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SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5609
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Passed Legislature - 1995 Regular Session
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995
Regular Session
By
Read first time 03/01/95.
Concerning the powers and duties of
air pollution control authorities.
AN ACT Relating to air
pollution control authorities; and amending RCW 70.94.650.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 70.94.650 and 1994 c
28 s 2 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 training to fight structural fires as provided
in RCW 52.12.150 and except forest fire training, or
(c) agricultural
activities shall obtain a permit from an air pollution control authority, the
department of ecology, or a local entity delegated permitting authority under
RCW 70.94.654. General permit criteria of state-wide applicability 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
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. A local air authority administering the permit program
under this subsection (1)(c) shall not limit the number of days of allowable
agricultural burning, but may consider the time of year, meteorological
conditions, and other criteria specified in rules adopted by the department to
implement this subsection (1)(c).
(2) Permit fees shall
be assessed for burning under this section and shall be collected by the
department of ecology, 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 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.
