7 States Sue EPA Over Wood Fired Boilers

Seven states filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the Environmental Protection Agency over health-damaging air pollution from outdoor wood-fired boilers that have become popular for residential heating.  The lawsuit asks a federal court to order the EPA to review and adopt updated emissions limits for the boilers, which have been banned in some states and are strictly regulated in others. The coalition includes New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the EPA’s emissions limits haven’t been updated in 25 years and cover wood stoves but not wood boilers. Schneiderman cited EPA data saying emissions from wood-burning devices account for 13 percent of all soot pollution in the nation.

Soot is linked to public health problems, including asthma, heart attacks and premature death.

An EPA spokeswoman said Wednesday that the agency was reviewing the lawsuit.

New York state adopted regulations in April 2011 to require all new wood-fired boilers sold in the state to burn at least 90 percent cleaner than older models. A plan to extend the rules to existing boilers was shelved after a public outcry, particularly in rural areas of New York, where farms and homes that rely on the heaters would have to pay thousands of dollars to replace them.

An outdoor wood-fired boiler, which resembles an outhouse with a chimney, heats water that is piped to the home’s radiator system. The devices are exempt from EPA emissions regulations, but some states and municipalities have banned them because of pollution concerns. Others have used subsidies to get people to switch to cleaner boilers.

In court papers, the states said national standards are needed to level the playing field so less-polluting wood heaters become more widely available in all states.

The lawsuit seeks updated standards for indoor wood stoves as well as the inclusion of other categories of wood heaters, including indoor and outdoor wood boilers.  (Wash Post, 10/9/2013)