N.M. Code R. § 20.11.21.15

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 12, June 25, 2024

Section 20.11.21.15 - SMOKE MANAGEMENT; PRESCRIBED BURNS; WILDLAND FIRE USE;WILDFIRES UNDER SUPRESSION

20.11.21.15 NMAC applies to all persons who intend to use prescribed fire to burn more than 10 acres or more than 1,000 cubic feet of pile volume of vegetative material per day. Specified portions of 20.11.21.15 NMAC also apply to the land manager or owner of property on which a wildfire occurs.

A. Materials allowed to be burned: Only vegetative material shall be burned, with the following exceptions:

(1) auxiliary fuel or incendiary devices may be used to start the burning authorized by 20.11.21.15 NMAC, provided that:

(a) no oil heavier than No. 2 diesel shall be used; and

(b) no more than the minimum amount of auxiliary fuel necessary to start the fire shall be used.

(2) Polyethylene sheeting may be burned with the vegetative materials, provided that:

(a) the sheeting has been covering piled vegetative material for at least one month prior to burning;

(b) the amount of sheeting burned is no more than the minimum necessary to cover the pile;

(c) removal of the sheeting before burning is impractical; and

(d) the burner is able to provide evidence, such as purchase records or package labeling, that establish the sheeting is polyethylene and not some other form of plastic.

B. Requirements for PB-I: For any burn project expected to produce less than one ton of PM₁₀ emissions per day or burn less than 5,000 cubic feet pile volume per day, all of the following requirements shall apply.

(1) The burner shall burn only under appropriate dispersion conditions. In order to accomplish this objective, the burner shall follow either Subparagraph (a) or (b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of 20.11.21.15 NMAC.

(a) The burner shall:

(i) ignite burns only during the hours from one hour after sunrise until one hour before sunset; the burner may apply for a waiver of this requirement by submitting a written application for waiver to the department at least two weeks prior to the planned burn project; the burner shall document the reasons for requesting the waiver in the application for a waiver; the department shall notify the burner no later than one week prior to the planned burn project whether the waiver is granted or denied, and, if denied, the reasons for the denial; the department shall consider each waiver request on a case-by-case basis; and

(ii) conduct burn projects at least 300 feet from any occupied dwelling, workplace, or place where people congregate, which is on property other than the burn project location; the burner may apply for a waiver of this requirement by submitting a written application for waiver to the department at least two weeks prior to the planned burn project; the burner shall document the reasons for requesting the waiver in the application for a waiver; the department shall notify the burner no later than one week prior to the planned burn project whether the waiver is granted or denied, and, if denied, the reasons for the denial; and the department shall consider each waiver request on a case-by-case basis; or

(b) The burner shall:

(i) only burn during times when the ventilation index category is rated "good" or better, as determined by using the methodology outlined in 20.11.21.17 NMAC, unless a waiver has been granted by the department; the burner may apply for a waiver of this requirement by submitting a written application for waiver to the department no later than 10:00 a.m. one business day prior to the planned burn project; the burner shall document the reasons for requesting the waiver in the application for a waiver; the department shall notify the burner no later than 3:00 p.m. one business day prior to the planned burn project whether the waiver is granted or denied, and, if denied, the reasons for the denial; the department shall consider each waiver request on a case-by-case basis; and

(ii) conduct visual monitoring and document the results in writing; the results shall evaluate the smoke dispersion by recording characteristics of the smoke (e.g., color, density), including the general compass direction of dispersion, the patterns of vertical dispersion, and the duration of the smoke plume(s), and corresponding time-of-day information; use of onsite instruments to record the wind speed and direction is encouraged; no later than six months after the burn project, the burner shall submit records of these results to the department; for burn projects planned to be conducted within a one mile radius of a population, the department may require the burner to notify the department no later than two business days prior to the planned burn project so that the department may determine whether to conduct instrument monitoring, in addition to the visual monitoring conducted by the burner; and the need for instrument monitoring by the department shall be determined by the department on a case-by-case basis.

(2) The burner shall notify the local fire authorities prior to igniting a burn.

(3) The burner shall register the burn project with the department (on a registration form obtained from the department), no later than 10:00 a.m. one business day prior to the planned ignition of the burn project. The department shall provide the burner with a registration number for the burn project. Prior to igniting the burn project, if the burner has not received the registration number, the burner shall make a good faith effort to contact the department to obtain the registration number. If the burner is not able to obtain a registration number before igniting the burn, the burner shall obtain a registration number from the department as soon as possible. For burn projects longer than seven consecutive days, the burner shall notify the department every seven days when burning is to be conducted under that burn project registration. The burner shall not burn more area or volume than the burner has included in the registration form submitted to the department.

(4) The burner shall submit a completed burn project tracking form to the department (on a tracking form obtained from department), no later than two weeks following completion of the burn project.

(5) For burn projects conducted within a one-mile radius of a population, the burner shall comply with the following additional requirements:

(a) the burner shall conduct visual monitoring and document the results; the results shall evaluate the smoke dispersion by recording characteristics of the smoke (e.g., color, density), including the general compass direction of dispersion, the patterns of vertical dispersion, the duration of the smoke plume(s), and corresponding time-of-day information; use of onsite instruments to record the wind speed and direction is encouraged; documentation through use of photographs, with the date, time, and other relevant information noted on the photographs, is also encouraged; and no later than six months after the burn project, the burner shall submit records of these results to the department; and

(b) The burner shall conduct public notification of any population(s) within a one-mile radius of the burn project at least two days prior to, but no earlier than 30 days in advance of igniting a burn project; and the method of notification shall be an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the burn will take place, or other means, as approved by the department to ensure that adequate notice is provided to the affected public.

(6) An applicant for a waiver may challenge the department's denial of a waiver by following the procedures established in 20.11.21.21 NMAC. A person adversely affected by the department's granting of a waiver may challenge the department's decision by following the procedures established in Subsection B of 20.11.21.21 NMAC.

C. Requirements for PB-II: For any burn project expected to produce emissions greater than or equal to one ton of PM₁₀ emissions per day or expected to burn 5,000 cubic feet pile volume per day or more, all of the following requirements shall apply.

(1) The burner shall review smoke management educational material supplied by the department or complete a department-approved smoke management training program prior to initiating burning.

(2) The burner shall consider alternatives to burning and shall document the alternatives considered and the rationale for not utilizing alternatives provided in 20.11.21.18 NMAC on a form obtained from department.

(3) The burner shall implement at least one emission reduction technique included in 20.11.21.19 NMAC and shall document the techniques implemented on a form obtained from the department. The burner may apply for a waiver of this requirement by submitting a written application to the department at least two weeks prior to the planned burn project. The burner shall document the reasons for requesting the waiver in the application for a waiver. The department shall notify the burner no later than 10:00 a.m. one week prior to the planned burn project whether the waiver is granted or denied, and, if denied, the reasons for the denial. The department shall consider each waiver request on a case-by-case basis.

(4) The burner shall only burn during times when the ventilation index category is "good" or better, as determined by using the methodology outlined in 20.11.21.17 NMAC, unless a waiver has been granted by the department. The burner may apply for a waiver of this requirement by submitting a written application to the department no later than 10:00 a.m. one business day prior to the planned burn. The burner shall document the reasons for requesting the waiver in the application for a waiver. The department shall notify the burner no later than 3:00 p.m. one business day prior to the planned burn whether the waiver is granted or denied, and, if denied, the reasons for the denial. The department shall consider each waiver request on a case-by-case basis.

(5) The burner shall conduct visual monitoring and shall document the results. The results shall evaluate the smoke dispersion by recording characteristics of the smoke (e.g., color, density), including the general compass direction of dispersion, the patterns of vertical dispersion, and the duration of the smoke plume(s). Use of onsite instruments to record the wind speed and direction is encouraged. Documentation through use of photographs, with the date, time, and other relevant information noted on the photographs, is also encouraged. No later than six months after the burn project, the burner shall submit records of these results to the department.

(6) The burner shall notify the local fire authorities prior to igniting a burn.

(7) The burner shall register a burn project with the department on a registration form obtained from the department at least two weeks prior to planned ignition of the burn. The department shall provide the burner with a registration number for the burn project. Prior to igniting the burn project, if the burner has not received the registration number, the burner shall make a good faith effort to contact the department to obtain the registration number. If the burner is not able to obtain a registration number before igniting the burn, the burner shall obtain a registration number from the department as soon as possible. For burn projects longer than seven consecutive days, the burner shall notify the department every seven days when burning is to be conducted under that burn project registration. The burner shall not burn more area or volume than the burner has included in the registration form submitted to the department.

(8) The burner shall notify the department of the intent to burn on a specific date no later than 10:00 a.m. one business day prior to the planned burn project. The notification may be made up to a seven days prior to igniting the burn. The department shall notify the burner of the receipt of the notification by 11:00 a.m. on the day the department receives the notification. If the department has not notified the burner by 11:00 a.m., and prior to igniting the burn, the burner shall make a good faith effort to contact the department to verify that the department received the notification. The burner shall not burn more area or volume than the burner included in the registration. The department shall notify the burner no later than 3:00 p.m. one business day prior to the start of the burn project if a modification of the burn is being required by the department.

(9) The burner shall complete and submit to the department a fire activity tracking form, using a form obtained from the department no later than two weeks following the end of the burn project.

(10) The department may require the burner to notify the department no later than two business days prior to the planned burn so the department may determine whether to conduct instrument monitoring in addition to visual monitoring conducted by the burner. The need for instrument monitoring by the department shall be determined by the department on a case-by-case basis.

(11) The burner shall conduct public notification at least two business days prior to, and no earlier than 30 days prior to igniting a burn. The method of notification shall be an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the burn will take place, or other means, as approved by the department to ensure that adequate notice is provided to the affected public.

(12) An applicant for a waiver may challenge the department's denial of a waiver by following the procedures established in 20.11.21.21 NMAC. A person adversely affected by the department's granting of a waiver may challenge the department's decision by following the procedures established in Subsection B of 20.11.21.21 NMAC.

D. Wildland fire use: For wildland fire use exceeding 10 acres in size, the following requirements shall apply:

(1) The burner shall register the burn project with the department on forms obtained from the department no later than one business day following the decision to manage a wildland fire use burn. The department shall provide the burner with a registration number for the burn project. Each day the wildland fire use burn project is burning, the burner shall notify the department daily by 10:00 a.m. on the status of the burn project.

(2) The burner shall notify the local fire authorities of the decision to manage a wildland fire use burn. For wildland fire use burns within Bernalillo county, the burner shall conduct public notification no later than one calendar day after the decision to manage the burn as a wildland fire use burn. The notification shall be appropriate to the population being notified.

(3) The burner shall conduct visual monitoring and shall document the results. The results shall evaluate the smoke dispersion by recording characteristics of the smoke (e.g., color, density), including the general compass direction of dispersion, the patterns of vertical dispersion, and the duration of the smoke plume(s). Use of onsite instruments to record the wind speed and direction is encouraged. Documentation through use of photographs, with the date, time, and other relevant information noted on the photographs, is also encouraged. No later than six months after the burn project, the burner shall submit records of these results to the department.

(4) The burner shall complete and submit to the department a fire activity tracking form obtained from the department no later than two weeks following the end of the burn project.

E. Wildfire under suppression: For all wildfires exceeding 100 acres in size, the land manager or owner of property on which the wildfire occurs shall complete a fire activity tracking form obtained from the department and submit it to the department no later than six weeks following the cessation of fire fighting activities on the wildfire.

N.M. Code R. § 20.11.21.15

20.11.21.15 NMAC - N, 12/31/03; A, 7/11/11