Open burning is prohibited in the City of Kewanee unless the burning is specifically permitted by this subchapter.
(A) Open burning of the following materials is prohibited.
(1) Refuse.
(2) Construction and demolition waste.
(3) Hazardous substances including but not limited to batteries, household chemicals, pesticides, used oil, gasoline, paints, varnishes, and solvents.
(4) Furniture and appliances.
(5) Tires.
(6) Any plastic materials including but not limited to nylon, PVC, ABS, polystyrene or urethane foam, and synthetic fabrics, plastic films and plastic containers.
(7) Corrugated cardboard, container board, office paper.
(8) Treated or painted wood including but not limited to plywood, composite wood products or other wood products that are painted, varnished or treated with preservatives.
(9) Grass clippings and weeds.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain or use a burning barrel.
(C) Open burning shall be permitted in the city in any approved incinerator at any time provided that the approved incinerator is being operated in compliance with the requirements of the Illinois Environment Protection Act and the rules and regulations of the Illinois Pollution Control Board and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
(D) The burning of landscape waste shall be permitted only in compliance with the requirements of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and the rules and regulations of the Illinois Pollution Board and the rules and regulations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and shall be subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Only on the premises on which waste is generated and the following criteria are followed:
(a) Landscape material has dried, or is dry and will not result in excessive smoke;
(b) No burning shall be conducted within ten feet of any structure or combustible material, or directly under any tree limbs or wires;
(c) Burn piles must be kept manageable by those attending to them, and attendant must be able to see around pile while it is burning which shall result in burn piles of less than four feet in height;
(d) Ash resulting from the burning of landscape waste should be allowed to cool through the adding of water, and shall then be disposed of;
(e) Burning of grass clippings and weeds prohibited;
(2) Only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, during the months of April, May, June, September, October and November, or on other days as stipulated in a motion approved by the City Council assembled, from 8:00 a.m. until sunset when permitted by the Chief of the Fire Department of the city. All fires must be attended by a responsible person and shall be extinguished and no fires shall be allowed to remain burning or continue to smoke after sunset. Open burning shall be prohibited when the following conditions exist as determined by the Fire Chief or his designated agent:
(a) Wind speed exceeding 20 miles per hour.
(b) Wind speed less than five miles per hour.
(c) Drought conditions which present an excessive risk for spreading of the open fire.
(d) During a water shortage or other emergency.
(e) If more than one-half inch of rain has fallen in the prior two days of the allowed burn day, which would result in heavy smoke.
(f) An outdoor event of community-wide interest may be disrupted by nuisance smoke from said landscape waste burning activities.
(g) If a severe weather event (thunderstorms, tornado, severe wind or other weather event) is determined to be a possible safety concern as forecast in the Hazardous Weather Outlook published by the National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities or by data received from any other NWS or NOSA group. These reports shall be read and considered on each burn day prior to determination to prohibit or allow open burning.
(3) The determination to prohibit open burning shall be made prior to 8:00 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and communicated to the Police Department, local media and citizens. Once made, the determination to prohibit open burning will apply for the remainder of the day on which the determination is made and shall not be reversed. It is the responsibility of each citizen openly burning landscape waste to verify that open burning is allowed for the day of burning prior to commencing such activity.
(E) The maintenance and use of camp fires and barbecue grills for cooking purposes shall not be prohibited by this section except that said camp fires or barbecue grills shall be extinguished immediately after their use for cooking purposes and said camp fires and barbecue grills shall otherwise comply with the requirements of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and the rules and regulations of the Illinois Pollution Control Board and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
(F) Open burning of landscape waste on public streets, alleys, highways and public sidewalks shall be prohibited.
(G) The prohibition of and restriction against open burning as provided hereunder shall not apply in the event of the granting of a permit which may be authorized in the exercise of the appropriate discretion of the Fire Chief, Code Enforcement Officer or designee, which application for permit shall be considered in conjunction with cleanup efforts as directed or approved by the City Code Enforcement Officer, provided all previous stipulations hereunder are met.
(Ord. 4036, passed 12-14-20)