Metro

Logan Township plans to focus on enforcement of the municipal ordinance — reflective of state law — that prohibits open burning, except for recreational fires.

“I continue to come across fires every day,” township Manager Tim Brown told the supervisors at a recent board meeting. “I recommend that we start fining people.”

The township ordinance that prohibits open burning was passed in June 2024, localizing the Act 101 prohibition for municipalities of more than 10,000 residents or those with as many as half that number but with a density of 300 people per square mile against the burning of materials that those municipalities are obligated to recycle via curbside programs.

The state Department of Environmental Protection can enforce municipal compliance on the issue by withholding recycling grants, officials said.

“They hold us hostage with grants,” said Supervisors Chairman Jim Patterson.

Typically, when fires are found, a fire department is called, according to Brown.

Violations constitute a summary offense, punishable with a fine of up to $1,000, said solicitor Dan Stants.

Actually, the hope is for compliance, not fines, according to Brown and others.

“We’re not in the business of trying to fine residents,” Brown said.

An initial warning from the township codes officer, who may have been alerted by an after-action report from a fire department, would be appropriate, Patterson said.

“We’ll try to work with residents,” Patterson said. “Not be the Gestapo.”

The township picks up brush and leaves at curbside twice a year, and — through the Intermunicipal Relations Committee council of governments, which includes Altoona and Hollidaysburg — offers two compost facilities where residents can take brush and leaves, Patterson pointed out.

It might behoove the township to add a third annual brush and leaf collection, Patterson said.

The state’s recycling mandate for municipalities that qualify by population and/or density is an unfair burden, according to Patterson, reiterating an opinion he’s shared multiple times with the IRC.

It would be better if the recycling mandate applied to all the state’s municipalities, Patterson said.

Animal cruelty penalties mulled

Based on recent dog poisonings in the Fairview section of Altoona in which the perpetrator used bread soaked in antifreeze, Supervisor Joe Metzgar called for more stringent animal cruelty penalties.

“I want something severe, so word gets out,” Metzgar said. “Animals can’t speak for themselves, so we humans have to.”

The state adopted Libre’s Law (Act 10) in 2017, strengthening existing animal protections, according to online sources.

Those include an “aggravated cruelty” felony charge with penalties of up to seven years in jail and $15,000 in fines, according to the online sources.

It would make sense for the township to explore the potential for local changes, according to Patterson.

He had two dogs once who were deliberately poisoned, Patterson said.

It doesn’t cost anything to look, Metzgar said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.