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State v. River Forest Development Co.

The Texas Clean Air Act's outdoor burning regulation exception to criminal sanction for fires when "no practical alternative to burning exists" is not unconstitutionally vague. Houston's 1st Court of Appeals, No. 01-09-00252-CR, 03-18-2010

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OPINION

After real estate developer Lawrence Siller burned piles of timber in connection with a landclearing operation, the State of Texas charged River Forest Development Company (River Forest) and Siller, its principal, by information with the misdemeanor offense of unlawful outdoor burning, a violation of section 111 of the Texas Administrative Code, issued pursuant to section 7.002 of the Texas Water Code. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 382.011 (Vernon 2004); TEX. WATER CODE ANN. § 7.002 (Vernon 2000); TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 111.201 (2004). River Forest and Siller moved to quash the indictments on the basis that the outdoor burning regulations promulgated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) pursuant to the Texas Clean Air Act were unconstitutionally vague. After a hearing, the trial court granted the motions to quash.

The State appeals this ruling, contending that the trial court erred in concluding that the regulation’s ban on outdoor burning except “when no practical alternative to burning exists” is not vague and complies with constitutional due process requirements. We reverse and remand the case for trial.

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