[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Harwinton 7-20-1993 by Ord. No. 93, effective 8-16-1993. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the words and terms used herein are defined as follows:
BRUSH
Shrubs, vegetation, or prunings the diameter of which is not greater than three inches at the widest point.
COMMISSIONER
Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
OPEN BURNING OFFICIAL
The official appointed by the First Selectman pursuant to state statutes and regulation.
OPEN AIR BURNING
Combustion in which the products of combustion are emitted directly into the ambient air space.
[Amended 12-6-2022 by Ord. No. 160, effective 12-24-2022]
No person shall set, cause, or allow to be set or caused an open air fire without obtaining an open air burning permit from the Commissioner, Open Burning Official, or Fire Marshal, unless exempt from the provisions of this chapter as specified in § 178-3 below. The applicant for an open air burning permit shall complete an application on form(s) provided by the Commissioner, Open Burning Official, or Fire Marshal which shall include a description of the purpose of the fire, the nature and quantity of the material to be burned, time and date of the fire, and any other information required by the Commissioner, Open Burning Official, or Fire Marshal.
A permit as described in this chapter shall not be required for the following fires:
A. 
Open air fires set for the purpose of cooking food for human consumption.
B. 
Fires set for the purpose of abating an immediate fire hazard provided such fire is supervised by an officer of the Fire Department.
C. 
Fires set in salamanders or other similar devices used by construction or other workers for heating purposes, which fires are essential to street installation or paving activities, the repairing of utilities, or other similar work.
D. 
Fires set for the purpose of fire training exercises under the supervision of an officer of the Fire Department when only liquid fuels are burned.
E. 
Bonfire or recreational or ceremonial fires.
[Added 5-19-1998 by Ord. No. 100, effective 6-5-1998]
[Amended 12-6-2022 by Ord. No. 160, effective 12-24-2022]
A. 
Open air burning permits shall not be issued when the Open Burning Official, Commissioner or Fire Marshal determines that:
(1) 
National or state ambient air quality standards may be exceeded.
(2) 
A hazardous health condition might be created.
(3) 
The forest fire danger in the area is identified by the State Forest Fire Warden as high or extreme and where woodland or grassland is within 100 feet of the proposed burn.
(4) 
There is an advisory of any air pollution emergency episode.
(5) 
The fire constitutes a salvage operation.
(6) 
A practical alternative method for disposal of the material to be burned exists.
(7) 
The material to be burned consists of garbage, paper, glass, metal, plastic, leaves, rubber, painted surfaces, demolition waste, automobiles or automobile scrap.
(8) 
Burning would be conducted in a Town right-of-way.
B. 
Open burning will not be allowed to take place between 12:01 a.m. on June 1 and 11:59 p.m. on September 30.
A. 
The permit shall be valid only during the dates and approximate time as specified in the permit for the burn.
B. 
Only those quantities and materials specified in the permit shall be burned.
C. 
Permits shall be issued within 24 hours of the proposed burn, except that permits for Sunday or holiday burns shall be issued on the last municipal business day before the burn.
D. 
The Open Burning Official, Commissioner, or Fire Marshal may revoke, by oral or written notice, an open air burning permit by notification of Litchfield County Dispatch Center if one of the conditions, restrictions, or prohibitions specified under § 178-6 becomes applicable after such permit is issued.
[Amended 12-6-2022 by Ord. No. 160, effective 12-24-2022]
E. 
A copy of the permit shall be kept in the possession of the applicant at the burning site during the burn.
F. 
Except for firefighting exercises, burning shall be permitted on sunny or partly sunny days when wind speed is five to 15 miles per hour.
G. 
Prior to burning, the permittee shall call the Open Burning Official or Fire Marshal on the day of intended burning to ask whether the permit has been revoked.
[Amended 12-6-2022 by Ord. No. 160, effective 12-24-2022]
[Amended 12-6-2022 by Ord. No. 160, effective 12-24-2022]
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be fined $100 for the first offense and not more than the maximum allowed by law for each subsequent offense. The Commissioner, Open Burning Official, and Fire Marshal jointly and severally have the authority to enforce this provision including the assessment of any fine(s). In cases where any person, corporation, or other party continues unlawful burning despite assessment of fines, the Town may enforce this chapter by any other legal and equitable remedies available to it.