An
ongoing, unresolved smoke and odor nuisance problem
affects many people in
our Oak Grove, MN neighborhood. We are asking for enforcement
of nuisance ordinaces.
NOTE:
If the videos below are not working or say PRIVATE, it's because
they have been turned off on YouTube temporarily. We have recently
received online comments by "woodboiler enthusiasts" who
apparently feel the need to threaten physical harm in defense of
a home heating
appliance.(!) If you would like to see the videos, we want you to see
them, too. Click to go to the index page, then click on CONTACT
US. Send us an e-mail
and
we
will be
happy to turn the videos back on so you may view them. We apologize for
the inconvenience, but after our 4th year of this problem, we are
no longer surprised by the attitude of people who show such little regard
for the health or livibility of others.
January
29, 2010 SSE winds, 5-10mph
Along with consultation
of professionals in the industry, an authorized
furnace service and repair facility completed repairs prior to reinstallation
in October
2009. This has completely changed the output and should take care of
the problem, according to someone who knows the owners of the heating
device.
We put together this web site because we thought
it was the best way to show Oak Grove, MN City Administration
and Council the nuisance and health issues we've been dealing
with on a regular
basis since 2006. This way you
can see the images, read the stories, and look at some of the
source
material
which
supports our complaint.
As you look at each of the videos and read the stories on this web site, please
ask yourself:
-Regardless of the source, is this an acceptable amount of smoke and odor to
create every day and night of the year in a residential neighborhood?
- Is the smoke and odor something I could live with every day and night if
it were being ejected onto MY property?
- Would I let my children or other family members go outside and spend any
length of time in this smoke?
-
Is it possible this volume of smoke and odor could reach the windows
of nearby homes?
- Is it conceivable living with this amount of smoke and odor every day could
potentially affect the health of those living on nearby properties?
Be thankful YOU don't have to go home to face this tonight. We are on our
4TH YEAR of living with this, with no end in sight.
You may also view all the videos on a single page on YouTube. Click
here.
October
27, 2009
A few days before Halloween 2009, a sunny day in the low 50's. This
is the "typical exhaust" of a residential hot water heating
system, according to City officials, who said this type of wood
burning
is "common" in our city. It is now 3 YEARS since we first
brought this to the attention of Oak Grove City Administration
and elected City officials.
The tree line in the
photo is the property line of the smoke source. 100
percent of the smoke and smell is immediately being ejected off the
owner's
property,
so they don't have a problem with the smoke they create. We and
other properties are the owner's exhaust system. Note the smoke
is still OPAQUE as it passes over the far corner of the home, at least
100 feet from the source.
"We receive MANY complaints about outdoor wood boilers. Your
web site is a good illustration of the problem faced by those living
near
an
OWB and
I commend
your
documentation
of the problem." - Christian Norman, Pollution Control Specialist
for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). July 8, 2008
