Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association Searches
June 1, 2007
Hearth Trends
Proposal To Clean SoCal Air Would Limit Wood-Burning Fireplaces **John Crouch/HPBA**
San Francisco Chronicle – San Francisco, CA; NBCSanDiego.com – San Diego, CA; KESQ –
Palm Desert, CA; MyFox Los Angeles – Los Angeles, CA
June 1, 2007
Yes, Wood Burning Is Fine; No, Wood Burning Is Not Fine
NewsTalk 1410 AM – La Crosse, WI
May 31, 2007
Cities Search For Landfill Alternatives
Mobile Register – Mobile, AL
June 1, 2007
Paul Knight
Superiorland Yesterdays
Marquette Mining Journal – Marquette, MI
June 1, 2007
Plan To Clean Air May Kill Ambience **John Crouch/HPBA**
Los Angeles Times – Los Angeles, CA
June 1, 2007
Janet Wilson
Vernon County Sawmill Operator Fined For Burning Waste Wood
LaCrosse Tribune – LaCrosse, WI
June 1, 2007
Matt Johnson
Air-Quality District To Vote On Pollution Plan
Press-Enterprise – Riverside, CA
May 31, 2007
David Danelski
Residents Get Air Quality Warnings
Fort Wayne News Sentinel – Fort Wayne, IN
June 1, 2007
Jennifer L. Boen
Proposal To Clean SoCal Air Would Limit Wood-Burning Fireplaces **John
Crouch/HPBA**
San Francisco Chronicle – San Francisco, CA; NBCSanDiego.com – San Diego, CA; KESQ
– Palm Desert, CA; MyFox Los Angeles – Los Angeles, CA
June 1, 2007
(06-01) 05:36 PDT Los Angeles (AP) -- A cozy fire can make for a romantic evening. It can also
make you sick, air quality officials say.
So to help reduce harmful pollution and meet federal emissions standards, air quality regulators
have proposed a ban on wood-burning fireplaces in all new homes in cities across Southern
California. They also seek to ban wood-fueled blazes in all fireplaces on winter days when
pollution spikes.
The fireplace rules are part of a plan that also would seek to reduce soot from diesel engines and
ozone smog. The South Coast Air Quality Management District's board is expected to vote on
the proposal Friday.
"This plan addresses new federal health standards with a very aggressive and fast-tracked
pollution control program," said AQMD Executive Officer Barry Wallerstein. "We must aim
high to tackle one of the most serious public health threats in our region."
Air district staffers say a daily reduction of 192 tons of nitrogen oxides, an ingredient in harmful
particulate pollution, is needed across the region to meet the Clean Air Act requirements, and
that 7 tons of that could come from restrictions on fireplaces.
Regulators say unsafe levels of fine particulate pollution are responsible for 5,400 premature
deaths and 2,400 hospitalizations a year in Southern California — leaving no target, including
fireplaces, too small.
But critics, including homebuilders and real estate agents, say the regulations could hurt sales.
"A fireplace — especially a beautiful fireplace, and what people normally mean by that is a
wood-burning fireplace — it's the thing people like to have" when they buy a home, said real
estate agent Barbara Burner, who works for Century 21 in Thousand Oaks.
Jane Carney, a Riverside attorney and AQMD board member, said there aren't any easy rules left
to help reduce fine particulate air pollution.
There are "pretty obvious adverse impacts of wood smoke on pollution. If you stand close to a
wood fire and breathe, you can feel it in your throat and lungs," she said.
She noted alternatives are available, including natural gas logs.
Air pollution regulations on fireplaces have been adopted in an estimated 50 countries, air
districts of cities across the West, John Crouch of the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association,
told the Los Angeles Times.
There are an estimated 1.9 million homes with fireplaces in Southern California out of about 5
million total housing units, regulators said. The proposed ban would affect all new homes in Los
Angeles, Orange and portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Environmentalist Tim Carmichael, who heads the Coalition for Clean Air, said it's important to
take every step to clean the air, but it would be difficult to enforce any sort of ban.
"Could you really get people to stop doing this?" he said.
The air pollution plan also includes measures aimed at reducing paint thinner emissions and gas
station and refinery leaks. Truck-only lanes on the 710 and 15 freeways and electric rail lines
from Los Angeles' Westside to Ontario airport and from the ports to Inland Empire warehouses
also have been proposed.
If the overall plan is approved, another vote is scheduled for September to finalize the fireplace
regulation.
Yes, Wood Burning Is Fine; No, Wood Burning Is Not Fine
NewsTalk 1410 AM – La Crosse, WI
May 31, 2007
A guy in Vernon county will pay big for burning wood. Not that wood burning is against the law.
But this is no ordinary guy. It's Emanuel Miller. A commercial swamill operator. And Wisconsin
attorney general's office says Miller was openly flaunting D-N-R regs that prohibit open burning
of wood waste from commercial sawmills. Even after he was told that what he was doing was
illegal. Miller's been ordered to pay ten thousand dollars in fines. He could pay thosuands more
if he gets caught doing the same thing anytime in the next ten years.
Cities Search For Landfill Alternatives
Mobile Register – Mobile, AL
June 1, 2007
Paul Knight
DAPHNE -- As hurricane season approaches, vegetative landfills fill up and environmental
regulations prohibit the burning of debris, city officials search for alternative methods to get rid
of wood.
Common practices for disposing of vegetative debris, such as brush, leaves, tree limbs and
trunks, are to bury it in landfills or burn it.
But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has guidelines against wood burning at certain
times of the year.
Ron Gore, head of the air division for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management,
said burning is not allowed during the summer months to protect air quality.
Gore said that some illegal burning still occurs.
"It's completely illegal and has been for 30 years," Gore said.
With hurricane season beginning today, debris removal becomes an issue. After Hurricane Ivan,
reports show, Baldwin County landfills charged about $1.5 million for debris brought in by
Baldwin cities or their contractors.
In Fairhope, according to Mayor Tim Kant, officials are trying to designate a tract along Section
Street, north of Twin Beech Road, as a storage spot for vegetative debris.
The city currently stores leaves and brush in a location nearby, but Kant said that the city could
be out of space there in about two years.
Furthermore, Kant said, if a big storm hits, "We probably wouldn't have enough space."
After Hurricane Katrina, Kant said, the city worked with a local farmer to take debris to his land
and burn it.
Kant said that if the city ran out of space to store vegetative debris, they would have three
options: burning it, hauling it off or grinding.
"And I don't think the citizens of Fairhope would be too pleased to learn that we were burning
our tree limbs," Kant said.
Kant said that six or seven years ago, city officials looked into purchasing a grinder, but "the cost
of a grinder was so expensive, we decided not to go in that direction."
Other cities have also looked at purchasing grinders, but because of cost, an independent
company is sometimes hired.
Spotswood's Tree Service in Daphne is one that operates a "tree recycling" service. That involves
bringing in brush, grass clippings, leaves or tree trimmings and trunks and running that debris
through a 1,000-horsepower grinder. The mulch can then be used for different purposes, such as
landscaping or fueling boilers.
Jonathan Spotswood, the owner of the facility, said his company sends mulch to run boilers at
Kimberly-Clarke Corp. facilities.
Spotswood said he has been working with Daphne Mayor Fred Small to provide that city with
grinding service. Small said that occasionally the city will hire someone and has also borrowed a
wood chipper from the county.
Spotswood said that before he ground debris, he relied on wood dumps and landfills, which
eventually became too expensive. So, he said, about a year ago, he invested about $500,000 to
purchase the big tree grinder.
Spotswood said he will also grind debris for residents for $2 per cubic yard, about the same price
a landfill charges to bury the wood. The company has a $10 minimum, he said.
"We provide an alternative that is environmentally conscious," he said. Spotswood said he thinks
that, eventually, cities in Baldwin County will have to rely on grinding to dispose of their trees
and brush.
"It's only a matter of time before the EPA steps in," Spotswood said. "The landfills are filling
up."
Small said that during storm cleanup, the city uses a contractor to remove debris. The contractor
will usually grind the debris into mulch.
He said the city recently awarded a debris-removal contract to IED Inc. for this hurricane season.
Crowder-Gulf Inc., reports show, cleaned up the city after hurricanes Ivan and Katrina.
Small said the city has looked into purchasing its own grinder for debris disposal.
"We've thought about it," Small said. "You're talking about a very expensive piece of
equipment."
Superiorland Yesterdays
Marquette Mining Journal – Marquette, MI
June 1, 2007
MARQUETTE — Some Marquette-area electricity consumers will soon be part of the trend
toward wood burning as an energy source. More than 500 tons of wood chips will be delivered to
the Marquette Board of Light and Power’s Shiras Steam Plant soon as the beginning of an
experiment in wood burning at the plant. The board voted last night to buy the chips for $10 a
ton from the Louisiana-Pacific Corp.
The Marquette City Commission last night voted 4-1 to hire a marine consultant for development
of the city’s Lower Harbor property — a move that Commissioner Leonard Brumm called
“outright extortion.” “I voted against the original $38,000 contract because I didn’t think we
were getting enough for the money,” Brumm said. “And now when we have to pay another
$4,500, along with $4,500 by the state, that’s just plain extortion.”
Plan To Clean Air May Kill Ambience **John Crouch/HPBA**
Los Angeles Times – Los Angeles, CA
June 1, 2007
Janet Wilson
Throwing a few logs on the fire on a nippy evening, or boosting a home's market appeal by
advertising its wood-burning fireplace, could go the way of the coal chute and the ice box for
many Southern Californians if newly proposed air quality regulations are adopted.
As part of air pollution plans designed to meet federal deadlines, South Coast Air Quality
Management District officials have proposed a ban on wood-burning fireplaces in all new homes
in Los Angeles, Orange and portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
In addition, on winter days when pollution spikes, wood-fueled blazes in all fireplaces would be
banned in highly affected areas. That could amount to about 20 days a year, district officials said.
Another measure that would require closing off wood fireplaces or installing $3,600 pollution
control devices before a home could be sold had been dropped as of late Thursday, an AQMD
spokesman said.
Regulators say that with an estimated 5,400 premature deaths attributable to soot each year in the
region, no source is too small to target. Numerous studies have shown that the fine particulate
matter in soot sinks deep into the lungs, causing serious health problems. But critics, including
homebuilders and real estate agents, say the regulations could hurt sales by robbing homes of one
of their most enjoyable features.
Air district staffers say a daily reduction of 192 tons of nitrogen oxides, an ingredient in harmful
particulate pollution, is needed across the region to meet the Clean Air Act requirements, and
that 7 tons of that could come from restrictions on fireplaces.
Barbara Burner, a Realtor for 25 years, said that with such a small amount of pollution at issue,
she doesn't think the restrictions are merited.
"A home is an emotional buy," said Burner, who works for Century 21 in Thousand Oaks and
has three wood-burning fireplaces in her own home. "A fireplace — especially a beautiful
fireplace, and what people normally mean by that is a wood-burning fireplace — it's the thing
people like to have."
The fireplace rules are one piece of a plan also designed to reduce soot from diesel engines and
ozone smog that AQMD's board will vote on today.
"Our governing board will consider adopting their air quality plan, which includes more than
three dozen measures," air district spokesman Sam Atwood said. "One of those measures would
be for the first time to have a program that would reduce pollution from residential fireplaces and
wood stoves."
The plan also includes truck-only lanes on the 710 and 15 freeways, and electric rail lines from
Los Angeles' Westside to Ontario airport and from the ports to Inland Empire warehouses.
Reducing paint thinner emissions and gas station and refinery leaks is also part of the host of
proposed measures.
If the overall plan is approved, another vote is scheduled for September to finalize the fireplace
regulation.
"There aren't any easy rules left in terms of substantially reducing" fine particulate air pollution,
said Jane Carney, a Riverside attorney and an AQMD board member. Riverside and other Inland
Empire communities would likely be targeted by fire bans during cold winter months.
Carney said there are "pretty obvious adverse impacts of wood smoke on pollution. If you stand
close to a wood fire and breathe, you can feel it in your throat and in your lungs."
Carney said that while she would listen to comments from the public and the building industry,
attractive alternatives to wood fireplaces are available.
"Let me tell you, the natural gas logs are wonderful," she said.
Carney also said she would consider even tougher measures to clean up fireplace pollution, such
as a complete regional wintertime ban on wood fires.
Air pollution regulations on fireplaces have been adopted in an estimated 50 counties, air
districts or cities across the West, particularly in colder areas, said John Crouch of the Hearth,
Patio and Barbecue Assn.
Numerous trade groups oppose the fireplace measures. Mark Grey, environmental director for
the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, said the group would especially oppose any
ban on wood-burning fireplaces in new homes.
A fireplace is "a popular feature. People want to be able to have a wood fire at certain times of
year, and the AQMD did not bring to us any data that would demonstrate that wood smoke
emissions are significant," Grey said. "From the statistics that we can see, most … homes burn
wood in their fireplaces twice a year — on Christmas Eve and during the Super Bowl."
There are an estimated 1.9 million homes with fireplaces in Southern California out of about 5
million total housing units, regulators said.
Environmentalist Tim Carmichael, who heads the Coalition for Clean Air, said that while it was
important to take every step possible to clean the region's air — still the most polluted in the
nation — it would be difficult if not impossible to enforce any sort of ban on wintertime fires.
"At some level we believe these sorts of controls need to be looked at, but … the big question is,
is it enforceable?" Carmichael said. "Could you really get people to stop doing this?"
Atwood, the air district spokesman, said that with about 100 inspectors responsible for pollution
sources ranging from oil refineries to gas stations, enforcement would be tough.
But Crouch, of the hearth and patio association, said, "Given how far out of attainment the South
Coast is for fine particulates, and the fact that wood burning is not as significant in Southern
California as it is in, for instance, in Seattle or Denver or someplace colder, I think they've
charted a reasonable regional path here."
Vernon County Sawmill Operator Fined For Burning Waste Wood
LaCrosse Tribune – LaCrosse, WI
June 1, 2007
Matt Johnson
VIROQUA, Wis. — A commercial sawmill operator was fined $10,000 for improperly burning
wood waste, the state Attorney General’s office reported Thursday.
Emanuel Miller also must pay additional fines of $4,000 if he burns commercial waste within the
next 10 years under the terms of the civil suit settlement approved by Vernon County Circuit
Judge Michael Rosborough.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice had brought the suit against Miller, claiming he continued
to burn wood waste even while the county and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
worked with other area sawmill operators over four years on alternative ways to dispose of waste
wood and sawdust.
Wisconsin law prohibits the open burning of wood wastes generated from a commercial
operation unless the DNR approves the process through a wood-burning site license. State law
also prohibits the incineration of solid waste without a license.
Miller did not have those licenses.
In a program developed by Vernon County Solid Waste Administrator Gail Frie, sawmill
operators were offered money from a $15,000 state grant to help clean up and create storage for
wood waste. Frie established relationships between the mainly Amish sawmill owners and
producers of other products that could use the sawmill waste.
“It is a harsh settlement, but it reaffirms this is a serious problem that a lot of people wouldn’t
acknowledge,” Frie said.
Frie said very little of the original $15,000 grant remains and what is left is being used to pay for
grinding down waste wood
Air-Quality District To Vote On Pollution Plan
Press-Enterprise – Riverside, CA
May 31, 2007
David Danelski
Air pollution regulators want to restrict residential fireplaces, crack down on smoke-spewing
restaurant grills and see freeway truck lanes and a new high-speed train system in their campaign
to cut smog in Southern California.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is expected today to approve a three-year
pollution-cutting strategy.
The region's poor air quality is a health emergency, said Barry Wallerstein, the district's
executive officer.
Health studies have blamed air pollution for as many as 5,400 premature deaths, 2,400
hospitalizations and nearly 1 million lost workdays each year. Much of the most harmful
pollution comes from trucks, trains, ships and airplanes that move an increasing volume of cargo.
"The public is now seeing the burden of goods movement and other pollution," Wallerstein said.
"It cannot be business as usual. We have to expedite the emission reductions."
Part of the district's strategy is to pressure other agencies to take action.
The plan calls for state and federal regulations to aggressively cut pollution from cars, trucks,
planes and other mobile sources. The vehicles produce about 80 percent of the pollution in the
air basin that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the mountains in San Bernardino and Riverside
counties.
The sense of urgency could fast-track two expensive and ambitious projects proposed by the
Southern California Association of Governments, an association official said.
One is a $16 billion proposal to build truck-only lanes on interstates 710, 60 and 15 between the
ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach and Barstow, said Mark Pisano, executive director of the
regional transportation planning agency.
The lanes would be reserved for newer, less polluting trucks hauling two trailers.
The other proposal is a $14 billion high-speed train along freeway rights of way between the
ports and the rail yards in Colton and San Bernardino.
The projects would depend on private money raised through tolls or cargo container fees.
Julie Sauls, a California Trucking Association vice president, said her organization supports the
use of tolls to pay for new roadways as long as truckers still have the option to use existing free
roads. She questioned the idea of restricting the lanes to certain trucks.
The South Coast district estimates that the two projects could reduce nitrogen-oxide emissions
by 22 tons a day. The gas contributes to ozone and fine-particle pollution
Because the project might not ever be built, the district also is pushing for state regulations to
achieve similar emissions reductions from cars and trucks by 2015, the federal deadline to bring
fine-particle pollution down to healthy levels.
Lynn Terry, the California Air Resources Board's deputy executive officer, said the state is on
track to make that deadline.
At the air district's request, the state is planning more aggressive strategies to cut pollution from
heavy-duty trucks. Terry said the state also is working to reduce emissions from construction
equipment and other off-road polluters.
But the state will need to do even more to meet the federal health standard for ozone by the 2024
deadline. The lung-irritating gas increases in the summer heat and triggers asthma attacks and
other health problems.
Both the state and the South Coast district want to target wood-burning fireplaces to reduce fineparticle pollution.
The state had asked the air district to consider banning burning in home fireplaces entirely
because of the significant amount of wood smoke measured during winter months.
But Wallerstein said a prohibition would be impossible to enforce. Instead, the air district plans
to ban fireplace use only on days when fine particles are expected to exceed federal health
standards.
District officials say that could happen about 20 times a year.
South Coast spokesman Sam Atwood said the public would be advised about no-burn days
through the media and the district's Web site. A specific fireplace rule is expected to be
considered in September, he said.
Rules governing restaurant grills probably would take effect between 2010 and 2012, said Eileen
Chang, an air district executive. Restaurants would have to spend an estimated $10,000 to
$15,000 to install equipment that would capture pollution from open-flame grills.
Air district board members will consider the three-year plan today at district headquarters in
Diamond Bar.
Residents Get Air Quality Warnings
Fort Wayne News Sentinel – Fort Wayne, IN
June 1, 2007
Jennifer L. Boen
The Allen County Air Quality Task Force is encouraging residents to do their part to ensure the
air they breathe is as healthy as possible.
“Air quality affects us all, but children with asthma are especially vulnerable,” said Dr. Deborah
McMahan, Allen County Commissioner of Health and a member of the task force.
Parents should pay attention to air-quality warnings, keeping children with asthma indoors more
when the air quality is poor and consulting with a health-care provider to develop a management
plan to prevent an attack.
The Fort Wayne-Allen County Health Department, with direction from the Indiana Department
of Environmental Management, will designate days as “Ozone Action Days” or “PM 2.5 Air
Quality Action Days,” or both.
Ozone, or smog, is an invisible gas formed when sunlight reacts to gases emitted from cars,
trucks, buses and factories. People with asthma or emphysema are especially affected.
The PM 2.5 – better known as particle pollution – comes from diesel exhaust, aerosols, residue
from coal-powered plants and other sources that release microscopic pollutants into the air. In
sunlight, a haze can be seen when high concentrations of particle pollution are present.
The 2.5 number is a number designating the particles are 2.5 microns or smaller. The human hair
is 75 microns in width. PM 2.5 deposits itself deep into lungs and cannot be easily exhaled.
People with chronic lung disease and heart disease are most at risk from particle pollution.
Stagnant weather conditions inhibit the natural cycling process of the atmosphere and lead to
increased levels of particle pollution.
People most affected by air quality should avoid exercising outside on PM 2.5 Air Quality
Action Days. Close windows and use air conditioning in the car and home.
Jan Moore, a respiratory therapist at Parkview Hospital, said parents of children with asthma
should be especially vigilant on Air Quality Action Days. The child’s fescue inhalant medication
should be readily available when he or she is outside and should be taken on trips to the park or
other family outings.
Adults and children with asthma should regularly monitor their peak flow – which is a
measurement of the ability of the lungs to effectively move air.
The Air Quality Task Force provides these suggestions to reduce particle emissions into the air:
♦Don’t mow the lawn or refuel vehicles between 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
♦Don’t idle your vehicle; avoid drive-up restaurants, banks and pharmacies.
♦Use public transit, a bicycle or carpool. On Ozone Action Days (not PM 2.5 Days), Citilink
waives bus fare for all riders.
♦For families with teenagers who need to get to work or who want to take the car to the mall,
consider getting the $25 Citilink Youth Summer Fun Pass.
♦Work downtown and eating lunch several blocks away? Walk or ride the free Citiloop
Downtown Summer Lunchtime Trolley, sponsored by Star Bank and the Downtown
Improvement District business partners.
♦Don’t have a bike? Sign up to win a $500 voucher for a bike from Summit City Bicycle and
Fitness, 3801 Lima Road or 5828 W. Jefferson Blvd. Entry forms are available at Home Depot
stores, at the bicycle shops and at Clean Air Force events throughout the summer sponsored by
the Allen County Air Quality Task Force.
♦Maintain proper air pressure in vehicle tires.
♦Conserve electricity by turning off lights; replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent
bulbs, which produce 90 percent less heat and use about one-fourth the energy while giving more
light per watt than incandescents.
♦Something as small as replacing the gas can used to fill your lawnmower will help improve the
air. Turn in your old one and pick up a new environmentally safe can at the Lake Avenue Home
Depot from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Limit one per household.