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Committee considers one-day urban burn permits tied to state wind and drought rules
Summary
Members discussed a draft urban open-burning permit that would be issued by the county clerk, valid for a single day (reissueable), follow state wind/drought restrictions and Tennessee Air Quality Act guidance, and include a published list of allowed/disallowed materials.
The committee reviewed draft language for an urban open-burning permit and the operational process for issuing and enforcing it.
Speaker 6 explained the proposal: the county clerk would issue a permit that is valid for the day requested and can be reissued the next day if the burn has not extinguished or the applicant needs extra time. The permit would be subject to state restrictions (wind and drought conditions) and the Tennessee Air Quality Act; staff referenced the state forestry website "burnsafeTN" as the source for current drought status and guidance on prohibited materials.
Members asked that the clerk be given a printed/web guidance sheet with the burn rules to hand to applicants and that dispatch/911 be given access to permit records so officers can verify whether a reported burn is permitted. Speaker 6 and others recommended against creating a fee to cover permitting software setup; they worried fees would complicate phone-based issuance and service delivery. The committee asked staff to prepare a final list of allowed/disallowed materials and a short public guidance sheet for the full commission packet.
The committee emphasized enforcement: the fire department will respond to complaints and extinguish illegal or unsafe burns, and ordinance language will enable citations where permitted rules are violated. Staff agreed to finalize the permit text with the burn rules and present them at the next meeting.
