FW: FW: field burning

["Loreca Stauber" <lstauber@latah.id.us>]

Hello Visionaries:  Mr. Roetman's (of DEQ, Lewiston, Idaho) response (e-mail
below) to Ms. Sandmeyer's complaint about field burning and smoke may be of
value to those who have concerns about the practice of field burning.  I
would hope as people openly talk about the subject, solutions can be found
and  effected that meet mutual interests of those who burn and those who
share the same space where fields are being burned.  I will continue to
share the information as these come up the Board of Commissioners' way.
Loreca J. Stauber
-----Original Message-----
From: RAYLAN ROETMAN [mailto:RROETMAN@DEQ.STATE.ID.US]
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 8:44 AM
To: tutti@idaho.tds.net
Cc: EKOPCZYN@DEQ.STATE.ID.US; JBELLATT@DEQ.STATE.ID.US;
lstauber@latah.id.us
Subject: Re: FW: field burning


Dear Ms. Sandmeyer,

Your e-mail to the Latah County Commissioners has been forwarded to the
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Lewiston Regional Office.
In response, I am formally writing up your complaint.  In addition, I have
passed your e-mail on to the DEQ State Office in Boise and to the Department
of Agriculture.

With your serious health condition, you may want to request an air purifier
for use during the agricultural burning seasons.  Please contact the
American Red Cross of Greater Idaho at 1-800-853-2570 or 208-947-HELP to
obtain information as to the availability of air purifiers for Latah County
residents.

Also, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold an informal public
meeting
to receive comment on the USDA's Agricultural Air Quality Task Force
agricultural burning and voluntary measures recommendations.  I encourage
you to state your concerns there.  The meeting is
open to all and is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on September 27,
2000 at
the Ramada Inn, 8909 Airport Road, Spokane,
Washington.  For more information or to obtain copies of the recommendations
please call 919-541-3223.  To obtain copies of the recommendations via the
Internet use the following Internet address:
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/faca/aaqtf.html.  Follow the link for the
Recommendations.

Please feel free to contact me directly regarding this or any other air
quality issue at 877-541-3304 or at the addresses provided below.




Ray Roetman
Air Quality Science Officer
IDEQ - Lewiston Regional Office
1118 'F' Street
Lewiston, ID 83501
(208) 799-4370
Fax (208) 799-3451
rroetman@deq.state.id.us

>>> "Loreca Stauber" <lstauber@latah.id.us> 09/19 4:43 PM >>>


-----Original Message-----
From: Tutti [mailto:tutti@idaho.tds.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2000 3:22 PM
To: lstauber@latah.id.us
Subject: field burning


Dear Ms. Stauber, I wish to register a formal complaint with your office in
regard to field burning in Latah County and the surrounding area.
Yesterday, Sept. 18, I was in Moscow attending school at the university and
working until approximately 4 PM.  As I left my office to return to my home
in Kendrick, I was inundated with thick smoke which remained with me during
my entire drive home. I immediately rolled up all of my windows and closed
the car vent, but by the time I reached home, I was incapcitated with an
acute asthma attack.  I have three different types of inhalers as well as a
breathing machine that delivers a very strong dose of medication directly
into my lungs.  With the help of my friends and neighbors, I was able to do
back-to-back treatments and finally alleviate my distress by 9:00 that
evening.  This time I did not require hospitalization, but with the field
burning season upon us, I don't know how many more attacks I can head off
here at home.  This is a critically important issue and I hope that the
commission will address it before too many of us have to suffer the
consequences by either becomming sick or worse, killed by this insane
policy and total disregard for air quality. Thank you for your attention to
this matter.  Sincerely, Marilyn (Tutti) Sandmeyer, P.O. Box 7, Kendrick,
Id 83537