(a) What is the purpose of this section? This section establishes a permitting program for agricultural burning within the Indian reservation to control emissions of particulate matter and other noxious fumes to the atmosphere and ground-level concentrations of particulate matter.
(b) Who is affected by this section? This section applies to any person who conducts agricultural burning.
(c) What are the requirements for agricultural burning?
(1) A person must apply for a permit to conduct an agricultural burn, obtain approval of the permit on the day of the burn, have the permit available onsite during the burn, and conduct the burn in accordance with the terms and conditions of the permit.
(2) The date after which a person must apply for and obtain approval of a permit under this section is identified in the implementation plan in subpart M of this part for the specific reservation where this section applies.
(3) A person must comply with § 49.131 General rule for open burning or the EPA-approved Tribal open burning rule, as applicable.
(4) Nothing in this section exempts or excuses any person from complying with any applicable laws and ordinances of local fire departments or other governmental jurisdictions.
(d) Are there additional requirements that must be met?
(1) A person subject to this section must submit an application to the Regional Administrator for each proposed agricultural burn. An application must contain, at a minimum, the following information:
(i) Street address of the property upon which the proposed agricultural burning will occur or, if there is no street address of the property, the legal description of the property.
(ii) Name, mailing address, and telephone number of the applicant and the person who will be responsible for conducting the proposed agricultural burning.
(iii) A plot plan showing the location of each proposed agricultural burning area in relation to the property lines and indicating the distances and directions of the nearest residential, public, and commercial properties, roads, and other areas that could be impacted by the burning.
(iv) The type and quantity of agricultural wastes proposed to be burned, including the estimated weight of material to be burned and the area over which burning will be conducted.
(v) A description of the burning method(s) to be used (pile or stack burn, open field or broadcast burn, windrow burn, mobile field sanitizer, etc.) and the amount of material to be burned with each method.
(vi) A description of the measures that will be taken to prevent escaped burns, including but not limited to the availability of water and plowed firebreaks.
(vii) The requested date(s) when the proposed agricultural burning would be conducted.
(viii) Any other information specifically requested by the Regional Administrator.
(2) If the proposed agricultural burning is consistent with this section and § 49.131 General rule for open burning, or the EPA-approved Tribal open burning rule, the Regional Administrator may approve the agricultural burning permit and authorize burning on the day burning is to be conducted after taking into consideration relevant factors including, but not limited to:
(i) The size, duration, and location of the proposed burn, the current and projected air quality conditions, the forecasted meteorological conditions, and other scheduled burning activities in the surrounding area; and
(ii) Other factors indicating whether or not the proposed agricultural burning can be conducted without causing an adverse impact on air quality.
(3) The Regional Administrator, to the extent practical, will consult with and coordinate approvals to burn with the open burning programs of surrounding jurisdictions.
(e) Definitions of terms used in this section. The following terms that are used in this section are defined in § 49.123 General provisions: Agricultural burning or agricultural burn, air pollutant, ambient air, emission, open burning, particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5, Regional Administrator, stack, and uncombined water.