EPA Pushes To Criminalize Wood Stoves

[TCB-FAN]

Only a government bureaucracy would seek to impose insane heating rules during the dead of winter, but that's Washinton, D.C., for you - short on common sense, high on authoritarianism, and drunk with power.

That's the only way to explain a new Environmental Protection Agency proposal to impose regulations on new heat stoves, as reported by Fox News:

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new standards for wood stoves that would reduce the maximum amount of fine particulate emissions allowed for new stoves sold in 2015 and 2019.

The Fairbanks Daily News Miner newspaper further reported:

The EPA's much-anticipated wood stove regulations are proposed to go into effect throughout the country in 2015, requiring newly manufactured stoves to cut maximum emissions by more than a third. Those standards would tighten dramatically in 2019.

Maybe wood doesn't burn the same in Washington, D.C.

The new proposed rules ostensibly come as a result of "increasing research and scrutiny of fine particulate air pollution," the paper continued, which is known as PM 2.5. The agency said such particulate matter has been linked to long-term negative health impacts, like heart and lung disease - though there is nothing from EPA geniuses about the negative health effects of, say, freezing to death.

Alaska seems to be of particular interest to the agency, which appears to be saying that, despite its distance from the ruling class, Alaska is still not too far away to be messed with by petty little tyrants who draw paychecks from Alaskan taxpayers, as well as those "in the lower 48." From the Miner:

Fairbanks and North Pole have been struggling to meet the EPA's air pollution standards, with much of the focus being placed on wood burning as the primary source of PM 2.5. The EPA set a deadline of 2014, but compliance isn't expected to be reached for a number of years.

Under current regulations, a non-catalytic wood stove meets EPA certification if it produces less than 7.5 grams of PM 2.5 per hour.

The new rules would require those emissions to be trimmed down to 4.5 grams of PM 2.5 for all stoves made after the date the regulations would go into effect. Presumably, the physics behind the manner in which wood in a fireplace is burned will remain the same.

Alaskan legislators, apparently in an effort to head off the rules, have proposed regulations that would set a limit of 2.5 grams of PM 2.5 for all heaters in areas that are deemed incapable of reaching the EPA's limitations:

In the justification for its limits, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation wrote that the EPA's current regulations, which were first adopted in 1988, are no longer effective.

We must control... wood heaters!

"ADEC proposes more stringent emission standards for wood-fired heating devices than those currently adopted by EPA because the existing federal emission standards have been and continue to be inadequate to prevent deterioration of air quality in Alaska and exceedances of (National Ambient Air Quality Standards)," the state agency's justification document stated, as reported by the Miner.

As you might expect, right now, only a small portion of stoves on the EPA's "certified stove list" (yes, they actually have one of those 'you can only use these kinds of stoves' list) would meet the new requirements.

Though it's not clear where the data came from, the EPA bureaucrats claimed that the changes will bring instant health to the land:

"When these standards are fully implemented, EPA estimates that for every dollar spent to comply with these standards, the American public will see between $118 and $267 in health benefits," it said. "Consumers will also see a monetary benefit from efficiency improvements in the new wood stoves, which use less wood to heat homes. The total health and economic benefits of the proposed standards are estimated to be at $1.8 (billion) to $2.4 billion annually."

Less wood would be nice, but will "less wood" translate into more heat? That's generally not the case, but maybe the laws of physics don't apply in the world of an EPA control freak.


Source : AP News

[TCB-FAN]

While millions of Americans are struggling to pay for gas & heating in the dead of winter....the government decides to try to put a ban on wood stoves/heaters. When will the insanity stop ?
I agree, the U.S. government is drunk with power.

[TCB-FAN]

I had a wood stove when I lived in northern Indiana. My gas bill was never over a few dollars a month. No matter how cold it got. I never went anywhere without my chainsaw in the truck. Free wood was everywhere. Wood provides the best heat possible.

Yes, wood stoves provides a much cheaper alternative to stay warm in the cold of winter, yet the government & it's lobbyist buddies want the average Joe to pay more out of their pockets to the big corporations (gas & electric companies). The U.S. government need to stay out of this and do what the U.S. citizens elected them to do.

[Richard--W]

This is insane.

People need to burn wood during the dead of winter, if they can find wood. There are more people needing to burn wood then there is available wood, but for those who've got it, it's insane to deny them the right.

But I don't trust Fox News. They misrepresent the facts most of the time. There is likely something wrong with this report.

[TCB-FAN]

This is insane.

People need to burn wood during the dead of winter, if they can find wood. There are more people needing to burn wood then there is available wood, but for those who've got it, it's insane to deny them the right.

But I don't trust Fox News. They misrepresent the facts most of the time. There is likely something wrong with this report.

Slowly, but surely governments & corporations are taking away rights & freedoms from the sheeple. Unless the sheeple wake up from their comas and start complaining & revolting against the big guys, I'd hate to think what would come next. I wouldn't be surprised if the EPA considers to criminalize coffee makers & toasters in the near future. Wouldn't that be a kick in the arse.

[Richard--W]

Stop depending on Fox News for your news. Fox wages war against the Environmental Protection Agency because they want the institution obliterated, along with all the good work it does. That means Fox habitually misrepresents the facts. Go to other sources for your news. The truth may be far different than what Fox represents.

[poormadpeter]

So...wood stoves aren't being criminalised. No-one is going to be penalised for continuing to use their wood stoves. It's just that new wood stoves have to meet new standards. So, once bought, people can use them as they would any other wood stove, but it will give off less emissions. I fail to see the problem in people helping the environment AND using their stoves as before.

Talk about Fox news making a fuss over nothing. Considering America (and Britain) have been suffering from freak weather in recent weeks, perhaps paying attention to environmental issues might well make the life of your children and grandchildren more pleasurable.

[TJ]

While millions of Americans are struggling to pay for gas & heating in the dead of winter....the government decides to try to put a ban on wood stoves/heaters. When will the insanity stop ?

There is no ban on wood stoves proposed. There is a requirement that new stoves will operate more efficiently to reduce emissions, which is nothing new. Standards have improved over time and that's a good thing.

Here's an overview of the proposals, which do not apply to existing stoves:
http://www2.epa.gov/residential-wood-heaters/understanding-residential-wood-heater-rules

The report reminds me very much of the kind of misleading and alarmist approach taken by the UK's Daily Mail newspaper.