Tree waste rules in New York: open burning of brush under Part 215

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the Department of Environmental Conservation open burning page, the text of section 215.3 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations as published by the Cornell Legal Information Institute, and the department's burning permit page.

What Part 215 allows for brush

According to the department's open burning page, open burning is regulated under Part 215 and that towns, villages, cities and counties can pass stricter ordinances. It says the page's fires must consist only of charcoal or dry, clean, untreated and unpainted wood.

For brush, the page says downed limbs and branches under 6 inches in diameter and 8 feet in length, including branches with attached leaves, can be burned on site in towns with a total population under 20,000. It says burning brush is prohibited from March 16 through May 14 because of the wildfire risk. The section 215.3 text sets the same limits as May 15 through March 15, and says burning is not allowed within villages.

What the page lists as prohibited

Burning refuse, trash, tires and other solid waste, including in a burn barrel.
Burning loose leaves or leaf piles.
Burning pressure treated or chemically treated wood, painted or stained wood, and composite wood such as plywood and particle board. Heat treated or kiln dried firewood is listed as allowed.
Burning large piles of brush collected from residents at town or county transfer sites. The page says individual landowners in small towns may burn their own brush on site, and that limbs and branches generated at a transfer site may be burned on site under the same limits.

The page also says burning trash is illegal statewide in all cases, and that Part 219 bars burning trash in wood stoves, fireplaces and outdoor wood boilers.

Agricultural land

Open fires are listed as allowed on contiguous agricultural land larger than 5 acres that is actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural activities. The page says these fires are not subject to the annual brush burning ban, that only organic agricultural waste grown or generated on site, including brush and wood from clearing fields, may be burned, and that the material must be capable of burning fully within 24 hours.

Permits in the Adirondack and Catskill parks

The open burning page says Part 215 does not require a permit, but the Environmental Conservation Law requires a department burning permit to burn brush under the exception in a designated fire town located wholly or partly inside the Adirondack or Catskill parks. It lists the towns by county, with all towns in Essex and Hamilton counties. The burning permit page says permits are generally issued by authorized issuing agents or forest rangers, that town clerks or fire chiefs may issue the required permit or require an additional one, and it mentions no fee. It gives the Division of Forest Protection number as 518-402-8839.

Other notes from the page

The open burning page links the department's fire danger map and says to check it before planning a fire. It says burning on site of invasive species fires needs case-by-case approval from a department regional office. Reports of polluters go to the hotline named on the page, and the Division of Air Resources is the page contact.

For other places see the table on tree waste and chip rules. Wisconsin has its own page: tree waste rules in Wisconsin.