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SUBSTITUTE
SENATE BILL 5407
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AS RECOMMENDED BY
THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Passed
Legislature - 1993 Regular Session
State
of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993
Regular Session
By
Read
first time 02/23/93.
Regarding county administration of agricultural burning permits.
AN ACT Relating to agricultural burning
permits; and amending RCW 70.94.650 and 70.94.654.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.
RCW 70.94.650 and 1991 c 199 s 408 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Any person who proposes to set fires in the
course of
(a) weed abatement,
(b) instruction in methods of fire fighting (((except
forest fires))), except forest fire training, or
(c) agricultural activities((,)) shall((,
prior to carrying out the same,)) obtain a permit from an air pollution
control authority ((or)), the department of ecology, ((as
appropriate. Each such authority and the department of ecology shall, by rule
or ordinance, establish a permit system to carry out the provisions of this
section except as provided in RCW 70.94.660)) or a local entity
delegated permitting authority under RCW 70.94.654. General permit
criteria of state-wide applicability ((for ruling on such permits))
shall be established by the department, by rule, after consultation with the
various air pollution control authorities. Permits shall be issued under this
section based on seasonal operations or by individual operations, or both. All
permits ((so issued)) shall be conditioned to insure that the public
interest in air, water, and land pollution and safety to life and property is
fully considered. In addition to any other requirements established by the
department to protect air quality pursuant to other laws, applicants for
permits must show that the setting of fires as requested is the most reasonable
procedure to follow in safeguarding life or property under all circumstances or
is otherwise reasonably necessary to successfully carry out the enterprise in
which the applicant is engaged, or both. All burning permits will be designed
to minimize air pollution insofar as practical. Nothing in this section shall
relieve the applicant from obtaining permits, licenses, or other approvals
required by any other law. An application for a permit to set fires in the
course of agricultural burning for controlling diseases, insects, weed
abatement or development of physiological conditions conducive to increased
crop yield, shall be acted upon within seven days from the date such
application is filed. The department of ecology and local air authorities
shall provide convenient methods for issuance and oversight of agricultural
burning permits. The department and local air authorities shall, through
agreement, work with counties and cities to provide convenient methods for
granting permission for agricultural burning, including telephone, facsimile
transmission, issuance from local city or county offices, or other methods.
(2) ((Except as provided in RCW 70.94.780))
Permit fees shall be assessed for ((outdoor)) burning under this
section and shall be collected by the department of ecology ((or)),
the appropriate local air authority, or a local entity delegated permitting
authority pursuant to RCW 70.94.654 at the time the permit is issued. All
fees collected shall be deposited in the air pollution control account created
in RCW 70.94.015, except for that portion of the fee necessary to cover
local costs of administering a permit issued under this section. Fees
shall be set by rule by the permitting agency at the level determined by the
task force created by subsection (4) of this section, but shall not exceed two
dollars and fifty cents per acre to be burned. After fees are established by
rule, any increases in such fees shall be limited to annual inflation
adjustments as determined by the state office of the economic and revenue
forecast council.
(3) Conservation districts and the Washington
State University agricultural extension program in conjunction with the
department shall develop public education material for the agricultural
community identifying the health and environmental ((affects [effects]))
effects of agricultural outdoor burning and providing technical
assistance in alternatives to agricultural outdoor burning.
(4) An agricultural burning practices and
research task force shall be established under the direction of the
department. The task force shall be composed of a representative from the department
who shall serve as chair; one representative of eastern Washington local air
authorities; three representatives of the agricultural community from different
agricultural pursuits; one representative of the department of agriculture; two
representatives from universities or colleges knowledgeable in agricultural
issues; one representative of the public health or medical community; and one
representative of the conservation districts. The task force shall identify
best management practices for reducing air contaminant emissions from
agricultural activities and provide such information to the department and
local air authorities. The task force shall determine the level of fees to be
assessed by the permitting agency pursuant to subsection (2) of this section,
based upon the level necessary to cover the costs of administering and
enforcing the permit programs, to provide funds for research into alternative
methods to reduce emissions from such burning, and to the extent possible be
consistent with fees charged for such burning permits in neighboring states.
The fee level shall provide, to the extent possible, for lesser fees for
permittees who use best management practices to minimize air contaminant
emissions. The task force shall identify research needs related to minimizing
emissions from agricultural burning and alternatives to such burning. Further,
the task force shall make recommendations to the department on priorities for
spending funds provided through this chapter for research into alternative
methods to reduce emissions from agricultural burning.
Sec. 2.
RCW 70.94.654 and 1991 c 199 s 409 are each amended to read as follows:
Whenever an air pollution control authority,
or the department of ecology for areas outside the jurisdictional
boundaries of an activated air pollution control authority, shall find that
any fire protection agency, county, or conservation district ((which is
outside the jurisdictional boundaries of an activated air pollution control
authority)) is capable of effectively administering the issuance and
enforcement of permits for any or all of the kinds of burning identified in RCW
70.94.650 and desirous of doing so, the authority or the department of
ecology, as appropriate, may delegate powers necessary for the issuance
or enforcement, or both, of permits for any or all of the kinds of burning to
the fire protection agency, county, or conservation district. Such delegation
may be withdrawn by the authority or the department of ecology upon ((its))
finding that the fire protection agency, county, or conservation district is
not effectively administering the permit program.
