Brush Removal and Slash Disposal in Spokane County

After brush and trees are cut, the pile is the problem. In Spokane County burning is limited, so brush removal and slash disposal usually means chipping, grinding or hauling, and the rules on what may be burned are narrow.

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What brush removal and slash disposal means

Slash is the cut tops, limbs, brush and small trees left after clearing or thinning. Removing it means deciding where it goes: ground into mulch and left on site, chipped and spread or hauled, loaded and hauled to a disposal or recycling site, or burned where the law allows.

In Spokane County that last option is tightly limited. Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency (SRCAA) says land clearing fires are prohibited, and that burning yard and garden debris is not allowed for most county residents. Debris from unimproved land may be burned under DNR's permit or rule burn programs only where the land is outside the county's cities and urban growth areas and is protected by DNR. That is why slash removal often shows up as a line in the price.

Leaving slash in place is also a choice with a cost. Piles left beside buildings defeat the purpose of clearing, and the fire district may have views on them.

When people look into this

Brush and limbs from clearing are piled and need to go.
Thinning has left slash across the property.
A landowner is told burning is not allowed and needs another plan.
A pile has been sitting beside a building or driveway.
Storm or wind damage has left limbs and downed brush.
A building lot has been cut and the debris must leave before work continues.

What the work usually looks like

Measure the pile. Estimate how much material there is and where it sits.
Choose a route. Grind or chip on site, haul away or, where allowed, burn.
Ask about rules. Check SRCAA and DNR before planning any fire.
Process the material. Brush is ground, chipped or loaded.
Haul or spread. Material leaves, or chips are spread as agreed.
Clean up. The area is raked or checked for leftover pieces.

How to prepare

Before work starts, it helps to settle these points:

Estimate the size of the piles and where the machines can reach.
Decide whether chips can stay on the property and where.
Ask what disposal or recycling site the material goes to.
Ask whether hauling is included in the price.
Do not plan on burning without asking SRCAA or DNR first.
Keep piles away from buildings while you decide.
Ask whether stumps and roots are included.
Get the scope in writing.

What affects the cost

Prices vary with the land, the equipment and the work. A Forest Service research bulletin says mastication costs vary widely with the equipment, the terrain, site conditions and operator skill. Slash disposal is mostly volume, distance and handling.

Volume. More material means more machine time and loads.
Method. Grinding on site costs differently from loading and hauling.
Distance. Longer hauls add time and fuel.
Access. Piles that are hard to reach take more handling.
Stumps and roots. They take different equipment from limbs.
Disposal. Sites can charge for material.
Pricing basis. Per load, per hour or part of a set price.

Why burning is the wrong default

On some properties burning is the first idea, and in Spokane County that idea often runs into the rules. Land clearing fires are prohibited, yard debris burning is limited to four fire districts, and the exception for silvicultural debris has conditions on parcel size, ownership and acreage. Air quality and fire restrictions can also stop burning on a given day.

Planning for chipping or hauling from the start avoids a stalled job and a pile that sits all season. If burning might be allowed on your land, ask DNR and SRCAA first and treat any permit as something that may be refused or paused.

Local rules and sources

Burning. Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency (SRCAA) says land clearing fires are prohibited in Spokane County. A narrow exception applies when the fire is to abate or prevent a forest fire hazard, the material comes from less than one acre of forested land on a parcel of five acres or more in non-commercial ownership, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decides the criteria are met, in which case DNR approves the fire and issues a permit. Burning yard and garden debris is not allowed for most Spokane County residents, with an exception inside Fire Districts 2, 5, 11 and 12. SRCAA also says debris from unimproved property may be burned under DNR's permit or rule burn programs when the land is outside the county's cities and urban growth areas and is protected by DNR, and that parts of the county are in a Smoke Sensitive Area with extra restrictions. DNR's burn permit page separately says DNR does not permit burning of debris from land clearing operations, so ask DNR whether the narrow exception fits your project before you plan any fire.

Forest practices. DNR's forest practices guidance for thinning says a Forest Practices permit is needed if you sell any harvested timber, if you harvest 5,000 board feet (about one log truck load) or more in 12 months, if equipment will work in or near certain waters or riparian zones (DNR says to call if you will be within 200 feet of any water), if equipment goes off-road on side slopes over 40 percent, or if work touches unstable landforms, cultural sites or habitat of state-listed species. It adds that a county clearing and grading permit or a DNR wildfire burn permit may also apply.

Registration. In Washington, search the company on the Department of Labor & Industries “Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business” page. Clearing and tree work are contractor specialties at L&I, but which one covers mulching isn't spelled out, so confirm which specialty the company is registered under.

Reasons to trust this page

Most rules on this page name their public source, such as a Washington statute or a DNR page.
Cost factors are explained in plain terms, and the only price figure is a general range from a third-party directory, with no quote behind it.
The email address is shown at the top of every page, and the Privacy page says what a quote request collects.

Common questions

Can I burn slash in Spokane County?

Only in narrow cases. Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency says land clearing fires are prohibited and yard debris burning is limited to Fire Districts 2, 5, 11 and 12. Silvicultural debris from unimproved land outside cities and urban growth areas, protected by DNR, may be burned under DNR's permit or rule programs. Ask DNR at the number SRCAA lists.

What are the alternatives to burning?

Chipping or grinding on site and leaving or spreading the material, or loading and hauling it to a disposal or recycling site. Each has a cost, and hauling adds machine time and distance. Ask each company which it uses and whether it is in the price, and decide where chips may be spread.

Is removing slash a forest practice?

It can be. DNR says removing thinned trees or biomass from the site is a type of harvest, with an exception for firewood for personal use under 5,000 board feet. Precommercial thinning where residual material is left on the site is not commercial harvest. Ask a DNR region office if you are unsure.

Who decides what happens to the slash?

Settle it in writing before work starts. Ask what will happen to the material, who does it, who pays for hauling and whether piles will be left on your property. Do not assume piles will be removed, and do not assume burning is allowed, because in Spokane County it often is not.

How is slash disposal priced?

By the load, by the hour, or as part of a set price. Volume, distance to the disposal site, access and whether stumps are included change the total. Get a written scope that names the material, the method and where it goes, so quotes from different companies cover the same work.

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