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February 3, 2017 CapitalPress.com 9 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Field burning bill heads to Senate floor Water conference set for Feb. 16 By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — A bill that would prevent a major reduction in the number of allowable field burning days for Idaho farm- ers has been sent to the Senate floor with a “do-pass” recom- mendation. Members of the Senate Health and Welfare Commit- tee voted 6-1 in favor of the bill Jan. 25 following exten- sive public testimony. Committee members asked a few dozen questions about the Idaho Department of En- vironmental Quality proposal, which is opposed by sever- al environmental and public health groups, which claim it would endanger public health. The bill would amend Ida- ho’s crop residue burning pro- gram. Tiffany Floyd, who man- ages DEQ’s air quality divi- sion, said the main goals of the program are to protect public health while allowing farmers to continue to use the tool. Field burning rids farm- land of pests and weeds with- out the use of chemicals. “If we thought (this) was jeopardizing public health in any way, we would not be pre- senting this proposal to you,” she told committee members. DEQ can approve a burn Sean Ellis/Capital Press Idaho farmers and ag industry leaders discuss a bill that would amend Idaho’s field burning program on Jan. 25 at the Idaho Statehouse. A Senate committee approved the bill, which is designed to prevent a major reduction in the number of allowable field burning days. request only if ozone and small particulate matter (PM 2.5) levels aren’t expected to exceed 75 percent of the na- tional standard for those air pollutants. But the federal standard for ozone was tightened in Octo- ber 2015 and that will result in the number of allowable burn days in Idaho declining by half to a third, Floyd said. To avoid that, DEQ is proposing to loosen Idaho’s ozone standard to 90 percent of the federal standard. Some environmental groups and public health ad- vocates wanted DEQ to tight- en the state’s PM 2.5 level to offset the loosening of the ozone standard. “The science just isn’t there to support that position,” Floyd said. Austin Hopkins, a con- servation assistant with the Idaho Conservation League, submitted written comments to the committee on behalf of several groups that oppose DEQ’s proposal, which still must pass the full Senate and House. In those comments, the groups accuse DEQ of siding with the agricultural industry at the expense of protecting public health. Their letter states that the proposal “represents a deplor- able breach of the agreement reached by all parties in good faith on a resolution of the field burning issue in 2008.” “Our major concern is that (it) would weaken protections for public health in Idaho,” Hopkins said. Several farmers who use field burning as a tool testified in support of DEQ’s proposal. Farmers who burn their fields following harvest would be greatly impacted by the federal ozone stan- dard change in the absence of DEQ’s proposal, said Jus- tin McCleod, president of the Nezperce Prairie Grass Grow- ers Association. In response to a question from a committee member, McCleod and other farmers said it would not be econom- ically feasible to grow Ken- tucky bluegrass without field burning. Without field burning, “the Kentucky bluegrass industry would not survive in Idaho,” said Nezperce farmer Greg Branson. Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, said DEQ’s pro- posal was a good, safe solu- tion to the tightening of the federal ozone standard. If the farmers who burn their fields lost that ability, Idaho would be “looking at the demise of a very important industry,” he said. Farmworker goes from illegal immigrant to legal dairy foreman By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press HOMEDALE, Idaho — Immigration reform is ex- pected by many to be a major issue during the term of Presi- dent Donald Trump. Whether that translates into some type of amnesty or path to residency for the millions of people estimated to be in this country illegally remains to be seen. But at least one immigrant who came here illegally in the 1980s and benefited from the amnesty signed into law by President Ronald Reagan isn’t hopeful that today’s ille- gal immigrants will enjoy that same opportunity. Rutilio Bautista was pleas- antly stunned when Reagan in 1986 signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act that offered amnesty to farmwork- ers here illegally. Bautista had crossed the U.S. border illegally four years earlier and was working at a greenhouse in Idaho. Because he had been working in agriculture, the law allowed him to obtain a green card and remain legally. “I couldn’t believe it,” Bautista said when he heard what Reagan had done. Bautista said he’s not hopeful such an opportunity will arise again any time soon. He said politicians have used the promise of immigra- tion reform “as a card in their pockets” for years to gain Sean Ellis/Capital Press From left, Jenny, Luz, Norma and Rutilio are pictured at the Bau- tista home near Homedale, Idaho, on Dec. 30. Rutilio came to the U.S. illegally in 1982 but gained legal residency following the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act and is now foreman of a dairy. votes but have no intention of actually pushing for it. Bautista said he realizes Reagan signed the law to help farmers but it did more than that. It offered a way for him and a lot of other people here illegally to forge a new life. “The reason Reagan did it was for the farmers,” he said. “But President Reagan helped not only the farmers but a lot of illegal immigrants as well.” Bautista first entered the U.S. in 1982, when he was 17, walking for two straight days. After working in a series of farm-related jobs, including in a greenhouse, cleaning beans, processing hops and detas- seling corn, he went to work at a dairy outside Homedale owned by Bob Sonke. He has remained there and is now the dairy’s foreman. “You can’t beat him; he’s good people,” Sonke said. “He’ll do anything for any- one.” Bautista and his wife, Luz, 5-7/#4x who, like her husband, was raised on a farm in Mexico, have raised two daughters, Jenny and Norma. Jenny is majoring in food science at the University of Idaho and is the state secre- tary for Idaho FFA. She hopes to remain an advocate for agriculture and would like to help lead efforts to convince youngsters who were raised on farms to re- main in agriculture. Norma graduated from Boise State University and al- though her career plans don’t involve agriculture, she spent a summer detasseling corn so she could gain an apprecia- tion for what her parents did to give her an education. By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press A conference examining water issues in Idaho and across the West is planned for the Superior Conference Center in Burley, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 16. The conference is spon- sored in part by the Ida- ho Humanities Council in conjunction with the visit- ing Smithsonian Institution exhibit Water/Ways, which will be on display at the Bur- ley Public Library through March 12. Speakers will present a variety of perspectives on the story of irrigation, the future of hydropower, recre- ation, aquaculture and other topics. Conference organizer Russell Tremayne, human- ities council board member and a College of Southern Idaho history professor, said he’s had a water con- ference in mind for a couple of years. There have been big wa- ter issues in Idaho for a long time, including the recent landmark agreement be- tween surface and ground water users. A lot of legal discussion has surrounded Idaho’s var- ious water challenges, and the idea is to bring water experts to the table to ex- plain to average citizens what has taken place, he said. “We’re all water users. … Ultimately, we’re always going to be in a pickle with scarcity,” he said. Conference speakers and their topics will include: • Jim Jones, former chief justice of the Idaho Su- preme Court: “A Little Dam Problem.” • Barbara Cosens, Uni- versity of Idaho College of Law professor: “Adapting Water Law to a Changing Climate: Through the Win- dow of Drought.” • Kevin Marsh, Idaho State University environ- mental historian: “Slip- ping Through the Cracks: The Snake River, Its Aqui- fer and Idaho’s Water Conflicts.” In addition, Tremayne will moderate a discussion with local water users about today’s water issues and their concerns. That panel will include Randy Bingham, former manager of the Burley Ir- rigation District; Randy Brown, manager of the Southwest Irrigation Dis- trict; Brian Olmstead, man- ager of the Twin Falls Canal Co.; Mark Davidson, direc- tor of conservation initia- tives for the Idaho Nature Conservancy; Barry Pater, chairman of the College of Southern Idaho Aqua- culture Department; and a representative of Idaho Power. The conference will also feature luncheon keynote speaker Cort Conley, an Ida- ho river guide, historian and writer, and his presentation, “Songs of the Winds: 1,200 Miles Down the Snake Riv- er.” The Smithsonian Water/ Ways exhibition examines the environmental, cultur- al and historic significance of water, including how the availability of water affect- ed settlement and migration patterns across the Western U.S. It also looks at how human creativity and re- sourcefulness are provid- ing new ways of protecting water resources and renew- ing respect for the natural environment. The conference and lunch are free, but registra- tion is required. For more information about the con- ference and exhibit and to register, visit: bplibrary. org. 5-7/#4N
