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March 8, 1999
Dear Sir or Madam: The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is currently developing revisions to the regulation governing agricultural burning in California. Agricultural burning refers to the intentional use of fire for vegetation management – in areas such as agricultural fields, orchards, and wildlands like rangeland and forests. The planned use of fire on wildlands is generally referred to as "prescribed" burning, which is the focus of the expected improvements to the regulation. The existing regulation has been effective in managing current levels of prescribed burning for wildland management. However, in light of planned increases in prescribed burning for this purpose, ARB is reevaluating the guidelines to minimize the public health and nuisance impacts of smoke from prescribed fire. The health-based air quality standards for particulate matter and the upcoming federal regulations to improve visibility in national parks further support the need to reassess these regulations. To solicit input on the changes we are considering, ARB invites you to participate in one of a series of regional public workshops to be held in several locations throughout California between late March and May. The dates, times, and locations for six of these workshops are shown on Attachment 1. A general agenda for the workshops is provided in Attachment 2. A seventh workshop, to be held jointly with the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, will be scheduled at a later date. Based on preliminary scoping sessions, we are developing a "concept paper" to provide a starting point for discussion at the regional workshops. This concept paper will be available on ARB’s website on March 17, 1999 – one week prior to the first workshop. The website address is http://www.arb.ca.gov. Those without access to the Internet who wish to preview the concept paper prior to the workshops can request a copy from Ms. Susan Paul at (916) 322-6048. Following these workshops, ARB staff will develop draft, regulatory amendments, which will be discussed at future public meetings. We plan to finalize our proposal for the Board’s consideration and adoption in late 1999. The staff’s complete proposal will be available to the public for comment 45 days prior to the Board Hearing. All meeting facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If accommodation is needed, please contact Ms. Bertha Bache at (916) 327-6181 two weeks prior to the meeting. Persons with hearing or speech impairments can contact us by using our Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (916) 324-9531 or (800) 700-8326 for TDD calls from outside the Sacramento area. I look forward to discussing our proposal with you. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (916) 322-5350, or Mr. Bill Wilson of my staff at (916) 324-9747. You may also e-mail Mr. Wilson at wwilson@arb.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
Terry McGuire, Chief
Attachments (2)
Attachment 1 Air Resources Board Regional Workshops to Discuss Proposed Changes to Prescribed Fire Regulations (Revised April 26, 1999)
Attachment 2 Air Resources Board Regional Workshops to Discuss Proposed Changes to Agricultural Burning Regulations Preliminary Agenda Welcome and introductions Local District Remarks California Department of Forestry, U.S.D.A. Forest Service and other public agency remarks Air Resources Board staff presentation
Roundtable Discussion with all participants – possible areas for discussion
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