The open burning of materials poses a threat to the health,
safety and welfare of the Town's residents. Such burning can
cause air pollution and can be a health hazard as well as a nuisance
to the general population. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide
for health, safety and welfare by limiting open burning within the
Town of Stillwater. This chapter is intended to amend Local Law No.
2-1998.
No person, partnership or corporation shall burn, allow to be
burned, or permit to be burned any brush, leaves, lumber, paper products,
plastic, tires, chemicals, trash, garbage, refuse, wood or other related
items in an open fire within the Town of Stillwater without having
first obtained the proper permit for such burning.
Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the burning of outdoor
grills or fireplaces for the purpose of preparing food. Nothing in
this chapter shall prohibit campfires as long as they are attended
while burning, are contained in an area no more than four feet in
diameter or nine square feet and are completely extinguished if unattended.
Other exceptions to the permit requirement are listed in 6 NYCRR Part
215, as amended.
Permits may be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer or Deputy
Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of Stillwater upon proper application.
Such permits shall be issued before any open burning begins. It is
the responsibility of the Town of Stillwater Building Department to
notify the fire companies located in the Town of Stillwater that a
burning permit has been issued.
The person to whom the permit is issued must maintain a copy
of the permit and have it available for review by any enforcement
officer at any time.
A permit can be issued only for materials generated on the property
to which the permit to burn is issued.
Burning with a valid permit does not relieve the permit holder
from the responsibility of attending or controlling the fire at all
times, from notifying the Saratoga County Fire Dispatch Center prior
to the commencement of burning and, when burning has been completed,
from extinguishing all embers upon completion of the burn.
A permit may be revoked or a fire ordered extinguished by the
Code Enforcement Officer or the Deputy Code Enforcement Officer at
any time the Code Enforcement Officer or the Deputy Code Enforcement
Officer deems it proper.
The issuance of a burn permit by the Town does not preclude
any permits required by any other agency, including, but not limited
to, those permits required pursuant to Environmental Conservation
Law § 9-1105.
The Town and fire companies located within the Town are exempt from Town permits for the burning of materials not included in §
74-2 herein. They are not exempt by this chapter from any required New York State permits.
Burning permits shall have a defined period for which they are
valid and shall not be construed to be valid for an unlimited period
of time.
The enforcement of this chapter shall be made by the Code Enforcement
Officer, Deputy Code Enforcement Officers, and members of the Stillwater
Police Department, but shall not restrict enforcement which would
be conducted by any other police officer of the State of New York.
Every person convicted of violating any provision of this chapter
shall be guilty of a violation punishable as follows: by a fine of
not more than $250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or
by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense
against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each
day the offense is continued, a separate and distinct violation hereunder.