AN ACT Relating to wood stoves; adding new sections to chapter 70.94 RCW; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 70.94.770.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. In the interest of the public health and welfare and in keeping with the objectives of RCW 70.94.011, the legislature declares it to be the public policy of the state to control, reduce, and prevent air pollution caused by wood stove emissions. The legislature further declares it to be the public policy of the state to reduce wood stove emissions by encouraging the department of ecology to continue efforts to educate the public about the effects of wood stove emissions, other heating alternatives, and the desirability of achieving better emission performance and heating efficiency from wood stoves.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. As used in sections 2 through 10 of this act, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(2) "Wood stove" means a solid fuel burning device other than a fireplace, including any fireplace insert, wood stove, wood burning heater, wood stick boiler, coal-fired furnace, coal stove, or similar device burning any solid fuel used for aesthetic or space-heating purposes in a private residence or commercial establishment, which has a heat input less than one million British thermal units per hour.

(3) "Fireplace" means any permanently installed masonry or factory-built metal appliance for burning solid fuel, designed with an open combustion chamber and without features to allow control of the combustion rate.

(4) "New wood stove" means a wood stove that is sold at retail, bargained, exchanged, or given away for the first time by a manufacturer, a manufacturer's dealer or agency, or a retailer.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The department of ecology shall establish a program to educate wood stove dealers and the public about:

(1) The effects of wood stove emissions on health and air quality;

(2) Methods of achieving better efficiency and emission performance from wood stoves;

(3) Wood stoves that have been approved by the department; and

(4) The benefits of replacing inefficient wood stoves with stoves approved according to section 4 of this act or of retrofitting inefficient wood stoves with emission control devices.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Before January 1, 1988, the department shall establish by rules adopted under chapter 34.04 RCW:

(1) Emission performance standards for new wood stoves. In developing the rules, the department shall consider regulations adopted by the federal government and other states. Emission standards, testing procedures, calculation and reporting methods, and labeling requirements should be compatible with federal regulation, as far as is practical, remaining consistent with the department's objectives of protecting human health and preventing injury to life and property from air pollution;

(2) A program to: (a) Determine whether a wood stove complies with the emission performance standards established under subsection (1) of this section; and (b) approve the sale of stoves that comply with the emission performance standards;

(3) Reasonable opacity limitation for residential solid fuel burning devices and provisions for enforcement. The limitation shall not be more stringent than the state-wide requirement for industrial emission points. Opacity shall be determined by a certified smoke reader, according to the method established by the department of ecology;

(4) Procedures for the designation, announcement, and enforcement of days where residential burning is prohibited, in concert with the air pollution episode procedures established under RCW 70.94.715. Such procedures shall include voluntary curtailment of residential burning in devices which do not meet the emission performance standards established in subsection (1) of this section, during periods of meteorologic conditions which are conducive to high ambient wood smoke levels, and mandatory curtailment of residential wood burning during forecast, alert, warning, and emergency conditions as defined in RCW 70.94.715. Residences which have no adequate source of heat except through the burning of wood shall be exempted from curtailment provisions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. After July 1, 1988, no person shall advertise to sell, offer to sell, or sell a new wood stove in this state unless the wood stove has been approved by the department under the program established under section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If, after July 1, 1988, a person who advertises to sell, offers to sell, or sells a new wood stove in this state in violation of section 5 of this act shall be subject to the penalties and enforcement actions under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The wood stove public education fund is hereby established in the custody of the state treasurer. The department of ecology shall deposit in the fund all moneys received under subsection (2) of this section or designated by appropriation or otherwise for deposit in the fund. Moneys in the fund may be spent only for the purposes of the education on wood stoves program under section 3 of this act. Disbursements from the fund shall be on authorization of the director of ecology or the director's designee. The fund is subject to the allotment procedure provided under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for disbursements.

(2) The department of ecology, with the advice of the advisory committee, shall set a flat fee on the retail sale, as defined in RCW 82.04.050, of each solid fuel burning device, excepting masonry fireplaces, after January 1, 1988. The fee may be adjusted according to changes in the consumer price index. The fee shall be collected in conjunction with the retail sales tax under chapter 82.08 RCW. The department of revenue shall collect the tax and transmit the moneys according to the directions of the department of ecology. The collection provisions of chapter 82.34 RCW shall apply.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The department shall establish an advisory committee to participate in the development of rules regulating wood stoves, the design and implementation of the public education program specified in section 3 of this act, and in establishing the fee and budget for the public education program. This committee shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the wood heating industry, environmental groups, concerned citizens, the chimney cleaning industry, and affected government agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A person shall not cause or allow any of the following materials to be burned in any residential solid fuel burning device:

(1) Garbage;

(2) Treated wood;

(3) Plastics;

(4) Rubber products;

(5) Animals;

(6) Asphaltic products;

(7) Waste petroleum products;

(8) Paints; or

(9) Any substance, other than properly seasoned fuel wood, which normally emits dense smoke or obnoxious odors.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Coal shall not be burned in any residential solid fuel burning device, unless such device is: (1) A coal-fired furnace; (2) not designed for manual fueling; (3) the sole source of heat in a residence or commercial establishment; and (4) installed before the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Section 8, chapter 193, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. and RCW 70.94.770 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 2 through 10 of this act are each added to chapter 70.94 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.