How to apply for an agricultural burn permit.

How to determine in which air sub-basin your project is located.

How to determine if it is a burn day in your air sub-basin.

How to request daily authorization to burn.

How to Apply for an Agricultural Burn Permit
First, check with your local Fire Department to see if they issue agricultural burn permits.

If your Fire Department does issue agricultural burn permits, then you do not need a permit from the Air District. Follow the Fire Department's rules and permit conditions.

If your Fire District does not issue agricultural burn permits, then you need to apply for an agricultural burn permit from the Air District.

Click here to fill out the Air District's application online form.

Date: Enter today's date. Your permit will be valid for 12 months from today.

Responsible Person: Enter the name of whoever is responsible for this burn project.

Company Name: Enter company name, if applicable.

Primary Phone: Enter the best phone number to contact you during the burn.

Additional Phone: Enter an additional phone number, if applicable.

Mailing Address, City, and Zip Code: Enter the mailing address of the responsible person or company.

Email Address: Enter your email address. You will receive a confirmation email when you submit the application.

Location of Burn Site: Give as much information as necessary to describe the burn site. If there is a street address, include that. Please also give the nearest crossroads and landmarks if applicable.

Air Sub Basin: Choose the air sub-basin where the burn site is located from the drop-down menu.

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How to Determine in Which Air Sub-Basin Your Burn Project is Located

What is an Air Basin?
A land area with generally similar meteorological and geographic conditions throughout.

Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties comprise the North Central Coast Air Basin.

What is an Air District?
A political body responsible for managing air quality on a regional or county basis. The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) manages the air quality in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties, which is the North Central Coast Air Basin.

What is an Air Sub-Basin?
Due to climate differences in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties, we have divided the area into five air sub-basins. They are also sometimes called burn zones.

Every day, each air sub basin will be declared a "burn day" or a "no-burn day" depending on weather conditions.

Agricultural burners need to find out in which air sub-basin they are located. Each day you want to burn, you will check to see if it is a burn day in your particular sub-basin. If your air sub-basin, or burn zone, is a burn day, then you can burn.

Click on the map below to view an enlarged version showing and explaning the five burn zones.

If you would like assistance in determining your air sub basin, call the Air District at (831) 647-9411.

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How to Determine if it is a Burn Day in Your Air Sub-Basin

Daily burn status is available at:

1. www.arb.ca.gov/smp/met/met.htm Click on "Burn Forecast" and then click on map
2. www.arb.ca.gov/smp/met/met.htm Click on "Daily Burn Decisions" on the left sidebar
3. Call 1-800-CAL-BURN (1-800-225-2876). Listen for the name and number of your air sub-basin.
4. Call (916) 445-0747. This is not a toll-free number. Listen for "North Central Coast" and then the number or name of your air sub-basin.
5. For additional assistance, call the Air District at (831) 647-9411 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.

Fire District: Select your local Fire Department from the drop-down list. This is the Fire Department that would respond in the event of a fire emergency at your property.

County: Select your county from the drop-down list. Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz  are the counties in our air basin.

Type of Waste: Use the drop-down list to select the types of agricultural waste you plan to burn during the next year. Your permit will be valid for one year from today. You can select multiple types of waste if necessary.

Annual Tons to be Burned: Estimate how many tons of agricultural waste you plan to burn in the next 12 months. Choose the amount in tons from the drop-down menu.

The table below shows pile dimensions and estimated tonnage.

To use the table, find the pile size dimensions in the left column that most closely match the size of the pile.

Then look at the middle column labeled "Tons of Vegetation in Pile". This column gives the approximate tons of vegetation in the pile.

If you plan to burn multiple piles, repeat this process and add up all the tons of vegetation.

Note: The column to the far right estimates the amount of particulate matter (PM 10) air pollution that will be generated by burning the pile. This is for your information only.

PILE TONNAGE & PARTICULATE MATTER EMISSIONS CALCULATIONS FOR PILES

1. Choose the pile size most representative of the piles on your burn site.

2. Multiply the number of piles in your project with the corresponding "Tons of PM10/Pile" value to get the total PM10 tonnage.

a.     Formula used for Parabolic Volume (cu.ft.) = 3.1416 x [height x (diameter)²]/8  (see Reference b. below).

For additional assistance in determining tonnage to be burned, call the Air District at (831) 647-9411.

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How to Request Daily Authorization to Burn.
You are required to notify the Air District prior to burning. First check to see if it is a burn day in your air sub-basin. You can do the daily notification on the morning of the burn, or on the afternoon prior after the next day's burn status is available, usually at 4:00 p.m. or later.

Click here for the Daily Burn Notification webpage.

Permit number: You can find your permit number on the print out of your permit, or on the website, or on the confirmation email you received after applying for the permit.

Burn Date: This can only be today's date or tomorrow's date. Remember, you can only burn when it is a burn day for your air sub-basin. Each day by about 4:00 p.m. the burn status is finalized for the following day.

Name of Permittee: Enter the name of the permit holder.

Company Name: Enter the company name, if applicable.

Name of Onsite Burn Coordinator: Enter the name of the person who will be onsite and responsible for conducting the burn.

Email Address: Enter your email address. You will receive a confirmation email after you submit the notification.

Is all of the information on your permit still accurate? Refer to your permit, and choose Yes or No. If any of the information is not correct, go to http://burnpermits.mbuapcd.org/and update the information before proceeding.

Burn Location(s): Give as much information as necessary to describe the burn site. If there is a street address, include that. Please also give the nearest crossroads and landmarks if applicable.

Example: 30108 Smith Road, Anytown, CA 91111. Nearest crossroad: Jones Road. 3.3 miles E of Jones Road.

Air Sub Basin: Choose the air sub-basin where the burn site is located from the drop-down menu.

Fire District: Select your local Fire Department from the drop-down list. This is the Fire Department that would respond in the event of a fire emergency at your property.

County: Select your county from the drop-down list. Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz  are the counties in our air basin.

Type of Waste: Use the drop-down list to select the types of agricultural waste you plan to burn during the next year. Your permit will be valid for one year from today. You can select multiple types of waste if necessary.

Tons Vegetation Estimated: Estimate how many tons of agricultural waste you plan to burn on the burn day. Click here for instructions on how to estimate tons of vegetation.