Owners Burn Parts of Dilapidated W.Va. Buildings

Feb. 02--At least two property owners have resorted to burning portions of dilapidated structures identified for demolition by Fayette County's beautification program, according to county officials.

The alleged acts are illegal, but so far state and local law enforcement haven't issued any citations or fines.

Beautification Program director Angela Gerald says several structures slated for demolition caught fire while vacant, but two others are believed to have been burned intentionally by property owners for disposal purposes.

State air quality regulations generally prohibit open burning, with the exception of vegetation. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enforces those regulations. Records show a DEP inspector made four separate visits to one of the structures last September, but did not issue any violations or fines.

It's unclear whether local law enforcement has the power to issue a ticket in such situations. Fayetteville Fire Chief John Vincent says his department notifies the DEP of illegal burns. If the fire is within a city's limits and the city has an ordinance prohibiting the act, he says the local police department could issue a citation.

In these cases, the burned dilapidated properties were outside city limits. Vincent says he is not sure if the sheriff's department has any enforcement power on burns outside city limits.

Gerald says she believes the sheriff's department has the authority to act, and isn't sure why the law hasn't been enforced. But Sheriff's Capt. Jim Sizemore wasn't sure what part of state code his department would be enforcing. County Prosecuting Attorney Carl Harris says he will be researching the question.

The county's dilapidated building and beautification ordinance spells out how the program works, but it doesn't say anything about how the buildings are supposed to come down.

Concerned local resident Anna Withrow spoke on the issue at the Fayette County Commission meeting last week.

"This is against the law, and there's no one doing anything about it," says Withrow, who lives near one of the properties on Gatewood Road. "When someone burns things they shouldn't, it puts a lot of things into the air that are dangerous to breathe."

She says she had to wear a surgical mask on her property for a week while the building materials smoldered.

John Vernon said he decided not to pump water onto the already smoldering fire on Gatewood because he feared it would take an enormous amount of water and produce runoff that might run into a neighbors' yard.

The property owner, John Bragg, says he burned some of the house's structure after removing what he considered harmful material. He says once the DEP told him he couldn't burn processed wood material, he stopped.

The other property reportedly burned for disposal purposes is on Edmond-Lansing Road.

The DEP's Division of Air Quality essentially gives people three chances. Wanda Spradling at the DEP says the agency's protocol is to issue a warning, a notice of violation and then a fine if the illegal burning continues. But response times can be slower than local law enforcement because of the distances inspectors must travel.

The Fayette County Dilapidated Building and Beautification Committee was formed by the county commission to administer a $400,000 loan from the housing development fund to bring down dilapidated houses in the county.

If a property owner does not agree to take down the structure themselves, or can't be reached, the county pays for demolition and places a lien on the property in that amount. If the lien isn't paid, the property will eventually go to sale at public auction so the county can recoup costs.

The county is currently taking down its first three houses under the program, and Gerald says it has been a learning process. They hope to take down an additional 50 houses in the next five years. Sixteen property owners have so far agreed to bring down the houses on their own. Gerald estimates there are between 130-150 vacant structures in the county.

Gerald reports that several years ago, contractors in Fayette County said they would charge between $5,000 and $8,000 to take down a house and haul away the refuse. Asbestos abatement is often an additional expense.

The only subsidization of demolition costs for property owners is a reduced tipping fee at the Raleigh County landfill. Gerald says the committee tried to find programs that would help people cover the cost, without much luck. The West Virginia Housing and Development Office has a loan program to help fund remodeling, but Gerald says most of the structures are so far gone that they wouldn't be eligible.

Vernon says property owners can ask that their structure be burned for a fire department training exercise. There is an application process and certain permits must be acquired for such situations.

During business hours, residents can report illegal burns by calling Wanda Spradling at the DEP at 304-926-0499, extension 1229. On weekends and evenings, the spill line can take reports at 1-800-642-3074. Or residents can simply call 911.

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Copyright 2012 - The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.