41850-41866
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 41850-41866
41850. It is the intent of the Legislature, by the enactment of
this article, that agricultural burning be reasonably regulated and
not be prohibited. The state board and the districts shall take into
consideration, in adopting rules and regulations for purposes of this
article, various factors, including, but not limited to, the
population in an area, the geographical characteristics, the
meteorological conditions, the economic and technical impact of such
rules and regulations, and the importance of a viable agricultural
economy in the state.
41851. Section 41800 shall not apply to burning regulated pursuant
to this article.
41852. No person knowingly shall set or permit agricultural burning
unless he has a valid permit from the agency designated by the state
board to issue such permits in the area where the agricultural
burning is to take place.
41852.5. The state board may, after holding a public hearing,
authorize an exemption from the permit requirement of Section 41852
for a district, or a portion of a district, where agricultural
burning does not significantly affect air quality.
41853. The state board shall designate public fire protection
agencies or other equivalent agencies to issue permits under
subdivision (a) of Section 41852, and shall adopt rules and
regulations to provide a procedure for the issuance of the permits.
Each agency so designated by the state board shall issue permits
subject to the rules and regulations of the state board.
41853.5. (a) No permit shall be issued pursuant to Section 41853 to
a person for the burning of solid waste which is produced from the
ginning of cotton, unless the person pays to the issuing agency a fee
of fifteen cents ($0.15) for each bale of cotton ginned that will
produce the solid waste that is to be burned.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the issuing agency
shall deposit monthly the collected fees in the Air Pollution Control
Fund.
(c) To pay for administrative costs of issuing the permits, the
issuing agency may retain from the fees collected pursuant to this
section an amount equal to either the estimated cost of issuing the
permits, or 4 percent of the total fees collected, whichever is less.
The state board may make an annual audit of the issuing agency to
determine the amount of fees retained by an issuing agency.
41854. (a) No permit issued pursuant to Section 41853 shall be
valid for any day during which agricultural burning is prohibited by
the state board pursuant to Section 41855 or by a district board
pursuant to Section 41508.
(b) Each permit shall bear a statement of warning containing the
following words or words of like or similar import:
"This permit is valid only on those days during which agricultural
burning is not prohibited by the State Air Resources Board pursuant
to Section 41855 of the Health and Safety Code."
41855. The state board shall determine and designate from
meteorological data the days when agricultural burning shall be
prohibited within each air basin.
41855.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no permit
may be issued to a person to burn any of the following categories of
agricultural waste within the jurisdiction of the San Joaquin Valley
Unified Air Pollution Control District, commencing on the following
dates:
(1) Commencing June 1, 2005, for field crops, prunings, and weed
abatement.
(2) Commencing June 1, 2007, for orchard removals.
(3) Commencing June 1, 2010, for other materials, vineyard
removals, and surface harvested prunings.
(b) The San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District,
in consultation with the University of California Cooperative
Extension, shall develop and adopt, not later than June 1, 2005,
rules establishing best management practices for the control of other
weeds and maintenance. The rules adopted pursuant to this
subdivision shall be operative not later than June 1, 2006.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Field crops" means any of the following crops:
(A) Alfalfa.
(B) Asparagus.
(C) Barley stubble.
(D) Beans.
(E) Corn.
(F) Cotton.
(G) Flower straw.
(H) Hay.
(I) Lemon grass.
(J) Oat stubble.
(K) Other field crops, as determined by the state board.
(L) Pea vines.
(M) Peanuts.
(N) Rice stubble.
(O) Safflower.
(P) Sugar cane.
(Q) Vegetable crops.
(R) Wheat stubble.
(2) "Orchard removals" includes, but is not limited to, any of the
following:
(A) Orchard removal matter.
(B) Stumps.
(C) Untreated sticks.
(3) "Other materials" includes, but is not limited to, any of the
following:
(A) Brooder paper.
(B) Deceased goats.
(C) Diseased bee hives.
(4) "Other weeds and maintenance" includes, but is not limited to,
any of the following:
(A) Ditch bank work.
(B) Canal bank work.
(C) Dodder weed.
(D) Star thistle.
(E) Tumbleweed.
(F) Noxious weeds.
(G) Pesticide sacks.
(H) Fertilizer sacks.
(5) "Prunings" means prunings from any of the following:
(A) Apple crops.
(B) Apricot crops.
(C) Avocado crops.
(D) Bushberry crops.
(E) Cherry crops.
(F) Christmas trees.
(G) Citrus crops.
(H) Date crops.
(I) Eucalyptus crops.
(J) Fig crops.
(K) Kiwi crops.
(L) Nectarine crops.
(M) Nursery prunings.
(N) Olive crops.
(O) Other prunings, as determined by the state board.
(P) Pasture or corral trees.
(Q) Peach crops.
(R) Pear crops.
(S) Persimmon crops.
(T) Pistachio crops.
(U) Plum crops.
(V) Pluot crops.
(W) Pomegranate crops.
(X) Prune crops.
(Y) Quince crops.
(Z) Rose prunings.
(6) "Surface harvested prunings" includes, but is not limited to,
any of the following:
(A) Almond prunings.
(B) Walnut prunings.
(C) Pecan prunings.
(D) Grape vines.
(E) Vineyard removal materials.
(7) "Vineyard materials" includes, but is not limited to, any of
the following:
(A) Grape canes.
(B) Raisin trays.
(8) "Weed abatement" includes, but is not limited to, any of the
following:
(A) Berms.
(B) Bermuda grass.
(C) Fence rows.
(D) Grass.
(E) Pasture.
(F) Ponding or levee banks.
(d) (1) The San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control
District shall develop and adopt, by January 1, 2005, rules to
regulate the burning of diseased crops. The rules shall become
operative no later than June 1, 2005. The rules shall provide for the
issuance of a conditional crop burning permit if all of the
following criteria are met:
(A) The fields to be burned are specifically described.
(B) The applicant has not been cited for a violation of burning
rules or regulations in the past 3 years, unless the violation was of
a de minimis nature, as determined by the district and the county
agricultural commissioner.
(C) The county agricultural commissioner has determined all of the
following:
(i) During the growing season for that crop, there is the presence
of a disease that will cause a substantial, quantifiable reduction
in yield or poses a threat to the health of adjacent vines, trees, or
plants in the field proposed to be burned, during the current or
next growing season.
(ii) There is no economically feasible alternative means of
eliminating the disease other than burning.
(2) A conditional crop burning permit shall authorize the burning
of only the identified diseased crop.
(3) The holder of a permit may not transfer, sell, or trade the
permit to any other individual.
(4) A citation for a violation of burning rules or regulations may
be appealed to the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District
Hearing Board.
41855.6. The district may postpone the commencement dates set forth
in subdivision (a) of Section 41855.5 for any category of
agricultural waste or crop described if all of the following applies:
(a) The district determines that there is no economically feasible
alternative means of eliminating the waste.
(b) The district determines that there is no long-term federal or
state funding commitment for the continued operation of biomass
facilities in the San Joaquin Valley or development of alternatives
to burning.
(c) The district determines that the continued issuance of permits
for that specific category or crop will not cause, or substantially
contribute to, a violation of an applicable federal ambient air
quality standard.
(d) The state board concurs with the district's determinations
pursuant to this section.
41856. The state board shall promulgate guidelines for the
regulation and control of agricultural burning for each of the air
basins established by the state board.
41857. The guidelines promulgated by the state board shall be based
on meteorological data, the nature and volume of materials to be
burned, and the probable effect of such burning on the ambient air
quality within the air basins affected.
41858. In adopting such guidelines, the state board shall consider
their economic and technical feasibility, including their probable
effect on agricultural production in the air basin affected.
41859. The state board shall continuously review the guidelines
promulgated under this article, and may modify, repeal, or alter such
guidelines if scientific and technological data indicates that such
changes are warranted. Before adopting any such changes, the state
board shall hold a public hearing and shall consider the criteria set
forth in Section 41857.
41860. The state board shall adopt and publish a list of orchard
and citrus grove heaters which it finds produce no more than one gram
per minute of unconsumed solid carbonaceous material. No new orchard
or citrus grove heater produced or manufactured shall be sold for
use against frost damage unless it has been approved by the state
board.
No person shall use any orchard or citrus grove heater after
January 1, 1975, unless it has been approved by the state board or
does not produce more than one gram per minute of unconsumed solid
carbonaceous material. In addition to the penalties specified in
Section 42400, the cost of putting out the fire caused by a violation
of this section may be imposed on any person who violates this
section.
41861. No burning shall be conducted for the improvement of land
for wildlife or game habitat until the person desiring to conduct
such burning obtains from the Department of Fish and Game a written
statement certifying that the burning is desirable and proper for the
improvement of land for wildlife or game habitat and such statement
is filed with the air pollution control officer having jurisdiction
in the area in which the burning is to take place. As to burning
conducted by the Department of Fish and Game, the department shall,
on its own behalf, issue and file such statements.
41862. A district may issue a permit to authorize agricultural
burning on days designated by the state board pursuant to Section
41855 as nonburning days when denial of such a permit would threaten
imminent and substantial economic loss. The state board shall require
the districts to transmit regular reports of permits issued
authorizing agricultural burning on nonburning days. The report shall
include the number of such permits issued, the date of issuance of
each permit, the person to whom each permit was issued, and any other
information requested by the state board.
41863. Each basinwide coordinating council and district shall, as
part of the implementation plans and programs prepared pursuant to
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 41600), include a component for
the regulation and control of agricultural burning pursuant to
guidelines adopted by the state board therefor.
41864. The provisions of this article shall not supersede any rule
or regulation of any district, which rule or regulation was in effect
for five or more years prior to September 19, 1970.
41865. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Connelly-Areias-Chandler Rice Straw Burning Reduction Act of 1991.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Sacramento Valley Air Basin" means the area designated by the
state board pursuant to Section 39606.
(2) "Air pollution control council" means the Sacramento Valley
Basinwide Air Pollution Control Council authorized pursuant to
Section 40900.
(3) "Conditional rice straw burning permit" means a permit to burn
granted pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (h).
(4) "Allowable acres to be burned" means the number of acres that
may be burned pursuant to subdivision (c).
(5) "Department" means the Department of Food and Agriculture.
(6) "Maximum fall burn acres" means the maximum amount of rice
acreage that may be burned from September 1 to December 31,
inclusive, of each year.
(7) "Maximum spring burn acres" means the maximum amount of rice
acreage that may be burned from January 1 to May 31 of the following
year, inclusive.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 41850, rice straw burning in counties
in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin shall be phased down, as follows:
(1) From 1998 to 2000, the maximum spring and fall burn acres
shall be the following number of acres planted prior to September 1
of each year:
Maximum Fall Burn Maximum Spring
Year Acres Burn Acres
1998 90,000 110,000
1999 90,000 110,000
2000 90,000 110,000
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any of the 90,000 acres
allocated in the fall that are not burned may be added to the maximum
spring burn acres, provided that the maximum spring burn acres does
not exceed 160,000 acres.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the maximum acres burned
between January 1, 1998, and August 31, 1998, shall be limited so
that the total acres burned between September 1, 1997, and August 31,
1998, do not exceed 38 percent of the total acres planted prior to
September 1, 1997.
(4) In 2001 and thereafter, the maximum annual burn acres shall be
the number of acres prescribed in subdivision (i), subject to
subdivisions (f) and (h).
(d) The number of allowable acres to be burned each day shall be
determined by the state board and the air pollution control officers
in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin and equitably allocated among rice
growers in accordance with the annual agricultural burning plan
adopted by the air pollution control council and approved by the
state board.
(e) On or before September 1, 2000, the state board, in
consultation with the department and the air pollution control
council, shall adopt regulations consistent with the criteria
provided in subdivisions (f) and (h). On or before September 1, 1996,
an advisory group shall be established by the state board and the
department to assist in the adoption of those regulations.
(f) Commencing September 1, 2001, the county air pollution control
officers in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin may grant conditional
rice straw burning permits once the county agricultural commissioner
has determined that the applicant has met the conditions specified in
subdivision (h). The county agricultural commissioner shall be
responsible for all field inspections associated with the issuance of
conditional rice straw burning permits. A conditional rice straw
burning permit shall be valid for only one burn, per field, per year.
(g) The county agricultural commissioner may charge the applicant
a fee not to exceed the costs incurred by the county agricultural
commissioner in making the determination specified in subdivision
(f). This subdivision shall be operative only until January 1, 2009.
(h) If the terms and conditions for issuing conditional rice straw
burning permits specified in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, are
met, a conditional rice straw burning permit may be issued unless the
state board and the department have jointly determined, based upon
an annual review process, that there are other economically and
technically feasible alternative means of eliminating the disease
that are not substantially more costly to the applicant. The terms
and conditions for issuing the conditional rice straw burning permits
are:
(1) The fields to be burned are specifically described.
(2) The applicant has not violated any provision of this section
within the previous three years.
(3) During the growing season, the county agricultural
commissioner has independently determined the significant presence of
a pathogen in an amount sufficient to constitute a rice disease such
as stem rot.
(4) The county agricultural commissioner makes a finding that the
existence of the pathogen as identified in paragraph (3) will likely
cause a significant, quantifiable reduction in yield in the field to
be burned during the current or next growing season. The findings of
the county agricultural commissioner shall be based on
recommendations adopted by the advisory group established pursuant to
subdivision (e).
(i) (1) The maximum annual number of acres burned in the
Sacramento Valley Air Basin pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision
(c) shall be the lesser of:
(A) The total of 25 percent of each individual applicant's planted
acres that year.
(B) A total of 125,000 acres planted in the Sacramento Valley Air
Basin.
(2) Each grower shall be eligible to burn up to 25 percent of the
grower's planted acres, as determined by the air pollution control
officers in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin and subject to the
maximum annual number of acres burned set forth in paragraph (1), if
the grower has met the criteria for a conditional rice straw burning
permit.
(3) The air pollution control council shall annually determine
which is the lesser of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1),
and shall determine the maximum percentage applicable to all growers
subject to the conditions set forth in subdivisions (f) and (h).
(4) A grower who owns or operates 400 acres or less who has met
the criteria for the issuance of a conditional rice straw burning
permit may burn his or her entire acreage once every four years,
provided that the limit prescribed in paragraph (1) is not exceeded.
(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall permit an applicant to
transfer, sell, or trade any permission to burn granted pursuant to
this subdivision to another applicant or individual.
(j) The state board and the department shall jointly determine if
the allowable acres to be burned, as provided in subdivisions (c),
(f), and (h), may be exceeded due to extraordinary circumstances,
such as an act of God, that have an impact over a continuing duration
and make alternatives other than burning unusable.
(k) "Administrative burning" means burning of vegetative materials
along roads, in ditches, and on levees adjacent to or within a rice
field, or the burning of vegetative materials on rice research
facilities authorized by the county agricultural commissioner, not to
exceed 2,000 acres. Administrative burning conducted in accordance
with Section 41852 is not subject to this section.
(l) (1) On or before September 1, 1992, the state board and the
department shall jointly establish an advisory committee composed of
10 members to assist with the identification and implementation of
alternatives to rice straw burning. Members of the committee shall be
from the Sacramento Valley Air Basin, and the committee shall
consist of two rice growers, two representatives from the
environmental community, two health officials, two county supervisors
or their designees, one member from the air pollution control
council, and one member from the business community with expertise in
market or product development. The committee shall meet at least
annually. General Fund moneys shall not be used to support the
committee.
(2) The committee shall develop a list of priority goals for the
development of alternative uses of rice straw for the purpose of
developing feasible and cost-effective alternatives to rice straw
burning. These goals shall include, but not be limited to, research
on alternatives, economic incentives to encourage alternative uses,
and new product development.
(m) On or before September 1, 1998, the state board, in
consultation with the department, and the advisory committee, shall
develop an implementation plan and a schedule to achieve diversion of
not less than 50 percent of rice straw produced toward off-field
uses by 2000. Off-field uses may include, but are not limited to, the
production of energy and fuels, construction materials, pulp and
paper, and livestock feed.
(n) The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:
(1) Because of the requirements imposed by this section, rice
straw that was previously burned may present, as solid waste, a new
disposal problem.
(2) The state should assist local governments and growers in
diverting rice straw from landfills by researching and developing
diversion options.
(o) It is the intent of the Legislature that all feasible
alternatives to rice straw burning and options for diverting rice
straw from landfills be encouraged.
(p) This subdivision confirms that reductions in emissions from
rice straw burning qualify for air quality offsets, in accordance
with paragraphs (1) and (2).
(1) These credits shall meet the requirements specified in state
law and district rules and regulations, and shall comply with
applicable district banking rules established pursuant to Sections
40709 to 40713, inclusive. Districts are urged to establish banking
systems in accordance with Sections 40709 to 40713, inclusive. The
state board may adopt regulations to implement this subdivision,
including, but not limited to, consideration of the seasonal and
intermittent nature of rice straw burning emissions. In developing
the regulations, the state board shall consult with all concerned
parties. However, emission reduction credits that would otherwise
accrue from reductions in emissions from rice straw burning shall not
be affected or negated by the phasedown of burning, as specified in
subdivision (c).
(2) Reductions in emissions achieved in compliance with
subdivision (c) that are banked or used as credits shall not be
credited for purposes of attainment planning and progress towards the
attainment of any state or national ambient air quality standard as
required by state and federal law.
(q) (1) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any
provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject
to a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000),
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than nine months, or by
both that fine and imprisonment. This subdivision applies only to
agricultural burning in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin.
(2) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any
provision in this article is liable for a civil penalty of not more
than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). This subdivision applies only to
agricultural burning in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin.
(r) Districts in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin shall impose fees
on growers to cover the cost of implementing this section pursuant
to Section 42311.
(s) To the extent that resources are available, the state board
and the agencies with jurisdiction over air quality within the
Sacramento Valley Air Basin shall do both of the following:
(1) Improve responses to citizen complaints, and, to the extent
feasible, immediately investigate and analyze smoke complaints from
the public to identify factors that contribute to complaints and to
develop better smoke control measures to be included in the
agricultural burning plan, keep a record of all complaints,
coordinate among other agencies on citizens' complaints, and
investigate the source of the pollution causing the complaint.
(2) Respond more quickly to requests for update from county air
pollution control officers to help maximize burning days when
meteorological conditions are best suited for smoke dispersion.
41865.5. Notwithstanding Section 7550.5 of the Government Code, on
or before January 1, 2001, the State Air Resources Board, in
consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, and in
cooperation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission and the California Integrated Waste Management
Board, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature recommendations
for ensuring consistency and predictability in the supply of rice
straw for cost-effective uses, including, but not limited to,
recommendations for methods of harvesting, storing, and distributing
rice straw for off-field uses. Off-field uses may include, but are
not limited to, the production of energy and fuels, construction
materials, pulp and paper, and livestock feed.
41866. The Sacramento Valley Basinwide Air Pollution Control
Council may impose, and may require that districts within the
Sacramento Valley Air Basin collect, a fee not to exceed five dollars
($5) per permit, per year on each permit issued by a district within
the Sacramento Valley Air Basin, for the purpose of administering
all basinwide air pollution control efforts, and may adopt a budget
to expend those funds at any noticed regularly scheduled meeting,
allowing for public comment.