Free Republic

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new standards for wood stoves that would reduce the maximum amount of fine particulate emissions allowed for new stoves sold in 2015 and 2019... The EPA currently certifies non-catalytic wood stoves if they produce less than 7.5 grams of fine particulate per hour... The proposed EPA regulations would reduce that to 4.5 grams per hour for stoves manufactured after the regulations go into place next year... The EPA will take public comment on the proposed changes for 90 days.

The EPA's much-anticipated wood stove regulations are proposed to go into effect throughout the country in 2015, requiring newly manufactured stoves to cut maximum emissions by more than a third. Those standards would tighten dramatically in 2019 [80 percent in five years]. Wood stoves that already are installed or are for sale are not affected by the regulations, a Friday press release from the EPA stated. Only a handful of the stoves on the EPA's certified stove list would meet those standards in 2019. However, the EPA focused primarily on the savings to health costs and money spent on wood...