Brief Description: Providing for the evaluation of additional measures to reduce wood smoke emissions.

Sponsors: Representatives Campbell, Hudgins, Morrell, Hunt and Ormsby.

Hearing Date: 2/22/07

Staff: Brad Avy (786-7289).

Background:

Nearly half of Washington's households have wood burning devices. During the past 20-25 years the number of wood stoves, fireplaces, pellet stoves, and fireplace inserts in Washington State has grown rapidly. Wood burning units can emit hundreds of times more pollution than other forms of heat such as natural gas, electricity, or oil.

Washington's wood heat regulation implements the 1991 Legislature's Clean Air Washington Act. This legislation restricts indoor burning, tightenes emission standards for new wood stoves and other solid fuel burning devices, and emphasizes education and enforcement to control wood stove pollution.

Since 1997, all fireplaces offered for sale in Washington must meet certification standards comparable to wood stove standards. Masonry fireplaces must also meet design standards that achieve similar emission reductions. The State Building Code Council devised fireplace construction standards and testing methods to meet this emission requirement.

There are communities in the state which exceed the national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter 2.5, primarily due to wood smoke emissions. The current strategies are not sufficient to reduce wood smoke emissions to levels which comply with the federal standards.

Summary of Bill:

The Legislature finds that it is in the state's interest and to the benefit of the people of the state to evaluate additional measures to reduce wood smoke emissions and update the state wood smoke control program.

A wood smoke reduction work group is established. Members of the wood smoke reduction work group must be appointed by the director of the Department of Ecology (DOE) and must include representatives of:

• the DOE;
• regional air quality agencies;
• hearth products industry;
• state, county, and local health departments;
• nongovernmental health organizations;
• natural gas utilities;
• electric utilities; and
• fuel suppliers.

The purpose of the wood smoke reduction work group is to update the state wood smoke control program. To achieve this purpose, the wood smoke reduction work group must review, study, evaluate, and make recommendations on at least the following items:

• communities in the state that have elevated levels of particulate matter 2.5 pollution and the demographics of those communities;
• types of solid fuel burning devices that contribute to particulate matter 2.5 pollution problems, numbers of each device in use, and amount of pollution contributed by each type of device;
• strategies used in other states, regions, or cities to reduce contributions to particulate matter 2.5 pollution from wood smoke and the effectiveness of these strategies;
• current statewide rules related to solid fuel burning devices and the effectiveness of these rules in reducing levels of particulate matter 2.5 pollution;
• measures that may be needed to attain and maintain compliance with federal particulate matter 2.5 standards;
• state laws, rules, tariffs, and policies that impact the ability to reduce emissions from solid fuel burning devices and encourage the use of cleaner burning devices;
• potential measures to reduce emissions from existing solid fuel burning devices, particularly fireplaces, and prevent emissions from new solid fuel burning devices; and
• potential financial incentives and sources of funding to change out older solid fuel burning devices to cleaner burning devices.

The wood smoke reduction work group must complete its work by December 1, 2007. The work group must submit a final report to the governor stating its findings, conclusions, and final recommendations by December 1, 2007.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on February 18, 2007.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.