Citizens attending Tuesday’s Lovell Town Council meeting urged the town to keep battling for those who want to clean their yards through the open burning process.
The Town of Lovell has been prohibited from holding its fall open burning period this year because of the Wyoming DEQ Air Quality Division, reacting to some complaints lodged last spring, denied the necessary setback waiver, which, when granted, allows people to burn within 500 feet of a structure.
Jim Szlemko, as he did in a letter to the editor last week, asked the town to repeal its opening burning ordinance and adopt a new ordinance “in line with the majority” of people in town. Szlemko’s suggested ordinance would allow controlled, open burning year-round as long as fires are contained in a fire pit near a garden hose and are attended by a person.
Ideally, he said, the ordinance would also build responsibility for the fire into the law and require a $10 to $20 fee for a burning permit.
Szlemko said more signatures are being gathered for a petition requesting that the DEQ – via Air Quality Divison Manager David Finley -- allow the setback waiver, but Szlemko said the town and/or citizens should appeal to a higher official – Gov. Dave Freudenthal – if the DEQ does not grant the waiver.
“It’s not fair for an unelected official to have that much power over the people of the town,” Szlemko said, noting that Rep. Elaine Harvey was planning to meet with Finley on Monday.
Town Attorney Sandee Kitchen said the town would still have to have a setback waiver even if the council passed a new ordinance.
“We can’t make legal what is illegal in state statutes,” she said.
Szlemko said other towns allow burning all the time and said one just needs to drive through Byron, Cowley, Basin or Greybull to see open burning.
“If they can do it, why can’t we?” he asked.
 He added that pollen in the spring “probably causes more respiratory ailments” than open burning does, and he said several people who signed the petition have lung ailments.
“It’s not right that two or three people can deny everyone else’s opportunity to burn leaves, Szlemko said.
“I work very hard at keeping my yard up,” Aletha Durtsche said, noting that she has hauled 72 38-gallon barrels of leaves from her yard and neighbors’ yards packed as tight as they can be to an area at a friend’s home to be burned.
She has also hauled 25 garbage bags of leaves from a neighbor to be burned.
“I’m worn out and my yard isn’t finished yet,” Durtsche said. “I’ve wasted many hours and I ache all over. I’m tired, and it’s a lot of gas and a lot of wear and tear on me. We’ll have weeds all over the place next spring because there’s wasn’t fire to kill the seeds.”
Mayor Bruce Morrison said he spoke with Finley last week and said the Air Quality Division chief talked about allowing one weekend for burning yet this fall, but he said the waiver hasn’t come.
Even two weeks can be tough to find enough time to burn, Durtsche said, with people’s jobs, travel, illness or the weather to consider, and she said many people won’t burn on a Sunday.”
Szlemko noted that organic material is not toxic and fumes are not harmful to breathe, but other common substances are harmful.
Grant noted that one of the problems with the DEQ regulations is that there are no guidelines or standards as to when a setback waiver can be denied.
“It’s completely up to David Finley, whatever he thinks personally,” he said.
Durtsche and Szlemko asked the town to fight for citizen rights.
“We’re telling you what we want and are asking if you, as our representatives, can forward the suggestions to them,” Durtsche said.
“We’ll take the information and I’ll talk to him (Finley),” Morrison said. “Maybe burning all year round would be better than concentrating it.”