(a)

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 11-4-1003

  • Certified prescribed burn manager: means a person who successfully completes the prescribed burner certification program approved by the division of forestry. See Tennessee Code 11-4-1002
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Division: means the division of forestry within the department. See Tennessee Code 11-4-103
  • Forestry: means the professional application of scientific principles in the management and use of forest land. See Tennessee Code 11-4-103
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Prescribed burning: means the controlled application of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuels for ecological, silvicultural and wildlife management purposes under specified environmental conditions and the following of appropriate precautionary measures which cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes the planned land management objectives. See Tennessee Code 11-4-1002
  • Prescription: means a written plan for starting and controlling a prescribed burn to accomplish ecological, silvicultural and wildlife management objectives. See Tennessee Code 11-4-1002
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) No property owner, person, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, natural person, agent of the owner, or any other entity who conducts a prescribed burn pursuant to the requirements of this part shall be liable for damage, injury or loss caused by fire unless negligence is proven.
(2) No property owner, person, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, natural person, agent of the owner, or any other entity who conducts a prescribed burn pursuant to the requirements of this part shall be liable for damage, injury or loss caused by the resulting smoke unless negligence is proven.
(b) Prescribed burning conducted in accordance with this section shall:

(1) Require that a written prescription be prepared, signed, and followed by the certified prescribed burn manager;
(2) Require that the certified prescribed burn manager maintain the prescription in the manager’s records, and possess the prescription on site during all prescribed burnings;
(3) Occur only when at least one (1) certified prescribed burn manager is on site and supervising burns while they are being conducted;
(4) Require that the certified prescribed burn manager supervising the burns being conducted is the person who directly observes and coordinates the lighting of the fire to initiate the burn process;
(5) Require a burning permit be obtained from the division of forestry as required in § 39-14-306; and
(6) Be considered in the public interest and shall not constitute a public or private nuisance when conducted pursuant to state air pollution control statutes and rules applicable to prescribed burning.
(c) Certified prescribed burn managers shall take into account the variability of environmental conditions on site when preparing prescriptions, and shall include in each prescription a plan of action to address emergencies that could occur during prescribed burnings.
(d) The division of forestry is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this part, including, but not limited to, the certification of prescribed burn managers and guidelines for a prescribed burn prescription. All such rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 10 Contents