RULE 401. AGRICULTURAL BURNING.

(Adopted 10/18/1971, readopted 10/23/1978, revised 10/2/1990)

A. Applicability

This rule applies to all agricultural, forest management, range improvement, and wildland vegetation management burning conducted in Santa Barbara County.

The provisions of this Rule implement the Agricultural Burning Guidelines, promulgated under Article I, Subchapter 2, Title 17, California Administrative Code and as amended in November, 1986.

B. Definitions

In addition to the definition set forth in Rule 102, "Agricultural burning", for the purposes of this rule only, also means open outdoor fires used in wildland vegetation management burning. Wildland vegetation management burning is the use of prescribed burning conducted by a public agency, or through a cooperative agreement or contract involving a public agency, to burn land predominantly covered with chaparral, trees, grass, or standing brush. Prescribed burning is the planned application of fire to vegetation to achieve any specific objective on lands selected in advance of that application. The planned application of fires may also include natural or accidental ignition.

C. Requirements - Agricultural, Forest Management and Range Improvement Burning

1. No person shall set, permit, cause to be set, or suffer, allow, or maintain any open outdoor fire, for agricultural, forest management or range improvement burning unless:
a. He has a valid permit issued by a public fire protection or other agency designated by the Air Resources Board, and

b. The burning is in compliance with all state laws or regulations, applicable fire code provisions, and the provisions of this Rule.

2. The Control Officer shall maintain a list of agencies designated to issue agricultural burning permits.

3. The designated agencies shall issue agricultural burning permits for open burning in agricultural operations only.

4. Agricultural burning shall be subject to the following conditions:

a. Agricultural burning is permitted only on days designated as permissive burn days by the State Air Resources Board. Such designations will be announced each morning by 0745 daily, together with a prediction for the next 24 hours, and are based on meteorological measurements. The Control Officer may, by permit, allow range improvement burning to be conducted between January 1 and May 31 on a no-burn day, providing that more than 50 percent of the land has been brush treated. The Control Officer may, by permit, authorize agricultural burning on days designated as no-burn days by the Air Resources Board, because denial of such permit would threaten imminent and substantial economic loss, as determined and certified by the Agricultural Commissioner of Santa Barbara County.
1) A person seeking an agricultural burning permit on a no-burn day shall apply for such a permit both to the Control Officer and the said Agricultural Commissioner. The said Agricultural Commissioner shall certify in writing that denial would threaten imminent and substantial economic loss. Written certification may follow verbal certification.

2) Upon a request from a permittee through a designated agency, seven days in advance of a specific range improvement burn, forest management burn, or wildland vegetation management burn, at elevations below 6,000 feet (msl), a permissive burn or no-burn notice will be issued by the Air Resources Board up to 48 hours prior to the date scheduled for the burn. The California Air Resources Board may cancel permissive burn notices that had been issued more than 24 hours in advance if the cancellation is necessary to maintain suitable air quality. A permissive-burn or no-burn advisory outlook will be available up to 72 hours in advance of burns to be made for range improvement and forest management.

b. Burning of empty sacks or containers which contained pesticides or other toxic substances is permitted on no-burn days providing the sacks or containers are within the definition in Rule 102 of Open Burning in Agricultural Operations.

c. Agricultural burning shall take place only on days permitted by public fire protection agencies having jurisdiction for purposes of fire control or prevention.

d. Waste materials to be burned in open fires in agricultural operations shall be free of waste not conforming to the definition in Rule 102. The following materials are not considered agricultural waste: tires, rubbish, tar paper, plastic, construction debris, weeds, shrubs and trees from non-productive areas such as along roads and around buildings, and waste foreign to land being cleared for agricultural use. Weeds, shrubs and trees in pastures or crop production areas or in fences which are around pastures or crop production areas or on land being cleared for the growing of crops or animals are considered to be agricultural waste.

e. Range improvement and forest management burns shall be ignited as rapidly as practicable within applicable fire control restrictions.

f. When range improvement burning is to be done primarily for improvement of land for wildlife and game habitat, the permit applicant must file with the District a statement from the State Department of Fish and Game certifying that the burn is desirable and proper.

g. For a range improvement burn the brush must be treated at least six months prior to the burn if economically and technically feasible. Unwanted trees over six inches in diameter must be felled and dried prior to the burn.

h. The materials to be burned shall be arranged so as to burn with a minimum of smoke. Materials shall be loosely stacked to allow maximum drying in preparation for burning so as to provide good combustion. The materials shall be free of dirt and soil to the extent that such dirt or soil will not hinder burning nor be carried into the air as particulate matter, and shall be reasonably free of visible surface moisture.

i. The material to be burned shall have been dried for the minimum periods listed below. These periods include the period from drying or cutting to the day of burning.

1) Six (6) weeks for trees and large branches;

2) Three (3) weeks for prunings and small branches;

3) Ten (10) days for wastes from field crops.

j. The Control Officer may restrict agricultural burning to selected sequentially numbered permits on specified days. The goal of this option is to ensure that a major portion of the total tonnage of agricultural waste is not ignited at one time during adverse conditions.

k. Agricultural burning may commence at any time after the announcement of a burn-day, but in no case shall it commence before sunrise. No additional waste material or ignition fuel shall be ignited or added to any fire after two hours before sunset. This subsection does not apply to burning that is done for range improvement, forest mangement, and wildland vegetation management burning.

l. The wind direction at the burning site shall be such that the smoke will not cause a public nuisance.

m. The materials to be burned shall be ignited only by use of ignition devices approved by the Control Officer. Tires, tar paper, plastic, dirty oils, and similar materials shall not be used.

1. Any open burning which meets the definition of wildland vegetation management burning shall be conducted in compliance with the requirements applicable to wildland vegetation management burning, and the requirements of Section C.4.a, regardless of whether such burning could also be conducted under some other provision of this Rule, or any other District Rule.
a. The materials to be burned shall be ignited only by those devices approved by the Air Pollution Control Officer.
b. Mitigation shall be required when unanticipated meteorological conditions cause smoke to create or contribute to an exceedance of a state or federal ambient air quality standard or cause a public nuisance.

c. The materials to be burned shall be free of tires, rubbish, tar paper or construction debris, and reasonably free of dirt and soil.

d. The vegetation to be burned shall be in a condition which will facilitate combustion and minimize the amount of smoke emitted during combustion.

e. The total amount of material to be burned each day shall be regulated according to criteria approved by the Control Officer.

f. A burn plan containing all of the following information shall be provided to the Control Officer for review and approval at least 30 days in advance of the proposed burning:

1) location and specific objectives of the burn project;

2) acreage or tonnage, type, and arrangement of vegetation to be burned;

3) directions and distances to nearby sensitive receptor areas;

4) fuel condition, combustion, and meteorological prescription elements developed for the project;

5) projected schedule and duration of project ignition, combustion and burndown;

6) specifications for monitoring and verifying critical project parameters and

7) specifications for disseminating project information.

1. Designated fire protection agencies or the District shall enforce the provisions of this Rule by not allowing agricultural burning unless the person responsible for the burn has a valid agricultural burning permit.

2. Those fire protection agencies having the required authority shall issue a notice of violation or citation or shall order other corrective action when permit violation occurs.

3. Smoke complaints or other air pollution complaints not involving permit violations, or for any violation found by an agency not having authority to take enforcement action, shall be referred to the District for investigation.

The provisions of this Rule shall be effective on December 2, 1990.