Governor Backs Cuts In Burning Lowry Rejects Appeal By Grass Growers

Gov. Mike Lowry has rejected an effort by farm groups to overturn a Department of Ecology edict slashing bluegrass field burning by one-third this year.

Lowry decided this week to uphold the emergency rule that Ecology Director Mary Riveland announced in Spokane March 19.

The governor made his decision based on information from Spokane doctors that field burning harms their patients, said Jordan Dey, Lowry’s press secretary.

“The evidence of the health dangers was so significant that the governor felt he could do nothing else but support Ecology,” Dey said.

The decision means the Department of Ecology’s ruling for 1996 stands - unless the growers go to court.

In 1997 and 1998, the department will have to hold public hearings to achieve its final goal of phasing out grass burning by 1998.

The agency’s edict affects 26,405 acres of bluegrass in Spokane County, and an another 14,500 acres in the rest of Eastern Washington.

“We are pleased with the support from the governor,” said agency spokesman Ron Langley.

“We know it was hard for him, because it was hard for us. He’s asked us to work with the growers to determine how we meet the (acreage reduction) goals, and we are taking that to heart,” Langley said.

In an April 5 petition, the Intermountain Grass Growers Association, the Washington State Wheat Growers Association and the Farm Bureau asked Lowry to overturn Riveland’s decision.

They said the Department of Ecology didn’t back up its ruling with proof of a health emergency.

“The grass-burning issue has been a point of contention for a long time. There is absolutely no factual justification for the Department of Ecology to take the drastic measure that it did,” the petition said.

Riveland said she based her decision on information from Spokane lung doctors and on evidence from scientific studies linking particle pollution to increased illness and death.

The state Clean Air Act gives the agency authority to curtail grass smoke to protect public health.

Riveland’s decision triggered a flood of calls to Lowry’s office, both for and against the burning ban.

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