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Township adopts ordinance banning burning of recyclables and leaves to meet DEP rules
Summary
Harborcreek supervisors adopted Amendment to Ordinance 2024-241 to prohibit burning recyclable materials and to explicitly ban leaves and brush, citing Pennsylvania DEP guidance and the need to preserve state funding; supervisors and residents raised enforcement and cost concerns.
Harborcreek Township supervisors adopted an amendment to Ordinance 2024-241 that explicitly prohibits burning recyclable materials and, to comply with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) guidance, bans the burning of leaves and brush in the township's clean-air basin.
The chair explained that DEP officials have said the township's burning definitions do not align with state law and warned the township could have future funds withheld or reclaimed unless the ordinance is amended. "They are threatening to withhold future funds from us, and chase funds for projects and pieces of equipment that we already have that they have helped fund," the chair said on the record.
At a public hearing on the amendment, resident Vicky Roberts of Leary Road urged adoption, arguing that even an unenforced ordinance establishes a community standard and encourages voluntary compliance: "Even if it's totally unenforced, having it on the books puts a standard out there," she said.
Board members called the requirement an unfunded mandate and voiced concern about enforcement on weekends and in rural parts of the township. A supervisor said staff levels make weekend enforcement difficult and described DEP action as an example of "moving the goalposts." Nevertheless, the board moved, seconded and voted to adopt the amendment as presented.
The board indicated it intends to be reasonable in enforcement, distinguishing large, windy-day leaf burns that cause public-harm complaints from small recreational fires. The ordinance change is effective on adoption; staff should update permitting and communications to reflect the new rules.
