UGA burn ban costs residents

Thurston County and the cities in order to be compliant with state regulations have imposed a burn ban in all Urban Growth Areas . This means that there is no burning of twigs leaves, branches and any yard waste within these areas.

Citizens living outside these designated areas can freely burn their yard waste. This puts added financial burden on people living in these areas. We have to pay for the removal of our yard waste. I have many trees on our property and a lot of twigs and branches. This is another hidden tax for citizens living in theses areas.

The county and cities should allow citizens in the UGAs to take their yard waste to the county waste disposal facility for free. Citizens living in these areas would be allowed to dispose up to a certain weight of waste free each time.

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 5:01 PM with the headline "UGA burn ban costs residents."