The EPA Is Getting Ready To Regulate Americans’ Wood Stoves Forcing Them To Buy New Ones [Video]

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | February 6, 2015 1:47 pm

When my husband and I move to a new area, we specifically look for a home[1] with a wood burning stove. It’s cheaper and if the power grid goes down, we have a way to survive it. Yep, we’re preppers. These regulations are meant to do away with wood stoves and force people to get their heat from gas or electric, paid for at exorbitant rates from utility providers. In some areas, even with gas or electric, the only way to truly keep a home warm is with a wood or pellet stove. This is more of the EPA’s fascist heavy handedness, trying to control all we do and force us into behavior and routines like you would livestock. The EPA can pound sand as far as I’m concerned.

From the Daily Caller:

The EPA has finalized a 344-page rule to make wood stoves more environmentally friendly, meaning that millions of Americans will soon be forced to buy more expensive wood-fired stoves.

Republican lawmakers have opposed the rule, saying it would harm millions in rural America that rely on wood stoves to heat their homes every winter. With natural gas and electricity prices on the rise, wood stoves can be an economical choice for many living in the countryside.

“The EPA’s shortsighted regulatory overreach is once again hitting hardworking Montanans in their pocketbooks,” said Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

Some 2.4 million American households rely on wood stoves for heat. When the agency proposed the rule last year, critics argued 80 percent of wood stoves[2] in use would not meet tightened standards and consumers would never be able to buy them brand new — raising energy costs for millions of people during the coldest times of the year.

“Thousands of Montanans rely on wood burning stoves for affordable, cost-effective energy — yet once again, the EPA is moving forward with new, costly regulations that could stand in the way of Montanans’ access to new residential wood heaters or burden Montana families with higher costs,” Daines said.

But EPA claims the rule will save lives while only costing $45.7 million per year. EPA also argues that forcing people to ditch their wood stoves will result in 360 to 810 fewer death per year from reduced emissions of carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.

“To the extent that children and other sensitive populations are particularly susceptible to asthma, and that minority populations and low-income populations are more vulnerable, this rule will significantly reduce the pollutants that adversely affect their health,” the EPA said in regulatory documents[3].

The finalized version of EPA’s rule also gives manufacturers more time to make and certify stoves that emit fewer pollutants. Politico’s Morning Energy notes that[4] “[c]ompanies that make small wood-burning forced air furnaces will have to meet first-step emissions limits by 2016, with large furnaces having until 2017.”

“All sizes have to meet second-step limits by 2020,” reports Politico. “EPA will also allow conditional certification for up to a year for several devices if the manufacturer gets an EPA-accredited lab to certify an emissions test.”

[…]

Wisconsin Republicans State Rep. David Craig and State Sen. Frank Lasee introduced legislation to prevent state regulators from implementing the EPA’s wood stove rules. Craig and Lasee argue the rule will only serve to raise energy prices for state residents and hurt manufacturers. Missouri has also introduced a law to block the EPA wood stove rule.

“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to introduce regressive standards that hurt Wisconsinites, particularly low income families who rely on wood heat,” said Craig[5].

States such as Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Wisconsin and other states that have very rural areas are not likely to take this sitting down. It will hurt millions of people and many just won’t be able to afford to get a new, more expensive wood stove. This has nothing to do with asthma or pollution either. That’s just another piece of governmental propaganda. It has everything to do with controlling energy and resources and wait for it… money. Like doing away with coal, this will also cause energy prices to skyrocket even more. We don’t have to see Russia from here anymore… we’re living in it.

Endnotes:
  1. we specifically look for a home: http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/05/epa-wood-stooves/
  2. critics argued 80 percent of wood stoves: http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2014/01/29/epas-wood-burning-stove-ban-has-chilling-consequences-for-many-rural-people/
  3. said in regulatory documents: http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-02/documents/20150204-residential-wood-heaters-nsps.pdf
  4. notes that: http://www.politico.com/morningenergy/
  5. said Craig: http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/epa-regulation-causes-concern-for-owners-of-wood-burning-stoves/article_22292578-ace3-11e4-a141-eb3d6d469e71.html

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/environment/epa-getting-ready-regulate-americans-wood-stoves-forcing-buy-new-ones-video/