Code of Maine Rules › 06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL › Chapter 102 - OPEN BURNING › Section 096-102-2 - Prohibitions and Permissible Open Burning

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
Outdoor burning is prohibited in all areas of the State,
				  except as follows:
A.
Permissible Open Burning With Permit.
When not prohibited by local
				ordinances the following types of burning are permissible if a permit has been
				obtained from the Town Forest Fire Warden, forest ranger, or local fire
				prevention official having jurisdiction over the location where the fire is to
				be set, so long as the burning is conducted according to the terms and
				conditions of such permit and provided no nuisance is created.
NOTE: Any kindling or use of out-of-door fires is regulated
				  by the Department of Conservation, Maine Forest Service. Any requirements or
				  conditions of issuance of a fire permit must be in accordance with Title 12,
				  Chapter 807 - Forest Fire Control, Subchapter IV - Regulation of Open Burning,
				  Article II Out-of-Door Fires, Sections 9321-9324 and Title 25, Chapter 317 -
				  Preventative Measures and Restrictions, sec. 2436-A.
(1) Recreational campfires kindled when the
				ground is not covered by snow;
(2)
				Fires in conjunction with holiday and festive celebration, pursuant to Section
				2(A)(5) of this rule;
(3) Burning
				of solid or liquid fuels and structures for the purpose of research or bona
				fide instruction and training of municipal or volunteer firefighters pursuant
				to Maine Revised Statutes Title 26, section 2102 and industrial fire fighters
				in methods of fighting fires when conducted under the direct control and
				supervision of qualified instructors and with a written objective for the
				training. For purposes of this section, "qualified instructor" means the fire
				chief or designee or a fire-fighting instructor. Structures burned for
				instructional purposes must first be emptied of waste materials that are not
				part of the training objective.
(4)
				Burning for agricultural purposes which include but are not limited to open
				burning of blueberry fields, potato tops, hayfields and prescribed burning for
				timberland management.
(5)
				Out-of-door burning of wood wastes and painted and unpainted wood from
				demolition debris in the open, or in an incinerator with a primary chamber
				volume no greater than 133 cubic feet or 1,000 gallons that is not licensed by
				the Department of Environmental Protection. For purposes of this chapter, the
				term "wood wastes" means brush, stumps, lumber, bark, wood chips, shavings,
				slabs, edgings, slash, sawdust and wood from production rejects that are not
				mixed with other solid or liquid waste, and "lumber" means material that is
				entirely made of wood and is free from metal, plastics, coatings and chemical
				treatments.
(6) Open burning of
				leaves, brush, deadwood and tree cuttings accrued from normal property
				maintenance by the individual landowner or lessee of the land unless expressly
				prohibited by municipal ordinance.
(7) Burning on site for the disposal of wood
				wastes and painted and unpainted wood from construction and demolition debris
				generated from the clearing of any land or by the erection, modification,
				maintenance, demolition or construction of any highway, railroad, power line,
				communication line, pipeline, building or development.
(8) Burning of vegetative growth for
				hazardous abatement purposes, such as, but not limited to, the burning of grass
				fields.
(9) Burning for the
				containment or control of spills of gasoline, kerosene, heating oil or similar
				petroleum product.
(10) The burning
				of wood wastes and painted and unpainted wood from construction and demolition
				debris at solid waste facilities in accordance with a facility license issued
				pursuant to Maine's Solid Waste Management Rules, 06-096 CMR 400 to
				409.
(11) The burning of empty
				containers, including fiberboard boxes and paper bags, previously containing
				explosives and being disposed of in accordance with the provisions of Maine
				Revised Statutes Title 25, section 2472.
(12) Explosives being disposed of under the
				direct supervision and control of the State Fire Marshal
NOTE: Although this rule does not require the separation of
				  painted and unpainted wood from demolition debris, Maine law requires that "A
				  person engaged in any renovation, remodeling, maintenance or repair project
				  involving lead-based paint ...shall take reasonable precautions to prevent the
				  release of lead to the environment, including the cleanup, removal and
				  appropriate disposal of all visible lead-based paint debris generated by the
				  project." (Title 38 MRSA §1296 )
NOTE: Any open burning occurring at a municipal solid waste
				  disposal site must be conducted in accordance with those forest fire prevention
				  measures specified in Title 12, Chapter 807 - Forest Fire Control, Subchapter
				  IV - Regulation of Open Burning, Article I - Dumps, Sections 9301 -
				  9304.