October 16, 2009
LETTER TO THE MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY
in response to their letter of solicitation for donations.

Over a year ago, we wrote to the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, pleading for advice and help regarding a horrible air pollution problem we are living every day here in Minnesota. Someone in our residential neighborhood is burning large volumes of wood 24-7-365 in an OUTDOOR WOOD FURNACE. It is causing headaches and asthma attacks in our family, and worsening the lives of neighbors with COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other respiratory problems. We have lost our property rights, our quality of life is greatly reduced, we are getting sick and we have a City who refuses to do anything. We have written everyone from City Council to County officials to State Representatives to Federal bureaucrats. We keep getting passed off from one to another, thanked by Governor Pawlenty for taking the time to write him with our very important issue, (but due to the high volume of mail, he cannot respond to all inquiries). We are told by Anoka County District Attorney Robert Johnson we have a problem without a solution. People we spoke with at the MPCA send US brochures about “best burn practices”. (like WE are the ones doing the burning!) The Anoka County Parks and Rec Dept. just held another regular firewood sale (despite their mission statement to protect the health and safety of Minnesotans) We have come across many people who claim to be advocates for cleaner air. However, we have yet to find anyone who is actually capable of taking on this issue and making the changes that will give us back the basic right to clean, breathable air.

Meanwhile, we are going on our third year of almost non-stop pollution (we got a 5 month break this past summer, but now it’s back in full burn). Our home continues to be blanketed with carbon monoxide night after night. Our clothes stink of smoke, our dogs stink of smoke. Tonight the smoke is so thick it is seeping in through closed doors and windows.
Central Boiler, a wood furnace manufacturer in Northern Minnesota was given, substantial tax breaks and incentives to expand their pollution making products and hiring more workers. To top it off, outdoor wood furnaces are eligible for a rebate of $1500 or more under the Stimulous Recovery Act. A $1500 incentive to purchase a device whose emissions are completely unregulated. A device that pollutes up to 25 times or more than an EPA certified indoor stove. A device that contributes a huge proportion of the 45% of pollution caused by wood burning in residential neighborhoods. The fear of high energy prices drives the sales of outdoor wood furnaces. 25 years ago there were only a handful of these devices. Recent projections show by the end of this year, sales could reach over a half million. We have 6 outdoor wood furnaces within a mile of us. IT IS A CHOKING SMELLY HELL!
Wood burning is a serious issue and getting worse every day. Until you experience the huge volume of smoke and smell emitted continuously, it’s difficult to appreciate what we are going through.
Attached is a photocopy of a $2000 check for the MCEA. Give us our lives back and the check is yours. We won’t hold our breath, though. We’ve tried that. In the mean time, visit our web site and see what our neighbors are putting us through. The videos are also on YouTube under “outdoor wood boiler”.
http://www.freeinside.net

Respectfully,