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H0741.....................................................by WAYS AND MEANS
AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING - Amends existing law to provide legislative
intent; to define additional terms; and to revise provisions applicable to
all agricultural field burning.
02/20 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/23 Rpt prt - to Agric Aff
03/03 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/04 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/08 3rd rdg - PASSED - 51-16-3
AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Black,
Block, Bolz, Bradford, Cannon, Collins, Cuddy, Deal, Denney,
Edmunson, Ellsworth, Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Harwood, Jones,
Kellogg, Kulczyk, Lake, Langford, Martinez, McGeachin, McKague,
Meyer, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Naccarato, Nielsen, Raybould,
Ridinger, Ring, Roberts, Rydalch, Sali, Schaefer, Shirley, Smith(30),
Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Bauer, Boe, Campbell, Clark, Douglas, Eberle, Eskridge,
Henbest, Jaquet, Langhorst, Pasley-Stuart, Ringo, Robison, Sayler,
Shepherd, Trail
Absent and excused -- Crow, Gagner, Skippen
Floor Sponsor - Jones
Title apvd - to Senate
03/09 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Agric Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 741
BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO SMOKE MANAGEMENT AND CROP RESIDUE DISPOSAL; PROVIDING A STATEMENT
3 OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT; AMENDING SECTION 22-4802, IDAHO CODE, TO DEFINE
4 "ECONOMICALLY VIABLE ALTERNATIVE"; AND AMENDING SECTION 22-4803, IDAHO
5 CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING.
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7 SECTION 1. STATEMENT OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The amendments to the crop
8 residue disposal statute as provided in this Act are intended for clarifica-
9 tion purposes only and do not change substantive requirements of the statute.
10 The Legislature recognizes that the term "economically viable alternative"
11 warrants definition to avoid controversy over its meaning, and the amendment
12 corresponds to the construction given the term by the Idaho Department of
13 Agriculture. Additionally, the amendments make clear that the requirements in
14 section 22-4803(2), Idaho Code, apply to all crop residue disposal in the
15 state of Idaho, as the Department provides in its implementing rules.
16 SECTION 2. That Section 22-4802, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
17 amended to read as follows:
18 22-4802. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
19 (1) "Adequate smoke dispersion" means that favorable meteorological and
20 air quality conditions exist to allow crop residue burning to occur without
21 endangering ambient air quality standards.
22 (2) "Cereal grain field" means a field of grass cultivated for edible
23 seeds such as wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, maize, grain, sorghum and proso
24 millet.
25 (3) "Crop residue" means any vegetative material remaining in the field
26 after harvest and shall not include weeds along ditch banks or waterways,
27 orchard prunings, or forest slash piles.
28 (4) "Department" means the Idaho department of agriculture.
29 (5) "DEQ" means the Idaho department of environmental quality.
30 (6) "Director" means the director of the Idaho department of agriculture.
31 (7) "Economically viable alternative" means an alternative to thermal
32 residue disposal that:
33 (a) Achieves agricultural objectives comparable to thermal residue dis-
34 posal for the factors listed in subsections (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(c) of
35 section 22-4803, Idaho Code; and
36 (b) Allows growers to experience a financial rate of return over the
37 short term and long term consistent with the rate of return that would
38 occur if thermal residue disposal were utilized.
39 (8) "Field grass" or "forage grass field" means a field which has been
40 planted with one (1) of the following varieties of grass for the purpose of
41 producing seed: canary grass, bromegrass, oat grass, Timothy grass, wheat
42 grass, or orchard grass.
2
1 (89) "Person" means a natural person, individual, firm, partnership, cor-
2 poration, company, society, association, cooperative, two (2) or more persons
3 having a joint or common interest, or any unit or agency of local, state or
4 federal government.
5 (910) "Reasonable efforts" means, but is not limited to, the obtaining of
6 any available information on local meteorological and air quality conditions
7 and observing the smoke plume from small test fires or from other field burns.
8 (101) "Turf grass field" means a field which has been planted with one (1)
9 of the following varieties of grass for the purpose of producing seed: blue-
10 grass, bent grass, fescues or perennial ryegrass.
11 SECTION 3. That Section 22-4803, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
12 amended to read as follows:
13 22-4803. AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING. (1) The open burning of crop residue
14 grown in agricultural fields shall be an allowable form of open burning when
15 the provisions of this chapter, and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto,
16 and the environmental protection and health act, and any rules promulgated
17 pursuant thereto, are met, and when no other economically viable alternatives
18 to burning are available, as determined by the director, for the purpose of:
19 (a) Disposing of crop residues;
20 (b) Developing physiological conditions conducive to increased crop
21 yields; or
22 (c) Controlling diseases, insects, pests or weed infestations.
23 (2) The following provisions shall apply to all agricultural field burn-
24 ing:
25 (a) In order to minimize impacts upon populated areas of the counties
26 designated in subsection (3) of this section, aAny person conducting crop
27 residue burning must make every reasonable effort to burn only when
28 weather conditions are conducive to adequate smoke dispersion, and the
29 burning does not emit particulates or other material which exceed the
30 state and federal ambient air quality standards; and
31 (b) The open burning of crop residue shall be conducted in the field
32 where it was generated.
33 (3) In Kootenai, Benewah, Boundary, Bonner, Shoshone, Latah, Clearwater,
34 Nez Perce, Lewis and Idaho counties, the legislature finds that there are a
35 great many cereal grain, field grass, forage grass, and turf grass fields, and
36 it is a practice to burn these fields to control disease, weeds and pests in
37 these counties. Therefore, in the counties specifically identified in this
38 subsection, no person shall conduct or allow any crop residue burning without
39 first registering each field with the department each year burning is con-
40 ducted, and without first receiving authorization from the department that the
41 conditions of subsection (2)(a) of this section are met. This provision is not
42 met unless all information required by the department for registration is
43 received by the department prior to field ignition.
44 (4) The use of reburn machines, propane flamers, or other devices to
45 ignite or reignite a field for the purpose of crop residue burning shall be
46 considered an allowable form of open burning when the provisions of this chap-
47 ter, and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto, the environmental protection
48 and health act, and any rules promulgated thereto, are met.
49 (5) Any rules promulgated by the DEQ relating to opacity standards shall
50 not apply to crop residue burning.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14090C1
Amends Title 22, Chapter 48, Idaho Code, relating to smoke
management and crop residue disposal by defining economically
viable alternative and clarifying that the provisions relating to
all agricultural field burning as set forth in Section 22-
4803(2)(a) apply to any person conducting crop residue burning.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no fiscal impact to the general fund.
Contact
Name: Rep. Doug Jones
Phone: (208) 332-1000
Mike Everett, Deputy Director, Idaho State Department of
Agriculture
Phone: (208) 332-8532
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 741