98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB1417

 

Introduced 2/6/2013, by Sen. Michael Noland

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
70 ILCS 705/8.20

    Amends the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that the fire chief of any fire protection district may fix, charge, and collect fees associated with the fire department extinguishing an open burning that is prohibited due to atmospheric or other conditions. The fee may be imposed against any person causing or engaging in the prohibited activity, or the owner of the property on which the open burning took place. The total amount collected to compensate the fire protection district shall be assessed in accordance with both the rates provided in another Section of the Act and the fire chief's determination of the cost of personnel and equipment utilized to extinguish the fire. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
5changing Section 8.20 as follows:
 
6    (70 ILCS 705/8.20)
7    Sec. 8.20. Open burning.
8    (a) The board of trustees of any fire protection district
9incorporated under this Act may, by ordinance, require that the
10district be notified of open burning within the district before
11it takes place, but shall not require that a permit for open
12burning be obtained from the district. The district may not
13enforce an ordinance adopted under this Section within the
14corporate limits of a county with a population of 3,000,000 or
15more or a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more.
16    (b) The fire department of a fire protection district may
17extinguish any open burn that presents a clear, present, and
18unreasonable danger to persons or adjacent property or that
19presents an unreasonable risk because of wind, weather, or the
20types of combustibles. The unreasonable risk may include the
21height of flames, windblown embers, the creation of hazardous
22fumes, or an unattended fire. Fire departments may not
23unreasonably interfere with permitted and legal open burning.

 

 

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1    (c) The fire protection district may provide that persons
2setting open burns on any agricultural land with an area of 50
3acres or more may voluntarily comply with the provisions of an
4ordinance adopted under this Section.
5    (d) The fire chief or any other designated officer of a
6fire department of any fire protection district incorporated
7under this Act may, with the authorization of the board of
8trustees of the fire protection district, prohibit open burning
9within the district on an emergency basis, for a limited period
10of time, if (i) the atmospheric conditions or other
11circumstances create an unreasonable risk of fire because of
12wind, weather, or the types of combustibles and (ii) the
13resources of the fire department are not sufficient to control
14and suppress a fire resulting from one or more of the
15conditions or circumstances described in clause (i) of this
16subsection. For the purposes of this subsection, "open burning"
17includes, but is not limited to, the burning of landscape
18waste, agricultural waste, household trash, and garbage.
19    (e) The fire chief or any other designated officer of a
20fire department of any fire protection district incorporated
21under this Act may fix, charge, and collect fees associated
22with the fire department extinguishing an open burning that is
23prohibited under subsection (d) of this Section. The fee may be
24imposed against any person causing or engaging in the
25prohibited activity, or the owner of the property on which the
26open burning took place. The total amount collected for

 

 

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1compensation of the fire protection district shall be assessed
2in accordance with both the rates provided in Section 11(f)(c)
3of this Act and the fire chief's determination of the cost of
4personnel and equipment utilized to extinguish the fire.
5    This Section does not authorize the open burning of any
6waste. The open burning of waste is subject to the restrictions
7and prohibitions of the Environmental Protection Act and the
8rules and regulations adopted under its authority.
9(Source: P.A. 97-488, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.