AIR QUALITY RULES LIMITING CONTROLLED BURNS OF BRUSH.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Efforts to burn off brush in the Angeles National Forest to reduce the risk of post-El Nino wildfires have run afoul of clean-air rules, officials said Wednesday.

Some 20,000 acres need to be cleared with controlled burns each year to prevent brush fires and rejuvenate the forest, but only 2,500 acres of burning is allowed because of the Clean Air Act, said Mike McCorison, a U.S. Forest Service air-resource specialist.

Faced with a potentially severe wildfire season, the issue has raised enough concern that Rep. James E. Rogan, R-Pasadena, has proposed legislation to suspend the rule for 10 years so the Forest Service could better prepare for blaze risks. It also would cut pollution because controlled burns release fewer emissions than wildfires, said Rogan spokesman Jeffrey Solsby.

``This bill will establish a 10-year period during which forestry and air-quality officials can document what the scientific evidence is already telling us - that it will help air quality in the long run, benefit the environment and cut down on the severity of wildfires,'' Solsby said.

Under HR 2601, controlled burns on forest land would be exempt from Clean Air Act guidelines.

``Through the use of prescribed fires, we reduce and manage the emissions of an area, whereas in a wildfire, the emissions are maximized, and we have very little control over where and when those emissions pour into the urban area,'' McCorison said.

Tom Eichhorn, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said he also believes that controlled burns release less pollution than wildfires.

But Eichhorn said the AQMD cannot endorse Rogan's bill without more study.