(1) The director shall establish training and certification standards for users of prescribed fire in consultation with the Colorado prescribed fire council or an analogous successor organization. The director may also consult with local fire jurisdictions.
(2) The training and certification standards adopted under this section shall:
Create certified burner and noncertified burner designations for users of prescribedfire on private and nonfederal land;
Establish requirements for certified burners to conduct lawful activities pursuant toauthorization under section 18-13-109 (2)(b)(IV), C.R.S., regarding firing of woods or prairie;
Identify processes and procedures for certified burners to conduct a prescribed fire;
Recommend organizational structures for prescribed burn operations;
Establish training standards for certified burners and utilize all means available tomake the certified burner training as accessible as possible; and
Clearly identify preexisting fees, permit requirements, liabilities, liability exemptions,and penalties for prescribed burn personnel and landowners, including those specified in sections 25-7-106 (7) and (8) and 25-7-123, C.R.S.
(3) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, on and after December 1, 2013, a prescribed fire must be attended by a person certified by the division pursuant to this section and rules promulgated thereto or otherwise authorized under section 24-33.5-1217.5 (1)(c).
(b) (I) Nothing in this section requires a private landowner to be certified by the division as a certified burner or qualified by national wildfire coordinating group standards as a prescribed burn boss to conduct prescribed fire on the landowner's own property.
A private landowner or the landowner's designee who is certified by the division as acertified burner or qualified by national wildfire coordinating group standards as a prescribed burn boss is not liable for any civil damages for acts or omissions made in good faith resulting in damage or injury caused by fire or smoke resulting from prescribed burns they conduct on the landowner's own property and in compliance with applicable state laws and local ordinances, unless such private landowner's or designee's acts or omissions are grossly negligent or willful and wanton.
Nothing in this section exempts private landowners from complying with any otherapplicable local, state, or federal requirements pertaining to open burning.
The director, by rule, may establish a fee at an amount not to exceed the amountrequired to recover all direct costs that the division incurs in providing training to and processing applications for persons seeking certification as certified burners pursuant to this section. Any fees so collected shall be deposited into the firefighter, first responder, hazardous materials responder, and prescribed fire training and certification fund created in section 24-33.5-1207.
(a) The director, in consultation with the Colorado state forest service described in part 3 of article 31 of title 23, C.R.S., and in accordance with article 4 of this title:
(I) May adopt any such rules as the director deems necessary to administer the prescribed burning program within the division; and (II) Shall adopt rules and standards:
Pertaining to the training and certification of certified burners, including trainingcomponents; application processes; qualification for and terms and durations of certification; types of certification, if applicable; grounds and processes for renewal, suspension, and revocation of certifications; and training, certification, and renewal fees; and
For the use of prescribed burning occurring on state lands or conducted by stateagencies on private lands, pursuant to section 24-33.5-1217.5.
(b) The rules and standards promulgated pursuant to sub-subparagraph (B) of subparagraph (II) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (5) constitute the minimum standards for all prescribed burning conducted in the state, except for prescribed burning conducted by an agency of the federal government. To be exempt from these standards, other users of prescribed fire, including local governments and nongovernmental organizations must adopt or have already adopted guidelines or standards that are in substantial compliance with the intent of section 2433.5-1217.5 for prescribed burning under their control.
(6) (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) of this subsection (6), the director may enter into an agreement with an owner or other person having legal control of property, including a public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any such property, for the use of prescribed burning consistent with this article to prevent highintensity wildland fires by reducing the volume and continuity of wildland fuels or to achieve other goals, including forest improvement, consistent with this article.
The director shall not enter into an agreement for prescribed burning pursuant toparagraph (a) of this subsection (6) unless the director first determines that the property owner or other person having legal control of the property has both evaluated all alternatives to prescribed burning and concluded that prescribed burning is an appropriate hazardous fuel reduction method for the property.
Nothing in this section compels any person to enter into an agreement with the director.
(I) Where an agency of the federal government assumes primary responsibility forconducting a prescribed burn in the state, neither the agency nor any other agency of the federal government is required to comply with the rules and standards promulgated pursuant to subsubparagraph (B) of subparagraph (II) of paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of this section.
(II) If the director has entered into an agreement with an agency of the federal government as of May 23, 2013, of the type described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (6), nothing in this section shall be construed to require a new agreement or modification of an existing agreement.
(7) (a) The division shall cooperate with and provide advisory services to any person desiring to use prescribed burning, the objective of which is the prevention of high-intensity wildland fires, watershed management, vegetation management, forest improvement, wildlife habitat improvement, or any other objective that is deemed to be in the public interest, or any combination of such objectives.
The division shall provide information and technical assistance to units of local government, upon request from the local government, concerning prescribed burning.
The division may provide standby fire protection to any person using prescribed burning in a manner deemed to be in the public interest, to such extent as personnel, fire crews, and firefighting equipment are requested and available.
The division shall, subject to sufficient funding, institute a public information campaign to promote to the general public the benefits of prescribed burning.
Nothing in this article grants the division authority over any hazardous fuel reductionother than prescribed burning. Forest health, forest improvement, vegetation and watershed management, and hazardous fuel reduction other than prescribed burning remain responsibilities vested in the state forest service.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
In performing the duties assigned to him or her under subsections (5) and (6) of thissection, the director shall consult with the Colorado state forest service as described in part 3 of article 31 of title 23, C.R.S.
The prescribed burning standards adopted by the director pursuant to subsubparagraph (B) of subparagraph (II) of paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of this section shall be consistent with existing laws and processes that ban, regulate, or have developed recommendations concerning open burning, including sections 18-13-109, 18-13-109.5, 23-31312, 23-31-313 (6)(a)(II) and (6)(a)(III), 25-7-106 (7) and (8), 25-7-123, 29-20-105.5, and 3011-124, C.R.S.
Nothing in this section or section 24-33.5-1217.5 or 24-33.5-1217.7 shall be construed to affect the authority of a county government to develop or administer an open burning permit system for the purpose of safely disposing of slash in accordance with the provisions of section 30-15-401 (1)(n.5), C.R.S.
(11) Except as otherwise provided for the fees established and collected pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, all moneys received by the division pursuant to this section shall be credited to the wildland fire cost recovery fund created in section 24-33.5-1220 (4).
Source: L. 2012: Entire section added, (HB 12-1283), ch. 240, p. 1109, § 16, effective July 1. L. 2013: IP(2), (2)(e), (3), and (4) amended and (5) to (11) added, (SB 13-083), ch. 249, p. 1303, § 6, effective May 23. L. 2014: (3)(b)(I), (3)(b)(II), (4), and (5)(a)(II)(A) amended, (HB 14-1010), ch. 175, p. 642, § 2, effective May 12.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 23-31-313 (6)(a)(III) as it existed prior to 2012.
Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration in the 2012 act adding this section, see section 1 of chapter 240, Session Laws of Colorado 2012.
(2) In 2013, subsections IP(2), (2)(e), (3), and (4) were amended and subsections (5) to (11) were added by the "Colorado Prescribed Burning Act". For the short title and the legislative declaration, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 249, Session Laws of Colorado 2013.