February 9, 2012

Placer County APCD 304 - 1 Rules and Regulations

RULE 304 LAND DEVELOPMENT BURNING SMOKE MANAGEMENT

Adopted 02-10-11

(Amended 02-09-12)

CONTENTS

100 GENERAL

101 PURPOSE

102 APPLICABILITY

103 EXEMPTIONS

200 DEFINITIONS

201 CONSTRUCTION-DEMOLITION DEBRIS

202 DISALLOWED COMBUSTIBLES

203 LAND DEVELOPMENT BURNING

204 NO-BURN DAY

205 SEASONAL OUTDOOR BURN SUSPENSION

300 STANDARDS

301 AUTHORIZATION TO BURN

302 PROHIBITIONS ON OPEN BURNING

303 ALLOWABLE COMBUSTIBLES

304 BURN PERMITS

305 BURN PERMIT VALIDITY

306 BURN DAYS

307 VEGETATION PREPARATION AND DRYING TIMES

308 APPROVED IGNITION DEVICES

309 WIND DIRECTION

310 DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT BURNED DAILY

311 INSPECTION REQUIRED PRIOR TO BURNING

400 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

401 BURN PERMIT REVIEW

402 BURN PERMIT APPLICATION INFORMATION

403 REVOCATION OF A BURN PERMIT

404 BURN PERMIT FEES

500 MONITORING AND RECORDS (None)
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Rules and Regulations 304 - 2 Placer County APCD

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February 9, 2012

Placer County APCD 304 - 3 Rules and Regulations

100 GENERAL

101 PURPOSE: To establish standards and administrative requirements under which land 

development burning, may occur in a reasonably regulated manner that manages the 

generation of smoke and reduces the emission of particulates and other air contaminates 

from such burning.

102 APPLICABILITY: The provisions of this rule shall apply to all residential or commercial 

land development burning located in Placer County except where otherwise prohibited by 

a local jurisdiction.

103 EXEMPTIONS

103.1 Rule Exemptions

103.1.1 Burning conducted pursuant to Rule 301, NONAGRICULTURAL 

BURNING SMOKE MANAGEMENT is exempt from this Rule.

103.1.2 Burning conducted pursuant to Rule 302, AGRICULTURAL WASTE 

BURNING SMOKE MANAGEMENT is exempt from this Rule.

103.1.3 Burning conducted pursuant to Rule 303, PRESCRIBED BURNING 

SMOKE MANAGEMENT is exempt from this Rule.

103.1.4 Burning conducted pursuant to Rule 305, RESIDENTIAL ALLOWABLE 

BURNING is exempt from this Rule.

103.1.5 Burning conducted pursuant to Rule 306, OPEN BURNING OF 

NONINDUSTRIAL WOOD WASTE AT DESIGNATED DISPOSAL SITES 

is exempt from this Rule.

200 DEFINITIONS: (Unless otherwise defined below, the terms used in this Rule are as defined in 

Rule 102, DEFINITIONS or Rule 301, NONAGRICULTURAL BURNING SMOKE 

MANAGEMENT.)

201 CONSTRUCTION-DEMOLITION DEBRIS: Any material associated with the 

construction or demolition of any building, dwelling, or other man-made structures, 

including but not limited to lumber, tar paper, roofing material, wiring, flooring material, 

insulation, and plywood.

202 DISALLOWED COMBUSTIBLES: Any waste or manufactured material, including but 

not limited to petroleum products and petroleum wastes; construction and demolition 

debris; coated wire; putrescible (rotten wastes) and non-putrescible solid, semisolid and 

liquid materials or wastes; tires; tar; tarpaper; non-natural wood waste; processed or 

treated wood and wood products; metals; motor vehicle bodies and parts; rubber; 

synthetics; plastics, including plastic film, twine and pipe; fiberglass; styrofoam; garbage; 

trash; refuse; rubbish; disposable diapers; ashes; glass; industrial wastes; manufactured 

products; equipment; instruments; utensils; appliances; furniture; cloth; rags; paper or 

paper products; cardboard; boxes; crates; excelsior; offal; swill; carcass of a dead animal; 

manure; human or animal parts or wastes, including blood; and fecal- and foodcontaminated material.

203 LAND DEVELOPMENT BURNING: The use of open outdoor fires for the disposal of 

vegetation grown on property being developed for commercial or residential purposes.

204 NO-BURN DAY: Any day on which agricultural burning, including prescribed burning, is 

prohibited by the ARB or the APCO.
February 9, 2012

Rules and Regulations 304 - 4 Placer County APCD

205 SEASONAL OUTDOOR BURN SUSPENSION: A suspension by fire agencies of open 

burning activities typically begins on July 1st of each year (or sooner) and extending 

through the fire season until lifted by those fire agencies in the fall.

300 STANDARDS

301 AUTHORIZATION TO BURN: Pursuant to Section 41802 of the California Health and 

Safety Code, this Rule authorizes land development burning.

302 PROHIBITIONS ON OPEN BURNING: Except as provided in Regulation 3, no person 

shall use an open outdoor fire (including the use of a burn barrel) for the purpose of 

disposal or burning of any disallowed combustibles.

303 ALLOWABLE COMBUSTIBLES: The only allowable combustibles that can be burned is 

vegetation originating on the premises and reasonably free of dirt, soil, and visible 

surface moisture. The burning of poison oak (toxicodendron diversilobum) or oleander 

(nerium oleander) may be subject to additional permit conditions under Section 304.

304 BURN PERMITS

304.1 A person shall not ignite or allow open outdoor burning, pursuant to this Rule, 

without first obtaining a valid burn permit from the District.

304.2 A separate burn permit may also be required from the fire protection agency that 

has jurisdiction in the area of the proposed burn project.

304.3 No permit shall be issued for land development burning, except for vegetation 

removed for residential development purposes from the property of a single or 

two family dwelling or when the burn permit applicant has provided a 

demonstration in Section 400 that there is no practical alternative to burning and 

the APCO has determined that the demonstration has been made. The APCO 

may weigh the relative impacts of burning on air quality in requiring a more 

persuasive demonstration for more densely populated regions for a large 

proposed burn versus a smaller one.

304.4 The APCO may add additional specific burn permit conditions for the burning of 

poison oak (toxicodendron diversilobum) or oleander (nerium oleander).

305 BURN PERMIT VALIDITY: No burn permit shall be construed to authorize open outdoor 

fires for any day during which:

305.1 It is a no-burn day.

305.2 Open burning is prohibited by a fire protection agency for fire control or 

prevention.

306 BURN DAYS: No person shall knowingly ignite, or allow ignition of allowable 

combustibles on days when it is:

306.1 A no burn day, or

306.2 When it is prohibited by a fire protection agency including, during the seasonal 

outdoor burn suspension, or

306.3 Those days during the ozone season (May – October) when there is a potential 

for a violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
February 9, 2012

Placer County APCD 304 - 5 Rules and Regulations

307 VEGETATION PREPARATION AND DRYING TIMES: To assure rapid and complete 

combustion with a minimum of smoke, and to lower the moisture content of the 

vegetation being burned, (from when the vegetation was cut and is to be burned), the 

following are drying times.

307.1 No vegetation shall be burned unless it is reasonably free of disallowed

combustibles, dirt, soil, and surface moisture and shall be burned in a manner to 

prevent excessive smoke. Excessive smoke is that which causes a nuisance.

307.2 Vegetation should be windrowed if economically and technically feasible.

307.3 Vegetation stacked for burning shall not be burned unless it is stacked in such a 

manner to promote drying and ensure combustion with a minimum amount of 

smoke.

307.4 A minimum of 15 days of drying time for fine prunings or cuttings less than 3

inches in diameter, at the cut end.

307.5 A minimum of three to six weeks of drying time for prunings or brush or small 

branches 3 to 6 inches in diameter, at the cut end.

307.6 A minimum of six weeks of drying time for trees, stumps and large branches 

greater than 6 inches in diameter, at the cut end.

307.7 Vegetation or stumps, greater than 12 inches in diameter, shall not be burned

unless they are split smaller than 12 inches in diameter and are free of dirt.

308 APPROVED IGNITION DEVICES: All open outdoor fires as authorized by this regulation 

shall be ignited only with approved ignition devices. The vegetation to be burned should 

be ignited as rapidly as practicable within applicable fire control restrictions.

309 WIND DIRECTION: Burning shall be curtailed when smoke is drifting into a nearby 

populated area or when it is or may become a nuisance or hazard.

310 DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT BURNED DAILY: Only that amount of vegetation that 

can be reasonably expected to burn completely within 24 hours of ignition.

311 INSPECTION REQUIRED PRIOR TO BURNING: Prior to burning pursuant to an issued 

burn permit an inspection is required to assess compliance with Section 300 Standards 

and Section 400 Administrative Requirements, and any non-compliance shall be 

remedied, including the removal of all disallowed combustibles, and the corrections 

verified, before burning can proceed.

400 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

401 BURN PERMIT REVIEW: The APCO or staff shall review and sign all burn permits prior 

to the authorization of burning.

402 BURN PERMIT APPLICATION INFORMATION

402.1 A demonstration that there is no practical alternative that can be used in lieu of 

burning to dispose of the vegetation. In addition to other information provided in 

the application, the demonstration shall include a discussion of the availability 

and feasibility of the alternatives to open burning, including implementation costs; 

efforts made to reduce the quantity of material to be burned; the impact of 

burning upon air quality conditions; and such other factors that warrant inclusion 

such as weather considerations, topography, and hazardous fire conditions.
February 9, 2012

Rules and Regulations 304 - 6 Placer County APCD

402.2 Type of burning;

402.3 Name and/or Business Name and address of the permittee;

402.4 Location of the proposed burn;

402.5 Distance from the proposed burn to the nearest neighboring home or structure;

402.6 The type of vegetation to be burned;

402.7 Acreage or estimated tonnage or size of pile of the vegetation to be burned;

402.8 Reason for burning;

402.9 Applicant’s signature with date signed. The applicant signing the permit shall 

read and attest to the accuracy of the information provided.

402.10 Each permit issued shall bear a statement of warning containing the following 

words or words of like or similar import: "THIS BURN PERMIT IS VALID ONLY 

FOR THOSE DAYS ON WHICH THE STATE AIR RESOURCES BOARD DOES 

NOT PROHIBIT AGRICULTURAL BURNING PURSUANT TO SECTION 41855 

OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE."

402.11 When burning the applicant or representative shall have the burn permit available 

for inspection at the burn site.

403 REVOCATION OF A BURN PERMIT: The APCO, or his/her designee, may revoke a 

burn permit if it is found that the burn permit conditions, any state or federal laws, or the 

provisions of this Rule have been violated. The designated agency or the APCO shall 

notify the burn permit holder in writing of the revocation and the reasons therefore, 

service of the notification of revocation may be by personal delivery or certified mail. In 

the case of service by mail, service shall be deemed complete at the time of deposit of 

the notification in the United States Post Office, or a mail box, sub-Post Office, 

substation, or mail chute, or other like facility.

403.1 Within ten days after service of notice of revocation specified in Section 403

above, the burn permit holder may petition the Hearing Board in writing for a 

public hearing. The Hearing Board, after notice and a public hearing held within 

30 days after filing the petition, may sustain or reverse the decision of the APCO

or the designated agency.

404 BURN PERMIT FEES: Burn permits are valid only following receipt of fees specified in 

Rule 607, BURN PERMIT FEES.

500 MONITORING AND RECORDS (None)