SPARE THE AIR! WOOD SMOKE COMPLAINTS
By Air Quality Committee
The Bay Area Air Quality Management Dist. received over 400 complaints in the Bay Area about wood smoke over the recent holidays. Dry air traps pollutants and this is the driest December since 1989. Air testing last year showed that the worst areas for wood smoke in Marin was Woodacre with Forest Knolls close behind. The Air Quality Committee provided extensive information about wood burning in our monthly Newsletters that you may want to refer to. Go to the PG website www.sgvpg.org Click on Events & News. Scroll to PG Newsletter Archives. Check March/April/May.
WORTH REPEATING . . .
Excerpts from an earlier Air Quality Committee Report
Know that it is illegal to burn wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors when the Bay Area Air Quality Management District calls an air alert between Nov. 1 and February 28. There are some exemptions. And breathing in fine particulate is hazardous to your health as well as your neighborhood. Burning illegally can subject you to a warning for a first offense; a $400 fine for a second offense and it goes up from there. The Valley, particularly Forest Knolls and Woodacre consistently has serious wood smoke problems.
Before you burn:
• Call 1-877-4NO-BURN
• Visit www.sparetheair.org or www.baaqmd.gov
• Sign up for automatic e-mail AirAlerts at www.sparetheair.org
• Sign up for automatic phone alerts by calling 1-800-430-1515
You can file anonymous complaints for people who are burning improperly, or on ban days. But the Planning Group does not recommend this unless it is a last resort due to health reasons. If you have a problem try to first sit down with the offending neighbor and try to come to some agreement that works for both. Don’t just talk – be a good listener.
Past Articles
Valley Air Quality
Planning Group Air Quality Committee
$9K REBATES!!!
CLEAN AIR COMMITTEE
Susan Goldsborough, Fred Mundy and Marcia Ganeles Kislik
You may have recently received a post card from the county, informing you of the rebates available to those who make up grades to their wood-burning appliances. Up to $325 is available to help anyone who eliminates their wood burner or changes it out for a cleaner-burning propane heater or EPA-approved stove. If you are interested, we recommend upgrading our air quality, as well as your appliance, by selecting a propane or electric heater. And if you are leaning towards a new wood-burning stove, be aware that simply changing to an EPA-approved stove may not make much of a difference in the emissions you create if you continue to use poor fire maintainence techniques. One site we have found that gives meaningful guidelines on burning cleanly is http://www.achd.net/air/burning/wood.html.
You may have also read a recent I.J. article on wood-burning that points out the direction the air district is taking. The district is finally realizing that there are specific airsheds, scattered throughout the bay area, where air exchange is minimal–where smoke can build up and linger for days, causing real health concerns. Our valley is one such area and will likely be one of those they focus on in trying to reduce toxic conditions. They are under federal pressure to clean it up. If they fail, the Bay Area could lose major funding for transportation.
Another great way to cut down on wood-burning and save money, is to make your home more energy efficient. California is offering up to $9,100 in rebates for a wide range of measures you can take. For more information, check out https://energyupgradeca.org/county/marin/overview
SPARE THE AIR SEASON IS BACK
The Air Quality Committee provided extensive information about wood burning in our monthly Newsletters last fall. Know that it is illegal to burn wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors when the Bay Area Air Quality Management District calls an air alert between Nov. 1 and February 28. There are some exemptions. And breathing in fine particulate is hazardous to your health as well as your neighborhood. Burning illegally can subject you to a warning for a first offense; a $400 fine for a second offense and it goes up from there. The Valley, particularly Forest Knolls and Woodacre consistently has serious wood smoke problems.
Before you burn:
• Call 1-877-4NO-BURN
• Visit www.sparetheair.org or www.baaqmd.gov
• Sign up for automatic e-mail AirAlerts at www.sparetheair.org
• Sign up for automatic phone alerts by calling 1-800-430-1515
You can file anonymous complaints for people who are burning improperly, or on ban days. But the Planning Group does not recommend this unless it is a last resort due to health reasons. If you have a problem try to first sit down with the offending neighbor and try to come to some agreement that works for both. Don’t just talk – be a good listener.
SPARE THE AIR DAYS ARE BACK!
AND MORE COMING
WHEN FALL FIREPLACE SMOKE FILLS THE VALLEY
Hot temperatures and light winds often combine to produce poor air quality for the Valley and Bay Area. This means higher concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution. To help prevent smog, please remember:
• Carpool or vanpool with friends or co-workers
• Take public transportation
• Telecommute — work from home instead of driving to work
• Link necessary trips and postpone errands if possible
Tips:
To plan your commute online, visit 511.org.
To monitor current air quality conditions, visit http://www.sparetheair.org
Visit the Apple App Store to download a FREE Spare the Air iPhone application for alert notifications, local air quality forecasts, podcasts and several tools to help reduce air pollution!
For information on the U.S. EPA’s AIRNow Program, visit http://www.airnow.gov.
By Susan Goldsborough
The SGVPG Air Quality Committee has been actively pursuing a win/win solution to the air pollution that results from residential wood burning. To that end, committee members have been in contact with the inventors of two types of after-market afterburners that can be retrofitted onto existing wood stoves and fireplaces, Marin county officials, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, potential investors in the production and installation of the afterburners, and the EPA. A pilot project involving one or both of the previously mentioned afterburners is a strong possibility for this next winter. The air district is joining the project because it looks as if the permitted level of 2.5 particulates will be reduced from 35 micrograms per cubic meter to 25. If that air quality standard had been in effect this last winter, we would have had 25 Spare the Air burning ban days in effect rather than the 4 we experienced. The air district is desirous to find a solution that benefits everyone and so will provide PM2.5 monitoring for the pilot project. The Air Quality Committee, Susan Goldsborough, Fred Mundy and Marcia Ganeles-Kislik, will report on their progress at the September PG meeting.