United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX

Air Division

Technical Support Document

for

EPA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

for the

California State Implementation Plan

Butte County Air Quality Management District

Rule 300, Open Burning, Prohibitions and Exemptions

Prepared by Rynda Kay

October 20 1 4- 2

-

RULE IDENTIFICATION

Agency: Butte County Air Quality Management District (BCAQMD)

Subject of this TSD: Rule 300

- Open Burning, Prohibitions and Exemptions
Amended

- February 24, 2011
Submitted

- September 21, 2012 Determined Complete

- October 11, 2012

Rules Previously Approved into the California State Implementation Plan ( SIP ) to be superseded :

Rule Title Adoption
Date Submittal

Date SIP

Approval
Date FR Citation

301 Prohibitions on Open Burning August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

302 Exemptions to Rule 301 August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

303 Burn Permits August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

304 Exemptions to Rule 303 August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

306 Information Furnished by Permit Applicant August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

307 Ignition Hours August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

308 Notice of Intent to Ignite August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

309 Freedom from Debris and
Moisture August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

310 Arrangement of Agricultural and
Wood Waste August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

311 Drying Period August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

312 Wind Direction August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

313 Ignition Devices August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

314 Burning of Vines or Bushes
Treated with Herbicides August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

315 Rice Straw Burning August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

316 Field Crop Ignition August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

317 Field Crops Harvested Prior to September 10 August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

3 1 8 Restriction of Burning During Poor Air Quality Conditions August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

320 Certificat e f

rom Department of
Fish and Game August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

322 Special Permit August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226- 3

-

323 Range Improvement Burning August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

324 Burning at Disposal Sites August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

325 Exemption to Rule 324 August 6,
1985 February 10,

1986 February 3,

1987 52 FR 3226

RULE SUMMARY

Rule 300 is designed to minimize the impacts of smoke and other air pollutants generated by open burning conducted within Butte County and to assure that it is managed consistent with state and federal law. Rule 300 allows open burning on permissive burn days, provided a permit is obtained; details the types of open burning that can be authorized; sets burn hours , drying

time, and ignition requirements; estab lishes burn plan requirements for prescribed burns; limits burn acreage for agricultural burning; and lists exemptions to rule requirements.

Changes from the approved SIP rules include:

1. Added n umerous definitions in Section 5 and other editorial changes to improve clarity.

2. Increased stringency by adding requirements for exempted burn types; expand ing the list of prohibited materials; and removing the exemption for fires above specified elevations.

3. Reformatted the requiremen ts to replace BC AQMD rules numbered 301

– 325 with one
new rule number 300.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

- The following criteria were used to evaluate the submitted rule.

1. Enforceability

- The Bluebook ( Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations , EPA, May 25, 1988) and the Little Bluebook ( Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) were used to help evaluate compliance with the CAA §110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability.

2. SIP Revisions

- CAA § 110(l) prohibits EPA from approving any SIP revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement of the CA A. In addition, CAA § 193 prohibits the modification of any SIP

- approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in a nonattainment area.

3. Stringency

- Open burning emits particulate matter (PM) , including particulate matter of

ten microns or less (PM 10 ) and particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less (PM 2.5 ) directly, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are precursors to ozone and PM 2.5

.- 4

-

BC AQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area, whic h is classified as Marginal under the 1997 and 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone (40 CFR § 81.305). CAA § 182(a) exempts ozone nonattainment areas classified as marginal from
the requirement to submit an attainment demonstratio n . Because EPA interprets the reasonably available control measures (RACM) requirement of CAA § 172(c) (1) in the context of the requirement to demonstrate attainment as expeditiously as practicable, EPA does not require marginal areas to meet the RACM test (77 FR 28438; 78 FR 34196). Therefore, BCAQMD is not required to implement RACM for ozone.

BC AQMD is currently designated attainment for PM 10 (40 CFR § 81.305). Accordingly,
BC AQMD is not subject to the requirement to implement RACM or Best Available
C ontrol Measures (BACM) for PM 10 and PM 10 precursors in CAA§ 189(b) and (e). Therefore, we are not evaluating Rule 300 for compliance with RACM or BACM requirements with respect to PM 10

.

Effective December 14, 2009, EPA designated the Chico nonattainment area , in Butte County, which is under BC AQMD jurisdiction, as nonattainment for the 2006 24

- hour
PM 2.5 NAAQS (74 FR 58688, November 13, 2009). As a result, the area was required to implement RACM for PM 2.5 . On September 10, 2013 (78 FR 55225 ), EPA issued a determination that the area had attained the 2006 24

- hour PM 2.5 standard based on complete, quality

- assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2010

– 2012 monitoring period. Under EPA's Clean Data Policy and the regulations that embody it, 40 CFR 51.1004(c) (for PM 2.5 ), an EPA determination that an area is attaining the relevant standard suspends the area's obligations to submit RACM for as long as the area continues
to attain. Therefore, BCAQMD is not curre ntly required to implement RACM f or PM 2.5

. If the Chico nonattainment area is redesignated to attainment, RACM requirements for
PM 2.5 will no longer apply.

EPA EVALUATION

1. Enforceability

- BCAQMD Rule 300 provides greater clarity than the SIP

- approved rules
because it consolidates all information related to a burn type in one rule , adds additional detail and requirements for exempted burn types, a nd provides new definitions. Except for two provision s described in the “Rul e Deficiencies” section below, Rule 300 requireme nts and applicability are generally clear, and the monitoring, recordkeeping, reporting and other provisions sufficiently ensure that affected sources and regulators can evaluat e and determine compliance consistently.

2. SIP Revisions

– BC AQMD provided EPA with a rule

- by

- rule analysis detailing where each SIP rule provision can be found in Rule 300 or how the rule was modified to be more stringent consistent with CAA § 110(l) and § 193 ( see letter from Armen Kamien, BCAQMD to Rynda Kay, EPA Region IX dated August 23, 2014 ). We generally concur
with this evaluation. Overall, we find Rule 300 incorporates the provisions of the existing SIP rules and increases stringency by providing new definitions; adding requirements for- 5

-

exempted burn types; expanding the list of prohibited materials; and removing the exemption for fires above specified elevations.

3. Stringency

– The rule largely implements reasonably available control requirements because it is generally as stringent as other California District rules for this category. However, some areas are implementing more stringent requirements that may be technologically and e conomically feasible for implementation in Butte County (see

“ Additional Recommendations for the Next Rule Revision ” ).

RULE DEFICIENCIES

BCAQMD Rule 300 contains two provisions which do not meet the evaluation criteria concerning enforceability and prec lude full approval of the rule. The provisions allow the Air Pollution Control Officer ( APCO ) to independently interpret the SIP without explicit and replicable procedures within the rule to tightly define how the discretion is exercised to assure equival ent emission reductions and without explicit approval of such discretion provisions by the
EPA ( Little Blue Book, page 17; see also 52 FR 45044, 45109 (November 24, 1987 ).

1. Sections 5.53 and 6.5 prohibit burning of rubbish or garbage except under variance by the hearing board as follows:

“5.53 Variance: Temporary exemption from DISTRICT rules or regulations granted to sources by the DISTRICT Hearing Board.

6.5 It is unlawful to burn rubbish or garbage at dumps, landfills, or refuse disposal areas,

or at any solid waste dump, whether public or private, or to burn garbage anywhere else in the County of Butte, except under variance.”

2. Sections 8.24 allows the APCO to waive drying time requirements:

“8.2.4 The drying time requirements stated in Sections 8.2.1 and 8.2.2 may be waived by the APCO for good cause at the discretion of the APCO. The adequacy of cause to waive the drying time requirements shall be decided on a case

- by

- case basis by the APCO. ”

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT RULE REVISION

The following revisions are not currently the basis for rule disapproval, but are recommended for
the next time the rule is amended.

1. In Section 6.1, consider changing “open fires” to “open bur ning” which is defined in the rule,
while open fires is not.

2. In Section 11.3.1, consider listing the population c riteria that allow and area to be exempt from the prohibition of burning in a burn barrel , rather than referring to Section 93113, Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations, which is not in the California SIP.- 6

-

3. Drying time requirements listed in Section 8.2 are shorter than in many CA Air District Rules. Consider lengthening drying times and requiring that large stumps/branches be split be fore burning e.g., Placer Rule 301, Section 306; Mo nterey Bay Rule 438, Section 3.7

.

4. Consider adding District burn permit requirements for residential burning (e.g., Monterey Bay
Rule 438 and North Coast Rules 200

- 208) and fire hazard reduction burning ( e.g., Placer Rule 301). The largest California air districts ban residential/backyard burning entirely (e.g., Bay Area Regulation 5, San Joaquin Valley Rule 4103, and South Coast Rule 444).

5. Make clear in Section 8

- General Burn Requirements, Conditions and Practices that all types of burning are subject to the No

- Burn Day restriction as defined in Section 5.29.

6. Define “imminent and substantial economic loss” for e.g., loss of one growing s eason as in Placer Rule 102, Section 237.

7. Consider adding criteria to limit filmmaking exemption in Butte 300 Section 4.6 as is done in
So uth Coast Rule 444 Section (h)(5)(E).

EPA ACTION

BCAQMD Rule 300 strengthens the SIP by consolidating all information rel ated to a burn type in one rule; providing new definitions and other editor ial changes to improve clarity; adding requirements for exempted burn types; expanding the list of prohibited materials; and removing the exemption for fires abo ve specified elevations. The rule largely fulfils the relevant Clean Air
Act §110 and Part D requirements, but the deficiencies discussed above preclude full SIP approval. EPA staff recommends a simultaneous limited approval and limited disapproval of
Rul e 300 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3) and §301(a).

REFERENCES

1. “Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,” (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988 (web citation).
2. “Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies,” (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 ( http://www.epa.gov/region09/air/sips/littlebluebook2001.pdf ).
3. Letter from Armen Kamien, BCAQMD to R ynda Kay, EPA Region IX dated August 23,
2014.
4

. Placer County Rule 301, amended February 9, 2012.
5

. Monterey Bay Rule 438, amended February 19, 2014.
6

. North Coast 200

- 208, amended December 11, 2013.
7

. Bay Area Regulation 5, amended June 19, 2013.
8

. San Joaquin Valley Rule 4103, amended April 15, 2010.
9

. Placer Count Rule 102, amended February 9, 2012
10

. South Coast Rule 444, amended July 12, 2013.