Calif officials postpone ban on burning ag waste
Lompoc Record, The (CA) - Thursday, May 27, 2010
Author: JULIANA BARBASSA

Farmers can keep burning some agricultural waste after California air authorities voted Thursday to postpone a full ban on the polluting practice for two years.

The California Air Resources Board's decision pushed back a June 1 deadline initially set by pollution-control legislation targeting air quality problems in the San Joaquin Valley and other rural areas.

The move allows the burning of prunings, clippings and rice field stubble that would be too expensive to dispose of in any other way, board spokesman Stanley Young said.

Agency officials intend to revisit their decision in 90 days, after the state Senate Select Committee on Air Quality conducts a June 16 hearing.

Sen. Dean Florez , D-Shafter, who authored legislation aimed at curbing pollution, questioned estimates of disposal costs presented by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

The report argued that a full ban on burning ag waste would not be economically feasible for some farmers.

The Senate committee meeting will reassess those estimates while bringing together farmers, scientists and others with a stake in the process, Florez said.

"We're going to have the meeting the air board should have had today," he said.

Meanwhile, the Senate Budget Committee voted Thursday to approve $10 million for developing alternate methods to dispose of ag waste. Florez pointed out that if the funding receives final approval, it could help farmers transition to cleaner methods.

Young said progress has been made against particle pollution, with a two-thirds reduction seen between 2002 and 2008, mostly due to previously imposed limits on burning.

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