From: Timothy Seaton [mailto:tseaton@timelyconstruction.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 1:30 PM
I just finished talking with Eric Pop of Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAGMD) about the removal of masonry heaters from the approved list (Reg. 6). This was apparently based on information that masonry heaters under customer use (misuse?) burned as dirty or dirtier than fireplaces. The source of this information was Northern Sonoma County. I stressed to Eric that every wood burning device was subject to customer misuse but that the only research to my knowledge of masonry heaters in actual in home operation verified that they did in fact burn cleanly in direct contradiction to his information (the EPA audited five heater test in 1992 where consumers burned their own wood according to their own schedule). I pointed out that of all the wood burning devices, masonry heaters are the least subject to sustained misuse because failing to operate them as designed resulted in little heat delivery to the user (who purchased them for their heating capacity.
I mentioned our efforts with EPA and promised to send the white paper. The meetings in April are to be informational meetings to the public with more legal meetings later in the summer.
John Crouch (HPBA) is willing to have a conference call with us this week (next week is the MHA annual meeting). Available times are tomorrow, Wednesday, April 2nd at 3:00 PM; Thursday, April 3rd at 4:00 PM; or Friday, April 4th at 10:00 AM or 4:00 PM. John has a website which sets up conference calls and with which you can first vote for a time. Information follows:
Please use this link to vote for a conference call time.
And then forward this link.
"Air Quality telcon for Masonry Heaters" at Doodle.
http://www.doodle.ch/zz7dxi5beehkpduu
JC
John Crouch
Director of Public Affairs
HPBA - Sacramento
PFI - Sacramento
7509 Madison Ave, suite 204D
Citrus Heights, Ca 95610
916.536.2390
www.hpba.org
www.pelletheat.org
john.crouch.hpba@sbcglobal.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Doodle Mailer [mailto:mailer@doodle.ch]
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 1:17 PM
To: John.crouch.hpba@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Doodle: "Air Quality telcon for Masonry Heaters"
You have initiated a poll for "Air Quality telcon for Masonry Heaters" at Doodle. The link to your poll is:
http://www.doodle.ch/zz7dxi5beehkpduu
Please send this link to all potential participants, and they will be able to cast their votes. Do not forget to make your own selection, too.
If you did not initiate this poll, somebody must have used your e-mail address by accident. Please ignore this mail.
To: mheat@heatkit.com; 'Juha.Turunen@tulikivi.fi'; 'John LaGamba'; 'Jamie Paiken'; 'Albie Barden'; 'ksotero'; 'wmoberg@mobergfireplaces.com'; 'biofire@aol.com'; 'lopezquarries@verizon.net'; 'pekka@northstoneheat.com'; 'rod'; 'buckley@rumford.com'
Cc: 'John Crouch'; 'Tom Stroud'; 'Allan Cagnoli'
Subject: California; Bay area masonry heaters
From: Timothy Seaton, 3/28/08
California’s Bay Area Air Quality Management District, comprising some 9 counties around San Francisco, including the greater San Francisco environs, San Jose, Napa, and other municipalities has just released their latest smoke emission regulation draft version, Rule 6. This version has now removed masonry heaters from the approved solid fuel burning devices for installation. Only EPA certified wood stoves, pellet stoves and potentially low mass fireplaces (under the pending industry/EPA protocols) would be allowed. Public hearings will be hold at several locations in April, unfortunately overlapping the MHA conference back east.
Only concerted rapid action by manufacturers, customers and other interested parties can get us back in. This is very doable; our emissions numbers are better than many of the allowable devices in the current version.
BAAQMD website link: http://www.baaqmd.gov/pln/ruledev/workshops.htm I have a call in trying to find out why we were removed. I will try to make one of the hearings.
John Crouch’s comments from HPBA (thanks for being the first to flag me with this, John):
Here is a crisis for masonry heaters that folks can act on.
The new rule for the Bay area is out, please follow the link and read it.
Masonry heaters were in the first version, now they are out.
Napa and the southern part of Sonoma county are covered by this air district.
I suggest that anyone who builds heaters in this 9 county area had better turn out to one of the public meetings in April, and possibly some heater users, if possible.
Yes, folks can send emails, but I think they are of little value, and please tell everyone involved not to bother suggesting that this air district not pass a rule on wood burning, I have counted votes, this rule will pass, probably in June.
If you can pull together a Telcon of interested folks in this area, I’ll be happy to brief them by phone, prior to these meetings.
JC
John Crouch
Director of Public Affairs
HPBA - Sacramento
PFI - Sacramento
7509 Madison Ave, suite 204D
Citrus Heights, Ca 95610
916.536.2390
www.hpba.org
www.pelletheat.org
john.crouch.hpba@sbcglobal.net