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Illinois EPA Smoke Management plan comments
DEADLINE Dec. 30, 2008 ACT NOW. (I know the form says Jan. 5, 09 as the deadline, but that is so that the alert will stay up for a few more days in case other's can't make it by the deadline. BUT ACT NOW if you can!)

The Illinois EPA is developing, in coordination with the Forest Service, the IDNR and probably other land management agencies, a "smoke management plan" for prescribed burning. This has been required under the "Interim U.S. EPA Policy on Prescribed Burning," which has been interimly in effect for a decade and they're just getting around to doing the plan. Illinois apparently is the first state to do one, and I've already heard that Ohio is thinking of adopting it.
This is important, because it does give a regulatory handle, although probably not as good as we would like, on the emissions from burning. A link to the draft plan is below. In a nutshell, what they propose to do is to work with the weather service to burn only when weather, humidity, fuel moisture, winds, are just perfect so that the smoke will go straight up to upper levels of the atmosphere where an upper air current will take it away and keep it up there. That, to them, is a successful burn in terms of smoke management. It is a very difficult thing to accomplish, and if they don't, i.e. if smoke goes offsite to any degree, then they violate the plan and their permits could be challenged. If they comply with the plan, then their pollution doesn't count against them. The sample letter is comments on their plan.

For more information: http://www.epa.state.il.us/public-notices/2008/smoke-management-plan/dra...

Please fill out all blanks in the form and then press the "send comments" button at the bottom. If you have time, please modify this letter to reflect your personal concerns. Thanks!

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