(a)  Neither the state board nor any district shall impose a discharge requirement on emissions of visible smoke from diesel pile-driving hammers which is more stringent than the requirements of this section, except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c).

(b)  A district shall issue a permit to the operator of a diesel pile-driving hammer if the operator submits a completed application for a permit to the district and the district determines, on the basis of information provided in the application, that the proposed use will comply with one of the following requirements:

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(1)  Meets the Ringelmann 1 limit, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, and does not exceed that limit for more than four minutes during the driving of a single pile.

(2)  Meets the Ringelmann 2 limit, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, does not exceed that limit for more than four minutes during the driving of a single pile, and uses kerosene fuel, smoke suppressing fuel additives, and synthetic lubricating oil. A district may establish other requirements for compliance with this paragraph if the requirements are technologically and economically feasible. A district may consider the type of soil in which the pile driving is to occur and the number of blows required to drive a pile in determining the technological and economic feasibility of other conditions to be imposed by the district.

(c)  A permit issued by a district shall be valid until the pile-driving work has been approved or accepted by the person or entity for which the work is being performed. Upon request of an operator or of a person or entity for which the pile-driving work is performed, a district may extend the time period for which the permit is valid if the operator continues to comply with this section.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 25, Sec. 1. Effective April 8, 1996.)