by
<a href="mailto:carls@awcnet.org">Carl Schroeder</a> | Mar 09, 2018
The City of Leavenworth, which is partly within an apple maggot quarantine area, has struggled to dispose of its yard waste and debris due to air quality restrictions on burning in the city, coupled with restrictions on transporting the waste outside the quarantine area.
The City of Leavenworth, which is partly within an apple maggot quarantine area, has struggled to dispose of its yard waste and debris due to air quality restrictions on burning in the city, coupled with restrictions on transporting the waste outside the quarantine area.
SSB 6055 (Sen. Brad Hawkins, R- East Wenatchee) allows cities in quarantine areas to apply for a limited agricultural burning permit from the Department of Ecology that would allow city-supervised burning of this waste up to four times per year. This permit option will expire on July 1, 2020. A city can also apply for a special transit permit from the Washington State Department of Agriculture to safely move the waste to a facility located in another quarantine zone. The Departments of Ecology and Agriculture must report to the Legislature on alternatives to dealing with municipal yard waste in apple maggot quarantine areas by November 1, 2018.
Funding for this study was provided in the supplemental operating budget.