Subcommittee sends burn-permit time-limit proposal to first responders for review

Trousdale County's planning subcommittee voted to send a proposed burn-permit rule to a first-responder review committee after discussing permit time limits and fees.

At a meeting, the chair recounted that Fire Chief Bealer had urged a time limit tied to the permit issuance date, saying that under the proposed language a permit would be good only for the day it is issued. The chair explained the practical effect the subcommittee discussed: a permit obtained on Monday would only authorize burning for that day, and if a resident did not obtain a permit before noon Saturday they would not be able to burn that Saturday; Sunday burning would not be allowed unless a same-day permit was issued.

The proposal retains a $20 application fee, which the chair said covers extra costs for fire-department response and administration; the remainder of the fee would go to the county department identified in the packet. The subcommittee chair said he plans to bring the draft to a steering group and requested that the first-responder committee review it under the fire department’s purview to consider any operational changes.

A motion to forward the burn-permit proposal to first responders passed with no recorded opposition. The chair said if the first-responder committee does not take it up, the draft will go to the full commission for consideration.