Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 340 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Division 266 - FIELD BURNING RULES › Section 340-266-0065 - Emergency Open Burning

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
In accordance with ORS 468A.610(11)(a), the Department of
				Environmental Quality may by order allow up to 2,000 acres each calendar year
				for emergency open burning, propane flaming or stack burning to address a
				disease outbreak or insect infestation on a grass seed or cereal grain field. A
				grower seeking emergency burning authorization must submit a petition to the
				Department of Environmental Quality requesting emergency burning in accordance
				with the dates specified in subsection (9), and shall include the information
				as provided in this rule.
(1) Such
			 burning shall be limited to the minimum number of acres on the field to address
			 the emergency, and in no case exceed the acreage approved for burning by the
			 Department of Environmental Quality under these rules.
(2) In addition to the general requirements
			 for burning in OAR
			 340-266-0040,
			 any emergency burning approved under these rules shall be subject to special
			 field-by-field authorization by the Department of Agriculture, and a field
			 specific smoke management burn plan required in subsection (6), to protect
			 public health and safety.
(3)
			 Emergency burning shall be subject to the requirements in OAR
			 340-266-0050,
			 including the registration and burn fee.
(4) Based on the submittal dates specified in
			 subsection (9), a grower seeking emergency burning approval shall submit a
			 petition to the Department of Environmental Quality containing the following
			 documentation:
(a) A field burning
			 registration form, in accordance with OAR
			 340-266-0050(1).
(b) Severity of the disease outbreak or
			 insect infestation, the minimum number of acres being requested for burning to
			 address the problem, and the type of burning to be used (open burning, propane
			 flaming, or stack burning).
(A) Documentation
			 shall include seed testing results from the most recent seed harvest, obtained
			 from an independent seed lab operated by a registered seed technologist (RST),
			 which shows the seed quality and purity results from the infested field or
			 acreage, and how this is evidence of a major disease outbreak or insect
			 infestation. Emphasis should be given to seed germination testing results, and
			 whether the germination percentage is more than 10 percent under the required
			 percentage established for that specific grass variety. Growers are encouraged
			 to submit seed testing results and reference the Seed Standards established by
			 Oregon Seed Certification Service at Oregon State University, as part of this
			 documentation.
(B) Other
			 documentation besides seed testing results may be submitted by the grower
			 providing it also shows evidence of a major disease outbreak or insect
			 infestation.
(C) Description of the
			 extent of damage to the grass stand, whether stand replacement would be needed
			 if no burning is conducted, and the extent to which burning is expected to
			 remedy the disease outbreak or insect infestation. This shall include whether
			 any alternatives to burning, such as crop rotation or chemical treatments,
			 would be similar to or more effective in eradicating the problem.
(D) For the information noted above in
			 paragraphs (A), (B) and (C), growers are required to include documentation from
			 an extension agent, agronomist, or consultant.
(c) Description of how the severity of the
			 disease outbreak or insect infestation affects the market value of the
			 harvested seed and the extent of the financial or economic hardship this poses.
			 This description shall include an estimate of the overall financial loss from
			 the outbreak or infestation, in relation to total number of grass seed fields
			 that are part of grower's farming operation, as a means of showing the extent
			 of the financial impact, which shall be considered in the determination of
			 extreme hardship.
(d) A field
			 specific smoke management burn plan, as described in subsection (6)
			 below.