AMG Capitol Review - March 5, 2010

NPGGA Letter from the Executive Director - mailed to membership on March 8, 2007

Our letter of March 5, 2007 generated several responses.  First, let me be very clear that NPGGA is giving full support to trying to find solutions to the field burning decision by the Ninth Circuit Court.  NPGGA is at as many meetings as possible to seek solutions and opportunities on behalf of our growers.  I apologize if anything has been conveyed differently.

The Crop Residue Disposal Advisory Committee of ISDA met today at ISDA for an update on the issue.  Representatives from NPGGA present were Steve Bateman and Nathan Riggers.  I would encourage you to call either of them related to the discussions at the meeting.  In brief, this is what was gained from the meeting this morning:

BURNING FEE FOR 2007:  If you farm tribal ground, you must pay the $2.00 fee to ISDA for burning.  We believe that SAFE would like to see us bypass this requirement this year, but we were assured again today that the registered acres at $2.00/acre provides you the safe harbor protection that is necessary.  In addition, you still need to secure a permit to burn from the Idaho State Department of Lands and you must notify your local emergency services (Sheriff’s office) that you are burning.  The Nez Perce Tribe already reported several hundred acres were burned on Wednesday, March 7 – an excellent burning day.  NOTE: The Tribe may tell you that you do not need to register or pay the $2.00 fee.  Please take advice from ISDA – you do need to follow this procedure in order to be protected.

CSP CONTRACTS:  We are advising all growers to take your CSP contracts into your local NRCS office and have a discussion related to the Ninth Circuit Court decision.  Each contract is different.  Don’t rely on what your neighbor has said about their contract.  This is a farmer-by-farmer situation and the sooner you can do this, the more assured you will be of your federal crop program contract.

WHAT IS IN THE FUTURE:  It appears that there are potentially some legal remedies to the decision.  These opportunities are being carefully studied and a plan crafted that may bring some relief.  However, we were also cautioned that part of the careful monitoring this matter is receiving is due to the ramifications that might not be seen at first glance.  The committee felt that ISDA, DEQ and the Attorney General’s office were using excellent care and legal consultation to not position Idaho’s field burning activity in more jeopardy by a quick not-thought-out decision.

APPLICATION FOR A NEW SIP:  The opportunity to modify the State Implementation Plan (SIP) comes with some opportunities and some caution.  The minimum amount of time to complete the process is at least three years.  The expense is in the millions of dollars.  Never before has DEQ done a statewide demonstration to prove the validity of a SIP.  DEQ made an excellent presentation that was very helpful in understanding the perimeters of the SIP.

GROWER MEETINGS:  Idaho State Department of Agriculture Director, Celia Gould, and Department of Environmental Quality Director, Toni Hardesty, will travel to Northern Idaho on Tuesday, March 13 for the sole purpose of meeting with growers to explain their position related to the Ninth Circuit Court decision.

Details of the meetings with the Directors:

SPECIAL THANKS:  Both Nathan and Steve commented on how deeply they appreciated the work of the ISDA, DEQ and the Attorney General’s office in pursuing every avenue at this time.  Over lunch, we discussed how all the agencies are working together to try and help the Idaho farmer.  Both Directors expressed their personal grief with the decision, recognizing the impact on growers, grower’s families and rural communities throughout Idaho.

If you have more specific questions, I recommend you contact

                                    Work Phone               Cell Phone

Steve Bateman          208-937-2482              208-790-1999

Nathan Riggers         208-937-1084              208-791-6314

Where do we go from here:  I encourage you to keep in contact through our website  www.npgga.org for updated information as we have it and have the information confirmed to be accurate.  We will also do mailings as we secure information we think is important.

I can be contacted at any of the following:

            email:  benjamin@amgidaho.com                   office – 208-888-0988             cell – 208-861-6775

9^TH CIRCUIT COURT DECISION:  We were surprised and disappointed with the decision handed down by the 9^th Circuit Court related to field burning in Idaho.  The lawsuit was SAFE and American Lung Association against EPA Region 10 and the State of Idaho.  The decision – immediately halt all field burning in Idaho.

We have made many phone calls and held several meetings on the issue.  Let me update you on a few of the items.

1)      We are waiting for the Justice Department to hand down their statement related to this decision.  Nothing can proceed until that happens – no injunctions, appeals or anything.

2)      There have been meetings with ISDA and new Director Celia Gould on this matter.  Her staff person in charge is George Robinson and they are working with DEQ leadership to determine the best alternatives.

3)      Our understanding is that it does not apply to lands on CDA or Nez Perce Tribe property.  However, those are the only two reservations listed as exemptions because they had filed papers with EPA in prior years that exempt them from this ruling.  Plus, they are not bound by US Court decisions as sovereign nations.

4)      DEQ has advised us that we could file a State Implementation Plan (SIP) but that the process is very time consuming and most likely would not be ready by the 2007 season.

5)      Some people think this applies only to bluegrass.  That is not true – it is all open field burning in Idaho and applies to every commodity where burning is an approved practice.

6)      We have looked at the possibility of a legislative fix to the problem.  The Governor’s
legal council, David Hensley, is very informed on the subject and the Governor says something has to be done, but again – we are waiting on the Justice Department before we can move.

7)      Director Gould is scheduled to meet with the Idaho Grain Producers, who have a much higher acre impact by this decision than the grass seed industry, on February 19.  She assures them she will have some answers by that time.

8)      We are unsure if this is open burning or just field burning.  Attorney Gary Baise says it might be broad enough to include ditch banks since they are attached to fields.

9)      The interesting thing in making some phone calls is that many growers indicated, “This does not apply to me – I don’t grow grass”.  That is not true – it is any commodity, grass seed, alfalfa and clover seed fields and grain crops.  In 2006, we passed legislation to make it legal to burn CREP ground.  This decision also makes that decision null and void.

The Idaho Statesman carried an article following the announcement.  I know the Lewiston and Spokane papers have also carried articles.  All we can do is keep you posted at this time.

I will continue to work with the NPGGA Board to keep them informed on any developments related to this situation.

Grass Seed Pest Management Strategic Planning Meeting

Tuesday and Wednesday, February 27-28, 2007

Corvallis, Oregon

Enclosed is material about this Western States meeting.  When I spoke with Joe, I asked why Corvallis and he indicated the meetings move around the Northwest.  For instance, the alfalfa meeting was in Boise and the other states that wanted to participate had to travel.

With burning perhaps not an available tool for control insects, you may be more interested in trying to carpool in order to participate in this conference.

The November 7 General Election left Idaho a strong Republican state – probably still holding the title of the strongest “red” state in the nation.  Here is a recap of a few of the results:

CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS:  Every one of our Constitutional Officers (statewide) is Republican.  Unofficial votes will not be posted until around November 22, so the numbers and percentages we refer to are unofficial.

Governor:  Congressman Butch Otter received 53% of the vote (237,276) compared to Democratic candidate Jerry Brady who received 44% of the vote (198,830).  We dealt with some interesting comments in the last days of the campaign related to Brady.  One was an editorial published by Ag Weekly that endorsed Brady.  Brady had a platform that included critical environmental issues that made the agriculture community uncomfortable.  Note: Editorial from Ag Weekly is attached.

Superintendent of Public Instruction:  Republican Tom Luna (business background) won 51% of the vote against long-time Education Department employee Jana Jones who received 49% of the vote.  The IEA has been very opposed to Luna as the Supt of Schools.  Luna ran two years ago and lost to Marilyn Howard, the lone Democrat in the Constitutional officer line-up the past two years.

State Land Board:  The Constitutional Officers who make up the State Land Board are the following: Governor Butch Otter; Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, State Controller Donna Jones, State Treasurer Ron Crane and State School Superintendent Tom Luna.  All are Republicans who will decide issues such as timber sales, grazing fees, rental fees and how revenues generated from endowment lands will be spent on education in Idaho.

LEGISLATURE:  The legislature had several changes with the House Republicans losing six seats to Democrats.  Most of these changes took place in Ada County where we are seeing some Democrat stronghold beginning to develop and very close races in the 2006 election.  As we head into the 2007 Legislature, the breakdown of the House and Senate is as follows:

            Idaho Senate            (28 Republicans and 7 Democrats)  This is the same ratio as in the 2006 session, with some new faces

            Idaho House            (51 Republicans and 19 Democrats)  2/3 of the House is 47, so the Republicans still control overrides and veto powers

We have many new faces in both sides of the Rotunda:  New players include:

The legislature will come to town the first part of December for reorganization.  At that time, committee chairmen will be determined as well as the selection of a new Speaker of the House and party leadership in both Houses.  Because of the shake-up in elections, there will be several new leaders in both parties.  Earlier it was reported to you the status of committee chairmen.  Here is the current status:

 In the House, the decision about the Speaker between Rep. Bill Deal and Rep. Lawerence Denney will make a big difference in who is named to what committees.  In the Senate, a legislator cannot be chairman of a committee and also be on the powerful budget-setting committee – JFAC.  Therefore, with the number of retirements in Senate Chairmanship, look for some people to leave JFAC and become chairmen of Senate Committees.

ANRIPAC:  Your organization holds membership with the Agriculture Natural Resource Industry Political Action Committee which supported candidates for the general election.  Enclosed is a report from ANRIPAC that shows the election status for each candidate ANRIPAC supported (see attached).

CONGRESSMAN BILL SALI:  Republican Bill Sali had 50% of the vote (115,844) compared to Democrat challenger Larry Grant with 45% of the vote (103,914).  Prior to the election, Ag Lobbyists met with both men and discussed their goals and vision for Idaho.  With the change in leadership at the U S House from Republican to Democrat, Bill Sali will enter very low among many on the totem pole.  We look for Congressman Sali to establish his regional offices in Idaho and also pull together his DC staff in preparation for the January start of the 2007 Congress.

ENERGY:  On October 10, the executive director attended a two-day meeting entitled “Practical Pathways” sponsored by Idaho Council on Industry and the Environment dealing with energy issues.  The interim legislative committee that has been meeting has indicated they may have as many as 60 pieces of legislation for consideration.  There have been numerous meetings related to wind, anaerobic, biofuels, hydro and nuclear energy issues over the past few months.

INITIATIVES:  The result of the initiatives on the ballot November 7 softened some of the issues that would need to be dealt with by the legislature.  The affirmation of the special session related to property tax relief and the defeat of the request for additional funds for public education will set broad perimeters for the legislative schedule.  The legislature convenes on Monday, January 9, in Boise.  Everyone is speculating with a new Governor and new Speaker just how long the 2007session might be.

Governor Otter will begin immediately to pull his staff and agency directors into place.  Last week, the Director of Fish and Game announced his retirement as of January 1.  There may be leadership for agencies pulled from the legislative body resulting in still more changes among the 105 members.

Congress will cripple along for the next 60 days until the Democrats take control of both Houses.  We anticipate challenging days as the President and Congress battle out appointments, war, Farm Bill, appropriations, federal deficit and immigration issues. 

Weed Free Hay and Straw Questions: The person designated at ISDA for questions related to weed free hay and straw is Dan Safford. Dan can be reached by email dsafford@idahoag.us or by phone at: 332-8592 (office) or 880-5584 (cell).

Look for a new Children's weed video:
The Idaho Weed Awareness Campaign under the leadership of Roger Batt, State Coordinator is working with a firm in Lewiston to develop a new children's video dealing with noxious weeds. The short (less than 12 minute) video will feature "Elwood the Elk" as he helps children learn about noxious weeds and how they can help to control weeds where they live and play. The video is being sponsored by a number of agencies and organizations. Batt expects the video to be released sometime in the fall of 2006.

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION: Click Here

For updates on Idaho legislation that impacts agriculture and natural resource issues in Idaho, please visit the Food Producers of Idaho webpage at www.foodproducersofidaho.org

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