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Burn ban will extinguish outdoor fires for yard, garden debris

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

In four days, Fayette County residents and business owners will have to search for ways besides an open fire to dispose of yard waste and clear land.

From May 1 to Sept. 30, an outdoor burning ban will take effect for the county and Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services personnel will be tapped to enforce the ban.

“What we want to do is inform the public as we have in the last four or five years actually since this burning ban has been implemented is that beginning on May 1 there is a total outdoor burning ban,” Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Capt. Pete Nelms said. “The reason for that: It’s part of the air quality regulations that the state has imposed.”

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division Air Protection Branch implemented the ban to improve air quality during smog season. A total of 54 counties, including Fayette, are subject to the annual ban.

“Air does not respect county lines. What occurs in one county affects all the surrounding counties,” said Ron Methier, Branch Chief of EPD’s Air Protection Branch. “It takes a regional approach to reduce the amount of smog in Georgia and improve the health of our citizens. The Open Burning Ban is one such solution.”

Citizens and businesses in these 54 counties are not allowed to burn yard and land-clearing debris during the burn ban season. Some actions, such as campfires and agricultural activities, are exempt.

Parts of Georgia have been designated “non-attainment” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) for ground-level ozone and particle pollution. This means that the air quality in these areas does not meet federal health standards and can be harmful to breathe.

No burn permits will be issued until the ban has been lifted, Nelms said. Residents who disregard the ban could face a citation and a $500 fine, he added.

Officials recommend composting yard waste or chipping as an alternative until the burn ban has been lifted. Residents also can take their yard waste to the Fayette County landfill for a nominal fee.

Nelms cautions those who wait until Oct. 1 to address the matter. It’s simply dangerous, officials say.

“This stuff has been sitting all summer. It’s very dry and tender, so we definitely need to exercise caution and not stockpile huge amounts of it,” he said.

Nelms urges residents to take care of their yard waste throughout the summer to avoid a potentially hazardous situation.