Wednesday, April 17, 2002
|
Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
|
Burning ban begins May 1 The Georgia Forestry Commission has announced the annual open burning ban will take effect May 1 and continue through Sept. 30. The ban covers the original 13 counties that comprise the Atlanta Ozone Non-attainment Area and 32 additional counties that surround the Ozone Non-attainment Area. In the local GFC district these include Butts, Carroll, Clayton, Coweta, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Heard, Henry, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson counties. In Atlanta during the summer months, the ozone in the air Georgians breathe can reach unhealthful levels. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has identified open burning as a significant contributor of the pollutants that form ozone. Therefore, open burning in the Atlanta area must be restricted during the summer months. Types of burning banned include burning leaves, tree limbs, or other yard wastes, burning over of forestland by the owners of the land, and burning of vegetative waste from land clearing (includes a ban on the use of air curtain destructors), burning over forestland by the owners of the land with the exception of prescribed burning of forestland. The counties that will allow prescribed burning of forestland include butts, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Troup and Upson counties. Prescribed burning is a fire set under controlled conditions to burn forest understory and used as a forest management practice to establish favorable seedbeds, remove competing underbrush, accelerate nutrient cycling, control tree pests, enhance wildlife habitat and contribute ecological benefits. Prescribed burning has a burning plan written by a certified prescribed burn professional. What are the alternatives? Yard trimmings can be used in composting, mulching, chipping, or left for natural decomposition. Many municipal landfills and convenience centers accept yard trimmings from residents and process them into compost and mulch. Contact the local solid waste department for more information or call 1-800-Cleanup or log onto www.1800cleanup.org. Or, contact the Department of Community Affairs, Office of Environmental Management at 404-679-4940. For further information about the EPD's Open Burning Ban, contact the Air Protection Branch of the Environmental Protection Department at 404-363-7000 or the Northwest Regional Office at 404-362-2671. Questions about available options for handling solid waste should be directed to the Land Protection Branch at 404-362-2537. Additional information on burning can be obtained from the local Georgia Forestry Commission office at 770-254-7218.
|
||