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Memorandum <br />To: John Link, County Manager <br />From: Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Management Director <br />Subject: Burning prohibition section of the Regulated Recyclable Material Ordinance <br />Date: January 24, 2001 <br />This memorandum describes some of the issues involved in developing a workable section of <br />the Regulated Recyclable Material Ordinance regarding burning. Specifically, it responds to <br />questions raised at the November 1, 2000 Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) <br />meeting. <br />Background <br />17 <br />The draft of the Regulated Recyclable Material Ordinance being developed by staff and being <br />considered by the BOCC would prohibit "dispos(ing) of solid waste through open burning in <br />Orange County." <br />• "Solid Waste" is defined to include "Regulated Recyclable Material as designated in this <br />ordinance" <br />• "Regulated Recyclable Material" includes "non-reusable wood waste" <br />• "Non-reusable wood waste" means "trees or vegetation cleared from land for any purpose <br />other than sale as a commodity or chipping for use on site or for sale." <br />As the ordinance is now drafted, several agricultural, silvicultural, and horticultural practices in <br />widespread use would fall in the category of prohibited activities. <br />Forestry and Agriculture accounted for $39 million in revenue in Orange County in 1998. Of <br />that, pasture-requiring livestock products accounted for $11.8 million, field crops $7.3 million, <br />and forestry and lumber products $4.4 million, (Source: Orange County Cooperative Extension) <br />Solid Waste Department staff enlisted the assistance of the County Attorney's Office, the NC <br />Cooperative Extension Service, the NC Forest Service, the Orange County Fire Marshall's <br />office, and several private, Registered (NC) Foresters in the development of this report. <br />Discussion <br />1. Present Burning Practices <br />Landclearing Burning <br />Burning of landclearing debris unrelated to forest management, including debris from a <br />timbered tract after harvest but not preparatory for another planting, is a common practice in <br />Orange County. Acreage figures are difficult to estimate because the burn permit application <br />indicates the area to be burned as the area occupied by machine piled vegetative debris. This <br />area is obviously much less than the area of the entire cleared tract. About 75% of the permits <br />issued by the Forest Service are for landclearing debris. About 75% of those involve land