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If I am caught burning illegally, what will happen?

Enforcement actions usually begin once the BCAA receives complaints about illegal burning taking place. One of our inspectors is sent to the site to judge the severity of the violation and to document what is going on. The Inspector will try to locate the responsible individual or company and make them aware of the violations. At this point, the fire is required to be extinguished. After the Inspector finishes at the site, one of two things happens, either a warning letter or a Notice of Violation (NOV) is issued.

Warning letters are sent out if the violation was relatively minor or if the burner was uninformed. Once a warning letter is sent, the BCAA generally considers the case closed. If there are further violations after an individual or company has received a warning letter, the enforcement action may increase to an NOV, which is a much firmer form of enforcement.

The NOV is an official enforcement action and should be taken very seriously. Essentially the NOV is a ticket that informs the burner of the laws that were violated and of the Inspector's findings at the site. The NOV starts the process of a formal case against the burner and cannot be appealed.Thirty days after the burner receives the NOV, the BCAA may assess a penalty in another formal document called a Notice of Penalty (NOP). According to Washington State law, penalties of up to $10,000 per violation per day may be assessed. For example, burning garbage in the city limits one a no-burn day with no mean to put the fire out equates to three violations or a maximum of $30,000 fine. Generally, though the BCAA does not fine to the greatest extent of the law and actual fines can be much lower.