New Residential Wood Heaters: Potential Impacts from Delaying Federal Emission Standards

March 14, 2018

New Residential Wood Heaters: Potential Impacts from

Delaying Federal Emission Standards

On March 7, 2018, the House passed H.R. 1917, which

would, among other things, delay the effective date of

federal emission standards for new residential wood heaters

promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) in 2015. House and Senate hearings in late 2017

highlighted concerns about inadequate time to demonstrate

compliance with emission standards by the 2020 deadline.

Others have expressed concerns about the air quality

impacts of delaying the 2020 deadline.

The legislation also raises questions about state- and locallevel impacts. For example, one witness testified that a

delay could negatively affect jurisdictions in which wood

smoke emissions already make it difficult to meet federal

air quality standards.

This In Focus explores how the legislation might interact

with state- and local-level emission standards. For more

information about the federal standards, their potential

impacts, and stakeholder views, see CRS Report R43489,

EPA’s Wood Stove / Wood Heater Regulations: Frequently

Asked Questions, by James E. McCarthy and Kate C.

Shouse.

Background

EPA found that wood smoke—a mixture of fine particles,

carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and toxic air

pollutants emissions—causes respiratory illness and

premature death in some people at certain exposures.

Nationally, EPA estimated that wood smoke emissions

account for nearly 25% of all area source toxic cancer risks

and 15% of non-cancer respiratory effects (EPA,

“Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood

Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air

Furnaces,” 80 Federal Register 13673, March 16, 2015).

EPA first promulgated wood heater emission standards in

1988 under the Clean Air Act. The standards are called

New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and they

apply only to new, residential wood heaters.

In 2015, EPA revised the standards for woodstoves and

pellet stoves and established first-ever federal standards for

other types of new residential wood heaters. The newly

added heaters included indoor and outdoor boilers (also

known as “hydronic heaters”), forced air furnaces, and

single burn rate stoves. (See the text box for descriptions.)

The 2015 NSPS is implemented through a two-step process

over a five-year period. Step 1 standards became effective

in 2015, while the more stringent Step 2 standards are to

become effective in 2020.

Types of Residential Wood Heaters

Wood stoves are appliances that burn wood to produce heat.

Consumers may use them as a primary or secondary source of

heat. Wood stoves are typically made out of cast iron, steel, or

stone.

Pellet stoves are similar to wood stoves except that they burn

fuel made of ground, dried wood and other biomass wastes

compressed into pellets. They operate by pouring pellets into a

hopper that feeds into the stove. Most require electricity.

Hydronic heaters (also called outdoor wood heaters or

outdoor wood boilers) are typically located outside the buildings

they heat and are often housed in small sheds with short

smokestacks. They typically burn wood to heat liquid that is

piped to provide heat and hot water to occupied buildings such

as homes and barns.

Forced air furnaces (also called warm-air furnaces) are

designed to burn cordwood, wood pellets, or wood chips to

heat an entire residence. Typically located indoors, these

furnaces distribute heat through ducts using a blower fan.

Source: EPA, “Burn Wise—Types of Appliances,”

https://www.epa.gov/burnwise/burn-wise-types-appliances.

Are Wood Heaters Subject to State and

Local Standards?

State and local jurisdictions have enacted measures to

address wood smoke emissions. For example, Washington

State promulgated woodstove emission standards in 1995

that were more stringent than federal standards. Other states

promulgated regulations limiting emissions from residential

hydronic heaters before these heaters were subject to

federal emission standards. As a result, prior to 2015, wood

heaters sold to consumers in certain jurisdictions were

required to meet tighter emission standards than those at the

federal level.

Stakeholders, including manufacturers and environmental

groups, supported the 2015 NSPS rule in part because it

provided uniformity of standards across the country. There

had been broad concerns about the patchwork of state

regulations and voluntary programs addressing wood

smoke.

How Would a Delay Affect State and

Local Programs?

It is unclear how delaying the 2020 Step 2 effective date in

federal standards would affect state and local programs.

State or local standards could potentially negate a delay to

the effective date of the federal standards, but there is not

enough information to determine the likelihood of this

scenario. The status of state and local regulations for wood

heaters is not systematically tracked, thereby making it

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New Residential Wood Heaters: Potential Impacts from Delaying Federal Emission Standards

difficult to determine whether manufacturers would be

subject to more stringent standards in some jurisdictions in

the event of a delay to the federal standards effective date.

Wisconsin

In short, the applicability of state regulations would need to

be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Notes: List based on CRS research.

What Do We Know About Wood

Heater Emission Standards at the State

and Local Level?

Various state and local jurisdictions have promulgated

regulations or ordinances for wood heater emissions. Some

state regulations incorporate the federal standards by

reference (e.g., referencing 40 C.F.R. Part 60, subpart

AAA). At least one state wrote the Step 2 deadline into

state regulations (Colorado, 5 CCR 1001-6 No. 4).

Table 1 presents examples of states with regulations that

reference the federal wood heater NSPS.

Table 1. Examples of State Wood Heater Regulations

State

Regulation

Colorado

5 CCR 1001-6 No. 4, Sale and installation of

wood-burning appliances and use of certain

wood-burning appliances during high pollution

days

Georgia

Ga. Comp. R & Regs. r.391-3-1-.02 Section 8,

“New Source Performance Standards”

Maine

Code of Maine Regulations 06-096-143,

Chapter 143, “New Source Performance

Standards (NSPS)”

Massachusetts

310 CMR 7.26(50)-(54), MassDEP Wood-Fired

Boiler Regulation

Minnesota

Minnesota Administrative Rules, Section

7011.2950

Missouri

10 CSR 10-6.070, New Source Performance

Standards

New

Hampshire

Chapter 125-R: Outdoor Wood-Fired

Hydronic Heaters

Oregon

Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 340,

Division 262, Heat Smart Program for

Residential Woodstoves and Other Solid Fuel

Heating Devices

South

Carolina

S.C. Code Regs 61-62.20, South Carolina

Designated Facility Plan and New Source

Performance Standards, “Title 40 C.F.R. Part 60

Subparts Incorporated by Reference”

Vermont

Vermont Air Pollution Control Regulations 5204, “Wood Stoves and Central Heaters”

State

Regulation

Chapter NR 440, Standards of Performance for

New Stationary Sources

State and local jurisdictions may also incorporate emission

standards for residential wood heaters into county-level

ordinances or state air quality planning documents for

attaining national air quality standards. For example, some

local governments in Minnesota have adopted ordinances

addressing outdoor hydronic heaters (see

https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/wood-smoke).

Another example is Alaska, which recently amended its

State Implementation Plan for attaining air quality

standards to address requirements for wood-fired heating

devices located in a nonattainment area. In 2017, an Alaska

nonattainment area—Fairbanks North Star Borough—was

reclassified from moderate to serious nonattainment for fine

particle pollution. According to EPA Region 10, “Fairbanks

North Star Borough faces an especially difficult challenge

of meeting existing pollution standards for a number of

reasons including a high reliance on woodstoves and wood

heaters to stay warm” (EPA, “EPA, Alaska to Work

Together on Improving Fairbanks Air Quality,” press

release, May 1, 2017, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/

epa-alaska-work-together-improving-fairbanks-air-quality).

Potential Issues for Congress

The Senate may consider legislation similar to H.R. 1917

that would provide wood heater manufacturers more time to

certify compliance with the Step 2 emission standards.

Supporters of the legislation have stated that a delay would

allow an industry dominated by small businesses to conduct

more cost-effective product development. Those opposed to

the legislation have raised concerns about the impact of a

delay on air quality. The legislation also raises questions

about the interaction of federal and state-level regulations.

Congress may consider potential unintended consequences

of a delay given the variety of state and local measures

addressing wood smoke emissions. For example, delaying

the effective date of the federal standards could introduce

regulatory uncertainty in jurisdictions that may have

promulgated the 2020 deadline in state code or otherwise

factored it into plans for meeting air quality standards.

Some jurisdictions may have enacted standards that negate

a delay to the federal effective date, while others may have

incorporated federal regulations—and subsequent updates

to those regulations—by reference. CRS cannot predict how

a state might interpret its own regulations or respond to any

change in federal rules.

Kate C. Shouse, Analyst in Environmental Policy

https://crsreports.congress.gov

IF10844

New Residential Wood Heaters: Potential Impacts from Delaying Federal Emission Standards

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