5 Colo. Code Regs. § 1001-11-VI

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 20, October 25, 2024

Section 5 CCR 1001-11-VI - Unplanned Ignition Fire Permits

A. Any person may apply for an unplanned ignition fire permit. A permit allows the use of fire for grassland or forestland management although the applicant did not plan the specific time and location of the ignition. Wildfires do not require a permit if the land manager undertakes appropriate suppression activities. Significant users of prescribed fire may apply for and obtain an unplanned ignition fire permit if they also satisfy the requirements of Section VII of this regulation.

B. Applications for unplanned ignition fire permits shall be submitted to the Division on forms approved by the Division for each area for which a permit is sought. The application submitted by any person shall include a plan and map depicting the area proposed for the permit. The Division may grant unplanned ignition prescribed fire permits for a period of up to five years provided that the information contained in the application remains valid. The Division may amend the permit, based on a case-by-case analysis, to accommodate minor changes in the permit area.

C. The Division shall consider the following factors in determining whether to grant an unplanned ignition fire permit:

1. Whether the applicant evaluated the use of non-burning fuel treatments in place of allowing unplanned ignition fires to continue burning;

2. The location of the proposed burns and smoke-sensitive areas and class I areas that might be impacted by the smoke and emissions from the burns;

3. The smoke risk rating for proposed burns;

4. The sources of meteorological information that the applicant will use to evaluate potential visibility and smoke and emission impacts from each fire;

5. The meteorological conditions under which the applicant proposes to allow unplanned ignition fires to continue burning without suppression efforts and the suppression measures that the applicant will take if weather at the time of the burn does not meet those identified meteorological conditions;

6. Whether the application demonstrates that the Division will be notified by telephone or by another Division-approved method as soon as possible, but no later than two hours after the start of the next working day, and daily thereafter, of the occurrence of an unplanned ignition fire greater than five acres in size that the applicant intends to use for grassland or forest land management;

7. Whether the application demonstrates that the applicant will evaluate the fire conditions daily to determine whether the fire meets the terms of the permit, including an evaluation based on appropriate information to ensure that ambient air quality standards are not being violated nor visibility goals exceeded;

8. Whether the applicant will conduct the burn in accordance with a smoke management plan or narrative that requires:

a. A monitoring plan, including visual observation, to allow appropriate evaluation of smoke impacts at smoke-sensitive receptors;

b. That suppression activities will be taken if unacceptable smoke impacts occur at smoke-sensitive receptors;

c. That measures will be taken to notify the public, within twenty-four hours of discovery of the unplanned ignition, that the applicant intends to use the fire for grassland or forest land management and of the location and expected smoke impacts from the fire; and

9. Whether the actual burn activity that occurs will be reported to the Division on forms approved by the Division.

D. Unplanned Ignition Fire Permit Conditions

Each unplanned ignition fire permit shall contain, but not be limited to, the following conditions, as appropriate:

1. All permit conditions necessary to ensure that the burn will be conducted so as to minimize the impacts of the fire on visibility and on public health and welfare and all conditions necessary to meet the requirements of this Section VI;

2. The applicant must promptly initiate suppression action if the fire fails to comply with the permit terms or other activities to ensure that the fire remains within the terms of the permit;

3. The applicant must evaluate the fire with appropriate resources to determine whether the fire remains within the permit terms. Appropriate evaluations may include daily monitoring and appropriate modeling to determine whether the fire will minimize the potential for a violation of any ambient air quality standard or otherwise cause unacceptable impacts to human health or welfare, visibility or the environment.

E. Public Comment

1. The Division will evaluate fires proposed in permit applications to determine whether the fire will pose a high smoke risk. The evaluation will include consideration of size of the fire area, the type and density of fuel, and the proximity of the fire to smoke sensitive receptors, such as communities and class I areas.

2. If the Division determines that the fire poses a high smoke risk, the Division will provide appropriate notice to the public, such as by making the information available through the internet and by email, and will issue a draft permit for public comment. The notice will include information about location of the fire, expected range of time when a burn may occur and potential air quality and visibility impacts at smoke sensitive receptors. The procedures in the Commission's Procedural Rules apply to any draft permit subject to the public comment provisions of this paragraph. If the Division receives public comment, it will consider those comments in determining whether to issue a permit and what conditions to impose upon the permittee and within thirty days of the close of the comment period or within thirty days following the close of any public comment hearing shall either grant or deny the permit.

5 CCR 1001-11-VI

38 CR 05, March 10, 2015, effective 3/30/2015

43 CR 12, June 25, 2020, effective 7/15/2020

47 CR 06, March 25, 2024, effective 4/15/2024