To Whom do the Agricultural Burning Provisions of WAC 173-430 Apply?
The agricultural burning provisions of WAC 173-430 apply to bona fide commercial agricultural operations being carried out on lands designated for agricultural use as validated by the most recent year's IRS Schedule F form.

When is an Agricultural Burning Permit Required?
All commercial agricultural operations must obtain a permit prior to burning natural vegetation except when burning orchard prunings, natural vegetation along fence lines, irrigation and drainage ditches or natural vegetation blown by the wind. You must notify your local fire protection authority and the Southwest Clean Air Agency (SWCAA) prior to igniting any fire, even if an air quality permit is not required.

To see if an agricultural burn permit is required, click here (PDF file).

PDF files that require the Adobe Acrobat® Reader appropriate for your hardware and operating system to view and print the file. The document appears exactly as it was in printed form.

Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Agricultural burning is allowed when it is reasonably necessary to carry out the enterprise. A grower can show it is reasonably necessary when it meets the criteria of the BMPs and no practical alternative exists. BMPs are one of the ways to demonstrate the need to burn. Growers not using these BMPs must establish that their proposed burn is reasonably necessary and that no practical alternative is available. The burden of proof is on the grower, and the demonstration must satisfy the Southwest Clean Air Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology.

• Cereal Grain BMP
• Non-Cereal Grain BMP
• Orchard Crops BMP
• Spot Burn BMP
• Bale Burn BMP

Agricultural Burning Permit Application Forms
If the burning you wish to conduct requires a permit, an appropriate permit application must be submitted to the Southwest Clean Air Agency (SWCAA) with the application fee. The appropriate permit application form can be downloaded as described below depending on the type of burning you wish to conduct. Instructions and fee information are provided on the application forms. SWCAA will approve or deny a permit within 7 days of receiving a complete application with fee. If a permit is denied, fees will be refunded less a minimum $25.00 application fee.

• Orchard Tear-Out
  If you are tearing out orchard trees and plan to burn the debris, you must obtain a permit from the SWCAA. This permit application is available here for download in either Word format or PDF format. You must follow the appropriate BMPs.
  
• Spot Burn
  The spot burn permit application* is generally for areas that are 1/2 acre to less in size, such as:
  • Small weed patches
  • Spots of heavy residue
  • Equipment plugs and dumps

  The spot burn permit is valid for the calendar year in which it is issued and is good for a cumulative total of ten (10) acres of small spots during the year. * This permit is not to be used for field scale burning where the burn will cover an area of over five acres. To download this permit application, select either Word format or PDF format. You must follow the appropriate BMPs.

• Baled Agricultural Residue Spot Burning
  Examples of baled agricultural residue that may be permitted for burning include broken, mildewed, diseased or otherwise pest ridden bales. The Spot burn permit for baled residue is required for burning residue up to the amount that has been baled off of 10 acres or less or its maximum equivalent of 2 tons/acres. This permit is not to be used for open-field burning or spot burning (other than baled residue, of 10 acres or less). To download this permit application, select either Word format or PDF format. You must follow the appropriate BMPs.
• General Agricultural Burn Permit
  If the above scenarios do not apply, download a General Agricultural Burn Permit Application here in either Word format or PDF format. You must follow the appropriate BMPs.