Comment on FR Doc # N/A

To Whom It May Concern: For years the people in northern Idaho have been forced to breath extremely unclean air as grass and wheat farmers burned their fields in the fall. The citizens of northern Idaho have strenuously objected to this condition, yet both the EPA and the State of Idaho believe that the economic concerns of a few farmers far outweigh the health concerns of the thousands of people living in the area. Thankfully, the federal courts stepped in and ended burning after taking into consideration the federal Clean Air Act. We have always been amazed by the EPA’s refusal to pursue its responsibility to protect our health, and are writing you today to object to your intention to reinstate field burning in the future. The reasons for our objections are obvious: smoke adversely affects our health. Even amid assurances from the State of Idaho and the IDEQ regulators that they are very concerned about monitoring the burning, we have had smoke so thick inside our home in Moscow, Idaho, that we have been able to see its brown haze in the rays of the late afternoon sun entering the windows of our bedroom. Unable to escape the smoke, we have lain wheezing in bed while the burning continued. Due to chest congestion and headaches, we have, and we also know others who have, missed work due to illness from field smoke. A friend’s son with asthma has had to go to the emergency room at the local hospital because of field smoke. Obviously, assurances by the IDEQ mean nothing. That agency has stated to us numerous times that they only give advance approval to field burning once they have considered the existing quality of air in our area and the direction of the wind, suggesting that by doing so we wouldn’t be adversely impacted by smoke. Such assurances mean nothing. Despite the agency’s best efforts, we still have had extremely smoky skies in Moscow when fields are burned. Unexpected shifts in wind direction, field smoke coupled with smoke from prescribed burns by the Forest Service and unintentional forest fires burning in our increasingly dry forests, actual lack of concern by State agencies, and the inability of man to control or adequately predict weather patterns, have all contributed to a consistent result—filthy air which citizens of northern Idaho are forced to breathe. The recent suggestion that the EPA has agreed to expedite the return of field burning both baffles and outrages us. How can the EPA, the agency whose expressed mission is to protect the health of the citizens of the U.S., so cavalierly disregard our health? It is time for the EPA to insure that intentionally set fires never again impact the health of the citizens of northern Idaho. The only way to do this is to ban all field burning in the future. Sincerely, Lynn and Vince Murray, 717 East First St., Moscow, Idaho 83843 (vinceandlynn@yahoo.com)