Ohio EPA temporarily suspends open burning permission

Due to weather forecasts predicting hot and dry conditions for the state, and a National Weather Service statement regarding increased fire hazards for the next few days, Ohio EPA will temporarily suspend issuing open burning permission.

The need for temporary suspension is partly due to brush fires seen since Monday in several areas of the state.

Under Ohio rules, open burning is not permitted in restricted areas, which include:

• the boundaries of any municipal corporation;

• corporation limits and a 1,000-foot zone outside any municipal corporation having a population of 1,000 to 10,000; and,

• corporation limits and a one-mile zone outside any municipal corporation with a population of more than 10,000.

In areas outside those zones, there are fewer restrictions and open burning is allowed if it complies with state rules and local ordinances. Again, Ohio EPA discourages open burning in these areas at all times, and certainly until dry conditions are less severe.

Under certain circumstances, burning a prohibited material or setting a fire in a restricted area is legal with prior written permission from Ohio EPA, through one of its district offices or a local air agency. Until weather conditions improve, Ohio EPA has advised its offices not to process or approve burn requests. Emergency requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Some examples of burning that require prior approval are:

• firefighter training;

• explosive material disposal;

• horticultural, silvicultural, range or wildlife management practices; and,

• burning land-clearing waste.

For more information about Ohio's open burning regulations, go to www.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/general/openburning.aspx.