Allegany County, MD Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Chapter 400's nuisance definition addresses open burning twice. Subsection C makes it a nuisance to conduct open burning of unapproved materials, or to burn anything at all without a valid permit issued by the Allegany County Health Department, so the permit itself, not just the material burned, is the threshold question for anyone burning brush, debris or yard waste outdoors. Subsection D(2) separately reaches burning that is otherwise permitted but still causes harm: burning refuse, sawdust, wood, leaves or stumps in a manner that produces dense smoke, noxious fumes, ashes, soot or gases injurious to the health, comfort or repose of a person or neighborhood is a nuisance in its own right, though the code carves out normal startup emissions from a properly installed, maintained and operated wood-burning or incineration device.

Because both clauses sit in the same definitions section, the Director of Environmental Health (the chapter's local enforcement official) can cite either an unpermitted burn or a permitted burn that is poorly managed, and a burn that does both, no permit and heavy smoke, supports a single nuisance finding under both clauses. The Health Department's permit requirement applies countywide in the unincorporated area and in Barton and Lonaconing under § 400-1's stated coverage, and the same progressive enforcement track in §§ 400-4 through 400-7 (correction letter, abatement order, administrative penalty, civil citation) applies to a burning violation exactly as it does to any other nuisance under this chapter.