Moving firewood in Connecticut: origin documents, fines and quarantines

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the General Assembly's Public Act 15-92, and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) where the sources name it.

The state rule

The DEEP page on regulations on movement of firewood explains why all hardwood firewood, and not only ash, is regulated. It says emerald ash borer was detected in New Haven County in 2012 and is known in nearly all towns and all 8 counties. It names moving infested ash firewood as a major way the insect spreads. State regulations limit the movement of all hardwood firewood within Connecticut.

Whoever moves the wood within the state must carry a document stating its origin and destination. The page says this can be done with a Self-Issued Firewood Transportation Certificate, available as an online form or a PDF, and that some type of certification is required whenever firewood is moved. DEEP also publishes maps of the state and federal firewood regulations.

Wood crossing the state line

DEEP says state regulations are limited in what they can say about interstate movement. Hardwood firewood going into and out of the state is more generally governed by USDA APHIS, whose requirements the page calls very similar to the state's.

Fines in Public Act 15-92

The Act, titled An Act Concerning the Enforcement of Firewood Transport Restrictions by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is on the General Assembly site. It sets these fines.

Interfering with the director's duty, or violating a quarantine or regulation under the section: a fine of not less than US$500 and not more than US$2,500.
Transporting firewood in violation of the section or its regulations, if the firewood was intended for sale: a fine of US$200.
Transporting such firewood for personal use: a warning for a first offense, provided the person discloses the point of origin, and a fine of US$85 for any subsequent offense.

The quarantine history

The DEEP emerald ash borer page says a quarantine on infested ash material, including ash logs, hardwood firewood, yard waste and nursery stock, was in place starting in 2014. It says the quarantine was lifted in 2021 but the regulations on moving firewood remain in place. The page asks people to use locally sourced firewood, because the insect readily hitchhikes on firewood that can sit in a backyard for a year or more.

Spotted lanternfly

The DEEP spotted lanternfly page says CAES has issued a Quarantine Order with defined restricted areas. It says the purpose is to slow the spread within the state, and that the order lets Connecticut businesses obtain certification to transport regulated articles out of state.

For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood.