. (1) Any person who regis- 3 ters a field with the DEQ for agricultural burning in Kootenai or Benewah 4 counties shall pay to the DEQ a fee of one dollar ($1.00) per acre of cropland 5 to be burned. The DEQ shall remit all fees monthly to the state treasurer, who 6 shall deposit the moneys in the state agricultural smoke management account 7 which is hereby created. The board of health and welfare may, upon the recom- 8 mendation of the DEQ, adopt rules pertaining to: 9 (a) Collection, handling, and refund of fees established in subsection 10 (1) of this section; and 11 (b) Disbursement of funds from the account as provided in subsection (2) 12 of this section. 13 (2) The DEQ may use moneys from the agricultural smoke management account 14 as appropriated annually by the legislature for: 15 (a) Research to: 16 (i) Develop alternative crops which do not require burning; 17 (ii) Improve burning and cultural practices for crops which may 18 require burning; and 19 (iii) Explore alternatives to burning; and 20 (b) Supplementation of appropriated general account moneys for implemen- 21 tation of agricultural smoke management programs referenced in section 22 22-4801, Idaho Code. 23 (3) A smoke management advisory board is established in the DEQ to advise 24 the DEQ administrator or his designee in the administration and enforcement of 25 the provisions of this section by overseeing the funds provided and to review 26 and recommend research programs. The board shall consist of six (6) members: 27 three (3) from the agricultural community and three (3) nonagriculturists from 28 the general public, appointed by the governor and to serve at the pleasure of 29 the governor. The seventh member shall be ex officio and shall be the adminis- 30 trator of the DEQ or his designee. 31 (4) The board shall, on the first day of each July or as soon thereafter 32 as practicable, elect a chairman and a vice chairman from among its members, 33 and these officers shall hold office until their successors are elected. As 34 soon as the board has elected it officers, the secretary shall certify the 35 results of the election to the administrator of the DEQ. The chairman shall 36 preside at all meetings of the board and the secretary shall make a record of 37 the proceedings which shall be preserved in the offices of the DEQ. If the 38 chairman is absent from any meeting of the board, his duties shall be dis- 39 charged by the vice chairman. All members of the board present at a meeting 40 shall be entitled to vote on any question, matter, or thing which properly 41 comes before it.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 08965 This legislation will allow for the establishment of voluntary smoke management and crop residue burning programs. It will also allow the director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to promulgate rules for crop residue burning. Previous legislation mandated that the DEQ director shall not promulgate rules on crop residue burning. This legislation will allow the ISDA director the flexibility to promulgate rules in this voluntary program. The other portions of this legislation are being moved into this new chapter from other areas of the Idaho Code. FISCAL NOTE No fiscal impact CONTACT: Dar Olberding Phone #345-0706 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE Bill No. 243