OUR COMPLAINT:
My wife and I are experiencing an unwanted smoke and odor problem on our property and in our home in Oak Grove, MN. Wood smoke is not uncommon and sometimes unavoidable, and in Oak Grove, outdoor wood burning is allowed by permit. Outdoor fire rings are also common. In fact, we have burned trees, branches, and brush on many occasions over the last dozen years we have lived on our property. We also have used our outdoor fire ring many times. However, what we are experiencing is is different from all other wood burning methods we have experienced.

The smoke and odor are not intermittent, but RECURRING and CONTINUOUS since at least winter 2006 (and according to the City much earlier), and create an ongoing nuisance at any given time and any given day of the year in all weather conditions. This goes on 24/7 and causes a regular loss of enjoyment and reasonable use of our property and home.

The smoke and odor affects both the outdoor areas on our property as well as the inside of our home. We are unable to open our windows because the odor from the smoke can enter our home at any time. Even with windows closed, the odor is often heavy enough to seep through a cracks in windows and doors.

A majority of evenings in our neighborhood, there is little or no wind. This often lasts until morning. The smoke and odor will accumulate during evening hours, forming heavy concentrations which can be smelled for several acres across multiple properties.The smoke and/or odor only clears out when the winds pick back up. During times when the wind does not clear the smoke and odor away, more smoke is continually added on top of more smoke. It accumulates around our home, until the density is far beyond common sense levels and uncomfortable to breathe, even for short periods. On foggy days the smoke will mix with the fog and hang in the low lying areas on our property, which includes our house.

Unlike a typical intermittent, seasonal, or permit-issued outdoor burn, the volume of smoke is much much larger and concentrated, often visually 100% opaque for one hundred feet, two hundred feet or further from the source. The area affected by the smoke sometimes encompasses one, two, three or more acres. The smoke has often resembled the smoke from a house fire or field fire. The smoke has been heavy enough to block out the sunset many evenings. And unlike all other methods of wood burning, THIS BURNING DOES NOT STOP. These conditions repeat over and over and over.

The smoke is a visual representation of the real problem-- the ODOR. Mixed in with the highly concentrated wood smoke smell is a thick, metallic, incineration odor, much stronger than a typical wood burning smell. It's not something you notice and then can just ignore. Often it is overwhelming for distances as far away as several hundred yards from the source, and if there is no wind, the thick concentration will permeate the air for hours or longer. If what we were smelling was simply a common wood burning smell, such as from a fireplace or indoor wood stove, it's doubtful we would have given it much more than a passing mention. We are surrounded by homes with fireplaces and wood stoves, after all and we've lived with those for 13 years without a problem. However, we understand it is difficult for anyone to appreciate how concentrated it is and how it affects the simple act of breathing unless they experience living in direct proximity to this wood fired water heater for a period of time. This is not an exaggeration. Our neighbors report the same noxious odor.

For our part, we avoid going outside when we are downwind or the winds are calm. We try to get our windows closed as quickly as possible when the wind shifts direction. We shut off or avoid using our air exchanger if the winds are calm or out of the SW. However, we are taking extreme measures to counteract extreme wood burning methods, and we are unable to avoid the smoke and odor every time. In addition, smoke in any form is a known trigger for certain health issues, including asthma, which my wife has. In our case, the smoke has triggered dozens of painful asthma attacks in her without warning, causing severe physical and emotional distress. The attacks have happened both outside and inside our home. The number of asthma attacks is more than we can count. The smell has caused me many headaches which are comparable to "chemical" headaches from breathing hazardous chemicals. It causes severe painful headaches, often lasting 2-3 days. The number of headaches are so numerous the past 3 years I stopped counting. We are forced to wear particle masks on bad days, although a fire department employee will tell you the only effective protection against smoke is a sealed oxygen respirator system.

We are also experiencing a number of other issues, including excessive mold growth. Our home produces excess moisture in winter. The home's mechanical systems include an air exchanger to mitigate the moisture. We can not use it because the system will draw smoke into our home. As a result, our doors and windows sweat heavily during the heating season. We are forced to operate our air conditioner on days when others can cool their homes for free by opening windows. Anything left outdoors will absorb smoke smell. We have even received comments from others how our clothes smell smokey. We live over 300 feet from the source of the smoke!

Unlike all other types of burning, the smoke and odor are so expansive as to be unavoidable. In comparison, if someone is burning in a fireplace or wood stove, the intermittent or seasonal use makes the smoke predictable, and we have the option to avoid it if we wish. With outdoor burns and fire rings, if we find the smoke a bother, we have the choice of stepping to one side to get out of the stream of smoke. We also know it is intermittent and temporary. However, in our case, emissions can swell to gigantic proportions and stream across our entire property in moments. The smoke and odor are literally too fast and too massive to outrun. On days where the smoke is constant and heavy, the only way to avoid the smoke is to physically leave our property and go somewhere else. This is a real loss of our property rights. This is only an overview of the negative effects we are experiencing.

As a side note, there is irony in the fact we have a web-based business selling outdoor sports and exercise products. We regularly receive new equipment which requires testing outdoors. Federal guidelines recommend EVERYONE get 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. We are often unable to use our own equipment on our own property outdoors. We are also unable many days to go outside because our property is in the path of the smoke.

Put simply: THERE IS NO REASONABLE WAY FOR US TO AVOID THE SMOKE AND ODOR ON OUR PROPERTY ON A DAILY BASIS. And we don't believe we should be forced to keep trying to find a way to do so. This is causing a daily or almost daily disruption to our lives. This is causing our property to become unusable over half of the days of the year. This is causing health issues for our family. And this is costing us in extra energy bills and other expenses in attempts to mitigate the smoke and odor. All this while we have done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve this.

EXEMPT FROM REGULATION DOES NOT EXEMPT THE FROM RESPONSIBILITY
Much has been made of the device being legal. We do not question that. It is the location and operation of the device which is causing the problem. As with any consumer product, OWB's have their place. By the manufacturer's recommendations, OWB's require a large exhaust dispersal area In our case, in our neighborhood, the extraordinarily large SIZE and VOLUME of the resulting smoke and odor (exhaust) from the water heating device far exceeds the capacity of the surrounding land and air to adequately dissipate the smoke and odor without affecting adjoining properties and persons occupying those properties.

As we understand it, this type of residential water heater is exempt from any and all building codes, inspection, and regulation. It is up to the owner to choose a proper site for the device. Even a quick glance shows the device in question is not sited properly, according to the manufacturer's own installation guidelines for "reasonable setback requirements" for health, safety and responsibility for neighboring properties. (Central Boiler)
1) The device falls short of minimum reasonable setback requirements to the side or back of the property line.
2) The device falls short of minimum distance to any residence not served by the furnace.
3) The stack is lower than minimum recommendation in comparison to homes around it.
This past summer the opportunity to properly re-site the device within minimum guidelines was also ignored when it was removed for refurbishing by the boiler company. (Keep in mind minimums come from the manufacturer, and are far smaller than recommended EPA guidelines, and far smaller than what we are able to tolerate comfortably.)

As operator of the water heating device, the owner also takes responsibility for the health, safety and comfort of property owners which live in proximity of the device, and to follow "best burn practices", guidelines as recommended for all wood burning methods.
1) The owner does not cover wood as recommended by the manufacturer of the device, and despite suggestions from the City to do so.
2) The owner therefore burns wet wood, which increases emissions for all types of wood burning, as recommended against by the City.
3) We have seen the owner burn freshly cut wood and leaves, against manufacturer's recommendations.
4) In the past, a neighbor with visible site lines to the water heater has seen the owner unload, cut up, and burn construction/demolition materials in the past. This took place over a several year period and included plywood and other pressure treated woods, against both manufacturer's recommendations and against the law. The owner denied burning anything other than clean dry wood.
5) Several neighbors filed written complaints to the City with sincere belief they smelled burning plastic and / or other garbage on multiple occasions over a two year period, which is also against the law. The owner has denied burning anything other than clean dry wood. This has since not been a problem for us.
6) The MPCA has clear guidelines on burning wood during Air Quality Alert Days: Stop burning, and do not resume until the alert is over. The owner of the water heater was informed of this, yet has burned through every one of the dozens of AQI alerts prior to, and since being informed of AQI Alerts.
7) Despite being informed many of his immediate neighbors have respiratory issues which are aggravated by smoke, including several cases of asthma and COPD, a case of Minear's disease, emphysema, and other health problems, the operator continues these same practices.
8) In addition, we have been told through a third party, the manufacturer of the wood boiler in question, Central Boiler, have stated this particular model is a heavy polluter compared to their newer models, and they themselves believe it is not suited for our neighborhood in Oak Grove.

The continuous large volumes of smoke and odor as described above, the lack of attempt to properly site the device within minimum recommendations, along with the continued unwillingness or inability to follow basic operational guidelines without negatively affecting the health, safety, and comfort of others.

We do not dispute the owner / operator of the device has the right to burn wood for financial gain, ie: saving money. However, he does not have the right to do so disregard and negligence of the health, safety and general comfort of his neighbors. Enforcement of existing ordinances, one of which specifically addresses nuisance smoke regardless of the source, will take care of the problem. This will cause no unusual or extraordinary financial burden beyond what we and the rest of his neighboring property owners live with and find within their financial means.