February 10, 2017
CapitalPress.com
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9
Idaho
Bill would create dyed fuel enforcement program in Idaho
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — A bill that
would create a dyed fuel en-
forcement program in Idaho
has been introduced in the
Legislature.
Members of the Senate
Transportation
Committee
voted unanimously Feb. 2
to print the bill, by Sen. Bert
Brackett, a Republican ranch-
er from Rogerson and the
committee’s chairman.
Brackett said his bill would
create a basic enforcement
program with the goal of stop-
ping any illegal use of dyed
fuel, which is also called dyed
diesel and is exempt from
state and federal fuel taxes be-
cause it’s only for use in off-
road, unlicensed vehicles.
“We don’t want a bloated
Associated Press File
The Idaho Legislature is considering an enforcement program
aimed at keeping untaxed dyed diesel meant for tractors, combines
and other off-road equipment from being used in cars and trucks.
bureaucracy with this,” he
told Food Producers of Ida-
ho members recently. “The
goal is not to increase revenue
through penalties. It’s to in-
crease compliance.”
“The whole gist of this
proposal is that it will be rea-
sonable,” Brackett said.
Dyed fuel is heavily used
in the agricultural, mining,
timber and construction in-
dustries.
Idaho Farm Bureau Feder-
ation and Food Producers of
Idaho both sent white papers
to lawmakers outlining their
concerns about a possible
dyed fuel enforcement pro-
gram.
Brackett said those papers
were helpful as he was put-
ting the proposal together and
his legislation addresses their
concerns.
Law enforcement offi-
cers in Idaho currently don’t
have authority to test fuel
tanks for dyed fuel, which
is tinted red so it can be
easily identified. Brackett’s
bill would allow certain of-
ficers and weigh stations to
do that.
A 2016 report by the state
tax commission, state police
and transportation department
estimated that as much as $11
million worth of the fuel is ille-
Well driller stays busiest in winter
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
Rich Scrivner and his two-
man crew seek shelter in his
“dog house” during winter
while drilling irrigation wells
in the Raft River Valley of
southeastern Idaho.
“It’s what I call my trailer,”
says the Malta resident. “I get
a fire burning in the stove, and
we’re toasty no matter what’s
going on outside.”
Before he bought the
wooden dog house, ranchers
stacked up round bales around
his trucks to provide shelter
when he began drilling in the
valley in 2003 to help a friend
who had too much work.
Winter is his busiest time.
“From mid-October to
May, it’s go, go, go. Farmers
need the water in summer, so
I do my drilling and mainte-
nance during their downtime.”
Scrivner, 67, says drilling
wells has been a gratifying ca-
reer for decades.
“Every job is different,” he
says. “You never know what
you’ll run into. When I’m
done, I have a great sense of
accomplishment. Like gold,
silver, or copper, water is a
valuable commodity. Unlike
metals, though, you can’t live
without it.”
He encourages irrigators
to do routine maintenance on
their wells.
“It’s a lot cheaper, about
$18,000, than drilling a new
TWIN FALLS, Idaho —
Poor water quality is often
overlooked when pesticides
aren’t performing as they
should.
But water is the main in-
gredient in a tank mix, and
the quality of that water is the
first thing applicators should
investigate.
Water can make up 99 per-
cent of the mix, so its quali-
ty is critical, Ronda Hirnyck,
University of Idaho state pes-
ticide coordinator, told those
attending a pesticide seminar
at Agri-Action on Friday.
Poor pesticide perfor-
mance could be a matter of
water acidity or minerals or
suspended solids in the water,
she said.
“If you have a problem,
remember water quality could
be an issue,” she said.
The most common com-
plaint associated with water
quality is that herbicides ar-
en’t working effectively. Most
herbicides are weak acids. If
the water pH — a scale that
measures acidity — is not
compatible, it causes the pes-
ticide to break apart so it’s
no longer effective. That can
happen quickly, in anywhere
from minutes to hours.
Most herbicides work best
in water with a pH of 4 to 6.5.
Chemical stability varies, but
most herbicides need a pH be-
low 7 or neutral. More alka-
line water negatively affects
chemical stability.
“The bottom line is you
probably need to get the pH
down because the mix is not
going to be effective,” she said.
Oregon professional
to lead southern Idaho
economic development
Capital Press
Photos by Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Rich Scrivner works on billing when he isn’t drilling an irrigation well.
Rich Scrivner relies on a small
camera to diagnose problems
that require repairs.
600-foot-deep well that will
cost about $180,000 for the
drilling, electrical lines, pump
and pipe.”
For repair and maintenance,
Scrivner relies on a camera
and a scrubbing device.
“If you’re not using a cam-
era, you’re making an educat-
ed guess about what’s wrong,”
he says.
To remove mineral buildup,
he uses a high-pressure pump
that sprays 9 gallons of water
a minute at 5,000 pounds per
square inch.
“That jetter head can make
a casing look new,” he says.
The area’s geology can
damage a well. A fault line
runs through part of the Raft
River Valley, so as the earth
moves it often shifts the well
casing slightly.
To make it straight and
round again, he inserts a
swedge, a large cone-shaped
piece of metal with a cable at-
tached to it, into the casing.
“Then you beat on it,” he
says, laughing.
As the swedge descends
A pH of 3.5 to 6 is satisfac-
tory for short-term storage. A
pH between 6 and 7 is proba-
bly OK if it is sprayed within
an hour or two of mixing, she
said.
Applicators can use a lit-
mus strip to test pH. If it’s
greater than 7, they should
consider adding a buffering
agent or acidifier or finding an
alternative water source.
Minerals in water can also
affect the efficacy of pesti-
cides. Water hardness is the
measure of positively charged
minerals, and most water is
hard. Most pesticides have
negative charges. The miner-
als act like a magnet, absorb-
ing the chemicals in the water.
They tie up the pesticide and
reduce its effectiveness.
Noticeable effects are seen
in 2,4-D and glyphosate at
hardness as low as 150 parts
per million, she said.
The amount of total dis-
solved solids can be tested by
evaporating water to dryness
and measuring the remaining
minerals. Dry ammonium sul-
fate can be added to water to
reduce hardness, she said.
Suspended solids in water
can also be an issue in pesti-
cide performance. Some pes-
ticides — such as glyphosate
— are attracted to soil parti-
cles and will bind with any
suspended soil particles in the
water, reducing efficacy.
Applicators can test the
level of suspended solids by
dropping a quarter in a 5-gal-
lon bucket of water. If they
can’t see the quarter, the wa-
ter is too turbid. The remedy
and pressure is applied, the
casing becomes round and
straight again.
He stores the massive tools
of his trade along the edges of
his one-acre property. Drill bits
range in diameter from 16 to
24 inches. They weigh 1,500
to 1,800 pounds and stretch 6
to 8 feet long. Next to them are
150-pound wrenches he must
maneuver with a hydraulic
winch to tighten the bits onto
a drilling stem.
Since 2003, he estimates he
has drilled 30 new irrigation
wells in the region as far south
as Park Valley and as far north
as Paul. A typical well pro-
vides 3,000 gallons of water
a minute.
is to find an alternative water
source, she said.
Water quality issues that
affect pesticide performance
can be remedied, she said.
“You just need to sam-
ple water so you know what
you have to begin with. As
easy as it is to sample water,
it’s worthwhile to test,” she
said.
TWIN FALLS, Idaho —
Southern Idaho Economic
Development Organization
has hired Connie Stopher to
serve as its new executive di-
rector, effective March 15.
The announcement was
made on Feb. 1.
Stopher has been executive
director of the South Coast
Development Council in Coos
Bay, Ore., since 2014. In that
position, she was responsible
for launching the council’s
business retention and expan-
sion program and assisting
with numerous business start-
ups, expansions and reloca-
tions, which have added hun-
dreds of new jobs throughout
the region, according to a
press release from SIEDO.
In her new position with
SIEDO, she will be respon-
sible for leading the econom-
ic development activities in
Southern Idaho to develop
and grow the region by work-
ing closely with SIEDO’s
executive board, member cit-
ies and counties, the College
of Southern Idaho, Business
Plus (a regional private busi-
ness nonprofit organization),
regional and state agencies
and site selectors.
Her efforts will be focused
on talent attraction and busi-
ness recruitment, expansion
and retention.
“The region has seen tre-
mendous success over the last
several years, and I’m excited
to be working with the talent-
ed individuals and communi-
ties that have supported that
growth,” Stopher said in the
press release.
Stopher brings extensive
skills in all areas of econom-
ic development, having run a
successful similar organiza-
Courtesy of SIEDO
The Southern Idaho Economic
Development Organization has
announced the hiring of Connie
Stopher as the new executive
director. Stopher was the
executive director of the South
Coast Development Council in
Coos Bay, Ore.
tion in Oregon, said Dan Ol-
mstead, SIEDO chairman.
“She offers the ability to
develop a vision for the region
to move the organization and
economic successes in south-
ern Idaho forward. She has al-
ready connected with several
of our regional partners in the
interview process and is ready
to hit the ground running,” he
said.
Stopher has also served
as an economic development
specialist for Bannock De-
velopment Corp. and human
resource workforce training
instructor at Idaho State Uni-
versity.
She earned a master’s de-
gree in public administration
and a bachelor of arts in polit-
ical science from ISU.
Brad Wills has served
as SIEDO interim direc-
tor since October, after
Jeff Hough resigned in
September due to personal
reasons.
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The FPI and IFBF white
papers oppose joint jurisdic-
tion of an enforcement pro-
gram with the federal Internal
Revenue Service.
“Yes, Idaho will have sole
jurisdiction over the pro-
gram,” Brackett said. “There
will be no joint jurisdiction
with the IRS.”
The white papers also
called for an outreach and
education program before the
program goes into effect, and
Brackett said that would hap-
pen. His legislation would be
effective July 1 and require
a six-month outreach effort
before enforcement actions
begin.
That means any enforce-
ment wouldn’t begin until
early next year.
“That’s ample time to get
the word out,” Brackett said.
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Water quality impacts pesticide performance
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
gally used in Idaho each year.
IFBF’s white paper chal-
lenges that premise.
Based on the report’s es-
timate, that means about 37
million gallons of dyed fuel
was used illegally on Ida-
ho highways in 2015, IFBF
pointed out. “We question
whether one-sixth of the dyed
fuel consumed in ... Idaho is
illegally used on Idaho’s high-
ways.”
But IFBF and other farm
groups have told lawmakers
that they are willing to dis-
cuss a dyed fuel enforcement
program as long as it doesn’t
unfairly target agriculture and
isn’t burdensome.
Brackett’s bill would set
the fine for a first offense at
$250. It would go to $500 for
a second offense and $1,000
for a third offense.
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