COUNTYWIDE FOCUS : Workshop to Look at Burning Alternatives

Growers who periodically burn their agriculture wastes can learn about a county proposal to change hours and increase the number of permissible burn days at a workshop scheduled Monday.

The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District will also offer growers a presentation on alternatives to burning, including chipping wastes for mulch or shipping them to a waste-to-energy plant in Tulare County.

The companies that do chipping charge $250 to $350 an hour for use of their machinery. But chopping up torn-out trees and branches can still prove economical, said Stan Cowen, a rule development engineer at the district.

“It’s not as cheap as burning,” he said. “But it’s not that expensive either.” Chipping for mulch yields a product that farmers can use. And if they ship to the Tulare plant, they will be paid for their wastes.

The workshop, at which engineers will accept comments as well as explain the proposal, is set for 2 p.m. at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura. The session will be held in the lower plaza assembly room.

The proposed revision would change the hours of permissive burn days from 6 a.m. to noon to 12 to 4 p.m. That would allow the smoke to disperse more easily because of a more prevalent afternoon breeze.

The air pollution district calls a permissive burn day when its meteorologists determine there is no inversion layer to trap smoke and that the winds are neither too strong nor too light.

Because such conditions exist more frequently in the afternoons than mornings, the air pollution district will be able to call burn days more often. That should reduce the amount of smoke produced on any given day, Cowen said.