Wood-burning Stoves Banned in New Homes in San Francisco Area

[donnay]

Wood-burning Stoves Banned in New Homes in San Francisco Area
Why wood-burning stoves?

Joe Wolverton, II, J.D. | New American - November 9, 2015

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new emission limits on wood-burning stoves may not be an outright ban, but the regulations are restricting their use and making them more expensive.

And in the San Francisco Bay Area, not only will the regulations be enforced, but the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has decided to go even further, banning all wood-burning heaters in new homes including even those certified by the EPA to be “low emission.”

Why wood-burning stoves? A Bay Area bureaucrat explained the reason for the ban. “We are serious about reducing the health risks associated with our residents’ exposure to wood smoke,” said Kristine Roselius, of the BAAQMD.

A blog called OfftheGridNews reports:

All 22 members of the district’s board of directors voted to amend regulations to bar the installation of wood-burning heaters in new homes starting November 1, 2016. The district consists of the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay and includes: San Francisco County, Alameda County (Oakland), Contra Costa County, Napa County, Santa Clara County (San Jose), San Mateo County, Southwestern Solano County and Southern Sonoma County.

Not surprisingly, traditional fireplaces are already illegal in this area.

Homeowners whose wish to sell houses where the devices were installed prior to the ban must provide potential buyers with statements detailing the significant “health risks” associated with wood smoke.

Apparently, the statement need not contain any revelation on the danger of tyranny, however.

Read more (http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/21910-wood-burning-stoves-banned-in-new-homes-in-san-francisco)

[tod evans]

Burn the stick people...........:cool:

[nobody's_hero]

In terms of things you could burn to keep warm, wood is probably the most organic and least harmful.

I'd be more likely to accept their argument if they claimed a fire risk, but emission risk?

That's San Fran for ya. The city that banned everything.

[Anti Federalist]

Told you so.

Be nationwide before long.

[luctor-et-emergo]

Homeowners whose wish to sell houses where the devices were installed prior to the ban must provide potential buyers with statements detailing the significant “health risks” associated with wood smoke.

What kind of crap is that ? Significant health risks ?! Slight maybe.. Then again, if you inhale a lot of smoke from your fireplace it was badly made.

Ridiculous. I wouldn't want to live in a house without at least one fireplace.

[puppetmaster]

Fuck california. They pollute more than any state with all their fires. They screw up entire summers in Nevada .

[Dr. Dog]

Why would you even need a wood stove there? It rarely ever drops below 50.

[Brian4Liberty]

It's primarily due to two things. The first and most important, is the dense population. If every home was burning fires, it would be worse than China. Secondly, the SF Bay Area tends to get inversion layers in the winter. When it is cold, and people want to build fires, there can be very still air, and it actually keeps smoke at ground level. Fire from a chimney does not go up. It comes out, and goes sideways.


Told you so.

Be nationwide before long.

Immigration moves into California first, and then it flows to other States. Often, the leftist commies (and other varieties of leftists) who knee-jerkingly support massive immigration are the first to move, because '"things are different". They move to your State, thus turning your area into a socialist hell too. Yes, it is coming.

[Brian4Liberty]

What kind of crap is that ? Significant health risks ?! Slight maybe.. Then again, if you inhale a lot of smoke from your fireplace it was badly made.

Ridiculous. I wouldn't want to live in a house without at least one fireplace.

It's not leaking inside the house. It fills up the air outside.

[luctor-et-emergo]

It's not leaking inside the house. It fills up the air outside.

Then how can that be a 'significant' health risk. Probably not much worse than car exhaust. Although they would probably like to gas fueled cars around there too.

[Anti Federalist]

Then how can that be a 'significant' health risk. Probably not much worse than car exhaust. Although they would probably like to gas fueled cars around there too.

You're in Europe.

You do not understand the "no risk at all" mindset that is infecting AmeriKa.

[Brian4Liberty]

Then how can that be a 'significant' health risk. Probably not much worse than car exhaust. Although they would probably like to gas fueled cars around there too.

There is heavy particulate matter in fire smoke. It is unhealthy at certain concentrations. Far worse than modern car exhaust standards.

And as AF would probably agree, this is also why there has been a prejudice against diesel fuel for cars in the US.

[surf]

it's all part of a comprehensive plan by Pacific Gas and Electric to be the sole provider of energy in the state.... gov't granted monopolies (the only monopolies) do what they want to mandate no competition, and Duraflame was starting to eat into their 99.9% market share.

next target: the wind and windmills.

ps- we have burn bans where I live during the winter. I am rarely aware of them and have yet to be turned in to anyone by anyone

[TheNewYorker]

Nothing quite has the advantages of a wood stove. The fuel is economical and ecological, the look is attractive, and the heat is warm. In fact, most people who have lived in a home heated by wood say that wood heat is warmer than other kinds of heat. That may seem impossible, but wood heat really does make for a comfortable home during the winter.

There are many advantages to having a wood stove for your main heat source, or at least as a supplemental heater. First is the fact that wood is cheaper to buy than other heating fuels. With the hike in oil prices, propane gas is now one of the most expensive of fuels, and electricity has always been one of the most expensive ways to heat your home.

If you are able to harvest your own wood from your own property, you can really save a lot of money by burning wood for heat. Burning wood provides a lot of good exercise and productive work for your children, too. (But be forewarned that they may not see that as much of an advantage!)

[donnay]

Flashback:

Hot New Wood Stoves: High-Tech & Eco-Friendly
http://www.livescience.com/42390-wood-stoves-epa-certified-wood-burning-stove.html


Bottom line is this is all about control. They cannot have people that are self-reliant and self-sufficient.

[puppetmaster]

There is heavy particulate matter in fire smoke. It is unhealthy at certain concentrations. Far worse than modern car exhaust standards.

And as AF would probably agree, this is also why there has been a prejudice against diesel fuel for cars in the US. but like in reno Nevada there is an exception for home on 1 acre or more. The rich write these laws. I am lucky I am on land and am exempt. The bay area does not get any bad inversions. We do here for a week or too but the ocean breeze get the bay clean

[Brian4Liberty]

but like in reno Nevada there is an exception for home on 1 acre or more. The rich write these laws. I am lucky I am on land and am exempt. The bay area does not get any bad inversions. We do here for a week or too but the ocean breeze get the bay clean

Well, we measure by the day, and if there is an inversion, it is usually a "spare the air" day. It doesn't go on for weeks. Of course this happens more in all of the valleys surrounding SF than SF itself.

If you look at the past few years, there have been as few as 4 and as many as 30 winter days where fire burning was banned.

Here's more than anyone ever wanted to know about Spare the Air:

http://www.sparetheair.org/Make-a-Difference/Spare-the-Air-Every-Day/Winter.aspx


The Winter Spare the Air program notifies Bay Area residents when fine particulate, or soot, levels are anticipated to be unhealthy.

In the wintertime, particulate matter — especially particulate matter 2.5 microns or smaller in size, also known as PM2.5 — can become a serious problem in the region. To protect public health, the Air District will issue a Winter Spare the Air Alert when PM2.5 concentrations are expected to be unhealthy.

From November 1 through the end of February, under the Air District's wood-burning regulation, when a Winter Spare the Air Alert has been called, burning wood, firelogs, pellets, or any other solid fuels in your fireplace, woodstove, or other wood-burning device is illegal.

When wood burning is allowed, residents who do burn in a fireplace or outdoor fire pit must still burn cleanly using dry, seasoned firewood, and not burn garbage, leaves or other material that would cause excessive smoke. Residents who exceed the excess visible smoke provision in the wood-burning rule could still be subject to a ticket.

Follow these links for more information on the Air District's wood-burning regulation, and instructions on how to comply.

You can also file a wood smoke complaint online.


Winter Spare the Air Alert Notifications

Residents and businesses can call 1-877-4NO-BURN (1-877-466-2876) to check the Winter Spare the Air Alert status and to report wood smoke concerns in their area.

Residents can sign up to receive automatic phone alerts by calling 1-800-430-1515. Once you sign up, you will remain on the roster for subsequent Winter Spare the Air seasons.

Residents can also sign up for EnviroFlash AirAlerts to receive e-mail notification when Winter Spare the Air Alerts are issued. Once you sign up, you will remain on the roster for subsequent Winter Spare the Air seasons.


San Geronimo Valley Wood Stove Replacement Program

Up to $750 is available to replace non-EPA certified wood stoves with cleaner-burning equipment. For more information on this program, see this English fact sheet, this Spanish fact sheet or visit www.maringreenbuilding.org/woodsmoke.


Wood Smoke

The nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay are home to almost seven million residents and an estimated 1.4 million fireplaces and woodstoves. Wood smoke continues to be a health concern in the Bay Area. Wood burning produces about one-third of the particulate pollution on a typical winter night.

Learn more about the health effects of wood smoke.
See the Spare the Air 2014-15, 2013-14, 2012-13, 2011-2012, 2010-2011, 2009-2010, 2007-2008, 2006-2007, 2005-2006, and 2004-2005 Winter Surveys of Bay Area residents.
View historical "box scores" listing the number of times particulate matter standards have been exceeded on an annual basis in the Bay Area.



The Winter Spare the Air Program began in 1991. The table below lists the number of days on which Winter Spare the Air Alerts were issued for the Bay Area each year since then, as well as the number of days on which particulate matter (PM) concentrations exceeded the state and federal health-based air quality standards.

PM 10 refers to particulate matter that is 10 microns in size or smaller (about 1/7 the size of a human hair), and PM 2.5 refers to particulates that are 2.5 microns or smaller (about 1/28 the size of a human hair). The PM 2.5 standard was introduced by the federal government in 2000, and then strenghtened in 2006, as research demonstrated the significant public health impact of these "fine particles." Particles between 10 microns and 2.5 microns in size are sometimes referred to as "coarse particles."

Winter Spare the Air Alerts are issued when violations of national health standards are predicted by the Air District during the Winter Spare the Air season, which generally extends from November through February.

[Anti Federalist]

Bottom line is this is all about control. They cannot have people that are self-reliant and self-sufficient.

And there you have it.

Now that cooked meat causes cancer, you can forget about barbeques as well.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/grilled-barbecued-meat-may-up-kidney-cancer-risk/articleshow/49723128.cms

And you exhale CO2.

Nothing you do is now outside the realm of total control.

[devil21]

Just ignore it. The only reason regulatory bans like that work is because people consent to it.