06/19/2009

Associated Press

A legislative committee has advanced a proposed phaseout of field burning, clearing the way for a full Senate vote on one of the more contentious environmental issues facing lawmakers this year.

Willamette Valley farmers have long burned away grass seed stubble to kill off weeds and pests. The practice, growers say, has helped Oregon become the world's largest producer of grass seed. The state supplies nearly 50 percent of the seed that's used to grow grass on soccer fields, golf courses and lawns around the globe.

But the burning fills the air with smoke, prompting hundreds of complaints each summer, many from asthma sufferers.

Senate Bill 528, an amended version of which got the OK from the joint budget committee Thursday night, would reduce permitted burning from 40,000 to 20,000 acres this year and end the practice in 2010. The bill, however, would allow for some burning on steep terrain — about 15,000 acres, down from the current maximum of 25,000 acres allowed by a 1991 law. The majority of that land is in the hills outside Silverton, Stayton and Sublimity.

The amended bill exempts fine fescue, a long-lived grass that not only offers a viable crop on difficult land, but prevents erosion on steep hills and gobbles up carbon dioxide in three out of four seasons. Unlike most grass species, farmers say fine fescue hasn't responded well to alternatives after more than a decade of research.

People in the valley have long raised concerns about the effect the smoke has on human health.

The debate intensified after a 1988 chain-reaction traffic wreck near Albany that claimed seven lives after a field burn blazed out of control, enveloping Interstate 5 with dense smoke.

The public furor over the accident prompted the 1991 Legislature to approve a phased reduction of burnable acreage. Since the law was fully implemented, the number of acres burned each year has been limited to 40,000, from a high of 320,000 acres in 1972.

"I have to put up with this every summer," said Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene. "My daughter has asthma; she can't breathe, and people have to close up their windows and put on their air conditioning."

Opponents of the phaseout contend the concerns about human health are overstated and concerns about the economic ramifications are understated.

"This is the urban-rural divide at its worst," Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons, said. "This is going to cost hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs."

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Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com