Throughout 2008, outdoor wood boilers made headlines almost every day across North America. Most of the news was not good.

This is not an isolated complaint, just one person who has a problem with a little smoke. This is a REAL issue that is happening RIGHT NOW, in small towns and cities across the country. A Google News search for "wood boiler smoke complaints" will result in dozens of CURRENT stories. After awhile, they start to all sound the same. People are pissed, and feel helpless.

Outdoor furnaces create health hazard, says suit
Pierce County Herald
Published 05:31 Nov-25-08

A rural Pierce County couple has filed a lawsuit against neighbors, claiming their wood-burning furnaces are polluting the neighborhood.
Andrea and Michael Wieland, N7637 330th St., Spring Valley, filed suit in Pierce County Court against Marlowe and Carol Anderson, N7590 330th St., Spring Valley, and Tom Tessier, N7500 330th St., Spring Valley.
The Wielands bought their home in May 1989. The suit says the house "is situated in a rural area, and they purchased it to enjoy the outdoors at their property and to use their property for agricultural production of nursery plants and hardwood timber."
According to the complaint, the Andersons installed and started using an outdoor boiler at their home in September 2005.
Tessier installed and began operating his outdoor wood burner in September 2006.
The wood-fired furnaces are housed in small insulated sheds apart from the houses. The sheds hold fireboxes for large loads of wood.
Each firebox is surrounded by a water jacket that is heated, the water cycles through the jacket and delivers hot water to the house.
The suit alleges the two boilers are causing "smoke and particle pollution to cross onto (the Wielands') property."
The Wielands say they can't keep their windows open and they sometimes have to wear respirators to help them breathe, making physical work difficult.
" Because operating their nursery and maintaining their woodlands requires (the Wielands) to be outside, staying inside when the smoke is heavy is not an option," according to the complaint.
According to the suit, Andrea has suffered and continues to suffer lung damage from the pollution, and the furnaces provide an on-going risk.
The complaint says the Department of Health and Family Services and the Pierce County Health Department have monitored the air quality in the neighborhood and it exceeds standards.
The suit alleges trespass, negligence and nuisance, saying the pollution is an invasion of the Wielands' property and interferes with use of the property.
The complaint also alleges the Andersons and Tessier should have known that the pollution would cross to the Wielands' property.
The suit asks for a permanent injunction stopping the defendants from using their furnaces; for compensatory damages for the loss of the value of their land, annoyance, inconvenience, discomfort, injury and future medical monitoring; and for punitive damages.


God bless our Vets!

Boom in sales of outdoor wood boilers spark complaints.
By ROBERT IMRIE
Associated Press
April 13, 2008 3:53 PM

WAUSAU, Wis. - An explosion in the number of outdoor wood-fired boilers to heat homes is creating a new air quality problem — their smoke is choking neighbors.
Over the past three years, the Wisconsin Department of Health has received nearly 200 complaints related to thick smoke from the stoves that look like tiny sheds — or an old-fashioned outhouse — with a short smoke stack.
Some local governments are passing laws regulating the boilers, essentially banning them. Two years ago, Wisconsin's top environmental official urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action. Several states in the Midwest and Northeast have looked at the issue, too, after they started turning up in more urban areas.
" It was bad, just choking smoke," said Karl Wojtalewicz, describing the problem that his business, The Wellness Spa near Whiting, experienced. "Somebody called the cops a couple of times because you couldn't see the highway."
He's baffled why there isn't more regulation of the boilers, which some describe as little more than a steel box with water circulated around it and a smoke stack.
Six states — Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Minnesota — have at least 10,000 wood boilers, said Paul Miller, deputy director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, which represents air pollution control agencies in eight states, including New York.
The group estimates that 500,000 outdoor wood boilers — emitting nearly 900,000 tons of fine particulate matter — could be installed nationwide by 2010, more than double the number now in use.
About 27,000 wood boilers have been installed throughout Wisconsin in the past decade because of skyrocketing fuel prices, experts say. Some burn barely 50 percent efficient and some were installed too close to neighbors, critics say.
" They tend to smoke a lot," said Neil Baudhin, an air quality supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resource. "If you can smell it, your nose is detecting some kind of chemical."
Some people have complained that illegal materials, including trash and tires, get burned, Baudhin said.
Jerry and Jean Blenker installed a wood boiler at their rural Athens home about a decade ago, saving "thousands and thousands of dollars" in heating costs. The family cuts its own wood.
A neighbor who lives about a half-mile away complained, causing state regulators and police to check whether something other than wood was being burned, Jerry Blenker said.
" It is just smoke and I am allowed to burn firewood," he said. "I am real happy with it."
In an hour, an outdoor wood boiler can emit as many tiny particles of pollution as 1,800 natural gas furnaces, Miller said.
Courtney Welch, a policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said three states — Connecticut, Maine and Montana — have passed laws regulating wood boilers, including setting emission standards. New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island have pending legislation.
The American Lung Association of Wisconsin is exploring whether new laws are needed in Wisconsin, said Dona Wininsky, a spokeswoman.
" We have got calls from asthmatics saying they have smoke pouring into their homes 24/7. The problem is they are just so unregulated and they are appearing in a lot of these newer subdivisions where people are closer together," she said.
Two years ago, then-DNR Secretary Scott Hassett wrote the EPA urging a national strategy. But no mandatory rules are under consideration with the agency.
Leslie Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, a Virginia-based group that represents some manufacturers, said complaints about smoke are a black eye for the industry, which has worked with the EPA on voluntary standards so the boilers, which typically cost $6,000, burn cleaner.
" If they want to stay in business, they better try and meet these standards," she said. "Eighteen months ago, there wasn't a furnace that met the voluntary standard. Now, there are at least two that do."
But the voluntary standard is too weak, according to Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. The group recommends a two-phase standard that initially would lead to 25 percent fewer emissions than the EPA's voluntary standard allows and eventually 50 percent fewer, deputy director Miller said.
" These things smoke because they are incredibly inefficient," he said.
Central Boiler of Greenbush, Minn., a leading manufacturer of outdoor wood boilers, promotes them as environmentally friendly because they burn wood, a renewable resource, Vice President Rodney Tollefson said. A homeowner can recover the investment within five years, he said.
The company advises buyers in densely populated areas to make sure the height of the smoke stack exceeds the roof lines of homes, he said. "I have never seen a situation where they can't have a chimney high enough to resolve the situation."
But governments are acting as more of the wood boilers appear on the landscape.
About a year ago, Lake Mills, a city of about 5,300 people in southern Wisconsin, passed an ordinance that essentially banned them by regulating the space needed, city manager Steve Wilke said.
" If every house had one, you would have so much smoke you couldn't breathe," he said.
Robert Lins and his wife Meredith of rural Cambridge, near Madison, spent one winter putting up with smoke from a wood boiler, which was installed about 200 feet from their home.
" I had pretty chronic bronchitis. I had headaches," the 64-year-old retired doctor said. "A couple of nights we had to leave and go sleep at my father's."
The neighbor eventually sold the home, removed the boiler and moved to the country, Lins said.
The family told the Lins they heated their home for $14 a month.
" That was pretty impressive. But they are just not very healthy," Lins said. "They don't belong in any place where a person doesn't have enough acreage to take care of the smoke."
Read the article here: http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2008/04/14/wi/3wi14.txt

Kingston Twp. pulls outdoor furnace citation
Officer said resident will be cited again if more complaints received.
By Edward Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
December 22, 2008
KINGSTON TWP. – Edward Gryskevicz said he got the OK to operate his outdoor wood burning furnace he uses to heat his North Lehigh Street home from township code enforcement officer William Eck.
After township officials in March enacted an ordinance that regulates the use of outdoor furnaces, Gryskevicz claimed Eck inspected his furnace and sent him a letter stating it was in compliance with the township ordinance.
Eck said he only inspected the plumbing and electrical functions of the furnace, but neighbors have complained about the smoke.
“ We have five or six such units operating in the township but his is the only one that I received complaints,” said Eck, who cited Gryskevicz with creating a nuisance due to release of air emissions after receiving six complaints from neighbors about the odor.
During a summary trial before District Judge James Tupper in Trucksville on Monday, township solicitor Benjamin R. Jones III withdrew the citation when Tupper said the citation was not filed in a timely manner.
According to the ordinance, Tupper said, Gryskevicz must be given notice and an opportunity by the township to correct the violation before the citation is officially filed with his office.
Tupper said he was prepared to dismiss the citation, but Jones quickly said he wanted to withdraw the summary charge that carries a $500 fine.
It is the second time a citation against Gryskevicz has been withdrawn. A citation filed against him in May was withdrawn when it was learned the citation didn’t include air emissions.
Gryskevicz said he installed the outdoor furnace about three years ago to help offset the cost of heating his home. Neighbors have complained that the odor and smoke from the furnace are causing them to become ill.
The ordinance, which took effect in April, requires owners of existing furnaces to register their units with the township and to have them inspected by the township code enforcement officer to determine compliance with its manufacturer’s installation specifications.
Gryskevicz is exempt under the ordinance from having to obtain a permit to operate the furnace because it is an existing structure. Outdoor furnace units installed after the ordinance took effect requires a permit, Eck said.
“ He’ll have an opportunity to correct the violation,” Eck said. “If not and I receive complaints, then the citation will be refiled.”
Read the article here: http://www.timesleader.com/news/Kingston_Twp__pulls_outdoor_furnace_citation_12-22-2008.html
It's beginning to smell a lot like winter
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2008
As residents awaken in the morning now, the sight of frosty windows and icy cars greet them, as does the seemingly endless wait for hot water in the shower. Yes, it’s beginning to look and feel like winter again.
But it’s also beginning to smell like winter. The crisp, acrid scent of wood smoke is in the air again, issuing from thousands of chimneys across the region.
As residents look for ways to cut expenses due to energy costs, quite a few are beginning to turn to eco-friendly alternatives to nonrenewable fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil and coal. Though perhaps the oldest of heating technologies, the alternative fuel of choice for many is wood.
The use of wood burning furnaces has increased substantially since the 1970s. Over the past year, the Trumbull Monroe Health District has seen an increase in permit applications for the installation of wood burning furnaces. While they can be quite efficient, wood burning furnaces are not always healthy for you, your family or your neighbors. If installed improperly, they can be hazardous to your health.
Before you invest in a wood-burning furnace, consider the following, courtesy of the Trumbull Monroe Health District.
A wood-burning furnace produces a lot of thick smoke, which, in addition to being a nuisance to neighbors, has serious health and air pollution impacts. According to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, smoke from these furnaces contain unhealthy amounts of particulate matter, dioxin, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde and other toxic air pollutants.
Exposure to particulate matter in smoke can increase adverse respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms. Exposure to the other pollutants listed above is associated with a diverse range of harmful health effects, including asthma, lung illnesses and cancer.
People with heart or lung disease, children and older adults are the most likely to be affected by exposure.
“ Before buying a wood burning furnace, you should consider the health and environmental impacts to your family and neighbors,” said Health Director Patrice Sulik. “The smoke is a major public health nuisance. The Health District regularly responds to complaints regarding the amount of smoke produced from wood burning furnaces. Cease and desist orders can be issued to property owners if the complaints are valid.”
The Environmental Protection Agency has also weighed in on the matter.
“People who heat their homes with wood should do so as cleanly as possible. As a result of federal air quality regulations, wood stove inserts manufactured after 1992 are significantly cleaner-burning than those built earlier. Newer appliances that are properly installed, in good working order, well-maintained and used correctly, help reduce outdoor and indoor air pollution resulting from burning wood, and consequently, help reduce risks to health.”
However, depending on wind, elevation and distance to neighbors, a properly installed wood stove can still create a public health nuisance from smoke, odors or both, Sulik said.
We remind residents that a permit to install a wood burning furnace or pellet stove is required. The building permit does not constitute permission to create a level of smoke emission that may be considered to be a public health nuisance.
For more information contact the state Department of Environmental Protection Air Pollution Complaint Hotline at 860-424-3436 or e-mail dep.aircomplaints@po.state.ct.us. Visit the Trumbull Monroe Health District at 5892 Main Street in Trumbull for fact sheets on wood burning stoves or call 452-5195, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Winter in New England can be a wonderful time. It also should be safe and healthy.
Read the article here: http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15357:its-beginning-to-smell-a-lot-like-winter&catid=181:columns&Itemid=498

Outdoor boilers vex Clarendon residents
By SANDI SWITZER Herald Correspondent - Published: October 14, 2005
CLARENDON — Rules governing outdoor wood-fired boilers may be tightened on the state and local level as officials scrutinize the equipment.
The Clarendon Select Board has received health and nuisance complaints regarding the operation of outdoor wood furnaces in town, and officials have directed the town's health officers to investigate.
The boilers are wood-burning appliances located outside buildings, and used to heat water often piped into homes for heat or to warm domestic water use.
Complaints ranged from excessive smoke and odors to health issues related to the levels of air pollutants emitted from the furnaces.
East Tinmouth Road resident Paul Doaner informed board members that three homes on his street utilized outdoor wood-fired boilers. He said the town, as well as the state, should be considering numerous options for the regulation of the devices.
" I want these things installed to state (specifications). If they're not, they should be shut down," he said.
Doaner said a neighbor had broken a "gentleman's agreement" not to operate the furnace until after Nov. 1. He urged the town to consider adopting rules to limit operations from November through March.
" I don't think we need to run them in the summer, and they should run them up to specs," he said. Doaner added a town building permit should be required if a boiler was placed on a pad, surrounded by walls and covered by a ceiling.
Health officer Roxanne Phelps said she had investigated one home utilizing the furnace. She said the structure surrounding the boiler was attached to the house and required a town building permit.
" People think it's a source of heat, not a building," she said. The Select Board requested Phelps and fellow health officer Charles Davis provide information on the units to the Planning Commission for possible zoning.
Officials said the town's zoning administrator would be asked to explore permit issues.
Doaner provided the Select Board with copies of state rules adopted in 1997 governing outdoor furnaces. Those rules regulated stack heights and proximity to other residences.
The Agency of Natural Resources has proposed a new rule regarding air pollution limits on emissions. The rule would establish a "particulate matter emission limit for newly manufactured outdoor wood-fired boilers sold in Vermont or for installation in Vermont after the rule takes effect."
Doaner said a state hearing was scheduled on the matter, and he urged town officials to attend.
Selectman Robert Bixby said energy issues facing citizens would likely lead to increased use of the outdoor boilers. He said equipment ought to be regulated on the state level.
" I don't think this is something that should be tried by each town, it should be done statewide," he said.
The ANR hearing is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 17, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the State Office Complex, Stanley Hall in Waterbury. The hearing will be broadcast via Vermont Interactive Television at the Stafford Technical Center in Rutland.
Read the article here: http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051014/NEWS/510140372/1002/NEWS01

Complaints over wood-fired burner prompt ordinance in Smithfield
By Beth Brelje
Pocono Record Writer
October 13, 2007
When it comes to water, some like it hot.
But Smithfield Township residents will need to think twice before installing an outdoor wood-fired burner for heating water or homes.
The new Smithfield ordinance regulating outdoor burning requires:
- The boiler must be on a minimum five-acre lot
- Must be set back no less than 150 feet from the property line
- Must be at least 300 feet away from an occupied structure on another property
- May only burn clean wood
- Shall not be operated before Oct. 1 or after April 30 of each year
- The emissions from the outdoor wood-fired burner shall not be detectable beyond the lot on which it is located
- Owners are required to get an annual permit for operation

A new ordinance severely restricts the conditions in which an outdoor wood-fired burner may be used.
The ordinance change comes after a disagreement between Smithfield neighbors Robert McLaughlin and Robert and Ilona Harrison on Kings Pond Road. In 2005, McLaughlin placed a burner on his 3.3-acre property, just 12 feet from the property line and 94 feet from the Harrison's bedroom window. At the time of the $10,000 installation, McLaughlin's project adhered to Smithfield's building codes.
But when he fired the burner up in November 2005 for year-round, 24/7 operation, the intense smoke created health problems for Ilona Harrison, who suffers form asthma.
" I had a pain in my lungs when I took deep breath," she said. Smoke stung the Harrison's eyes, forced their windows shut and still permeated inside, stinking up their drapes and clothes.
" We were prisoners in our own house, but we were not even free here because of the smoke. It was a terrible risk to our health," Robert Harrison said. Now well versed on the issue, he mentions a study from Connecticut researches that states smoke particles from this type of burner constitute both a substantial cancer and non-cancer risk.
Read the rest of the article here: http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071013/NEWS/710130322

Brutus bans new outdoor furnaces
By Kathleen Barran/The Citizen
Monday, October 13, 2008 11:45 PM EDT
BRUTUS - No outdoor furnaces can be set up within the town of Brutus for the next six months as a moratorium was established on Monday by the town board, 4-1, with Jeffrey Hinman voting against.
The vote amends the town zoning law and establishes Local Law No. 5, the moratorium, which has no impact on existing systems.
Hinman had earlier said that maybe the whole town should not be included in the moratorium because the main concern was the effect of outdoor furnaces on the village, which has a high-density population.
Town clerk Mary Kae Brentlinger has 10 days to file the paperwork with the state; once the state receives it, the moratorium will go into effect. An enacted moratorium may be extended for another six months.
The moratorium allows the planning board to examine the issue and develop guidelines for outdoor furnace installation.
“ Outdoor furnace” is defined as “any device, appliance, equipment apparatus or structure that is designed, intended and/or used to provide heat and/or hot water to any associated structure that operates by burning wood or any other fuel, including, but not limited to, paper pellets and agricultural products, is not located within the structure to be heated, and includes, but is not limited to, devices referred to as wood furnaces, outdoor boilers and outdoor stoves.”
The board acted on recommendation of the Joint Town of Brutus-Village of Weedsport Planning Board. It had identified public health and safety issues concerning outside furnaces that were raised by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and independent researchers. The joint planning board may hold special work sessions on the regulations.
The moratorium was considered at the last board meeting, but the town waited for a response from the county planning board, which sent a letter saying it had no opinion because the issue wasn't intermunicipal.
In a letter to The Citizen, Jim Sullivan, planning board member, clarified that “Brutus Code Enforcement and Zoning Board of Appeals should be contacted to review and comment on any draft the Joint Planning Board presents, prior to submission for the Brutus Town Board to act on.”
He also said laws in other towns will be reviewed for comparison, with the most recent being Lysander in Onondaga County.
At the last meeting, James Hotaling, town supervisor, said he hoped the ordinance would be in place by mid-December or January.
Read the article here: http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/10/13/latest_news/latestnews01.txt

Clarksburg Latest to Halt Outdoor Wood Furnaces
By Tammy Daniels - September 18, 2008 iBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG — Town officials have put the kibosh on permits for outdoor wood furnaces — at least until state decides how to regulate them.
The Selectmen last week declared a moratorium on any new installations of the furnaces, known as hydronic heaters. Homeowners can continue to operate existing furnaces for now.
" These furnaces can cost $12,000, $14,000," said Selectman Carl McKinney. "We don't want someone spending that kind of money to put one in and then find out they have to take it out."
Clarksburg is the latest municipality to consider regulating the use of the shedlike furnaces. Adams banned the furnaces last year and North Adams declared a moratorium on their installation until the city could formulate ordinances relating to them.
The boilers burn wood to heat water or anti-freeze that is piped into an existing heating system. The furnaces have raising concerns over air pollution and public health.
They've exploded in popularity as other fuels, such as natural gas and heating oil, have doubled and tripled in price over recent years. They come in a range of sizes and are priced in the thousands.
But states and municipalities have been cracking down on their use after neighbors have complained of smoke-filled homes and soot. Maine is considering a buy-back program for polluting furnaces.
" As more units have been installed, and installed increasingly in more urban or suburban areas, MassDEP has received many complaints from neighbors of OHH installations about the unhealthy effects of the smoke produced and interference with the use of their property," according to MassDEP in stating the need for regulations.
McKinney and Chairwoman Debra LeFave said the town did not want to discourage residents seeking alternative fuels, but it did want to make sure that public safety issues are addressed.
" But once the [Department of Environmental Protection] comes out with new regulations, we'll have to take them up," said McKinney.
Read the rest of the article here: http://www.iberkshires.com/story/28332/Clarksburg-Latest-to-Halt-Outdoor-Wood-Furnaces.html

Mayfield hears boiler complaints
By KAYLEIGH KARUTIS, The Leader-Herald
POSTED: May 19, 2008
MAYFIELD — Town Board members heard more complaints about outdoor wood boilers at a Town Board meeting Thursday, but officials could not agree on what restrictions, if any, they should place on the boilers.
Aaron Howland approached the board with pictures of his property clouded in smoke from a neighbor’s wood boiler. He said his property is inundated with acrid smoke from his neighbor’s wood boiler, and it is much worse during the warm spring and summer months.
“ During the summer, the materials just sit in there and smolder for hours on end,” he told Town Board members.
Howland said he is unable to open his windows because of the smoke, which he said gathers and stagnates because of thick pines surrounding his property.
Elizabeth Howland, Aaron Howland’s mother, agreed.
“ I have big windows and I would love to open them to get a cross-breeze, but I can’t,” she said. “There’s no way I can leave the house for any period of time and leave my windows open.”
She said she lives on a cul de sac surrounded by pine trees, which aggravates the situation.
“ We’re more like a city block,” she said. “Houses are close to one another.”
Aaron Howland said he owns a wood boiler, but he considers his neighbors and shuts it off in the summer.
Pete and Mickey Nelli, who are Elizabeth Howland’s neighbors, agreed.
“ All we’re asking for is a little consideration,” Pete Nelli said.
Read the article here: http://www.leaderherald.com/page/content.detail/id/502677.html

Neighbors feud over outdoor wood boiler
Posted by Danielle Quisenberry | Jackson Citizen Patriot October 09, 2008 08:29AM
After years of battling with his wood-burning neighbor, Roger Soldano says he is at last free of the cloud of smoke that covered his property for two heating seasons.
" It is just so nice to be able to breathe clean air," said Soldano, who lives off Hankerd Road near Mud Lake in Henrietta Township.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Chad Schmucker last week ordered Richard Cady to remove or make inoperable an outdoor wood boiler Cady had used since September 2006 to heat his home.
Wood boilers, increasingly popular in rural areas as energy costs rise, transfer heat through water lines from an outside structure to a home for both space and water heating. They are inexpensive alternatives to gas or propane heat, but inefficient polluters, experts say, and municipalities locally and elsewhere are enacting regulations.
The ruling seems to back regulators and could have implications on future boiler installations, said Mike Maillard, district engineer in the Jackson office of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Division.
The judge also is prohibiting Cady from incinerating trash, debris and other materials in backyard burn barrels.
Cady had to — and did — comply with the preliminary injunction by Monday. It prohibits burning until the matter is settled before or after a trial scheduled for Feb. 25.
Cady declined to comment, saying it is because the case is pending.
" Roger and Mary Soldano and others will suffer irreparable harm from smoke and odors from such practices ... in the form of adverse effects on their health and loss of use and enjoyment of their property," Schmucker wrote in the Sept. 30 order.
In July, Jackson County Health Officer Ted Westmeier informed Cady his wood boiler, which sat about 180 feet downwind from Soldano's house, was a public health hazard.
Exposure to such a concentration of small particles found in the stove's emissions is associated with heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a Michigan Department of Community Health memo.
The health department tested on Soldano's property after he was hospitalized in March with chest tightness and shortness of breath, court records said.
Roger and Mary Soldano have suffered "significant respiratory problems," Roger Soldano said. "It's like having four diesel trucks next to your home."
In court filings, Cady called Soldano a "dictator" and the "neighborhood's bully."
Cady wrote that the boiler, a Woodmaster 4400 produced by Northwest Manufacturing in Red Lake Falls, Minn., is a tested appliance that passed an inspection.
When Cady bought the stove, there were no ordinances in Henrietta Township to regulate it. A unit now may not be constructed less than 300 feet from property lines, according to a new ordinance.
Other townships, including Liberty, Blackman and Hanover, have enacted similar ordinances, Maillard said.
Some jurisdictions, such as Jonesville and Coldwater, have banned them.
Read the article here: http://blog.mlive.com/citpat/2008/10/neighbors_feud_over_outdoor_wo.html


Outdoor wood-burning boilers have sparked a controversy in Ogden
By Mike Costanza, correspondent, Spencerport-Hilton Post
Posted Mar 05, 2008 @ 11:11 AM
Ogden, N.Y.
The Town Board plans to hold a public hearing on a moratorium on the installation of the home-heating devices at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, at Ogden Town Hall, 269 Ogden Center Road.
“ We already have six in our town, and we’re trying to find a way to not hurt the people who have them, but discourage people from putting them in,” said Ogden Supervisor Gay Lenhard.
Outdoor wood-burning boilers are free-standing heating units that consist of a firebox and a water reservoir. The devices usually stand close to the buildings they serve and are connected by water pipes and electrical lines. Wood is burned in order to heat water, which is piped to the nearby building to be used for heating, washing, or other purposes. Though someone regularly has to feed wood to the boiler, a control system banks or stokes the fire, regulating the water’s temperature. While boiler shapes and sizes vary, a common type looks much like a small storage shed with a stovepipe.
Ogden has received two complaints from town residents about the smoke from nearby boilers, Lenhard said.
“ They’re highly noxious,” Lenhard said, adding she’s concerned about the potential health risks to those living near the outdoor boilers.
Unlike the wood stoves many have in their homes, the outdoor boilers aren’t regulated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
A 2005 report by then-state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s office states that even when used properly, the boilers can emit “about twelve times as much particulate matter pollution as EPA-certified wood stoves.” According to the report, exposure to the smoke can lead to several types of physical problems, from eye irritation to heart disease and cancer.
The report suggested that the state Legislature pass regulations concerning the devices, although it has taken no action.
Ogden officials have talked to the state DEC about the problems with the outdoor boilers, without getting any action. Over a year ago, the town tried to regulate the boilers, but ran into opposition from owners.
Some local municipalities, including Fairport and Clifton Springs, have banned the boilers. Proponents assert they’re a cheap, environmentally friendly way to heat a home or business.
“ From the rising cost of fossil fuels and what most people use to heat their house, this is an alternative, and from a reusable resource,” said Gary Van De Water, owner of Outdoor Accents, a Penfield outdoor and garden store that sells the outdoor boilers.
The boilers also have the advantage of being “carbon neutral,” in that wood burned in them or left to rot on the ground releases the same amount of carbon dioxide, Van De Water said. Problems arise only when owners burn the wrong type of material.
“ People don’t use them properly and they’ll burn garbage in them,” Van De Water explained. “If you burn seasoned hardwoods in these things, you just don’t get any smoke out of them.”
That’s little comfort to Barbara Henry of Whittier Road. Henry first noticed the smoke when her neighbor fired up his boiler in January 2007. The boiler stands about 150 feet east of her home.
The fumes inflame Henry’s asthma, sometimes prompting an attack. “It just irritates my bronchials,” she said. “I get short of breath.”
Henry said she spoke to her neighbor about the problem, and that he installed taller stovepipes to conduct the smoke farther away. While it helped, she still suffers as a result.
“ The smoke is so terrible, it just seeps in,” she explained.
Henry’s neighbor was unwilling to speak on record for this article.
Nowadays, when that outdoor boiler fires up, Henry usually stays inside with the doors and windows closed, whatever the season.
“ There were days I could not go outside to take care of the birdfeeders, to weed in my garden,” she said.
Henry said she’s complained to Monroe County, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and town, without getting any action on the problem.
The combination of health and financial concerns leaves the Town Board in a quandary about the boilers.
“ It’s been really difficult to come up with something that protects the health of the people who live by them and protects those who built them,” Lenhard said.
Read the article here: http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x1775724172

Watson considers moratorium on outdoor wood furnaces
By STEVE VIRKLER
TIMES STAFF WRITER
THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2008

WATSON — The Town Council on Friday will consider a six-month moratorium on outdoor wood-burning furnaces.
However, council members likely will rescind the proposed moratorium as soon as some regulations for the furnaces are put into the town's zoning law.
" We want to get the new law in place so people can get them in by this winter," Supervisor Virgil E. Taylor said.
The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed moratorium at 7 p.m. Friday at the town hall, 6971 Number Four Road.
" It isn't that we want to ban them," Mr. Taylor said. "We just want to get some kind of control to make everyone happy."
Much of this eastern Lewis County town is sparsely populated, with more than half of the acreage inside the Adirondack Park.
However, the town has received complaints from some residents who have close neighbors with outdoor wood furnaces, Mr. Taylor said. Most of the complaints center on smoke and odors from the furnaces, particularly in cases when garbage is burned, he said.
Mr. Taylor said he and board members already have reviewed outdoor wood furnace ordinances from several other towns.
" We've done a lot of research on it already," he said.
Such laws generally include a minimum stack height — usually 15 feet — to minimize ground-level smoke, some restrictions on items that may be burned and a limit on when they may be fired up, if they're not used to heat water, Mr. Taylor said.
Owners of existing furnaces likely would not have to change their setup but would have to abide by use restrictions.
Residents can air their concerns and ideas about possible restrictions at Friday's public hearing, Mr. Taylor said.
Read the article here: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080724/NEWS04/676156244/-1/news/Watson+considers+moratorium+on+outdoor+wood+furnaces

Neighbors boiling mad
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
By Peter B. Lord
Journal Environment Writer
Paul M. Leclerc was dropping his daughter off at a friend’s house in North Smithfield last winter when he came across an unforgettable scene. Smoke from a neighbor’s outdoor wood-fired boiler clung to the ground, totally enveloping the friend’s house.
“ The people were trying to figure out how they could live like that — it was so smoky that details of the house were unclear and the smoke detectors were going off. They asked me to do something.”
In nearby Foster, Steve Charette’s neighbor fired up an outdoor boiler two months ago and drove Charette and his family out of their house.
“ Our twin 2-year-olds were miserable. My wife was miserable. We were all coughing,” Charette said. “The smoke was unbearable.”
Leclerc, a member of the North Smithfield Town Council, proposed an ordinance to keep the smoky furnaces out of his town’s compact villages. After a year of hearings and studies, the ordinance was passed last month and North Smithfield became the first Rhode Island community to regulate the increasingly popular heating units.
Charette sought help from every municipal and state official he could think of, with no success. He has finally found a lawyer.
More and more people are buying outdoor wood-fueled boilers here and throughout the Northeast in response to rising energy costs. Most are simply trying to save money. But some are prompting unpleasant surprises for their neighbors.
The systems look very similar to portable toilets, though they are larger and topped with a smokestack.
The heart of a typical system is a large boiler that heats hot water that is pumped underground and into houses. Many people use the systems for heat in the winter, but some use them to heat their hot water year round.
The best systems, using seasoned wood and modern clean-air technology, can burn efficiently and meet guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But most systems don’t meet those standards, and some homeowners have created additional problems by burning trash or green wood.
A recent report for a nonprofit collaborative of air-quality officials in eight Northeastern states (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management) found a number of problems with the boilers. One study it cited found a typical boiler produced as many emissions as 22 EPA-certified wood stoves, 205 oil furnaces and as many as 8,000 natural gas furnaces.
The report said the particle emissions from the boilers raise public health concerns over a “suite of respiratory and cardiac morbidity outcomes as well as premature mortality.”
The elderly, children and people with cardiopulmonary disease may be at a higher health risk, it concluded. The report also found the boilers:
• Generally don’t use emission control devices that are commonly used on wood stoves.
• Emit significantly more particulate matter than other residential wood-burning devices.
• Have large fire boxes that allow people to burn a variety of inappropriate materials. Enforcement agencies have found outdoor boilers burning “tires, large bags of refuse and railroad ties.”
• Often don’t burn completely and usually have short smokestacks, so they create a lot of pollution that remains concentrated nearby.
Based on sales trends, the collaborative estimated there could be 500,000 outdoor boilers in use by 2010. It found it typically costs $8,000 to $10,000 to buy and install the boilers.
Historically, the group said, boilers generally went on the market in the 1980s, but sales didn’t spike until after 1999. Some 95 percent of the 155,000 boilers sold went to 19 states in the Northeast and Midwest. It estimated 206 units were sold in Rhode Island.
The report recommended that states adopt regulations to set emission limits because it said the EPA was failing to set national standards.
The report prompted one manufacturer to threaten a lawsuit, but the agency stood by the report.
“ The tragedy of their response was they were missing the point,” says Paul Miller, NESCAUM’s deputy director. “What’s driving this isn’t regulators looking for work, it’s the neighbors. Whether we disappear won’t make the problem disappear. The companies could make these things pollute less.
“ These don’t belong in densely populated areas. They were developed by farmers who had plenty of land,” said Miller. “But once someone spends $5,000 or more for one of these, it’s hard to say, ‘Oops.’ ”
Last year the EPA came out with voluntary guidelines that set stricter pollution standards for the boilers, requiring them to burn 70 percent cleaner. Seven manufacturers pledged to make at least one unit each complying with the strict standards, the EPA said.
One company, Greenwood Technologies, promotes its new clean burning stove that uses superheated air and consumes less than half the wood. But Greenwood points out many companies continue to produce traditional stoves producing lots of smoke.
In the meantime, so many variables in the quality of wood burned, the location of chimneys, and the weather can cause problems for neighbors. Boilermakers like to compare their products to wood stoves, Miller said. But that misses the point. A typical wood stove is designed to heat one or two rooms, while outdoor boilers are sized to heat a house, its hot water, even a Jacuzzi — they burn much more wood and create more pollution.
The sudden influx of such systems is catching state and local governments unprepared
“ It’s a relatively new phenomenon,” says Barbara Morin, of the state Department of Environmental Management’s Office of Air Resources. “We didn’t have more than one or two of these until three years ago. Now, they’re starting to get more popular. And it’s a big issue because they can produce massive amounts of particulates.
“ We get our fair share of complaints about wood stoves, but this is worse,” Morin said.
She said the DEM doesn’t feel it has authority over residential air emission problems. Even if it did, it doesn’t have the staff to respond to individual complaints.
“ Some situations pull at your heart,” she added. “People in their own homes who can’t breathe.”
“ The problem is a real problem, but from a legal perspective, it requires a private course of action,” says Tricia Jedele, environmental advocate for Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch. So far she has heard only one complaint, but she says it raises interesting public policy concerns.
As energy prices continue to climb, she says, the state would be wise to help people heat their homes in ways that are cleaner.
“ If more and more people become impacted, or are robbed by products not working effectively, I don’t think our office would mind looking into this more. But for now, this is something that can be regulated at the municipal level.”
Towns can mandate site setbacks and the use of seasoned wood, she said.
North Smithfield did more. While 19 units are grandfathered in town, any new units must meet the EPA standards. They must burn only clean wood. And they may only be used on lots of 23⁄4 acres or larger.
Leclerc says he’s proud of what the town did. And he’s sure it won’t be the last town to pass its own ordinance.
In Foster, Town Council President Colette Matarese says the smell of wood smoke is a part of rural life.
She said she’d like to help out Charette, but his problem is more of a civil issue between him and his neighbor. She’d prefer to see them talk out their differences.
Charette says he is considering going to court.
“ These wood boilers are the most brainless contraption ever created,” he said. “The EPA made laws for indoor wood stoves that burn extremely hot to allow for complete combustion. These boiler companies do the exact opposite. They build a device 10 times the size of an EPA-certified wood stove, smolder the wood and create a steady stream of toxic smoke, put a short stack on it and stick it in a residential community. What were they thinking?”
Read the article here: http://www.projo.com/news/environment/content/outdoor_wood_boiler_11-12-08_EJC691L_v23.3d4d756.html

Outdoor Furnace Debate Could Get Hotter
Posted by Kirsten Fredrickson
June 01, 2008 05:00AM

Jill McLane Baker / GazetteDavid Smith, of Texas Township, has owned his wood boiler for about three years. He says it has saved him thousands of dollars.
TEXAS TOWNSHIP -- Depending on whom you ask, outdoor furnaces or boilers are either underregulated, pollution-prone nuisances or unobtrusive, cost-efficient ways to heat homes. One thing, though, seems certain: More rural and suburban areas will be grappling with how to deal with them.

In Texas Township, where population growth has sometimes clashed with its rural roots, trustees have adopted a ban on outdoor furnaces that takes effect later this month. Fueled by increasing nuisance complaints from residents, the township board also put seasonal, setback and other restrictions on existing units. As the first community in the Kalamazoo area to establish an ordinance, and with no state or federal guidelines and scant examples elsewhere to follow, Texas Township officials struggled in crafting rules to regulate the outdoor furnaces. "We sit here really kind of naked trying to come up with the best ordinance," Supervisor Ron Commissaris said May 12, as the township board prepared to pass its new rules after several months of consideration and public input.
" There's a lot of passion involved in this issue on both sides," Clerk Linda Kerr said.
An outdoor furnace has been described as looking like a small shed with a short smokestack. The Texas Township ordinance defines one as a "boiler or furnace, fueled by wood, coal or other types of fuel, located outside the structure it is used to heat, with the designated purpose of providing indoor heat for water and/or air for a residence or other structure."

As costs to heat with gas and other sources climb and more people look to alternate heating sources, the issue of regulating outdoor furnaces is popping up elsewhere. Kerr said township officials have fielded calls from officials in other Kalamazoo County townships and beyond. "It's something the board is going to have to look at," said Pavilion Township Supervisor Patrick White, who noted there are a half-dozen outdoor furnaces in his township, just east of Portage.
" We'd rather be proactive than reactive," White said, adding that the township will likely survey residents before fall to gauge their feelings on the furnaces. In Kalamazoo Township, a first draft of an ordinance to regulate the furnaces was recently presented to trustees. "The board had some questions about that ordinance so it was sent back to our fire chief to check around and do some re-analyzing," Supervisor Gary Cramer said. "I think we're all watching Texas Township," Comstock Township Supervisor Timothy Hudson said of whether his and other Kalamazoo County townships are likely to follow with their own regulations.

Pollution Concerns
The Texas Township ordinance requires owners of existing outdoor furnaces to get permits. It confines them to lots of more than 5 acres, sets minimum chimney heights, requires furnaces to be at least 300 feet from neighbors' homes and prohibits their use between mid-April and mid-October.

Jill McLane Baker / GazetteDavid Smith of Texas Township displays his woodboiler. The use of outdoor wood boilers has come under fire in Texas Township recently.
" I can see this getting out of hand," Texas Township resident David Smith said of the township's regulations and their potential to set a precedent for others in the area. Outdoor furnaces typically cost several thousand dollars to buy and install, but Smith estimates he saves $3,500 to $4,000 a year in heating costs, enough to help put his son through college. He said his unit is 60 feet away from his house and several hundred feet from his closest neighbor. "I swear my smoke bothers nobody," said Smith, who is among nine township residents said to have outdoor furnaces. "Because I put dry, hard wood in there, it burns so clean. It smells like any campfire."

Texas Township resident Wayne Cavanaugh said he empathizes with those who have spent thousands of dollars to put in an outdoor furnace and might now have to pull it out because they can't meet ordinance specifications.
" But why should the environment and the neighbors suffer?" said Cavanaugh, who said his home is about 300 feet downwind from a neighbor's furnace. "This isn't just a public nuisance. It's a public-health issue." Outdoor furnaces or boilers produce soot, carbon monoxide and other toxic air pollutants. They generate much more pollution than an indoor wood stove because they are built to burn wood at lower combustion temperatures, according to a fact sheet compiled by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. "Nuisance complaints are justified by valid health concerns," the fact sheet states. "Children (whose lungs are still developing) and people with health, heart or lung problems such as coronary-artery disease, asthma or emphysema are especially affected by wood smoke."

Michigan is among six states that have at least 10,000 wood furnaces or boilers, according to Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, which represents air-pollution-control agencies in several states.
Brian Brady, district supervisor for the Upper Peninsula district of the DEQ's Air Quality Division, estimates there are about 35,000 units in use in the state. About 15 years ago, townships in his district were the first in Michigan to deal with concerns about them, he said. "It's all over the board," Brady said of local regulations. "Some townships have just banned them outright, and others are taking regulatory measures."

Rules Could Change
Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has provided no direction to states, Michigan has been working with the American Society of Testing and Manufacturing on methods to test how much soot, carbon monoxide and other pollutants are coming out of the units, as well as to measure their heating efficiency, Brady said. For the foreseeable future, "it's up to the townships" whether to set regulations or enact bans, he said. Texas Township board members said their ordinance could change in the future, depending on improvements made to the outdoor furnaces or passage of county, state or federal regulations that might supersede local rules. Kerr, the township clerk, moved to adopt the current ordinance "with the understanding that as new things are presented, we will consider them." Still, that was little relief to Texas Township residents such as Mickey Hall, who owns an outdoor furnace and said the new regulations are so restrictive most owners won't be able to comply. "I'm certainly looking at other alternative sources now," he said of heating his home.
But Scott Emmons, owner of Scotland Heating and Air Conditioning in Allegan, doesn't see interest in outdoor furnaces or boilers waning anytime soon. "Energy is going to go through the roof," he said of heating costs. "You're seeing hard-working, middle-class, rural people" looking for ways to save money.
The Associated Press and Gazette correspondent Fran Wilcox contributed to this report.
Read the article here: http://www.bchomeinspections.ca/articles/furnacedebate.html

Wood Boilers Cut Heating Bills, Spark Controversy In Neighborhoods
Monday, February 5, 2007 – updated: 7:29 am EST February 6, 2007
EAST SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Gerald Risnear of East Springfield planned to spend his retirement at home with his son, but about two years ago, he said he started having trouble breathing.
“ I’m gasping,” said Risnear.
“ I’m actually gasping for air. It’s a terrible sin.”
Risnear said he didn’t know what was causing his respiratory problems until he noticed thick clouds of smoking coming from his neighbor’s outdoor wood boiler.
Outdoor wood boilers did not gain wide popularity as a method of providing home heat until the late 1990s.
Since then, more than 150,000 outdoor wood boilers have been sold across the country.
That includes 13,000 in Ohio, 11,000 in Pennsylvania and 3,000 in West Virginia.
Outdoor wood boilers are legal in the Ohio Valley, but they have sparked a recent debate throughout the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency has no regulations in place for how much smoke these furnaces can emit.
Some state governments have tried to take action themselves.
At least eight states have already placed restrictions on outdoor wood boilers. Some have banned them outright.
Gerald Risnear told NEWS9 the wood boiler in his neighborhood emits a lot of smoke.
“ It's unbearable, really,” said Risnear. “The air is like you're in a fog and it's hard to breathe." Complaints about smoke have caused some local business owners to change their minds about selling them.
Marty Morrison of Fireplaces And Fixin’s told NEWS9 outdoor furnaces use two to three times more wood to operate, and in his opinion, they’re not worth it.
" They do make a lot of smoke,” said Morrison. “The chimneys are typically only about 6 feet high on these things, so that is relatively low. The smoke will go down and right into an adjoining neighbor’s house."
The location of an outdoor wood boiler can determine what kind of impact it will have on neighboring homes.
Dealers NEWS9 talked to said it is the dealer’s responsibility to ask potential customers where they live and how close the nearest home is.
Outdoor wood boilers are not made for use in cities or densely populated neighborhoods and are better suited for rural homes, according to dealers NEWS9 interviewed.
Despite the controversy, owners of outdoor wood burners told NEWS9 they have no complaints.
A typical furnace and installation costs between $8,000 and $12,000.
Nancy Parr, of Wellsburg, owns an outdoor wood boiler and said she has saved money since she installed hers four months ago.
" My electric bill has dropped more than half, my propane bill has decreased about 80 percent,” said Parr. “I love it and I wish I would have had it five years ago."
Rob Freshwater sells outdoor wood boilers through his company Northern Panhandle Heatmor.
Freshwater said outdoor wood boilers not only save owners money on their heating bills, but also decrease the risks associated with having an open flame inside the home.
" With using an outdoor wood boiler you have no carbon monoxide gases that would be inside your house,” Freshwater said.
The Ohio EPA is taking a closer look at outdoor wood boilers.
OEPA has assigned a study group to make suggestions to the state legislature about restrictions on emissions.
The U.S. EPA began work on a federal standard for emissions in 2005, but is not expected to make a final ruling until 2010 at the earliest.
Copyright 2007 by wtov9.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read the article here: http://www.wtov9.com/news/10937164/detail.html

N.S. Council may put hold on outdoor furnaces
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
By JOSEPH FITZGERALD
NORTH SMITHFIELD - Time may be running out for North Smithfield homeowners who are considering installing outdoor wood burning furnaces to help with rising energy costs.
A private nuisance case between two Pound Hill Road neighbors over one of the neighbor's use of an outdoor wood burning furnace has prompted the Town Council to consider placing a moratorium on any new furnace installation until the town can study the effects of the devices and draft local regulations that could either set strict regulations or ban the stoves altogether.
At its meeting Monday night, the council voted 3 to 2 to hire an expert consultant to provide scientific data to the council and help the town craft a local ordinance and determine whether or not it should move forward on a moratorium in the meantime.
The local case in question involves resident Keith Klockars of 676 Pound Hill Road, who has been operating an outside wood boiler manufactured by Minnasota-based Central Boiler, Inc. Klockars' neighbor, John Wilbur, who lives 200 from Klockars' house, has complained to town officials about constant clouds of thick smoke he says has made it impossible for his family to enjoy their backyard.
An outdoor wood furnace resembles a small utility building that sits outdoors and contains a wood fired, water-jacketed stove. The hot water is circulated through underground pipes to the inside of the house, where they are hooked to a heat exchanger in the majority of cases. In some cases, they can be directly plumbed to the hot water heater or tied in with an existing floor heating system or boiler.
Proponents say outdoor wood furnaces are simple, clean and efficient. Instead of moving the wood and corresponding mess and bugs indoors, the wood burning furnace is outdoors next to the wood. Indoor air pollution is also cut to zero by moving the fire and smoke outside. Users typically load it once at night and once in the morning.
Opponents point to the fact that wood burning furnaces cause dense smoke that impacts neighbors by creating a nuisance and health problems. Most units come equipped with very short stacks and the smoke from these low stacks disperses poorly.
The problem, according to Stacey McFadden, a senior environmental engineer with LFR Environmental Management and Consulting, is that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends emissions and air quality standards, but does not regulate where and when the wood-fired burners can be installed or used. A growing number of communities nationwide, McFadden told the council Monday, are setting their own rules on the increasingly popular wood boilers, which are not federally regulated.
Some states, including Connecticut and Maine, have regulations and let their
municipalities adopt even stricter limits or ban the boilers altogether, she said. Massachusetts has considered statewide rules but has not enacted them.
McFadden's firm was hired by Wilbur to sample the smoke enveloping his property. The sampling was conducted on Dec. 1-2 and determined that the concentrations of particulate matter (gases and particles) were in excess of national ambient air quality standards.
Klockars challenged the results, saying when he was given a copy of the test results by Wilbur he sent them to the manufacturer of his boiler, whiuch in turn sent them to Tech Environmental, which questioned the accuracy of the LFR sampling.
" No one is pointing the finger at anyone," Councilwoman Linda B. Thibault told the parties involved. "We're just looking for information. We've been getting complaints about this issue for two years and we need to know more."
Councilman Paul L. LeClerc said he visited Wilbur's property recently and couldn't believe the amount of smoke impacting the property. "You could barely see his house," he said. "Seeing that house covered with smoke scared the hell out of me."
LeClerc said it was he who suggested that Wilbur hire a firm to test the air.
LeClerc made the motion Monday night to implement a moratorium on new outdoor wood furnaces affective immediately, but Town Solicitor Mark C. Hadden advised the council to first hire a consultant.
As for the problems between Klockars and Wilbur, both men are trying to deal with the issue as neighbors. "On Dec. 3 I got a call from Mr. Wilbur saying he was bothered by the boiler," Klockars told the council. "We met on Dec. 5 to talk about a few things like raising the stack higher and putting in a draft."
Klockars says he's willing to volunteer his furnace for any future objective
scientific testing. "If you're going to ban them you have to find out what they're doing to the environment first."
Wilbur described Klockars as a "good neighbor," but said the reality is that neither he nor his children can go outside because of the smoke. "It's not simply an issue of burning wood. It's a matter of life and death."
Read the article here:http://www.woonsocketcall.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11336&Itemid=27

Outdoor wood boilers taking some heat
A rise in complaints about smoke prompts the state to propose rules on emissions standards and setbacks.
By CRAIG CROSBY Blethen Maine News Service
August 13, 2007
WATERVILLE — Ron Cutter decided to take action two years ago after he burned about 3,600 gallons of heating oil to warm his two Washington Street homes.
Cutter installed an outdoor wood boiler and last year heated his home on about five cords of wood that he bought and a few more he cut and picked from around his home. Overall, Cutter figures he saved about $7,000 in heating costs last year, nearly enough to pay for the new boiler.
" I don't know about you, but I can't afford that," he said. "I had to fight with my wife and son to put it in. Now they think it's the best thing since sliced bread. People don't know until they actually have one."
Cutter is not the only one to turn to an outdoor wood boiler. Tied by underground piping into existing heating and domestic hot water systems, the distinctive pitched roofs that cover the boilers have popped up with increasingly regularity as costs of petroleum have continued to climb, said Jim Brooks, director of the Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Air Quality.
With that popularity, however, has come a corresponding increase in the number of complaints that Brooks' office has received from angry neighbors complaining of smoke wafting onto their property.
" People were essentially getting smoked out by their neighbors," Brooks said. "We went from two complaints in 2004 to about 50 or so chronic complaints in 2006 and 2007." With little regulatory authority over the boilers, however, the DEP has acted quickly to establish rules establishing standards for emissions and setbacks and to prevent nuisance smoke. A public hearing on the proposed rules is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Augusta Civic Center.
The proposed rules would strengthen emission standards in two phases.
The first would require boilers sold after April 1, 2008, to meet a particulate matter emission limit of 0.60 pounds per million Btu. Many boiler companies already have been working toward the 0.60 limit, thanks to a voluntary limit initiated by the EPA, Brooks said.
The limit for new boilers would be lowered to 0.32 pounds per million Btu by April 1, 2010.
The rules also would establish minimum setbacks, mandate smokestack heights that vary according to where the boiler is, and limit burning to material for which the boiler is designed. The practice of burning garbage, tires, chemicals and some other substances would be banned.
While Brooks thinks the new rules will prevent future problems, there are provisions for dealing with complaints against any existing boiler if its smoke crosses into a neighbor's yard for more than 15 minutes in any hour.
" The homeowner could be subject to a cease-and-desist enforcement," Brooks said. "Generally we'll try to see what the problem is and see if it can be fixed."
Brooks said his department will not circle a neighborhood looking for the so-called nuisance boilers, but that provides little comfort to Terry Markham, owner of Best Way Wood Heat in Readfield. The opacity test, which gauges the smoke level in an area based on how much light is limited, is far too subjective, Markham said. "There are too many interpretations," she said. "It could be abused."
She also balks at setback requirements of as much as 200 feet.
" You need a big chunk of land and you need to be centered perfectly to be able to use these," Markham said. "It's going to tie the hands of so many citizens in this state."
Edward Miller, executive director of the American Lung Association of Maine, which pushed the June legislation that prompted the DEP to adopt new rules, believes there should be a limit on where the boilers can be placed.
" Nobody has the right to pollute someone else's air," Miller said. "It's not about burning wood. It's about burning wood responsibly. Our intent is to put these where they're more appropriate and where they won't cause a problem."
Read the rest of the article here: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=127121&ac=PHnws
Wood boiler draws neighbors' complaints
By John Fenuccio/STAFF WRITER
Thu Nov 15, 2007, 04:56 PM EST
WESTBOROUGH -
The Board of Health decided during a meeting this week that it will need to visit the Mount Pleasant Street wood boiler that’s attracted a number of complaints from neighbors.
“ We want to see the operation. If people are being impacted, they should file reports with us,” said Dr. Alan M. Ehrlich. “If it bothers you, let us know.”
Both irritated neighbors and adamant supporters showed up for this week’s public hearing that discussed William K. Weir’s wood burning boiler at his 52 Mount Pleasant St. home.
Including Weir’s, Westborough is home to three wood boilers; the others are on Robin Lane and Fisher Street.
A wood boiler, or an outdoor wood furnace as it’s also known as, is a freestanding structure with a smoke stack used to heat water that is carried by piping to provide heat or hot water to a building, according to Westborough’s regulations on outdoor wood burning boilers.
The issue at hand for Weir’s neighbors is the haze-like smoke that lingers onto their property and into their homes, as well as the perceived adverse health effects.
“ It’s an acrid smoke and it fills up the yard, you can smell [it] inside the house,” said Weir’s neighbor, Barry Allen, who lives at 46 Mount Pleasant St. “I think some of the people in our neighborhood would be horrified if they read somewhere about the health effects of this type of smoke, the evidence is just staggering.”
“ While I appreciate the concept of the boiler and I appreciate what our neighbors are trying to do with cost saving measures, it really is a problem in the neighborhood,” added 35 Mount Pleasant St. resident Heather Vicidomino. “It does seem to be a problem primarily when the wood boiler is started up and there’s a definite haze in the air and lying on the grass…enough to make me have to close my windows.”
Vicidomino then admitted to driving throughout the neighborhood on at least three difference occasions in an attempt to determine where the smoke and haze originated from.
While Allen, Vicidomino and other neighbors each took their turn explaining their displeasure with Weir’s boiler, Weir did receive steadfast support from his 56 Mount Pleasant St. neighbor, Perry Adams
“ If there was smoke or soot in the area, I would know it,” said Adams. “I walk just about every night at dark and cold nights, warm nights, it doesn’t make any difference and I don’t know what the man (Allen) is talking about because if there’s haze out, I would see it.”
Adams also stated she is a bronchial asthmatic and hasn’t been bothered by Weir’s boiler. She further explained to the board that the boiler is a significant advantage over alternate heating choices.
“ You can’t touch the price of wood compared to oil. It’s clean, it’s efficient and unbelievably warm. I dread putting oil in my tank right now. What is the man going to do?” said Adams.
Adams recently installed a new furnace that alone cost $10,000. Projecting the cost of a wood boiler to be about the same amount, she concluded that if Weir’s permit was taken away, he would have a substantial figure on his hands.
“ You’re talking 20 grand here… I don’t know too many people in Westborough that have ten grand lying around to go buy a new furnace,” said Adams.
Ehrlich explained that the Board of Health didn’t exactly give out a permit for the boiler, but rather Weir was one of three wood burning furnace users in town that were grandfathered in.
“ The board decided that we do not think that these units are appropriate for a town like Westborough but we acknowledged the three people who have them and for the most part we haven’t had any problems up until that point in time,” said Ehrlich.
Any resident looking to install a similar type of wood burning furnace would now be required to obtain a special variance under current regulations set by the Board of Health.
“ It’s not a question of taking something away that we gave him. We acknowledge that he had this unit and that it was functioning and that we do not wish to interfere with his ability to use that as long as he was complying with the regulations,” said Ehrlich.
One sticking point between the town and Weir is not only whether his stove is a nuisance, but also what qualifies as a nuisance to begin with. Weir has inquired to the Board of Health about what exactly makes a complaint a nuisance, to which he said hasn’t received a clear answer.
“ I’ve asked that the last three meetings and haven’t gotten an answer,” Weir said. “I’ve asked you guys that every time and you’ve yet to answer what you guys consider to be a nuisance.”
Weir has given the Board of Health paperwork at previous meetings that explains how wood boilers don’t emit any chemicals and zero percent carbon dioxide.
“ I don’t want any trouble, I want to be left alone and do my own thing and I want to hear about any suggestions on how to resolve this. I don’t know what else to do, I’ve complied with you guys up until now,” said Weir.
The board will visit Weir’s home to see the boiler firsthand and will consider the case at its next meeting on Dec. 18.
Read the article here: http://www.wickedlocal.com/westborough/archive/x1086977084


OTHERS ARE FED UP AND CREATING WEB SITES TO ADDRESS THE OWB PROBLEM.

When we start discovering there are other web sites like this one, it reaffirms the fact that WE are not the problem, even though we have been made to feel that way by the way our complaint has been handled.

Freedom Of Air
It's a right everyone takes for granted, until it's taken away. This is a comprehensive, well documented website showing first hand experience of living next to an outdoor wood boiler, put together by a couple from Illinois.
http://www.freewebs.com
/freedomofair/

Wood Gasification
Another web site describes similar issues faced by people in Madison, Wisconsin, and includes a lot of intormation about ordinances and regulations passed in small towns, much like ours.
http://woodgasification.spaces
.live.com/default.aspx