By Hasso Hering
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Friday, June 26, 2009 12:00 am
SALEM - A ban on most Willamette Valley field burning starting next year passed the state Senate Thursday and was pending in the House today, where it was expected to pass as well.
The bill's effect would be concentrated in Linn County, home to more than half the grass-seed acreage in the valley.
Senate Bill 528 would reduce the allowed regular field burning acreage from 40,000 to 20,000 acres this year and zero next year.
For this season, about 150 grass seed growers registered about 57,000 acres for possible burning, more than 28,000 acres of that in Linn County.
Because of the limit, each was allocated 70 percent of the requested amount.
John Byers, manager of the smoke management program in the Department of Agriculture, said that if the bill passes, the allocation would be changed to 35 percent, but there are no plans for refunding any registration fees.
Growers pay $2 an acre to register fields, whether they get to burn or not. They pay an additional $8 an acre for any acreage actually torched.
The bill doubles the fees for registration and burning to $4 and $16 an acre, respectively.
The burn ban passed the Senate 16-14. Backers said the smoke causes health problems, particularly for people with asthma. Opponents, mostly Republicans, called it an unjustified anti-business move against Oregon's grass seed industry.
Among the no votes were Republican Sens. Frank Morse of Albany, Brian Boquist of Dallas and Fred Girod of Stayton.
Grass seed growers say occasional field burning helps them maintain a competitive edge in worldwide markets by producing some of the purest grass seed available.
Earlier this session, people who live downwind from the field burns testified the smoke makes it tough to breathe and causes health problems.
Burning is regulated to carry smoke up and away, but sometimes it collects near the ground on the east side of the valley.
Senate Republicans argued the end of burning will cause financial harm to grass seed farmers and proponents of the bill produced no data to show how many people are made ill by field burning.
The bill would allow burning to continue on as many as 15,000 acres of steep terrain in the hills outside of Silverton, Stayton and Sublimity, where fine fescue is grown.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.