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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/30/1979 Meeting " . tit M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting July 30, 1979 Special meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller at 4:30 p.m., Council Chambers, with the following Councilors present: Gretchen Miller, Scott Lieuallen, D.W. Hamel, Jack Delay, Betty Smith, Brian Obie, Eric Haws. Councilor Emily Schue was absent. I. Ordinance: Cities to elect to receive State Revenue Sharing Funds CB 1938--An ordinance electing to receive State Revenue Sharing Funds distributed through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission account for the fiscal year ending July 30, 1980, and declaring an emergency. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be read the second time by council' bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this time. The motion carried unanimously and the bill was read the second time by council e bill number only. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Ro 11 ca 11 vot e. All Councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18444. II. Field Burning: Staff Report (materials distributed) Manager explained the special meeting was called to act on item I, but also to consider developments on the field-burning front. Because of the need to discuss and develop positions, precipitated by discussions with the Governor, it was decided to call a special meeting. Manager referred, to the status report which had been distributed, as well as slides explained by Terry Smith. He introduced Mr. Stan Long, City Attorney. Mr. Long noted that in the last few weeks, staff has been in almost daily contact with the Council and Council President. He noted that they had been to court to establish that there was a federal law that set field burning limits at 50,000 acres. They established that no one could violate that law simply because they wanted to. Mr. Long indicated that the Council should make policy decisions. He described the environment in which the City finds itself. The Environmen- tal Protection Agency has indicated that it is not going to insist on enforcement of the 50,000 acre limit for this year. It is not going to e Lf/s 7/30/79--1 .' ' . approve or disapprove the request by the State to change the Federal law for next year. Any action by the Environmental Protection Agency would e make it impossible for the Governor to issue an executive order. The EPA indicated informally that they would be disapproving the request for revision on procedural and substantive grounds. What they did, in an apparent change of attitude, is to say that they would like to approve a revision to 180,000 acres, but there were some technical defects that required another round of State hearings. In this environment, the Governor has determined to resolve the controversy of how much burning for this year, and perhaps years to come, by executive order. Mr. Long said it is arguable that the Governor has the authority under the Clean Air Act or certain provisions of the State law. It is also arguable that he does not. We have respectfully disagreed with the legal advice on which he is acting, Mr. Long said. When the Mayor met with the Governor to discuss what form any field-burning resolution might take, he found the Governor to be very cooperative, very positive in his attitude of protecting the citizens of Eugene from any deterioration in their environment. The Mayor asked the Governor not to relax rules for burning any more than last year. Last year was the best year to date for air quality. The Mayor asked that enforcement be strengthened as, it is believed, substantial violations have occurred. The Mayor asked the Governor for more balanced research, research on the effects of the smoke to peoples' health. The Mayor asked the Governor that the solution address itself to more than one year. I e Mr. Long said the City can make a policy decision to challenge any inter- vention by anyone to increase the 50,000-acre limit or the City could decide to set that question aside and address the issue of how the burning is to occur and how it is to occur for years to come. Mr. Long asked the Council to make a policy decision as to whether to go along with its previous instructions of holding the burning limit to 50,000 acres or to appear before the Environmental Quality Commission and try to have the Commission adopt strict rules that would ensure at least as controlled burning as last year for increased acreage. Staff recommended that the Council adopt a wait-and-see attitude, meet the Governor's intended actions cautiously, but optimistically. Mr. Long felt that an executive order would be general, accompanied with the Governor's philosophy or intentions. The City should meet the Governor on his own terms, go before the Commission, and urge the proposals that are outlined in the staff report. If the proposals are adopted, and the Council is satisfied, it could end the controversy for awhile. If the City were dissatisfied, or if they have misunderstood what is to occur, the Council could come back to the question of authority and the question of EPA's involvement on the national level. Terry Smith, the City's Environmental Analyst, explained improvements in field burning techniques; moisture content, improved ignition techniques, strip lighting and backfires, and changes in the rules concerning south priority burning. e ~lb 7/30/79--2 '.~,. "~'~~A ; e Mr. Smith said they have tried to prevent the upwind burning of south priority acres (those acres next to airports, highways, or sensitive areas). It has been established that the south priority acres produce 45 percent of the smoke that intrudes Eugene. The EQC is going to attempt some new burning practices designed to send the smoke to 3,000 feet. It has relaxed the south priority burning rules. If this burning technique does not work, they will discontinue the practice. Mr. Smith concluded that the weather last year was very unusual and, with the same rules, Eugene might get more smoke. Mr. Smith said the City has been working on two types of performance standards: 1) if the grass seed, growers were to operate the smoke manage- ment program; and 2) if the EQC were to operate the smoke management program. The performance standards would provide for a reduction in allowable acreage burning if there is an intrusion into the city. It would lower the chance for further intrusions into the city by cutting the allowable burn acreage. Mr. Smith concluded by saying the research from the Univeristy of California-Davis shows that anyone exposed to field burning smoke breaths the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes a day for that day. Mr. Long closed by saying that proposed state rules for 1979 are, in the City's estimation, a relaxation from 1978. They would like to build on the 1978 rules which controlled burning. If there is a Governor's executive order, it would be possible for the City to formalize and solidify those rules so that there is not an annual argument. e Mr. Haws asked if the City has been sold down the river. How can he know that the City will not be subjected to more relaxation of the rules. Mr. Long responded that it does not, but to pursue the course will mean lengthy litigation to enforce 50,000 acres. The EQC will approve 180,000 and if the City does not ensure controlling how that acreage is burned, the City may have won the battle but lost the war. He noted that they were also asking for authorization to take any legal measures possible to pursue a course of action if the talks break down. Mr. Obie asked how procedurally the City will pursue the change in the burning rules. Mr. Long said they will go before the EQC and consider two questions: 1) what are the rules for this year? and 2) how does the State respond to the Federal action indicating it might approve 180,000 acres if certain conditions are met? He said that proposals the City would accept would have to be acceptable for two or more years. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the staff be directed to do three things: 1) present the compromise package of plans and options that have been described and developed by the staff to the EQC for their consideration for rules pro tern under the Governor's order to suspend and for State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions; 2) continue to polish legal actions which will overturn that suspension order if necessary; 3) continue to empower staff to take whatever action is necessary to protect the - interest of the City in this matter. 7/30/79--3 ~/7 " I Mr. Delay said this was a turning point for the City on this issue. The City should welcome the Governor's efforts in this matter. We disagree e with him in his interpretation of Section 110(g), he said, but this City's interest is in air quality and not who was right or wrong on that matter. Once again, the City must turn to the Clean Air Act because of the action of the Legislature (as we have for four years in a row). We need to guarantee that the situation will be stabilized for a couple of years under reasonable rules. We do not believe that the Governor has the power, but we are willing to set the gun on the shelf in order to deal with the issue of reasonable rules to protect the communities of the Vall ey. The rules are going to be presented as State Implementation Plan revisions. It is for this reason that I think the staff needs to be prepared to go to court if the compromise breaks down, Mr. Delay said. Mayor noted this motion was giving the Governor an opportunity that he asked for. He was interested in appropriate action for him to take appropriate to the rules. The Governor showed great concern for the citizens of Eugene. He was adamant about several things. "Agressive research program" is a nice phrase, Mayor said. We would like to know just what the Governor means. The Governor was not happy with a one-year program and would consider several years. We look forward to that. He indicated that there would never again be an order from this office dealing with an increase in acreage. We will wait to see if he is pre- pared to make that statement public. If things do transpire, it will be the most affirmative action taken, relative to field burning, that we have had in a long time. The Governor felt that 1978 was an excellent burning year after Mr. Long and I convinced him with all the information that we e had at our hands. He felt he could support that level as his priority. We will wait to see what his executive order will be. We will have an opportunity to talk to him about south priority acres, moisture control, perimeter burn, and a strong enforcement program. These are items that he is greatly interested in. If it all goes together, the Mayor said, Eugeneans will have an opportunity for a more healthful summer than they have had in the past; therefore, I urge support for the motion by Mr. Delay. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor, noting their presence, thanked Representatives Fadeley and Frohnmeyer for their strong support as representatives of Eugene. The Mayor said that if we are fortunate, we will have what you fought so hard for in the 1979 Legislative session. Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted ~ Charles T. Henry(~ (Recorded by Beth Conant) CTH:BC:sp/CM12a26 - 7/30/79--4 ~l~ ~~-