If you light up a fire pit this winter, you might want to add some meat to avoid being slapped with a pollution notice. Photo: Josef Winkler.
As temperatures drop, it’s commonplace for fire pits to be rolled out and gatherings to enjoy an open flame.
However, what you might not know is that it’s technically illegal to do so, and some Canberrans are finding out the hard way.
One Facebook user, who elected to remain anonymous, took to social media to seek clarification from other fire pit enthusiasts after receiving a Notice of Reported Air Pollution from the ACT Environmental Protection Authority.
“Just got a Notice of Reported Air Pollution letter from the ACT Government telling me that someone has made a complaint about me having a fire in my backyard,” they said.
“The letter then continues to specify acceptable reasons to have a fire, which include: 1) a fire for cooking and 2) a fire for heating in a properly constructed fireplace or brazier, which is exactly what I was doing.”
The poster explained the situation, yet admitted they were still confused about exactly what they had done wrong to receive the letter.
“I was burning some wood to create some coals to cook over. I have a fire bowl that has a grill above to cook on. The letter states that further complaints may result in a visit from an EPA officer,” they said.
“I usually just cook on my gas Baby Q Weber, but I had my family over and wanted to cook a big snapper over some wood coals.
“What do I do? I am now reluctant to ever use my fire pit again. I see many homes have these fire bowls in their backyard.”
For those who are unaware, using a fire pit in the ACT breaches the territory’s Environment Protection Regulations 2005 section 9, which states that open-air fires are prohibited except in certain circumstances.
While people who are found to have lit an open fire may be slapped with a notice, there are some ways around it.
An ACT Government spokesperson said that, under the same Environment Protection regulations, fires used for cooking or heating are protected.
“It is an offence to light an outdoor fire; there are exemptions to this under Schedule 1, part 1.2 of the Regulation, which allow the fire to be used for cooking or heating purposes, in a container that will contain the fire,” they said.
“In addition, burning unseasoned material (firewood with moisture) is an offence under the Environment Protection Regulation 2005, s. 10.
“The General Environmental Duty (GED) under the Environment Protection Act 1997 also applies, so a person must do everything reasonable and practical to minimise environmental harm or environmental nuisance, i.e. minimise smoke and odour impacting neighbours.
“The Emergencies Act also applies when a fire ban is in place, i.e. fires are not permitted.”
For more information, read the Environment Protection Authority’s Air Pollution on domestic premises fact sheet.
The ACT Government’s regulations are available here.
