Bonners Ferry Local Guide including all of Boundary County Idaho

Appeals court orders EPA to reconsider Idaho grass burning

Tuesday, January 30, 2007; KXLY

A federal appeals court panel has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its authorization of grass field burning in Idaho. The court in Seattle says the agency didn't take the health and environmental impacts of the practice into account before making its decision. Environmental groups say they expect Tuesday's ruling to lead the EPA eventually to ban field burning. Earthjustice lawyer David Baron says the smoke from that burning travels into Eastern Washington, Western Montana and even into Canada. Kentucky bluegrass seed grown in northern Idaho is shipped across the nation. Farmers burn the stubble to control pests and improve the next year's crop. - Full Story