Everett: Hearing on Proposed Outdoor Wood-Fired Furnace Regulations to be Held in Williamsport Dec. 3
CORRECTION REFLECTING HEARING DAY
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will hold the last of four statewide hearings on proposed outdoor wood-fired furnace/boiler regulations at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, at the DEP North Central Regional Office at 208 W. Third St. Suite 101, in Williamsport, Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming) said today.
“I have been hearing from a number of my constituents about these proposed regulations and how they will infringe on their lives from both the financial and personal freedom aspect,” said Everett. “It is imperative that all who have a stake in this issue participate in this last public hearing before DEP. There are many people who use these systems as a low-cost way to heat their homes, and that practice may be put in danger by the proposed regulations.”
Under the proposed regulations:
- A person may not purchase, sell, offer for sale, distribute or install a boiler unless it meets Phase 2 standards for efficiency.
- New boilers must be installed at least a minimum of 150 feet from the nearest property line.
- New boilers must have a permanently attached stack that must be at least 10 feet above ground and extend at least two feet above the highest peak of the highest residence located within 150 feet of the boiler.
- Existing boilers that do not meet Phase 2 standards must also have a permanently attached stack that is at least 10 feet above ground and extend at least two feet above the highest peak of the highest residence located within 500 feet of the boiler.
- Only clean wood, wood pellets made from clean wood and certain home heating oil, natural gas or propane fuels can be used in the boilers.
Everett says participating in the process is the way to make your voice heard.
“Too often, there are government regulations that are not passed by the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature, but instead are written by bureaucrats in Harrisburg and Washington who have no idea how ‘real people’ live,” said Everett. “I urge everyone to participate in this in some way, whether by attending the hearing, or by sending comments to DEP.
“This is a perfect example of state government getting involved in local issues where the state has no business or interest,” said Everett. “With Marcellus gas, Chesapeake Bay and other major issues on its plate, I would think that DEP has better things to do than tell us how we can burn wood on our own properties.”
“What’s next – is DEP going to tell us that we cannot have a fire in our fireplaces, use our indoor wood stoves or have campfires at our river lots, cabins and camps?” Everett added. “This is just crazy, wood is a homegrown, renewable energy source that is abundant and inexpensive in rural Pennsylvania. These regulations will result in fewer Pennsylvanians using Pennsylvania-grown wood to heat their homes and force more of us to use more expensive, non-renewable energy sources.
“This is clearly a local government issue. Many area municipalities already have ordinances that deal with outdoor wood burners and that is just the way it should be handled – we do not need a bunch of big city state officials telling us how to heat our homes and burn our wood up here in rural Pennsylvania,” Everett went on. “I plan to send my comments to DEP and make my position clear and I hope that those who have an opinion on this do so as well.”
Everett concluded by saying that he felt the key things to remember on this issue are:
- Unfair regulations harm Pennsylvanians.
- These regulations can hurt efforts to become energy efficient.
- Local governments can regulate this issue, not a state agency.
The regulations are currently open for public comment. Comments must be received by the Environmental Quality Board by Jan. 4, 2010. People have three options for submitting comments:
- Send written comments to Environmental Quality Board, P.O. Box 8477, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8477 (express mail: Rachel Carson State Office Building, 16th Floor, 400 Market St., Harrisburg, PA 17101-2301). No fax comments will be accepted.
- Send written comments via e-mail to RegComments@state.pa.us. A subject heading of the proposal and a return name and address must be included in each e-mail. If the sender does not receive acknowledgement that the comments were received within two working days, the sender should resubmit his or her comments.
For more information, visit Everett’s Web site at RepEverett.com.
Rep. Garth D. Everett
84th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(570) 546-2084
(717) 787-5270
Contact: Raymond Smith
rsmith@pahousegop.com
(717) 705-1834