[Adopted 6-15-1998 by Ord. No. 249]
It is against policy to allow uncontrolled,
unrestricted outdoor burning. The purpose of this article is to prevent
needless damage to life and property because of public and private
nuisances caused by outdoor fires deliberately or carelessly set and
improperly maintained.
For the purpose of this article, the following
words and terms shall have meanings ascribed to them as follows:
CONTAINED FIRE
Any fire contained in an incinerator, fireplace or cooking
grill, other contained enclosure designed for outdoor cooking or a
fireproof container.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
Members of the Hilltown Township Police Department shall
be designated enforcement officers under this article.
FIRE
Any fire set or maintained outside a building.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, organization, association, agency,
firm, estate or corporation and any other legal or commercial entity.
RESPONSIBLE ADULT
An individual 18 years or older who is not under the influence
of drugs or alcohol or suffering from any other disability which would
impair his or her ability to properly supervise a fire.
No person shall set, start, feed, permit to
burn, or maintain any fire upon any of the streets and/or rights-of-way,
sidewalks, alleys, or public grounds in Silverdale Borough, except
where a designated area has been set aside or reserved for this purpose
and an appropriate container has been provided to contain such a fire.
[Amended 10-4-1999 by Ord. No. 255]
A. No fire shall be allowed to burn unattended without
a responsible adult being present at all times and without readily
available fire-extinguishing equipment.
B. No fire shall be set that results in uncontrolled
burning of vegetation (field fire).
C. Outdoor fires shall be contained in a noncombustible
container, covered with a wire screen of 1/2 inch or smaller mesh,
or in another suitable noncombustible container, except for fires
of leaves, brush and/or natural, untreated wood, which need not be
confined to or covered by a noncombustible container.
D. Recreational fires using natural, untreated wood and
containing a fuel source of no more than eight cubic feet are permitted
at any time as long as they comply with all other provisions of this
article.
E. Burning of any organic, nonmanufactured product is
permitted so long as it complies with all other provisions of this
article.
F. Burning of construction debris, plastics, by-products
of manufacturing and processing operations and wastes from commercial
operations is strictly prohibited.
G. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to permit
or encourage the burning of any substance determined by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or the United States Environmental Protection Agency
to be a hazardous substance, nor shall any fire be permitted to burn
by any person if such burning is in violation of the Air Pollution
Act or other legislation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the
United States of America or any other competent body.
H. No garbage or offal may be burned at any time, either
indoors or outdoors.
I. Fires shall be used to burn only readily combustible
material. No fire, contained or uncontained, which is likely to produce
heavy smoke, disagreeable odors or air pollution shall be started.
All fires which emit heavy smoke, disagreeable odor or air pollution
must be extinguished. If any type of fire or its emitted smoke shall
escape onto the premises of a third person, the person starting the
fire shall be guilty of violation of this article.
J. Upon the declaration of a drought emergency by either
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, the County of Bucks or the Borough of Silverdale,
no outdoor fire of any kind shall be permitted to burn in the Borough
of Silverdale. A person igniting a fire during a declared drought
emergency shall be guilty of a violation of this article.
It is a violation of this article for any person
to allow any fire to burn under adverse weather conditions or unsupervised
or otherwise in an unsafe manner. Any such fire may be extinguished
by any official of the Borough-designated fire company or extinguished
immediately upon request of such officials.
No person shall burn or cause to be burned any
substances, nor shall any person or persons set or maintain any contained
or uncontained fire, or burn material of any kind outdoors anywhere
in the Borough between sunset and sunrise.
In the event that it is necessary to have an
uncontained fire of a size and/or at times other than permitted under
this article, special permission must be obtained under this article.
Special permission must be obtained in advance from the Chief of the
Silverdale Fire Company. In the event that any fire company is required
to respond to a fire which violates the provisions of this article,
a service fee may be levied by the responding fire company.
The Borough of Silverdale and its agents, officials
and representatives shall not, under any circumstances, be liable
or responsible for damages caused to any person or property by reason
of the provisions of this article or by reason of the conduct of any
burning activity in compliance with the terms and provisions of this
article. The individual person or party responsible for any such fire
shall bear sole responsibility for any damages caused as a result
thereof.
[Adopted 6-4-2012 by Ord. No. 300]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Silverdale
Outdoor Wood-Fired Boiler Ordinance of 2012."
The Borough Council of Silverdale, under and by virtue of and
pursuant to the authority granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Borough Code, Section 1202(74), does hereby enact and ordain this
article.
Whereas the Borough Council of Silverdale has determined that
air pollution from outdoor wood-fired boilers may be detrimental to
the health, comfort, living conditions, welfare, and safety of the
citizens of Silverdale, it is hereby declared to be the policy of
Silverdale to safeguard the citizens of Silverdale from such air pollution.
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, shall have the following
meanings ascribed to them:
APCA
The Air Pollution Control Act.
CLEAN WOOD
Natural wood that has no paint, stains, or other types of
coatings and natural wood that has not been treated with, including
but not limited to, copper chromium arsenate, creosote, or pentachlorophenol.
EPA
The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
MUNICIPALITY
A city, incorporated town, township, borough, county, municipal
authority, or other public body created under state law having jurisdiction
over the disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes.
PERSON
Any individual, public or private corporation for profit
or not for profit, association, partnership, firm, trust, estate,
department, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or the 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.
PHASE 2 OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED BOILER
An outdoor wood-fired boiler that has been certified or qualified
by the EPA as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.32
pound per million British thermal units output and is labeled accordingly.
Phase 2 outdoor wood-fired boiler models will be identified with a
white hangtag.
RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL
A person designated by the municipality to be responsible
for the administration and enforcement of this article.
STACK
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.
On or after January 30, 2012, no person shall install, use,
operate or maintain an outdoor wood-fired boiler in Silverdale Borough,
Pennsylvania.
It shall be unlawful to fail to comply with, or to cause or
assist in the violation of, any of the provisions of this article
or to fail to comply with any order or other requirement of Silverdale
Borough; or to cause a public nuisance; or to hinder, obstruct, prevent,
or interfere with Silverdale Borough or its personnel in their performance
of any duty hereunder, including denying the Zoning Officer access
to the source or facility.
A violation of this article or of any order issued by Silverdale Borough under this article shall constitute a public nuisance. Silverdale Borough shall have the authority to order any person causing a public nuisance to abate the public nuisance. In addition, when abating a public nuisance, Silverdale Borough may recover the expenses of abatement following the process for assessment and collection of a civil penalty contained in §
127-21. Whenever the nuisance is maintained or continued contrary to this article or any order issued pursuant to this article, the nuisance may be abatable in the manner provided by this article. Any person who causes the public nuisance shall be liable for the cost of abatement.