LEWISTON - Local farmers gathered Tuesday to hear the latest on the suspension of field burning in Idaho. The decision to halt the practice was the result of an opinion handed down by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Top officials from the state as well as staff from the federal government spoke to the crowd at the Idaho Fish and Game building in Lewiston Tuesday afternoon.

The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, Toni Hardesty, told the audience the court is requiring the state to demonstrate field burning is not in violation of the federal Clean Air Act.

"People say, 'Can't you just submit a piece of paper and correct this problem,' and the answer is no we can't,” said Hardesty. “The court was very clear about needing to do a demonstration to show that this activity can comply with Clean Air Act requirements, and I want to walk you through what's all involved in that."

Many in the audience wanted to know if field burning will ever be allowed again.

"The answer is only if proper demonstration is done to show that the activity is consistent with the Federal Clean Air Act,” Hardesty said. “The next obvious question following that is if the current Smoke Management Program is Clean Air Act compliant, can we do that? The answer is we do not know. We will not know until we have completed our technical analysis, which will determine whether the answer to that question is yes or no."

That demonstration for the court could take years and cost millions of dollars. In the meantime, most want to know what alternatives are available. The USDA wants those looking for answers or ideas to contact them.

"Stop by our USDA Field Office Service Centers and talk to the district conservationists to find out what is the best alternative for you to handle that straw residue versus lighting it up in smoke,” said Richard Sims with the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

State officials say, like local farmers, they're not happy with the situation either.

"Quite frankly, we're frustrated too,” said Celia Gould, Director of the Idaho Department of Agriculture. “This is not the message we would have liked to have brought to you today. We would have liked to have a better message or at least a better spin. But, it is what it is. It's what we're trying to tell you and we just decided that we owed it to you folks to be open and honest with you."