Aformer state trooper is facing a $10,760 fine for burning a house and other materials on his property, in violation of state air pollution regulations.
Stephen McGranaghan resigned from the Vermont State Police following the December incident on his property in Stannard.
State police spokesperson Adam Silverman said police had not conducted an internal investigation of McGranaghan’s actions because he had voluntarily resigned his position.
The Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont State Police Fire Investigation Unit conducted a joint investigation in early December of a fire that had destroyed a derelict A-frame.
Investigators found remnants of vinyl siding, asphalt roofing, plywood, painted and treated wood and several tires, according to a news release issued on Wednesday.
McGranaghan has agreed to conduct a full cleanup of the burned materials. The fine is for violating Vermont Air Pollution Control Regulations and Solid Waste Management Rules.
Officials said he had obtained a permit to burn brush on the property, but not a building. Vermont state law requires a permit under air pollution control regulations.
The Burlington Free Press reported in December that a second trooper, Jason Haley, was at the scene of the fire, and was placed on paid leave.
Haley is still employed as a Vermont State Police trooper, Silverman said.
Burning plastics, rubber, metals and other non-natural materials can release toxic chemicals into the air, Kim Greenwood, director of the Environmental Compliance Division of the Vermont Department of Environmental Protection said.
“It transfers them from a solid form to a volatile form, which means people can breath them in,” Greenwood said.
The state’s environmental division has received 126 complaints of open fires in the last 12 months, Greenwood said. Of those complaints only two violations led to enforcement action. One was the McGranaghan case. Twenty cases were resolved via voluntary action, three citations were issued, and 41 complaints remain open, she said.
Greenwood said structure fires are uncommon – the complaints her department typically hears are of a burned barrel or pile of materials. She said there is still some work to do to educate Vermonters that burning waste is an illegal and detrimental practice.
“People don’t always recognize the environmental and health impacts this causes,” Greenwood said.
Vermonters can receive guidance on waste disposal through the department’s Solid Waste and Recycling Program, which provides direction on how to manage a variety of materials.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Former state trooper fined for illegal burning of derelict A-frame.
