February 9, 2012

Placer County APCD 302 - 1 Rules and Regulations

RULE 302 AGRICULTURAL WASTE BURNING SMOKE MANAGEMENT

Adopted 02-10-11

(Amended 02-09-12)

CONTENTS

100 GENERAL

101 PURPOSE

102 APPLICABILITY

103 EXEMPTIONS

200 DEFINITIONS

201 AGRICULTURAL BURNING

202 AGRICULTURAL OPERATION

203 AGRICULTURAL WASTES

204 DISALLOWED COMBUSTIBLES

205 NO-BURN DAY

206 OPEN BURNING OR OPEN OUTDOOR FIRE

207 PERMISSIVE BURN DAY OR BURN DAY

208 RIGHT-OF-WAY CLEARING, LEVEE, DITCH, AND RESERVOIR MAINTENANCE 

BURNING

209 SACRAMENTO VALLEY SMOKE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

210 SMOKE MANAGEMENT PLAN

211 SMOKE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

300 STANDARDS

301 PROHIBITIONS ON OPEN BURNING

302 BURN PERMITS

303 BURN PERMIT VALIDITY

304 BURN DAYS

305 VEGETATION PREPARATION AND DRYING TIMES

306 STRAW MOISTURE DETERMINATION (CRACKLE TEST)

307 LIGHTING PRACTICES

308 APPROVED IGNITION DEVICES

309 WIND DIRECTION

310 DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT BURNED DAILY

311 RIGHT-OF-WAY CLEARING, LEVEE, DITCH, AND RESERVOIR MAINTENANCE 

BURNING

400 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

401 BURN PERMIT APPLICATION INFORMATION

402 REVOCATION OF A BURN PERMIT

403 SMOKE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

404 APCO APPROVAL

405 BURN PERMIT FEES

500 MONITORING AND RECORDS

501 BURN REPORTS
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Placer County APCD 302 - 3 Rules and Regulations

100 GENERAL

101 PURPOSE: To establish standards and administrative requirements under which 

agricultural burning, including the burning of agricultural wastes, limited to the growing of 

crops or raising of fowl or animals, 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.

To establish the requirements pursuant to Title 17 CCR Subchapter 2 - Smoke 

Management Guidelines for Agricultural and Prescribed Burning, Article 2 - District 

Smoke Management Program.

102 APPLICABILITY: The provisions of this rule shall apply to all agricultural 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 303, PRESCRIBED BURNING 

SMOKE MANAGEMENT is exempt from this Rule.

103.1.3 Burning conducted pursuant to Rule 304, LAND DEVELOPMENT 

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.

103.1.6 The use of orchard or citrus heaters for the prevention of frost damage 

is provided for under Rule 208, ORCHARD OR CITRUS HEATERS.

103.2 Exemptions from Section 304, Burn Days

103.2.1 Empty Sacks or Containers: The APCO may, by special burn permit, 

authorize the burning of empty sacks or containers which contained 

pesticides or other toxic substances on the premises where used, 

provided the sacks or containers are within the definition of agricultural 

wastes.

103.2.2 Burn Day Exemption for Threat of Imminent and Substantial Economic 

Loss: The APCO may, by burn permit, allow agricultural burning on 

days designated by the ARB or APCO as "no burn days" if the denial 

of the burn permit would threaten imminent and substantial economic 

loss. The granting of an exception does not exempt the applicant from 

any other District or fire control regulations. Such authorization shall be 

limited to the amount of acreage which can be burned in any one day 

and only authorizes burning which is not likely to cause or contribute to 

exceedances of air quality standards or result in smoke impacts to 

smoke sensitive areas.
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103.3 Exemptions, Minimum Drying Times

103.3.1 The burning of standing green vegetation associated with right-of-way 

clearing, levee, ditch, and reservoir maintenance burning, is exempt 

from Section 305 when such vegetation may need to be burned green.

103.3.2 The APCO may grant an exemption to the drying times specified in 

Section 305 if the denial of such burning would threaten imminent and 

substantial economic loss.

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

102, DEFINITIONS or Rule 301, NONAGRICULTURAL BURNING SMOKE MANAGEMENT.)

201 AGRICULTURAL BURNING: Open outdoor fires used in agricultural operations in the 

growing of crops or raising of fowl or animals; open outdoor fires used in forest 

management, range improvement; or the improvement of land for wildlife and game 

habitat or disease or pest prevention or the use of open outdoor fires used in the 

operation or the maintenance of a system for the delivery of water and wildland 

vegetation management burning.

202 AGRICULTURAL OPERATION: The growing and harvesting of crops or raising of fowl 

or animals for the primary purpose of making a profit or providing a livelihood or the 

conducting of agricultural research or instruction by an educational institution. Agricultural 

operations do not include activities involving the processing or distribution of crops or 

fowl.

203 AGRICULTURAL WASTES

203.1 The unwanted or unsalable materials produced wholly from agricultural 

operations and materials not produced from agricultural operations but which are 

intimately related to the growing or harvesting of crops.

203.2 Materials not produced wholly from agricultural operations, but which are 

intimately related to the growing or harvesting of crops and which are used in the 

field. This includes materials such as fertilizer and pesticide paper sacks or paper 

containers, where the sacks or containers are emptied in the field. This does not

include such items as shop wastes, demolition materials, garbage, oil filters, 

tires, plastic pesticide containers (except for paper pesticide containers), broken 

boxes, pallets, or other similar material, or orchard or vineyard waste removed for 

land use conversion to nonagricultural purposes.

204 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.

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

prohibited by the ARB or the APCO.
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Placer County APCD 302 - 5 Rules and Regulations

206 OPEN BURNING OR OPEN OUTDOOR FIRE: Burning of any combustibles of any type, 

outdoors in the open air, where the products of combustion are not directed through a 

flue.

207 PERMISSIVE BURN DAY OR BURN DAY: Any day in which agricultural burning,

including prescribed burning is not prohibited by the ARB and/or the APCO.

208 RIGHT-OF-WAY CLEARING, LEVEE, DITCH, AND RESERVOIR MAINTENANCE 

BURNING: The use of fires for the disposal of vegetation, which may include standing 

green vegetation (e.g. grasses, weeds, brush and small trees),for right-of-way clearing by 

a public entity or utility or for levee, ditch, or reservoir maintenance.

209 SACRAMENTO VALLEY SMOKE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: A regional program 

implemented under a plan prepared by the Sacramento Valley Basin Wide Air Pollution 

Control Council (BCC) and its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The BCC and TAC 

are comprised of an elected district board member and air pollution control officer, 

respectively, from each air district in the Basin: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Placer, 

Sacramento, Shasta, Tehama, Yolo/Solano, and Feather River. The BCC reviews and 

amends the program in cooperation with the staff of the California Air Resources Board

Meteorology and Compliance Program Review sections, the affected industry, 

environmental groups, and other interested parties.

210 SMOKE MANAGEMENT PLAN: A document prepared for each prescribed fire by land 

managers or fire managers that provides the information and procedures required in 

Section 80160 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, and as provided for in 

Rule 303, Prescribed Burning Smoke Management.

211 SMOKE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: A program adopted by the District Board and 

approved by the ARB as required under Title 17, Chapter 1, Subchapter 2; Smoke 

Management Guidelines for Agricultural and Prescribed Burning. The program outlines 

the implementation and enforcement of a smoke management program for those portions 

of Placer County in the Mountain Counties and Lake Tahoe Air Basins.

300 STANDARDS

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

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

disposal or burning of any disallowed combustibles.

302 BURN PERMITS

302.1 A person shall not ignite or allow agricultural burning, including the burning of 

agricultural wastes, without first obtaining a valid burn permit from the District.

302.2 A separate burn permit may also be required by the fire protection agency that 

has jurisdiction in the area of the proposed burn project.

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

fires for any day during which:

303.1 It is a no-burn day.

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

prevention.

304 BURN DAYS
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304.1 No person shall knowingly ignite or allow ignition of agricultural waste burning on 

no burn days or when burning is prohibited by fire protection agency.

304.2 Burn Hours: No field crop burning shall commence before 10:00 AM or after 5:00 

PM of any day unless otherwise designated. The District may further restrict 

burning hours if it is deemed necessary to prevent adverse impacts to downwind 

receptors.

305 VEGETATION PREPARATION AND DRYING TIMES

305.1 Rice Harvesting - Mechanical Straw Spreader: All rice harvesting shall employ a 

mechanical straw spreader to ensure even distribution of the straw, with the 

following exception.

305.1.1 Rice straw may be left in rows, provided it meets the drying time 

criteria prior to a burn, as described in Section 306.1.

305.1.2 After harvest, no spread rice straw shall be burned prior to a three day 

drying period. No rowed rice straw shall be burned prior to a ten day 

drying period.

305.2 Other Agricultural Waste Burning: 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.

305.2.1 A minimum of three days for other agricultural waste such as field crop 

residue (other than rice stubble), vegetable tops, and seed screenings 

to assure rapid and complete combustion with a minimum of smoke.

305.2.2 A minimum of 15 days of drying time for fine prunings or cuttings, less 

than 3 inches in diameter, at the cut end.

305.2.3 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.

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

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

305.2.5 No vegetation shall be burned unless it is reasonably free of dirt, soil, 

and surface moisture and shall be burned in a manner to prevent 

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

305.2.6 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.

305.2.7 The vegetation to be burned shall be free of disallowed combustibles 

and other material that is not produced in an agricultural operation.

306 STRAW MOISTURE DETERMINATION (CRACKLE TEST)

306.1 Water Moisture: After a rain exceeding 0.15 inches, the provisions of Section 

305.1.2, notwithstanding, rice straw shall not be burned unless the straw makes 

an audible crack when tested just prior to burning. The method of testing shall be 

as described in subsection 306.2.
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Placer County APCD 302 - 7 Rules and Regulations

306.2 Straw: When checking a field for moisture a composite sample of straw from 

under the mat in the center of the mat and from different areas of the field shall 

be taken to ensure a representative sample. The provisions of Section 305.1

notwithstanding, straw shall only be deemed dry enough to burn if a handful of 

straw selected crackles audibly when it is bent sharply.

307 LIGHTING PRACTICES: Field crop straw and residue shall be ignited only by strip firing 

into-the-wind or by backfiring except when and where an extreme fire hazard is declared 

by a fire protection agency or where crops are determined not to lend themselves to 

these techniques.

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 which is or may become a nuisance or hazard.

310 DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT BURNED DAILY:

310.1 Sacramento Valley Air Basin:

310.1.1 The daily acreage allotment on permissive burn days for open outdoor 

burning in agricultural operations in the growing of crops or the raising of 

fowl or animals shall be no more than that amount determined by the 

ARB from the daily basin wide acreage allotment equation contained in 

the approved Sacramento Valley Smoke Management Program.

310.1.2 A prescribed burn conducted under a Smoke Management Plan, shall be 

considered a part of the daily agricultural burn acreage allocation.

310.2 Mountain Counties and Lake Tahoe Air Basins: Only that amount of vegetation 

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

311 RIGHT-OF-WAY CLEARING, LEVEE, DITCH, AND RESERVOIR MAINTENANCE 

BURNING: The following conditions apply:

311.1 Disallowed combustibles must be removed prior to burning.

311.2 Vegetation has been prepared by stacking, drying, or other methods to promote 

combustion as specified by the District.

400 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

401 BURN PERMIT APPLICATION INFORMATION

401.1 Type of burning;

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

401.3 Location of the proposed burn;

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

401.5 The type of vegetation or agricultural waste to be burned;

401.6 Acreage or estimated tonnage or size of pile of the vegetation to be burned;
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401.7 Reason for burning;

401.8 Applicant’s signature with date signed. The applicant signing the burn permit

shall read and attest to the accuracy of the information provided.

401.9 Each burn 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."

401.10 The applicant or representative shall have the burn permit available for 

inspection at the burn site during the burn.

402 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 for the 

revocation. 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.

402.1 Within ten days after service of the notice of revocation specified in Section 402, 

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.

403 SMOKE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

403.1 Sacramento Valley Air Basin: The Sacramento Valley Smoke Management 

Program applies to agricultural and other burning operations, as defined by 

Section 80101 of Title 17 of the CCR, which are conducted at all elevations in the 

Sacramento Valley Air Basin. Policies and procedures specified by the 

Sacramento Valley Smoke Management Program apply throughout the year 

unless otherwise specified in the program.

403.2 Mountain Counties and Lake Tahoe Air Basins: The Placer County Smoke 

Management Program applies to agricultural and other burning operations, as 

defined by Section 80101 of Title 17 of the CCR, which are in the Mountain 

Counties and Lake Tahoe Air Basins. Policies and procedures specified by this 

program apply throughout the year unless otherwise specified in the program.

404 APCO APPROVAL: No person shall commence an agricultural burn without receiving 

permission from the APCO, or his/her designee. For those air basins using a daily 

allocation system, the APCO shall distribute the daily allocated acreage for the purposes 

of minimizing the density of emissions and protecting downwind urban areas.

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

Rule 607, BURN PERMIT FEES.

500 MONITORING AND RECORDS

501 BURN REPORTS

501.1 Annual Report: A report of agricultural burning conducted shall be submitted to 

the ARB by the District within 45 days of the end of each calendar year. The 
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report shall include the estimated tonnage or acreage of each agricultural waste 

type burned from open outdoor burning in agricultural operations and the location 

of where the burning was performed.

501.2 Special Burn Permits Issuance Report: A report of burn permits issued, each 

year, pursuant to subsection 103.2.2 shall be submitted to the ARB within 45 

days of the end of the calendar year. The report shall include the number of such 

burn permits issued, the date of issuance, the person or persons to whom the 

burn permit was issued, an estimate of the amount of agricultural wastes burned, 

and a summary of the reasons why denial of each burn permit would have 

threatened imminent and substantial economic loss, including the nature and 

dollar amounts of such loss.
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