BILL REQ. #:  H-3923.1 

READ FIRST TIME 01/27/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to protecting air quality that is impacted by high emitting solid fuel burning devices; amending RCW 70.94.473 and 70.94.477; adding a new section to chapter 70.94 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.94.473 and 2008 c 40 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any person in a residence or commercial establishment which has an adequate source of heat without burning wood shall:
     (a) Not burn wood in any solid fuel burning device whenever the department has determined under RCW 70.94.715 that any air pollution episode exists in that area;
     (b) Not burn wood in any solid fuel burning device except those which are either Oregon department of environmental quality phase II or United States environmental protection agency certified or certified by the department under RCW 70.94.457(1) or a pellet stove either certified or issued an exemption by the United States environmental protection agency in accordance with Title 40, Part 60 of the code of federal regulations, in the geographical area and for the period of time that a first stage of impaired air quality has been determined, by the department or any authority, for that area. A first stage of impaired air quality is reached when forecasted meteorological conditions are predicted to cause fine particulate levels to reach or exceed ((thirty-five)) thirty micrograms per cubic meter, measured on a twenty-four hour average, within ((forty-eight)) seventy-two hours; and
     (c)(i) Not burn wood in any solid fuel burning device in a geographical area and for the period of time that a second stage of impaired air quality has been determined by the department or any authority, for that area. A second stage of impaired air quality is reached when a first stage of impaired air quality has been in force and has not been sufficient to reduce the increasing fine particulate pollution trend, fine particulates are at an ambient level of twenty-five micrograms per cubic meter measured on a twenty-four hour average, and forecasted meteorological conditions are not expected to allow levels of fine particulates to decline below twenty-five micrograms per cubic meter for a period of twenty-four hours or more from the time that the fine particulates are measured at the trigger level.
     (ii) A second stage burn ban may be called without calling a first stage burn ban only when all of the following occur and shall require the department or the local air pollution control authority calling a second stage burn ban under this subsection to comply with the requirements of subsection (((4))) (3) of this section:
     (A) Fine particulate levels have reached or exceeded twenty-five micrograms per cubic meter, measured on a twenty-four hour average;
     (B) Meteorological conditions have caused fine particulate levels to rise rapidly;
     (C) Meteorological conditions are predicted to cause fine particulate levels to reach or exceed the ((thirty-five)) thirty micrograms per cubic meter, measured on a twenty-four hour average, within twenty-four hours; and
     (D) Meteorological conditions are highly likely to prevent sufficient dispersion of fine particulate.
     (2) Actions of the department and local air pollution control authorities under this section shall preempt actions of other state agencies and local governments for the purposes of controlling air pollution from solid fuel burning devices, except where authorized by chapter 199, Laws of 1991.
     (3) The department or any local air pollution control authority that has called a second stage burn ban under the authority of subsection (1)(c)(ii) of this section shall, within ninety days, prepare a written report describing:
     (a) The meteorological conditions that resulted in their calling the second stage burn ban;
     (b) Whether the agency could have taken actions to avoid calling a second stage burn ban without calling a first stage burn ban; and
     (c) Any changes the department or authority is making to its procedures of calling first stage and second stage burn bans to avoid calling a second stage burn ban without first calling a first stage burn ban.
     After consulting with affected parties, the department shall prescribe the format of such a report and may also require additional information be included in the report. All reports shall be sent to the department and the department shall keep the reports on file for not less than five years and available for public inspection and copying in accordance with RCW 42.56.090.
     (((4) The department and local air pollution control authorities shall evaluate the effectiveness of the burn ban programs contained in this section in avoiding fine particulate levels to exceed thirty-five micrograms per cubic meter, measured on a twenty-four hour average, and provide a joint report of the results to the legislature by September 1, 2011.))

Sec. 2   RCW 70.94.477 and 2009 c 282 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Unless allowed by rule under chapter 34.05 RCW, a person shall not cause or allow any of the following materials to be burned in any residential solid fuel burning device:
     (a) Garbage;
     (b) Treated wood;
     (c) Plastics;
     (d) Rubber products;
     (e) Animals;
     (f) Asphaltic products;
     (g) Waste petroleum products;
     (h) Paints; or
     (i) Any substance, other than properly seasoned fuel wood, which normally emits dense smoke or obnoxious odors. For the purposes of this section, "seasoned fuel wood" means firewood for use in a solid fuel burning device that has a moisture content of no more than twenty percent.
     (2) To achieve and maintain attainment in areas of nonattainment for fine particulates in accordance with section 172 of the federal clean air act, a local air pollution control authority or the department may, after meeting requirements in subsection (3) of this section, prohibit the use of solid fuel burning devices, except:
     (a) Fireplaces as defined in RCW 70.94.453(3), except if needed to meet federal requirements as a contingency measure in a state implementation plan for a fine particulate nonattainment area;
     (b) Woodstoves meeting the standards set forth in RCW 70.94.473(1)(b); or
     (c) Pellet stoves.
     (3) Prior to prohibiting the use of solid fuel burning devices under subsection (2) of this section, the department or the local air pollution control authority must:
     (a) Seek input from any city, county, or jurisdictional health department affected by the proposal to prohibit the use of solid fuel burning devices; and
     (b) Make written findings that:
     (i) The area is designated as an area of nonattainment for fine particulate matter by the United States environmental protection agency, or is in maintenance status under that designation;
     (ii) Emissions from solid fuel burning devices in the area are a major contributing factor for violating the national ambient air quality standard for fine particulates; and
     (iii) The area has an adequately funded program to assist low-income households to secure an adequate source of heat, which may include woodstoves meeting the requirements of RCW 70.94.453(2).
     (4) If and only if the nonattainment area is within the jurisdiction of the department and the legislative authority of a city or county within the area of nonattainment formally expresses concerns with the department's written findings, then the department must publish on the department's web site the reasons for prohibiting the use of solid fuel burning devices under subsection (2) of this section that includes a response to the concerns expressed by the city or county legislative authority.
     (5) When a local air pollution control authority or the department prohibits the use of solid fuel burning devices as authorized by this section, the cities, counties, and jurisdictional health departments serving the area shall cooperate with the department or local air pollution control authority as the department or the local air pollution control authority implements the prohibition. ((However, cooperation shall not include enforcement of this prohibition.)) The responsibility for actual enforcement of the prohibition shall reside solely with the department or the local air pollution control authority. A city, county, or jurisdictional health department serving the area may agree to assist with enforcement activities.
     (6) A prohibition issued by a local air pollution control authority or the department under this section shall not apply to a person in a residence or commercial establishment that does not have an adequate source of heat without burning wood.
     (7) As used in this section((,)):
     (a) "Jurisdictional health department" means a city, county, city-county, or district public health department.
     (b) "Prohibit the use" or "prohibition" may include requiring disclosure, removal, rendering inoperable, providing evidence of destruction, or other similar requirements as may be approved by rule by a local air pollution control authority or the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 70.94 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of ecology and local air pollution control authorities shall report back to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature by December 31, 2014, and every two years thereafter, on progress toward achieving attainment for areas of nonattainment that the revised burn ban and prohibition requirements contained in RCW 70.94.473 and 70.94.477 were enacted to address, as well as whether other implementation tools are necessary to achieve attainment.
     (2) This section expires January 1, 2019.