Outdoor burning rules in Allentown, PA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Allentown lies inside the state-designated 'Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton air basin' (25 Pa. Code 121.1), where 25 Pa. Code 129.14 prohibits open burning of material outright. Narrow exceptions exist for cooking food and for fires set solely for recreational or ceremonial purposes, but burning trash, leaves, and yard waste is unlawful. The City layers its own permit-and-inspection requirements on top of the state ban.
Outdoor burning in Allentown is tightly restricted because the city sits within a state air basin. The Pennsylvania DEP open-burning regulation, 25 Pa. Code 129.14, provides that 'no person may permit the open burning of material in an air basin.' Attachment A to the PADEP model open-burning ordinance (which mirrors 25 Pa. Code 121.1) expressly lists the 'Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton air basin,' naming the 'City of Allentown' among its political subdivisions. Inside an air basin the general allowances for burning domestic refuse and yard waste do NOT apply; only the cooking and recreational/ceremonial exceptions survive: 'A fire set solely for cooking food' and 'A fire set solely for recreational or ceremonial purposes.' Clearing-and-grubbing waste may only be burned in an air basin with an air curtain destructor approved by the DEP Regional Air Quality Program office. Burning garbage, leaves, grass clippings, or other yard waste in Allentown is therefore prohibited. On top of the state ban, the City of Allentown Fire Prevention Office requires permits and pre-lighting inspections for any campfire, bonfire, or recreational fire.
Open burning of prohibited material within the Allentown air basin violates 25 Pa. Code 129.14 and the Air Pollution Control Act (35 P.S. 4001 et seq.); under the PADEP model ordinance a violation is a summary offense punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,500 per offense, with civil penalties up to $25,000 per day. The City may also order corrective action and recover abatement costs.
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