A. 1. The Department of Environmental Quality shall not require the use of an air curtain incinerator for fires purposely set for land clearing operations except in counties or areas within a county that:
2. For the purposes of this section, "air curtain incinerator" means an incineration unit, operating by forcefully projecting a curtain of air across an open integrated combustion chamber or open pit or trench, in which combustion occurs.
B. The Department shall not require the use of an air curtain incinerator for fires purposely set for the burning of clean wood waste or yard brush except in counties or areas within a county that:
1. Are or have been designated nonattainment for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) or where the Department-certified ambient air quality monitoring data documents a violation of primary NAAQS prior to such determination; or
2. Have a population of greater than five hundred thousand (500,000) people according to the latest Federal Decennial Census.
C. The Department may promulgate rules to limit accumulation of clean wood waste or yard brush.
D. The burning of clean wood waste or yard brush shall not create a public nuisance.
E. The Department shall promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this section.
Added by Laws 2019, c. 230, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019. Amended by Laws 2021, c. 399, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2021.