Air Pollution

RCW 70.94.650(3) Conservation districts and the Washington State University agricultural extension program in conjunction with the department [Ecology] shall develop public education material for the agricultural community identifying the health and environmental effects of agricultural outdoor burning and providing technical assistance in alternatives to agricultural outdoor burning.

Extension personnel involvement in air pollution education is as professional and specialized educational consultants with useful knowledge about agricultural air pollution and agricultural air pollution control. They play no supervisory role, but serve primarily as advisory personnel. Further, as an educational institution, Washington State University Extension does not issue or enforce burning permits. The Department of Ecology or a local air pollution control board may delegate such permitting authority to a fire protection agency, county, or conservation district (see below)

RCW 70.94.654 Delegation of permit issuance and enforcement to political subdivisions.
Whenever an air pollution control authority, or the department of ecology for areas outside the jurisdictional boundaries of an activated air pollution control authority, shall find that any fire protection agency, county, or conservation district is capable of effectively administering the issuance and enforcement of permits for any or all of the kinds of burning identified in RCW 70.94.650 and desirous of doing so, the authority or the department of ecology, as appropriate, may delegate powers necessary for the issuance or enforcement, or both, of permits for any or all of the kinds of burning to the fire protection agency, county, or conservation district. Such delegation may be withdrawn by the authority or the department of ecology upon finding that the fire protection agency, county, or conservation district is not effectively administering the permit program.
[1993 c 353 § 2; 1991 c 199 § 409; 1973 1st ex.s. c 193 § 6.]