Sen. Jerry Moran sponsors bill to prevent restrictions on Flint Hills grassland burning

? U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran has introduced legislation to prevent federal environmental rules from restricting the planned burning each spring of prairie by land owners in the Flint Hills of central Kansas.

The Kansas Republican is being joined by Oklahoma Republican James Inhoffe.

Their measure would exempt communities from regulatory actions by the Environmental Protection Agency if smoke from the Flint Hills increases their air pollution.

The legislation is a response to EPA efforts to control pollution in urban areas in Kansas, particularly Wichita and Kansas City. Those efforts led the state to develop a plan for restricting burning in the Flint Hills to manage the smoke drifting into urban areas.

Spring burning keeps trees and invading plants out of the grassland.