New Air Quality Program Combats Neighborhood Wood Smoke with Upgrade Incentives for Wood Stove and Fireplace Insert Owners

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and local government, health and utility partners combat winter pollution by providing incentives to people to replace old wood burners with new technology

 

Nov. 15, 2007 – Residents in the Tacoma-Pierce County area have an opportunity to save up to $2,500 and residents in the City of Marysville can save up to $750—and help clean up the air—by replacing their old wood stoves or fireplace inserts through a new program being launched by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (Clean Air Agency).   The program is designed to address winter air quality issues in these two areas by targeting excess smoke from old wood stoves and fireplace inserts.

Currently, the Tacoma-Pierce County area exceeds the EPA’s new health-based air quality standards for fine particles (smoke), and the City of Marysville is in jeopardy of exceeding the standards. Older wood stoves are a significant contributor to the problems in both areas.  According to the Clean Air Agency, excess chimney smoke doesn’t just cloud our majestic vistas and views. It can also cause serious health problems for children and people with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and puts communities in jeopardy with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  

To address the problem areas head-on, the Clean Air Agency has launched wood stove replacement incentive programs in both areas in conjunction with multiple government, hearth industry, health and utility partners.  The two programs are the Marysville Wood Stove Replacement Program and the Tacoma-Pierce County Wood Stove Replacement Program, both of which run for the next 105 days—through February 2008.  Details are available at www.pscleanair.org/woodstove.replacement  or by calling 1-888-859-5799 or sending an email to woodstove.replacement@gmail.com .  The programs begin November 15, 2007, and run until February 29, 2008.  

Beyond basic education about the impacts of wood smoke, these programs provide between $200 and $2,500 in discounts toward the replacement of a pre-1995 wood stove with new technology, whether a new stove, fireplace insert or a whole-house heating option like a gas furnace or high-efficiency electric heat pump.   The discount available to each household is based on the type of new appliance selected and, in the Tacoma-Pierce County program, on the income level of the household, with low-income households receiving up to $2,500 in program incentives.  

Homeowners work with participating contractors and stove dealers to choose their preferred appliance, and the discount is applied at the point of sale.  Significant additional incentives and offers are being made available through a variety of partners, such as the City of Tacoma’s Housing Rehabilitation Program, Puget Sound Energy, Snohomish County PUD and Tacoma Power.  Financing may also be available to qualified households.

“Anyone who uses an old wood stove or fireplace insert in these communities should contact us as soon as possible so we can help them save money if they qualify,” notes Dennis McLerran, executive director of the Clean Air Agency.  “It is not always easy to determine if your wood-burning device is older than 1995.  We suggest that homeowners with a wood stove or fireplace insert call the toll-free number, go to the web site or send us an e-mail so we can help them get on the list if they qualify.  We have limited funding available on a first-come-first-served basis, and only through February 2008.”

More than $250,000 is being made available for the two programs through grants from the Washington Department of Ecology and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.  Anyone who lives in these areas and has a pre-1995 wood-burning appliance (stove or fireplace insert) can apply to participate, but there are restrictions based on particular ZIP codes.  The program will help applicants determine if they have a qualifying wood stove or fireplace insert and can help them benefit from upgrading to a new appliance by saving on heating costs and improving their home’s indoor air quality.

More-efficient home heating options included in the program are freestanding natural gas, propane, pellet and wood stoves meeting Washington State standards; natural gas, propane, pellet and Washington State-approved wood fireplace inserts; as well as high-efficiency natural gas furnaces or electric heat pumps.         

“In many residential neighborhoods, on certain nights of the year, up to 80 percent of the fine particle pollution is from residential wood fires,” adds McLerran.  “We know that wood smoke pollutants are associated with premature mortality, are harmful to breathe and can cause other health effects.  For anyone who suffers from asthma, chimney smoke can be a trigger for serious breathing problems. This program offers new, cleaner heating choices and cleaner neighborhood air for residents in areas highly affected by wood smoke pollution.”
 
Besides aiming to achieve better air quality in general, the Clean Air Agency has a bigger challenge due to the U.S. EPA’s new air quality standards.  In 2006, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particle pollution less than 2.5 micrograms in size (PM2.5) were lowered dramatically to reflect recent health studies on the harmful effects of such pollution.  Cities, such as Marysville and Tacoma, must now meet the new lower standards for PM2.5.  Communities that do not meet the new standards are listed as non-attainment and face a host of restrictions from the federal government. 

Despite the years of hard and successful work toward improving local air quality undertaken by the Clean Air Agency, regulated businesses and key partners, these tighter standards will cause the US EPA to list the Tacoma-Pierce County area as non-attainment for PM2.5 in 2008.  Marysville will potentially become non-attainment within the next few years. In addition to the health effects of dirty air on local residents, a non-attainment designation can also have significant impacts on economic growth, jobs, and development and infrastructure. Hence the Clean Air Agency’s efforts to address a primary cause of elevated PM2.5 levels in these areas by offering wood stove replacement incentive programs.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is not alone in this effort.  In both communities they have partnered with Puget Sound Energy, the Northwest Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association and the American Lung Association of Washington.  In Tacoma-Pierce County, they have partnered with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Pierce County, the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Utilities.  In Marysville, partners include the City of Marysville and the Snohomish Public Utility District.

ABOUT THE PUGET SOUND CLEAN AIR AGENCY
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is an air quality management agency serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Created as a result of the 1967 Washington Clean Air Act, the agency protects public health and improves air quality by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, educating individuals and businesses about clean-air choices and sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality.  Details at www.pscleanair.org .

 

For more information: 

Amy Warren
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
206-689-4092
AmyW@pscleanair.org

Erika Schmidt / Laura Gese
Frause
206-352-6402
eschmidt@frause.com
lgese@frause.com