BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to agricultural burning permits; and amending RCW 70.94.650.

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), 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. General 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.

(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 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. 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.

The department of ecology shall, upon the request of a county, authorize a county to issue agricultural burning permits consistent with the requirements of this section and collect the fees set by rule. The fees, less a reasonable amount for county administration of the program, shall be deposited in the air pollution control account created in RCW 70.94.015.

(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] 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.