SB 5279 — Regulating outdoor burning for the protection of life or property and for public health, safety, and welfare.

S-1449.3SUBSTITUTES-0504.1SENATE SENATE BILL 5279State of Washington66th Legislature2019 Regular SessionBySenateSessionBySenators Agriculture,Van Water,De NaturalWege, ResourcesWarnick, &and ParksShortRead (originallyfirst sponsoredtime by01/16/19.Referred Senatorsto VanCommittee Deon Wege,Agriculture, Warnick,Water, andNatural Short)READResources FIRST& TIMEParks.AN 02/22/19.AN ACT Relating to regulating outdoor burning for the protection of life or property and for public health, safety, and welfare;

and amending RCW 70.94.6514, 70.94.6524, 70.94.6534, 70.94.6524, 70.94.6536, 70.94.6538, and 70.94.6538.BE70.94.6548.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:Sec.

RCW 70.94.6514 and 2009 c 118 s 103 are each amended to read as follows:(1) ConsistentExcept as otherwise specified in this chapter for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare, and consistent with the policy of the state to reduce outdoor burning to the greatest extent practical, outdoor burning shall not be allowed in:(a) Any area of the state where federal or state ambient air quality standards are exceeded for pollutants emitted by outdoor burning;

or(b) Any urban growth area as defined by RCW 36.70A.030, or any city of the state having a population greater than ten thousand people if such cities are threatened to exceed state or federal air quality standards, and alternative disposal practices consistent with good solid waste management are reasonably available or practices eliminating production of organic refuse are reasonably available.(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, outdoor burning may be allowed for the exclusive purpose of managing storm or flood-related debris.debris, for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare.

All conditions and restrictions pursuant to RCW 70.94.6526(1) and 70.94.6512 apply to outdoor burning allowed under this section.(3)(a) Outdoor burning that is normal, necessary, and customary to ongoing agricultural activities, that is consistent with agricultural burning authorized under RCW 70.94.6528 and 70.94.6532, is allowed within the urban growth area in accordance with RCW 70.94.6528(8)(a).(b) Outdoor burning of cultivated orchard trees shall be allowed as an ongoing agricultural activity under this section in accordance with RCW 70.94.6528(8)(b).(4) This section shall not apply to silvicultural burning used to improve or maintain fire dependent ecosystems for rare plants or animals within state, federal, and private natural area preserves, natural resource conservation areas, parks, and other wildlife areas.(5)areas.Sec. Outdoor burning that is normal, necessary, and customary to ongoing silvicultural activities consistent with silvicultural burning authorized under RCW 70.94.6534(1), is allowed within the urban growth area in accordance with RCW 70.94.6534.

Before issuing a burn permit within the urban growth area for any silvicultural burn that exceeds one hundred tons of material, the department of natural resources shall consult with department of ecology and condition the issuance and use of such permits to comply with air quality standards established by the department of ecology.Sec.

RCW 70.94.6524 and 2009 c 118 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:(1) It shall be the responsibility and duty of the department of natural resources, department of ecology, department of agriculture, county fire marshals in consultation with fire districts, and local air pollution control authorities to establish, through regulations, ordinances, or policy, a limited burning permit program.(2) The permit program shall apply to residential and land clearing burning in the following areas:(a) In the nonurban areas of any county with an unincorporated population of greater than fifty thousand;

and(b) In any city and urban growth area that is not otherwise prohibited from burning pursuant to RCW 70.94.6514.(3) The permit program shall apply only to land clearing burning in the nonurban areas of any county with an unincorporated population of less than fifty thousand.(4) The permit program may be limited to a general permit by rule, or by verbal, written, or electronic approval by the permitting entity.(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, neither a permit nor the payment of a fee shall be required for outdoor burning for the purpose of disposal of tumbleweeds blown by wind.

Such burning shall not be conducted during an air pollution episode or any stage of impaired air quality declared under RCW 70.94.715.

This subsection (5) shall only apply within counties with a population less than two hundred fifty thousand.(6) Burning shall be prohibited in an area when an alternate technology or method of disposing of the organic refuse is available, reasonably economical, and less harmful to the environment.

It is the policy of this state to foster and encourage development of alternate methods or technology for disposing of or reducing the amount of organic refuse.(7) Incidental agricultural burning must be allowed without applying for any permit and without the payment of any fee if:(a) The burning is incidental to commercial agricultural activities;(b) The operator notifies the local fire department within the area where the burning is to be conducted;(c) The burning does not occur during an air pollution episode or any stage of impaired air quality declared under RCW 70.94.715;

and(d) Only the following items are burned:(i) Orchard prunings;(ii) Organic debris along fence lines or irrigation or drainage ditches;

or(iii) Organic debris blown by wind.(8) As used in this section, "nonurban areas" are unincorporated areas within a county that are not designated as urban growth areas under chapter 36.70A RCW.(9) Nothing in this section shall require fire districts to enforce air quality requirements related to outdoor burning, unless the fire district enters into an agreement with the department of ecology, department of natural resources, a local air pollution control authority, or other appropriate entity to provide such enforcement.Sec.

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RCW 70.94.6524 and 2009 c 118 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:(1) It shall be the responsibility and duty of the department of natural resources, department of ecology, department of agriculture, fire districts, and local air pollution control authorities to establish, through regulations, ordinances, or policy, a limited burning permit program.(2) Except as otherwise specified in this chapter for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare, the permit program shall apply to residential and land clearing burning in the following areas:(a) In the nonurban areas of any county with an unincorporated population of greater than fifty thousand;

and(b) In any city and urban growth area that is not otherwise prohibited from burning pursuant to RCW 70.94.6514.(3) Except as otherwise specified in this chapter for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare, the permit program shall apply only to land clearing burning in the nonurban areas of any county with an unincorporated population of less than fifty thousand.(4) The permit program may be limited to a general permit by rule, or by verbal, written, or electronic approval by the permitting entity.(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, neither a permit nor the payment of a fee shall be required for outdoor burning for the purpose of disposal of tumbleweeds blown by wind.

Such burning shall not be conducted during an air pollution episode or any stage of impaired air quality declared under RCW 70.94.715.

This subsection (5) shall only apply within counties with a population less than two hundred fifty thousand.(6) Burning shall be prohibited in an area when an alternate technology or method of disposing of the organic refuse is available, reasonably economical, and less harmful to the environment.

It is the policy of this state to foster and encourage development of alternate methods or technology for disposing of or reducing the amount of organic refuse.(7) Incidental agricultural burning must be allowed without applying for any permit and without the payment of any fee if:(a) The burning is incidental to commercial agricultural activities;(b) The operator notifies the local fire department within the area where the burning is to be conducted;(c) The burning does not occur during an air pollution episode or any stage of impaired air quality declared under RCW 70.94.715;

and(d) Only the following items are burned:(i) Orchard prunings;(ii) Organic debris along fence lines or irrigation or drainage ditches;

or(iii) Organic debris blown by wind.(8) As used in this section, "nonurban areas" are unincorporated areas within a county that are not designated as urban growth areas under chapter 36.70A RCW.(9) The department of natural resources shall develop policies that allow outdoor burning for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare.(10) Nothing in this section shall require fire districts to enforce air quality requirements related to outdoor burning, unless the fire district enters into an agreement with the department of ecology, department of natural resources, a local air pollution control authority, or other appropriate entity to provide such enforcement.Sec.

The plan shall be developed in consultation with the department of ecology, public and private landowners engaged in silvicultural forest burning, and representatives of the public.(b) The plan shall recognize the variations in silvicultural forest burning including, but not limited to, a landowner's responsibility to abate an extreme fire hazard under chapter 76.04 RCW and other objectives of burning, including abating and preventing a fire hazard, geographic region, climate, elevation and slope, proximity to populated areas, ((and)) diversity of land ownership, improving forest health and resiliency, decreasingrestoring forest insectecosystem orfunctions, diseaseallowing susceptibility,for maintainingnatural orvegetation, restoringand nativereducing vegetation,fuel orloads otherwiseto enhancingaddress resiliencypublic tosafety fire.and protect property from wildfire.

The plan shall establish priorities that the department of natural resources shall use to allocate allowable emissions, including but not limited to, public health and safety, protection of life or property, forest health and resiliency, silvicultural burning used to improve or maintain fire dependent ecosystems for rare plants or animals within state, federal, and private natural area preserves, natural resource conservation areas, parks, and other wildlife areas.

RCW 70.94.6538 and 2009 c 118 s 502 are each amended to read as follows:Thefollows:Except as otherwise specified in this chapter for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare, the department of natural resources,resources in granting burning permits for fires for the purposes set forth in RCW 70.94.6534,70.94.6534 shall condition the issuance and use of such permits to comply to the extent feasible with air quality standards established by the department of ecology ((afterafter full consultation with the department of natural resources)).resources.

Such alternative methods shall be evaluated as to the relative impact on air, water, and land pollution, public health, and their financial feasibility.The department of natural resources shall not issue burning permits and shall revoke previously issued permits at any time in any area where the department of ecology or local board has declared a stage of impaired air quality as defined in RCW 70.94.473.---70.94.473.Sec. END ---

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RCW 70.94.6548 and 2009 c 118 s 701 are each amended to read as follows:Consistent with RCW 70.94.6514, outdoor burning may be allowed anywhere in the state for the exclusive purpose of managing storm or flood-related debris, for the protection of life or property, and for the public health, safety, and welfare.--- END ---