Saline County Open Burning Laws Change

Open burning regulations in Saline County are changing. The Saline County Commission voted 5-0 on Tuesday to approve a resolution which establishes changes to the open burning regulations and burn permits which will become effective January 1st, 2018.

For the last year, Saline County has been working with the Rural Fire Districts and Land Owners to update and make appropriate changes to the open burning regulations in Saline County. Citizen involvement has been an integral part in the development of the now approved resolution.

While the new regulations won’t go into effect until January 1st, 2018; there are some changes that citizens need to be aware of:

1. Prior to burning, anyone conducting open burning operations, to include household trash must obtain a permit to conduct open burning in the unincorporated areas of Saline County.
2. Burn permits issued by Saline County Emergency Management, the Rural Fire Chief, or obtained via online process through www.saline.org will now be valid for the lifetime of the permit holder. There is no charge for burn permits.
3. The permittee or their designee shall call Saline County Emergency Management or the Law Enforcement Communications Center no more than 1 hour before commencing the burn.
4. Due to the volume of household trash that is burned, those who have obtained a permit and only burn household trash, are not required to call in each time they burn. However; there are rules that the permittee must follow for burning household trash in an approved container.
5. Agriculture, non-agriculture, and recreational fires have been better defined in the regulations.
6. A person who is convicted of violating the open burning regulations as set forth will have their permit revoked for a period of 1 year. In order to reinstate their burn permit, they must produce a certificate of completion of a Prescribed Fire School or Wildland Fire Class.

A copy of the Resolution and other supporting documents from this process can be found on the Saline County website .

Questions can be directed to the Emergency Management office by calling 785-826-6511.