SPOKANE WA (5/26/2011) – A Whitman County grain farmer, Monte Roth of Roth Farms Inc., has agreed to pay a fine of $26,000 to settle claims brought by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) for burning three large, wet piles of broken bales of wheat and grass straw without a permit. The owner of the property on which the burning took place, Terry Raugust of DRT Farms, is jointly responsible for the settlement payment.

?Washington has led the nation in minimizing and managing smoke in order to protect the public?s health,? said Ecology?s Eastern Washington Regional Director, Grant Pfeifer. ?Most farmers in our state have done an incredible job protecting air quality when burning their fields. But it isn?t always easy to change old practices.?

The illegal fires burned or smoldered between April 27 and May 1, 2009, on property owned by Raugust and operated by Roth on Farmington Road, outside the city of Garfield. Ecology received a smoke complaint from a neighboring homeowner, and air quality investigators documented illegal burning occurring on five days, April 27 through May 1, 2009.

When Ecology notified Roth about the smoke, he ultimately extinguished the fire although several days had elapsed.

One of the fires was within 100 feet of the neighbor?s home, and the smoke affected the homeowner whether the wind was blowing or not. In January 2010, Ecology issued a fine of $40,000 ($8,000 for each day of illegal burning). Roth and Raugust appealed to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board, and a settlement between Ecology and the appellants was reached April 14, 2011.

Karen Wood, Ecology?s Air Quality section manager in Spokane, said: ?This settlement is an important reminder that illegal agricultural burning is a very serious health threat. The air belongs to all of us, and Ecology has a responsibility to make sure that those who pollute it and harm people?s health are held responsible for their actions.?

A large component of emissions from burning agricultural straw piles is fine particles (soot), which often carry toxic and carcinogenic materials. These small particles remain suspended for a long time and travel significant distances. They can cause significant health problems including causing permanent lung damage.

Contact: Jani Gilbert, Communications, 509-329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177; e-mail jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov.