[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of South Strabane 10-13-2009 by Ord. No. 4-2009. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be referred to as the "Township
of South Strabane's Outdoor Fuel-Burning Appliance Ordinance."
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of South Strabane is
hereby authorized to enact this chapter by virtue of the Second Class
Township Code,[1] as well as the various statutes, codes and regulations
of the commonwealth and federal government.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 65101 et seq.
A.
This chapter
applies to the installation and use of all outdoor fuel-burning appliances
within the Township.
B.
This chapter does not apply to:
(1)
Grilling
or cooking utilizing charcoal, wood, propane, or natural gas in cooking
or grilling appliances.
(2)
Burning
in a stove, furnace, fireplace or other heating device within a building
used for human or animal habitation.
(3)
The
use of propane, acetylene, natural gas, gasoline or kerosene in a
device intended for heating, construction or maintenance activities.
The Board of Supervisors has determined that pollution from
outdoor fuel-burning appliances may be detrimental to the health,
comfort, living conditions, enjoyment, welfare and safety of the citizens
of South Strabane and believe it to be in the best interest of the
citizens of South Strabane to safeguard its citizens from the pollution
and nuisance of outdoor fuel-burning appliances and to regulate the
use of such appliances.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
unless clearly indicated otherwise, shall have the following meanings
ascribed to them:
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of South Strabane.
Any vertical structure enclosing a flue or flues that carry
off smoke or exhaust from a furnace, especially that part of a structure
extending above a roof.
Natural wood that has no paint, stains, or other type of
coatings, and natural wood that has not been treated with, including,
but not limited to, cooper chromium arsenate, creosote, or pentachlorophenol.
The Township of South Strabane.
A device, including any furnace, stove or boiler, designed
and constructed to burn oil, wood, coal or other fuels, manufactured
for placement outdoors for the heating of living areas within a structure
or the heating of water.
Any individual, public or private corporation for either
profit or not for profit, association, partnership, firm, trust, estate,
department, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or federal
government, political subdivision, municipality, district, authority,
or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as
the subject of rights and duties.
An individual or individuals, designated by the Township,
responsible for the administration and enforcement of Township ordinances.
Leaves, grass clippings, garden residue, tree trimmings,
chipped shrubbery and other vegetative material.
Effective as of the effective date of this chapter, an outdoor
fuel-burning appliance may be installed or used in the Township only
in accordance with the following provisions:
A.
An outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall be installed or used only
in an area zoned within the Township as agricultural.
B.
An outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall not be used to burn any of
the following prohibited material: furniture, garbage, tires, lawn
clippings or yard waste, material containing plastic, material containing
rubber, waste petroleum products, paints and paint thinners, chemicals,
any hazardous waste, coal, glossy colored paper, construction and
demolition debris, plywood, particleboard, salt water driftwood, manure,
animal carcasses, asphalt products or any material that does not meet
the definition of "clean wood." NOTE: The above list is for illustration
purposes only and is not intended to be an all-inclusive or exclusive
list.
C.
An outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall be located at least 300 feet
from the nearest building not on the same property as the outdoor
fuel-burning appliance, and the outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall
be located at least 100 feet from the property line.
D.
An outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall have a permanent chimney
that extends at least 15 feet from the highest point of the appliance.
If there are any residences located within 300 feet of the appliance,
with the exception of the appliance owner's residence, said chimney
shall extend at least five feet above the height of the roofs of all
such residences.
E.
The owner or operator of an outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall
obtain a permit from the Township responsible official. Said permit
shall be subject to the payment of a permit fee, to be established
by the Board of Supervisors and as may be changed from time to time.
The grant of a permit is intended as a privilege and not a right.
Therefore, said permit may be revoked or restricted dependent upon
circumstances, specifically the failure to abide by the terms, conditions
or provisions of this chapter.
F.
The use of an outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall be prohibited
between June 1 and September 1.
G.
An outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall have, and at all times display,
an orange hang tag which signifies that it meets Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) standards for Phase 2 air emissions. All outdoor fuel-burning
appliances shall meet emission standards required by the Environmental
Protection Agency, as well as applicable statutes of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, and said standards are hereby adopted by reference
with any and all amendments or modifications that may be adopted from
time to time to such standards or statutes.
Any outdoor fuel-burning appliance in existence prior to the
effective date of this chapter shall be permitted to remain, subject
to compliance with the following:
A.
The owner or operator of an existing outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall, within three months of the effective date, obtain a permit from the Township as described in § 157-6E above.
C.
The height of the chimney or flue shall extend a minimum of five
feet above the roofline of any residence located within 300 feet of
the location of the appliance.
A.
The Township
shall have the power and authority under the laws of the commonwealth
and of the United States to enforce this chapter.
B.
The Township may issue such orders or notices as are necessary to
enforce this chapter. The authority to issue any order or notice shall
be in addition to any remedy or penalty that may be imposed under
this chapter or at law or equity.
In addition to proceeding under any remedy available at law or equity, any person, as defined herein, who violates or permits the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable thereof, be punishable as provided in § 1-2, Summary proceedings, of the Code of the Township of South Strabane. Each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense subject to the above fine or penalty.
In addition to the provisions of this chapter, the owner or
operator of an outdoor fuel-burning appliance shall comply with all
other applicable ordinances of the Township.
