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Monday, March 30, 2009

Ind. Law - "It's the Law: Burning yard waste can lead to troubles"

Ken Kosky's NWI Times' "It's the Law" column for today, looks at illegal burning. Some quotes:

Fire officials say it's common, especially at this time of year, for people to rake up their leaves, branches and other yard waste and burn it.

Officials are reminding residents that open burning is illegal for residents of Lake and Porter counties, and for residents of Clark and Floyd counties in southern Indiana because of unacceptably high ozone levels.

People who violate the open burning rules can be fined, and they can be held liable if their fire gets out of hand and damages other people's property.

"We've been getting several open burning complaints," Valparaiso Assistant Fire Chief Dan Lamb said. "We go out and advise them (of the rules) and ask them to put it out. If they don't, we will call law enforcement."

There are limited exceptions to the open burning statute, such as ceremonies, cooking and bonfires.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) recommends alternatives to burning like composting yard waste.

Not to quibble, but the ILB does not think open burning is allowed in, for instance, Marion County, either.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 30, 2009 12:22 PM
Posted to Environment | Indiana Law