Proposed Amended Rule 445 – Wood-Burning Devices
Summary
SCH Number
2025090213
Public Agency
South Coast Air Quality Management District
Document Title
Proposed Amended Rule 445 – Wood-Burning Devices
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/5/2025
Document Description
Rule 445 limits particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) emissions from residential wood combustion by prohibiting the burning of products not intended for use as fuel, prohibiting the sale of unseasoned wood, and mandating the curtailment of wood burning on “No-Burn” days when ambient PM2.5 concentration is forecast to exceed a threshold limit during the wood-burning season (beginning of November through the end of February). The primary objective of Proposed Amended Rule 445 (PAR 445) is to comply with the federal Clean Air Act Most Stringent Measure (MSM) requirements for the 2012 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and to implement Control Measure BCM-18: Further Emissions Reductions from Wood-Burning Fireplaces and Wood Stoves, of the South Coast Air Basin Attainment Plan for the 2012 Annual PM2.5 Standard (PM2.5 Plan). PAR 445 will lower the mandatory wood-burning curtailment threshold from 29 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to 25 µg/m3. The proposal will also remove the existing low-income exemption and include other updates such as removing outdated provisions, allowing reconstruction of wood-burning devices damaged or destroyed due to a natural disaster, aligning enforcement practices consistent with other South Coast AQMD rules, correcting references, and improving clarity. Implementation of PAR 445 is anticipated to benefit public health and ambient air quality by reducing PM2.5 emissions by 0.25 ton per annual average day as well as reducing emissions of other criteria pollutants and hazardous air pollutants.
Contact Information
Name
Sina Taghvaee
Agency Name
South Coast AQMD
Job Title
Air Quality Specialist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino
Regions
Countywide
Other Information
The proposed project is located within the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (South Coast AQMD) jurisdiction, which includes the four-county South Coast Air Basin (all of Orange County and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties), and the Riverside County portion of the Salton Sea Air Basin and the non-Palo Verde, Riverside County portion of the Mojave Desert Air Basin.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
15061 (b)(3), 15308
Reasons for Exemption
South Coast AQMD, as Lead Agency, has reviewed the proposed project pursuant to: 1) CEQA Guidelines Section 15002(k) – General Concepts, the three-step process for deciding which document to prepare for a project subject to CEQA; and 2) CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 – Review for Exemption, procedures for determining if a project is exempt from CEQA. Since lowering the curtailment threshold and removing the low-income exemption to comply with the federal Clean Air Act MSM requirements for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS and Control Measure BCM-18 of the PM2.5 Plan will not result in physical modifications, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project may have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Therefore, the proposed project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) – Common Sense Exemption. The proposed project is also categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15308 – Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment, because PAR 445 is intended to further protect or enhance the environment by improving public health and air quality through anticipated reductions in PM2.5, other criteria pollutants, and hazardous air pollutants. Further, there is no substantial evidence indicating that any of the exceptions to the categorical exemption set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 – Exceptions, apply to the proposed project.
County Clerks
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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