Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Section
to control outdoor burning of waste or other combustible material.
B. Outdoor Burning Prohibited. No person
shall cause or allow the outdoor burning of waste material or other combustible
material on any property owned by him or under his control except as provided
in Subsections C and D of this Section.
C. Statutory Exceptions. The following
activities are not subject to the prohibition created in Subsection B of this
Section:
1. the burning of leaves, grass,
twigs, branches, and vines by a private property owner on his own property for
noncommercial purposes in parishes with a population of 300,000 or less,
provided the property owner attends the burning of yard waste at all times.
This exception shall not apply in the parish of East Baton Rouge;
2. the burning of trees, brush, grass, or
other vegetable matter in any parish having a population of 90,000 or less,
provided the location of the burning is not within the territorial limits of a
city or town or adjacent to a city or town in such proximity that the ambient
air of the city or town will be affected by smoke from the burning;
3. the burning of trees, branches, limbs, or
other wood as a bonfire that is specifically authorized by ordinance in the
parishes of St. James, St. John the Baptist, or St. Charles;
4. the burning of agricultural by-products in
the fields in connection with the planting, harvesting, or processing of
agricultural products;
5. the
controlled burning of cotton gin agricultural wastes in connection with cotton
gin operations;
6. the controlled
burning in connection with timber stand management; and
7. the controlled burning of pasture land or
marshland in connection with trapping or livestock production.
D. Exceptions to Prohibition
against Outdoor Burning. Outdoor burning of waste material or other combustible
material may be conducted in the situations enumerated below if no public
nuisance is or will be created and if the burning is not prohibited by and is
conducted in compliance with other applicable laws and with regulations and
orders of governmental entities having jurisdiction, including air control
regulations and orders. The authority to conduct outdoor burning under this
regulation does not exempt or excuse the person responsible from the
consequences of or the damages or injuries resulting from the burning:
1. outdoor burning in connection with the
preparation of food;
2. campfires
and fires used solely for recreational purposes or for ceremonial
occasions;
3. outdoor burning in a
rural park or rural recreation area of trees, brush, grass, and other vegetable
matter for game management purposes in accordance with practices acceptable to
Louisiana Parks and Recreation Commission and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission;
4. small fires, by
tradesmen and contractors, in such activities as street repair, installation or
repair of sewer, water, electric, telephone mains, and services;
5. the operation of contrivances using open
flames such as welding torches, blow torches, portable heaters, and other flame
making devices;
6. outdoor burning,
in other than rural park or rural recreation area, of trees, brush, grass, and
other vegetable matter from such area in land clearing and right-of-way
maintenance operations if the following conditions are met:
a. prevailing winds at the time of the
burning must be away from any city or town, the ambient air of which may be
affected by smoke from the burning;
b. the location of the burning must be at
least 1,000 feet (305 meters) from any dwelling other than a dwelling or
structure located on the property on which the burning is conducted;
c. care must be used to minimize the amount
of dirt on the material being burned;
d. heavy oils, asphaltic materials, items
containing natural or synthetic rubber, or any materials other than plant
growth which produce unreasonable amounts of smoke may not be burned; nor may
these substances be used to start a fire;
e. the burning may be conducted only between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Piles of combustible material should be of such
size to allow complete reduction in this time interval; and
f. the burning must be controlled so that a
traffic hazard as prohibited by Subsection E of this Section is not
created;
7. fire
purposely set as a part of an organized program of drills for the training of
fire fighting personnel or for testing fire fighting materials or equipment if
the following conditions are met:
a. the
duration of the burning held to the minimum required for such
purposes;
b. the burning is
conducted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and
c. the burning is controlled so that a
traffic hazard as prohibited by Subsection E of this Section is not
created;
8. outdoor
burning of waste hydrocarbon products (from petroleum exploration, development
or production operations, natural gas processing, such as, but not limited to,
basic sediments, oil produced in testing an oil well, and paraffin) may be
conducted at the site of origin when it is not practicable to transport the
waste products for sale or reclamation, or to dispose of them lawfully in some
other manner. In addition, hydrocarbons spilled or lost from pipeline breaks or
other transport failure which cannot practicably be recovered or be disposed of
lawfully in some other manner may be outdoor burned at the site where the spill
occurred or at another appropriate place due to safety considerations. Except
when the immediate or continuous burning of hydrocarbon spills is reasonably
necessary to abate or eliminate an existing or imminent threat of injury to
human life or significant damage to property, the outdoor burning shall be
conducted under the following conditions:
a.
the location of the burning must not be within or adjacent to a city or town or
in such proximity thereto that the ambient air of the city or town may be
affected by smoke from the burning;
b. the burning is conducted only between the
hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and
c.
the burning is controlled so that a traffic hazard as prohibited by Subsection
E of this Section is not created; and
9. special situations approvable for
exemption by the administrative authority prior to initiation of burning
operation, as follows:
a. outdoor burning of
explosives, pyrophoric, or any other materials where there is no practicable or
safe method of disposal;
b.
experimental burning for purposes of data gathering and research; and
c. nonrecurring unusual circumstances or any
condition not covered above.
E. Traffic Hazards Prohibited. The emission
of smoke, suspended particulate matter or uncombined water or any air
contaminants or combinations thereof which passes onto or across a public road
and creates a traffic hazard by impairment of visibility, as defined in LAC
33:III.111, or intensifies an existing traffic hazard condition is
prohibited.
F. Exclusion from
Application of this Section. Outdoor burning pursuant to and in compliance with
the terms of a variance granted by the administrative authority is excluded
from the application of this Section.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
30:2054.
