[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of North Haven 1-11-2012 Special Town Meeting.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 115.
Outdoor furnaces — See Ch. 115A.
Fire zones — See Ch. 119.
Garbage, rubbish and refuse — See Ch. 127.
Smoking — See Ch. 173.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch.
150, Open Burning, consisting of Art. I, Burning on Public Streets,
adopted 9-24-1953 Special Town Meeting, and Art. II, Miscellaneous
Provisions, adopted 4-25-1961 Special Town Meeting.
This chapter seeks to ensure that the public health, safety,
and welfare are protected from the potential danger and/or nuisance
that may be created by an open burning. Persons surrounding or near
properties in which open burning is being performed have a right to
expect that the burning will not create an unsafe, unhealthy, or hazardous
environment for them to be in. An open burning must not create a condition
in which a fire hazard is created or a condition in which the open
burning can cause a fire to spread beyond its initial area. Therefore,
except as provided in this chapter, no person shall set, cause, or
allow an open burning without obtaining a permit.
When used in this chapter, the terms below shall have the following
meanings:
The discharge into the open air of any smoke, soot, fumes,
odors, or other emissions which cause injury or detriment, or which
endanger the health or safety of the public, or which cause, or are
likely to cause, injury or damage to business or property.
The burning of any matter in such a manner that the products
of combustion resulting from the burning are emitted directly into
the ambient air without passing through an adequate stack or flue.
Any person designated by the Town of North Haven under Connecticut
General Statutes to enforce the Connecticut Open Burning Regulations,
this chapter, and any applicable regulations who is certified by the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection to act as a local open burning
official.
Garbage, paper, grass, metals, plastics, leaves, chemically
treated wood, rubber, painted materials, or demolition waste.
A.
An application for an open burning permit for any fire described in Chapter 150 shall be made on the forms furnished by the Open Burning Official and each applicant shall explain the purpose of the fire, the nature and quantity of material to be burned, and any other information the Open Burning Official deems necessary.
B.
An open burning permit issued under this chapter shall be applicable
only for the occasion or the purpose for which it has been obtained.
C.
An open burning permit will only be issued to residential properties
greater than 1 1/2 acres in size or land registered as a farm
with the Town Clerk of the Town of North Haven.
D.
Approval of open burning permits shall be subject to such reasonable
conditions as are necessary to avoid a nuisance or to protect the
health, safety, and comfort of the public, including but not limited
to the following:
(1)
All fires requiring an open burning permit must have the written
permission of the property owner(s).
(2)
Only materials and quantities specified on the open burning permit
may be burned.
(3)
The Open Burning Official may specify on any open burning permit
days and hours during which open burning is allowed.
(4)
A copy of the open burning permit shall be kept in the possession
of the applicant at the burning site at all times during said burning.
The applicant must follow any special notification and contact instructions
as may be specified in the open burning permit. Sufficient tools and
equipment necessary to extinguish any open burning must be present
and readily available, and a person, physically capable of using those
tools and equipment, must be present and in control of said open burning.
(5)
The Open Burning Official may revoke, in writing, any permit or add
any reasonable conditions, specifically identified, if circumstances
indicate that, in the Open Burning Official's discretion and
judgment, air pollution standards will be violated.
(6)
Upon notification to a person conducting open burning that the Open
Burning Official has determined the open burning to be a nuisance,
the open burning shall be immediately extinguished.
An open burning permit shall not be required for the following
types of fires:
A.
Barbecues or other outdoor open fires for the cooking of food for
human consumption, provided that no other nuisance is created.
B.
Camp fires or other fires for recreational or ceremonial purposes,
provided that the size of such fires does not exceed three feet in
any dimension and further provided that no prohibited materials are
included, provided that no other nuisance is created. If the dimensions
of such fire do exceed said limits, an open burning permit shall be
required.
C.
Fires for training firefighters in firefighting methods.
D.
Fires in salamanders or other similar devices used by construction
workers for warmth or fires essential to street installation or paving
activities, the repairing of utilities, or other similar work.
The Open Burning Official shall not issue an open burning permit
requested under this chapter when the Open Burning Official determines
that:
A.
A hazardous public health condition will be created by the requested
open burning;
B.
The fire constitutes a salvage operation by open burning;
C.
A practical and alternative method for the disposal of the material
to be burned exists, including but not limited to, the following techniques:
chipping, cutting for forest products, landfilling, piling for protective
cover for wildlife, and stockpiling;
D.
Such open burning would interfere with or prevent the attainment
or maintenance of a relevant ambient-air-quality standard;
E.
The forest fire danger, as determined by the State Forest Fire Warden,
is high or extreme, and the area is within 100 feet of a woodland
or grassland;
F.
The Commissioner of Environmental Protection has issued an advisory
of an air pollution emergency episode stage pursuant to Connecticut
General Statutes, as amended; or
G.
Prohibited materials are to be burned.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall
be subject to the following penalties and fines:
A.
For the first offense or violation, the Open Burning Official will
issue a notice of violation.
B.
For the second offense or violation, the Open Burning Official will
assess a fine of $25 for each separate violation and each successive
day thereafter of continued violation.
C.
The Open Burning Official may, when appropriate, seek enforcement
of the provisions of this chapter by injunction and, in such event,
the violator shall pay, as damages, all fines due and all court costs,
including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred in the prosecution
of said action.
D.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection and/or the Open Burning Official reserve the right to seek
the penalties set forth in Section 22a-175 of the Connecticut General
Statutes.
A.
The provisions in this chapter shall be in addition to all existing
municipal ordinances dealing with housing and/or public health, and
shall not limit the provisions or enforcement of other applicable
local, state, or federal codes, regulations, ordinances, and/or statutes.
B.
This chapter shall not supersede Connecticut regulations that apply
to open burning, outside wood-burning furnaces, or emissions from
chimneys from structures. This chapter shall not apply to emissions
from chimneys from building structures.
C.
The issuance of a permit under this chapter in no way relieves the
person(s) holding the permit from their responsibility for any damage
or injury caused by the open burning they perform to another person's
property or person.
D.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed in any way
to render the Town of North Haven and/or any of its officers, employees,
and/or officials liable for any damage to any person or property by
reason of the issuance of any open burning permit.
Nothing in any portion of this chapter shall in any manner be
construed as authorizing or legalizing the creation or maintenance
of a nuisance, and compliance with the permit requirements contained
within this chapter is not a bar to a claim of nuisance by any person.
A violation of any portion of this chapter shall not be deemed to
create a nuisance per se.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is held to be invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications of any other part
of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provisions
or application; and to this end, the provisions of this chapter and
the various applications thereof are declared to be severable.
