PRESS RELEASE
January 31, 2008

Legislators Oppose DEC Ban on Open Burning

Rensselaer County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell said they oppose a state Department of Environmental Conservation proposal banning open burning, including burning of leaves, tree trimmings and paper products.

Goodermote and Brownell said they believe the DEC directive would be overly restrictive for residents of the rural communities in eastern Rensselaer County they represent. They said they also believe there would be a negligible environmental impact because the items and amounts burned and possible negative impacts if residents are forced to transport the items via motor vehicle to landfills.

The two legislators said they have not received complaints about problems with open burning and also said there have been few, if any, complaints made to county officials regarding open burning.

“I think the DEC and state government are really overreaching here. This will cause problems in eastern Rensselaer County and other rural areas and will prove to be more trouble than it is worth,” said Goodermote.

The DEC directive would change the current regulation which prohibits open burning in all towns with a population greater than 20,000. Under the proposed change, no municipalities would be exempted. The proposed change would affect every municipality in Rensselaer County, which has a population of close to 50,000.

Goodermote and Brownell said they believe communities with populations under 20,000 should still be allowed to determine whether open burning legislation is necessary. Goodermote and Brownell represent Hoosick, Petersburgh, Grafton, Berlin and Stephentown, with populations ranging from 6,800 to 2,000.

“Many rural communities are small enough that local officials can deal with a problem if it occurs, and if there is a persistent problem, propose legislation to address the issue. This seems to be unnecessary legislation, and potentially costly for the state to enforce,” said Brownell.

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