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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXIII Issue IX March 15, 2016 OPEN BURN cont. from page 1 Division of Air Quality (DAQ) prior to burning. (This applies to Open Burning, not Agricultural Burning.) Property does not meet requirements obeing an agricultural property and burning should have been done under Open Burning rules. General Requirements to Obtain a Burn Permit in Weber County - DAQ rules governing open burning can be found in the Utah Administrative Code (UAC) under R307-202. This rule allows open burning of clippings, bushes, plants, and prunings from trees incident to property and residential cleanup activities, provided that the following conditions have been met: 1. Once a burn permit is obtained, the clearing index must be above 500 in order to burn legally. 2. The pile to burn must be at least 50 feet from any buildings or other combustibles. 3. The burning material must be of vegetation type; for example, tree limbs, leaves, and grass clippings. 4. Tires, paint, conventional lumber or any material that is manufactured is NOT allowed to be burned. 5. Fire must be accompanied at all times and must be out by dark. You must have a means to extinguish the fire such as a garden hose, shovel, extinguisher, etc. 6. Agricultural burning does not need to obtain a burn permit (visit our website to see if you qualify for agricultural burning). It is strongly encouraged that the agricultural community observes the clearing index requirements established by the Utah Division of Air Quality. 7. The Fire Department does reserve the right to extinguish any fire if it becomes a public nuisance. Permit Application - Applicants statewide are required to complete the open burn permit application prior to igniting an open burn. After the application process is completed, a copy of the application is sent electronically to the Weber Fire District. There are three ways to complete the open burn permit application, as noted below. Internet - Visit www.airquality.utah.gov/ aqp/OpenBurning/form/index.php and complete the form online, which is the easiest and fastest way to complete the open burn permit application. Telephone - An applicant may call the DAQ at 801-536-4000 for a copy of the form. Mail - A hard copy of the application may be completed and submitted by mail to DAQ for electronic processing. Options for Disposing of Prohibited Materials - Most non-hazardous and general household waste, including plastic, Styrofoam, wood items, tires, construction waste, animal hides (beef, deer, elk, and moose) etc., can be placed in garbage containers or taken directly to the Weber County Transfer Station. Weber County will also accept hazardous liquids such as used motor oil and other petroleum products, oil-based paints, strong acids, and strong bases and pesticides, but should be safely stored in a proper container prior to transport. From an Air-Quality Standpoint - It’s best to burn a hot fire with good air circulation. Burning on a foggy or rainy day or on a day with an inversion is a bad idea because the smoke will not readily disperse. Dry materials burn better and cleaner than damp or green materials, so waiting for a pile to dry out is better than burning it prematurely. Grass and leaves do not need to be burned and can smolder for days without adequate oxygen. Also, fires should be on or above ground, and not in deep pits or barrels. Fire pits are unnecessary and tend to promote slow, smoldering fires that produce too much smoke. Burn barrels, while once common, are illegal and, just like deep pits, tend to produce slowburning, smoky fires. Many items that can be legally burned can also be disposed of or utilized without affecting air quality. Trees and branches can be chip/ shredded and used as mulch for gardens or as a natural surface for garden pathways, playgrounds, and driveways. Leaves can also be used as mulch or composted by mixing with animal manure or fresh grass clippings. Rather than raking and bagging leaves, try leaving them in place and merely mowing the lawn without using the grass catcher. You may have to make an extra pass, but the result will be a leaf-free lawn with no heavy bags to lug around and dispose of. The finely shredded leaves will add nutrients and organic matter to your lawn. As air quality and droughts become bigger issues in Weber County, we all need to look for ways to reduce burning and increase mulching. Recycling and reusing materials that we’ve traditionally burned or thrown away can save us money and help us all breathe a little easier. Weber County residents can contact Weber Fire District at 801-782-3580 or their local fire agency for more information. Subscriptions available for out-of-area residents at $18 annually. Send payment with mailing address to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130, EDEN UT 84310 MAXIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS Free, No Obligation Report required to get 55 miles per gallon. Tier III will phase into Utah between 2017-2025, but some states like California have adopted the new standard in 2013. Area Sources - Homes & Buildings - The next largest contributor to poor air quality in Utah is from area sources (32%). These are places like your home, small businesses or small manufacturing companies. Home energy use produces twice as much pollution as a single car in one year; thus, making your home more energy-efficient helps to reduce air pollution. The average house is responsible for twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the average car, annually (22,000 lbs. vs. 11,500 lbs.). That’s because every time you flip on a light switch, run your dishwasher, or turn on your air conditioner or furnace, you use energy, which means more pollution from power plants. The more energy we save at home, the more we can help protect the environment, including the air we breathe. Wood burning, in particular, contributes an inordinate amount of pollution. In 2013, Kerry Kelly and Dr. Robert Paine of the Program for Air Quality, Health and Society noted that homes heated with wood contribute 3,000 times more polluting than heating your home using natural gas. P o i n t Sources Industrial - The remainder of the pollution (11%) we experience in Utah is formed in Point Sources. These include things like medical waste incinerators, large scale mines, and refineries. While these sources do contribute to our poor air, they are contained in specific areas and work with state and federal regulators to maintain acceptable levels of emissions. Creation of Secondary Pollution - The majority of Utah’s PM2.5 is called secondary aerosol, meaning that it is not emitted directly as a particle, but is produced when gasses such as SO2 and NOx, react with other gasses in the atmosphere, such as ammonia, to become tiny particles. Scientists have discovered that as small particulates hover in the air, further chemical reactions occur. It’s believed that as much as 70% of the PM2.5 particulates in the air are not emitted from an original source but created by a chemical reaction. Essentially, during an inversion, the chemicals in the air combine and increase the number of harmful particulates over time. Wintertime temperature inversions not only provide ideal conditions for the creation of secondary aerosols, they also act to trap air in valleys long enough for concentrations of PM2.5 to build up to levels that can be unhealthy. Nonattainment Areas in the U.S. Relatively, there are only a few places within the U.S. that nonattainment of standards of air quality are found; along the Wasatch Front is one of these places. Nonattainment means that that there are counties that are not able to attain acceptable levels of PM2.5, according to standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2006. AIR WE BREATHE cont. from page 1 self about pollution in Utah. Pollution Sources - The accompanying chart is based on the Utah Dept. of Air Quality 2008 emissions inventory report for the four urbanized Wasatch Front counties combined: Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber. These percentages represent averages from a typical winter weekday. Mobile sources (57%) include cars, trucks, planes, lawnmowers, etc. Building sources (32%) include pollutants from homes, small businesses, restaurants, aerosol products, etc.; and point sources (11%) pollutants that come from industries such as mines, refineries, large industry, etc. Vehicles - In Utah, mobile sources are the primary contributor to our poor air quality, contributing 57% of the overall PM2.5. PM2.5 means fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in width. These particles are 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair, or about half the size of a red blood cell. While mobile sources include things like lawnmowers and air traffic, the lion’s share of pollution comes from our cars and trucks. You can make a difference by using public transportation and carpooling. But, having a basic understanding of the technology present in your car can also help you to make informed decisions about your driving habits. Cold Starts Catalytic Converter Cold starts create the vast majority of vehicle pollution. When you start your vehicle, your catalytic converter is cold and it’s not working. It takes a few minutes of operation to warm up to the point that the catalytic converter is removing the emissions. It’s that first couple of minutes when 60 percent of the emissions on a trip are created. Chaining your trips together not only makes sense but it pollutes less. What you may not know is that your car’s catalytic converter reduces your tailpipe emissions. In order for catalytic converters to run properly they need to be warm. The fewer times you start your car after the engine cools down, the better your catalytic converter works. Catalytic Converters were first installed in cars in 1975 and have since become standard equipment. They filter the gas from the combustion in your engine before it leaves as exhaust. When the gas passes through a standard 3-way converter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons are turned into nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. Vehicle Improvements - While cars emit less pollution than 40 years ago, thanks to better technology and cleaner fuel, there are more cars on the road and we drive more miles on average. Therefore, cars and trucks are still a major source of pollution in Utah and worldwide. Vehicle Tiers - Tier III emission standards from the EPA - Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency released a series of new regulations aimed at lowering the sulfur content of gasoline, while at the same time, raising the Note: Information from KUED7’s web site at miles per gallon capability of most vehicles. In the so-called Tier III standard, cars will be <www.kued.org/whatson/the-air-we-breathe> Happy St. Patrick’s Day 801-745-4000 2555 WOLF CREEK DR. 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