Outdoor burning rules in Delaware County, 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.
Open burning is regulated by PA DEP air rules (25 Pa. Code §129.14) and by each municipality, not by Delaware County. Southeastern PA counties sit in an air basin where open burning of material is prohibited, with narrow exceptions like cooking and small recreational fires.
Under 25 Pa. Code §129.14(a), no person may permit the open burning of material in an air basin, which covers the Philadelphia-area counties including Delaware County. Limited exceptions allow fire-hazard prevention, disease or pest control (with Department approval), agricultural burning on farm premises, small recreational or ceremonial fires, and cooking. Municipalities layer their own open-burning ordinances on top; Upper Darby Township, for example, prohibits open burning and enforces burn bans. Always check your borough or township code and any active burn ban before lighting anything outdoors.
PA DEP enforces §129.14 with notices of violation and penalties; municipalities enforce local burning ordinances with citations and fines under their adopted fire code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Delaware County's outdoor burning rules stack up against other locations.
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