Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-430 - Agricultural burning › Section 173-430-010 - Purpose of the regulation

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Chapter 70.94
				RCW, the Washington Clean Air Act, declares it is the intent of the state to
				protect public health and it is the policy of the state that the
				responsibilities and costs of protecting the air resource and operating state
				and local air pollution control programs be shared as equitably as possible
				among all sources whose emissions cause air pollution. Some of the sources
				whose emissions contribute to air pollution in the state include industrial
				sources (large and small), mobile sources such as vehicles, and area sources
				such as woodstoves, general outdoor burning, and agricultural burning. A
				variety of strategies to control and reduce the impact of emissions are
				described throughout
				chapter
				70.94 RCW, including
				controls on emissions created from agricultural burning. The act intends that
				public health be protected and also allows for agricultural burning that is
				reasonably necessary. The act also requires that burning be restricted and
				regulated to address the potentially competing goals of both limiting air
				pollution and allowing agricultural burning.
				Chapter
				70.94 RCW authorizes the
				Washington state department of ecology (ecology) and local air authorities to
				implement the provisions of that act related to agricultural burning. This rule
				establishes control strategies for agricultural burning in the state to
				minimize adverse health and the environmental effects from agricultural burning
				in accord with the most reasonable procedures to follow in safeguarding life
				and property under all circumstances or is reasonably necessary to carry out
				the enterprise or both. These strategies include:
(1) Establishing a permit program with
			 minimum statewide requirements and specific burn authorizations.
(2) Providing for implementation of a
			 research program to explore and identify economical and practical alternatives
			 to agricultural burning.
(3)
			 Encouraging and developing economically feasible alternative methods to
			 agricultural burning.
(4) Limiting
			 the scope of the rule to agricultural burning and distinguishing between
			 agricultural burning and other types of burning.
(5) Providing for local administration of the
			 permitting program through delegation.
(6) Assessing air quality within a region and
			 incorporating this data into an evaluation tailored to emissions from
			 agricultural burning.
(7) Making
			 use of metering as a component of the agricultural burning permit program.
			 Metering is a technique of limiting emissions from agricultural burning at
			 specific times and places by taking into account potential emission rates,
			 forecasted weather (dispersion), and current and projected air
			 quality.
(8) Using improved and
			 proven technology in evaluating the conditions under which burning is
			 authorized, including those related to meteorology, emissions, and air
			 pollution.
(9) Providing for
			 education and communication.
Statutory Authority: 2010 c 70,
				  RCW
				  70.94.6528 and Ted Rasmussen Farms, LLC v.
				  State of Washington, Department of Ecology, Docket # 22989-1-III. 10-23-049
				  (Order 10-05), § 173-430-010, filed 11/10/10, effective 12/11/10.
				  Statutory Authority: RCW    70.94.650, 70.94.743, and 70.94.745. 06-16-052 (Order
				  04-10), § 173-430-010, filed 7/26/06, effective 8/26/06. Statutory
				  Authority: RCW    70.94.650. 95-03-083 (Order 94-17), § 173-430-010, filed
				  1/17/95, effective 2/17/95; 93-14-022 (Order 92-58), § 173-430-010, filed
				  6/28/93, effective 7/29/93. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				     70.94.331. 90-19-062 (Order 90-10), §
				  173-430-010, filed 9/17/90, effective 10/18/90; Order DE 77-20, §
				  173-430-010, filed 11/9/77. Formerly WAC
				  18-16-010.