News

Burn ban comment period extended

By Jim Planck

ALBANY — A proposal by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to prohibit open burning across the state has had its public comment period extended.

The deadline for submitting written comments regarding the proposal to DEC was originally Thursday, July 10, but DEC announced on Wednesday that the public comment period will now run through Thursday, Aug. 14, 5 p.m., essentially extending it for a month.

DEC noted that the extension was done to accommodate additional public hearings which have been scheduled on the plan.

However, none of the four new hearings are in the region, the closest being in Herkimer, in the Mohawk Valley, on Aug. 4.

The other three are in the North Country’s St. Lawrence County, western New York’s Chautauqua County, on the shore of Lake Erie, and Allegany County, in New York’s southwestern Allegany Plateau.

The three closest hearings — one in Dutchess County and two in Albany — have already been held, but the extended written comment period still allows for public comments to be submitted from anywhere in the state.

In announcing the additional hearings, DEC noted that it was “in an effort to expand opportunities for public input.”

The state currently bans open burning anywhere the population is greater than 20,000, and the proposal is to make that prohibition statewide, even in rural areas.

The plan would essentially make it illegal to have an outdoor fire anywhere in the state, with certain actions, such as campfires, small cooking, ceremonial fires, and fire training, excepted.

It would specifically prohibit burn barrels, and will also limit agricultural burning to naturally grown products, such as vines, branches, leaves, and stubble.

DEC has said the proposal will benefit air quality and help prevent accidental fires.

The plan has raised concerns in some areas, including the Adirondacks.

The full text of the proposal is on DEC’s website at www.dec.ny.gov, under a link for “Proposed Regulations for Clean Air.” Follow the links for “Open Fires.”

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