HP0860
LD 1215
Session - 126th Maine Legislature
 
LR 1026
Item 1
Bill Tracking, Additional Documents Chamber Status

An Act To Protect Public Health by Regulating Excessive Wood Smoke as a Nuisance

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1562-A  is enacted to read:

§ 1562-A Emission from outdoor wood-burning device

1 Definitions.   As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
A "Densely populated area" means an area with a greater than average number of people for that area.
B "Nuisance" means the emission of air contaminants to the outdoor atmosphere of a quantity, characteristic or duration that may be injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property or that unreasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
C "Opacity" means the degree to which emissions other than water reduce the transmission of light and obscure the view of an object in the background.
2 Nuisance; fine.   A person who operates in a densely populated area an outdoor wood-burning device that produces visible emissions, measured as any opacity, totaling 12 minutes in any hour that cross onto land or buildings immediately adjacent to a dwelling or commercial building not owned by the owner of the outdoor wood-burning device creates a nuisance. Upon a person's receiving a notice from the local health officer that a complaint has been filed against the person, the person shall correct the nuisance. If the person fails to correct the nuisance within the time prescribed by the local health officer, a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $100 may be adjudged.

summary

This bill makes operating in a densely populated area an outdoor wood-burning device that produces visible emissions totaling 12 minutes in any hour that cross onto any land or buildings immediately adjacent to a dwelling or commercial building not owned by the owner of the outdoor wood-burning device a nuisance. A fine of not less than $10 nor more than $100 may be adjudged for creating the nuisance.


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