Thinking of burning that pile of brush in the back yard? Or burning off the grass and/or brush in that field in the country you own? There are several laws and regulations you need to abide by. In this article I’ll go over some important State regulations, including some rules specific to areas in Calhoun County.
Before we go into the State regulations, let’s cover local rules first. If you live inside of the Port Lavaca or Point Comfort City Limits, you cannot do any kind of outdoor burning. Before you ask, BBQ pits or fires used in the noncommercial preparation of food are allowed. If you live inside of the Seadrift City Limits, you can go to the Seadrift City Hall and apply for a permit to burn. After your proposed burn area undergoes an inspection you may be issued a burn permit. However, you still need to abide by the State regulations which we will go over.
Before conducting any kind of outdoor burning in Calhoun County you need to call the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office at 361-553-4646 to let them know you are burning. They will inform you of any County burn bans and ask your name, location of the fire, and your phone number. Several times a year local emergency responders and law enforcement personnel are dispatched to fires that turn out to be controlled burns which were not called in to the Sheriff’s Office.
Outdoor burning in Texas is governed by Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, sections 111.201 to 221. While listing all of the regulations here would be prohibitive, here are the important ones:
You cannot burn electrical insulation, treated lumber, plastics, tires, oil filters, non-wood construction materials, heavy oils, asphaltic materials, roof shingles, potentially explosive materials, chemical wastes, and items containing natural or synthetic rubber.
Burning shall not be started when surface wind speed is predicted to be greater than 23 miles per hour (mph) or less than six miles per hour (mph) during the burn period.
Burning must be conducted downwind of, or at least 300 feet from any structure containing people located on adjacent properties unless prior written approval is obtained from the adjacent occupant with possessory control.
The initiation of burning shall commence no earlier than one hour after sunrise. Burning shall be completed on the same day not later than one hour before sunset, and shall be attended by a responsible party at all times during the active burn phase when the fire is progressing. In cases where residual fires and/or smoldering objects continue to emit smoke after this time, such areas shall be extinguished if the smoke from these areas has the potential to create a nuisance or traffic hazard condition. In no case shall the extent of the burn area be allowed to increase after this time.
Burning shall be commenced and conducted only when wind direction and other meteorological conditions are such that smoke and other pollutants will not cause adverse effects to any public road, landing strip, navigable waters, or any off-site structure containing people.
If at any time the burning causes smoke to blow onto or across a road or highway, it is the responsibility of the person initiating the burn to post flag-persons on affected roads.
The authority to conduct outdoor burning under these regulation does not exempt or excuse any person responsible from the consequences, damages, or injuries resulting from the controlled burn, and does not exempt or excuse anyone from complying with all other applicable laws or ordinances, regulations, and orders of governmental entities having jurisdiction.
These are just a few of the Regulations the State of Texas has regarding outdoor burning; the full set of regulations can be found at: www.tceq.texas.gov/publications/rg/rg-049.html/at_download/file
