Outdoor Burning
Recently, at our last city council meeting, a citizen came in asking what was allowed in regards to outdoor burning. The council discussed many things and at the end of it the
I'll start with a little background information. Washington State Legislatures passed the Washington Clean Air Act. The intent of this act is to primarily reduce the amount of outdoor burning and to encourage other reasonable alternatives to burning. The purpose and intent of Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-425 and Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 70.94 is to establish a program to implement the limited burning policy. This limited burning policy requires the Department of Ecology to reduce outdoor burning to the greatest extent practical, establish a permit program for limited burning that is required for most types of outdoor burning, and foster and encourage development of reasonable alternatives to burning.
So that everyone knows what outdoor burning is this is the statutorily defined definition for outdoor burning. WAC 173-425-030 defines outdoor burning as the combustion of material of any type in an open fire or in an outdoor container without providing for the control of combustion or the control of emissions from the combustion. For the purposes of this rule, "outdoor burning," means all types of outdoor burning except agricultural burning and silvicultural burning. (RCW 70.94.743(2). So, anything burned outside is outdoor burning.
Now, the meat and potatoes of what is allowed and what isn't. The first thing I would like to point out is, even though you might have a perfectly legal fire, if the smoke from your fire becomes a nuisance to your neighbor the fire must be extinguished immediately. It is easy to forget that some people have health concerns, which might include asthma or allergies; someone that has asthma would need any fire to be extinguished immediately.
Also, I know that there are a lot of burn barrels still in town. Burn barrels are illegal and have been for some time. If an outdoor container is used for burning, it must be constructed of concrete or masonry with a completely enclosed combustion chamber and equipped with a permanently attached spark arrester constructed of iron, heavy wire mesh, or other non-combustible material with openings not larger than one-half inch. Let me repeat, burn barrels are illegal.
You cannot burn garbage, dead animals, asphalt, petroleum products, paints, rubber products, plastics, paper (other than what is necessary to start a fire), cardboard, treated wood, construction/demolition debris, metal, or any other substance, (other than natural vegetation) that normally releases toxic emissions, dense smoke, or obnoxious odors when burned. If the material you plan on burning does not look like grass clippings, leaves, prunings, branches or other yard or garden debris you basically cannot burn it. The fire also cannot include materials hauled from another property. No fires are to be within fifty feet of structures. And burn piles cannot be larger than four feet by four feet by three feet and only one pile can be burned at a time. Each pile must be extinguished before lighting another.
If the local Fire Department has issued a burn ban, no outdoor burning is permitted until the burn ban has been lifted. This would include no burning in the middle of a burn ban even if the region received an inch of rain over night.
A person capable of extinguishing the fire must attend it at all times, and the fire must be extinguished before leaving it.
So, what does all this mean? First, if you have a burn barrel, get rid of it. Second, before you start to burn think about what it is you plan on burning. Is it legal material or illegal material? Third, be prepared before you start to burn. Is your burn pile at least fifty feet from nearby structures? Is the surrounding area free of flammable materials that could allow the fire to spread? Do you have a hose and shovel immediately available if needed? Fourth, be considerate of your neighbors. Think about which way the wind is blowing and think about which way the smoke will go. Are your neighbor's windows open? Have you talked to your neighbor about burning? A simple phone call to a neighbor could help to avoid having the police or fire department called to your burn. Finally, is there a burn ban in place? If you do not know you can check the paper, the Fire Department web site (www.palousefd.org), or call city hall, the police department or Fire Chief Mike Bagott (work: 878-1541 or home: 878-1683). There will also be a sign posted on the door of the fire station when a local burn ban is in place.
There are some alternatives to burning. The Whitman County Landfill has a reduced rate in April for approximately 2 weeks. The normal fee is $60.00 a ton however during the two weeks they reduce the fee to $20.00 a ton. The landfill will always take old appliances, scrap metal and yard waste for free. The county also has a tire amnesty day in the spring every year. This year it will be on May 1st but you have to sign up in city hall by April 16th. If you have tires you would like to get rid of look for a sign up sheet in city hall.
The Palouse Chamber of Commerce for the last couple of years has provided a means of removing junk, appliances, tires, yard waste and pretty much anything else you would like to get rid of. For a small fee every April the Palouse Chamber of Commerce will come and pick up the items you would like to get rid of and transport them to the landfill.
For those who would like to look up the WAC and RCW governing outdoor burning they will be posted on the www.visitpalouse.com website, as well as this article. For questions you can always call members of the police and fire departments here in Palouse.