BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-1 

Rule 207 Wood Burning Devices 

(Adopted October 25, 2001; Recodified August 22, 2002; Amended December11, 2008) 

RULE 207 CONTENTS

1. APPLICABILITY 

2. DEFINITIONS 

3. REQUIREMENTS 

4. EXEMPTIONS 

5. TEST METHODS 

6. DISTRICT-APPROVED DEVICES 
BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-2 

RULE 207 

1 APPLICABILITY: This Rule shall apply within the boundaries of Butte County 

to any person who owns, operates, installs, builds, inspects, sells or offers for sale a 

wood burning device.. 

2 DEFINITIONS 

2.1 Accessory Building means any building that is not a residence, commercial 

building or public building as defined by this Rule, but is located on 

property which contains a residence, commercial building or public building 

as the primary structure. 

2.2 Coal means any of the natural, rocklike, burnable solid, brown to black 

derivatives of forest-type plant material usually accumulated in peat beds, 

including anthracite, bituminous, and lignite varieties. 

2.3 Commercial Building means a building, or portion thereof used as a place 

of business or commerce. 

2.4 EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency. 

2.5 EPA-Accredited Laboratory means a laboratory as specified by Title 40, 

Code of Federal Regulations, Subpart AAA (Standards of Performance for 

New Residential Wood Heaters), Section 60.535 

2.6 EPA-Certified Wood Burning Device means any wood burning device 

that meets the performance and emission standards set forth in Part 60, Title 

40, Subpart AAA Code of Federal Regulations, February 26, 1988. 

 

2.7 Freestanding Fireplace means any wood burning device other than a wood 

heater that is not inset into the walls of a structure, and vents smoke via a 

flue pipe through the wall or roof of the structure. 

2.8 Fireplace means any permanently installed masonry or factory built wood 

burning device with an open front or glass door and which does not meet the 

definition of a wood heater. 

2.9 Fireplace Insert means any wood heater designed to be installed in an 

existing masonry or factory-built fireplace. 

2.10 Garbage means all solid, semisolid, and liquid wastes generated from 

residential, commercial, and industrial sources, including trash, refuse, 

rubbish, industrial wastes, asphaltic products, manure, vegetable or animal 

matter, and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes which have not been 

sorted and recycled for use in wood combustion devices. 
BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-3 

2.11 Gas-Fired Fireplace means any device dedicated to burn natural or 

liquified petroleum gas as its fuel through a ceramic, or otherwise 

noncombustible gas log, and which cannot be converted to a wood burning 

device. 

2.12 Interior Space means any indoor area which is designed and used for 

human occupancy. 

2.13 Manufacturer means any person who constructs or imports a woodburning 

device. 

2.14 Manufactured Logs means compressed or extruded log shaped products 

designed for use in Fireplaces or Wood Burning Heaters as solid fuel that 

are comprised of recycled bio mass and/or wood fibers, which may include a 

combustible organic or petroleum wax binder material in the product 

composition. 

2.15 Oregon-Certified means any wood heater meeting the performance and 

emission standards set forth in Sections 100 through 190 of Chapter 340, 

Division 21, Oregon Administrative Rules. 

2.16 Paints means all exterior and interior house and trim paints, enamels, 

varnishes, lacquers, stains, primers, sealers, undercoaters, roof coatings, 

wood preservatives, shellacs, and other paints or paint-like products. 

2.17 Paint Solvents means all organic solvents sold or used to thin paints or to 

clean up painting equipment. 

2.18 Pellet-Fueled Wood Heaters are devices that burn pellet fuel exclusively, 

and are either EPA-Certified or exempted under EPA requirements set forth 

in Part 60, Title 40, Subpart AAA, Code of Federal Regulations, February 

26, 1988. 

2.19 Permanently Inoperable means modified in such a way that a device can 

no longer operate as a wood burning device. 

2.20 Person means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, 

business trust, corporation, company, contractor, supplier, installer, user, 

owner, State or local governmental agency or public district, or any officer 

or employee thereof. 

2.21 Petroleum Product means any petroleum product other than gaseous fuels. 

2.22 Plastic Product mean any material that contains any of numerous organic 

synthetic or processed materials that are mostly thermoplastic or 

thermosetting polymers of high molecular weight and that can be made into 

objects, films, or filaments. 
BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-4 

2.23 Public Building means any building where access by the general public is 

allowed. 

2.24 Residence means any address at which persons dwell more than 

temporarily. 

2.25 Retailer means any person engaged in the sale of wood burning devices 

directly to the consumer. 

2.26 Rubber Products means any material either natural or synthetic, which can 

be stretched at room temperature to at least twice its original length and, 

immediately upon release of the stress, returns with force to its approximate 

original length. 

2.27 Seasoned Wood means any wood that has been sufficiently dried so as to 

contain 20 percent or less moisture by weight. 

2.28 Treated Wood means wood of any species that has been chemically 

impregnated, painted, or similarly modified to improve resistance to insects 

or weathering. 

2.29 Used Wood Heater means any wood heater that has been sold and/or used 

at least once, except wood heaters that have been used by retailers for the 

purpose of demonstration. 

2.30 Wood Composition Products means plywood, particle board, masonite or 

any other manufactured wood product containing chemical adhesives, 

bonding agents, or any other non-wood material. 

3.31 Wood-fired Outdoor Boiler means any equipment, device or apparatus, or 

any part thereof, which is installed, affixed or situated outdoors for the 

purpose of combustion of wood fuel, including devices which may burn 

other fuels, to produce heat or energy used as a component of a heating

system designed or operated to provide heat or hot water for any interior 

space.

2.32 Wood Burning Cookstove means a wood burning appliance designed 

primarily for cooking food, with a separate oven for cooking or baking 

which is contained in, and is an integral part of, the body of the appliance. 

2.33 Wood Burning Device means any fireplace, free standing fireplace, 

fireplace insert, wood stove, or other wood heater, that burns wood or any 

other nongaseous or nonliquid fuels, or any similar device burning any 

wood used for aesthetic or space-heating purposes in any interior space, 

having a heat input less than one million British thermal units per hour. 

2.34 Wood Heater means an enclosed, wood-burning appliance capable of and 
BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-5 

intended for space heating that meets all of the following criteria: 

2.34.1 An air-to-fuel ratio in the combustion chamber averaging less than 

35-to-1 as determined by tests specified in Section 6.1. 

2.34.2 A usable firebox volume less than 20 cubic feet. 

2.34.3 A minimum burn rate less than 5 kg/hr. 

2.34.4 A maximum weight of less than 800 kg. For the purpose of this 

Rule, fixtures and devices that are normally sold separately, such 

as flue pipe, chimney and masonry components that are not an 

integral part of the appliance or heat distribution ducting do not 

count as part of the appliance weight. 

2.35 Zero Clearance Fireplace means any factory-built fireplace designed to be 

installed into wood-frame construction. 

3 REQUIREMENTS 

3.1 Public Awareness Requirements 

3.1.1 Each retailer shall supply public awareness information with each 

sale of a wood burning device in the form of pamphlets, brochures 

or factsheets on the following topics: 

3.1.1.1 Proper operation and maintenance of wood burning 

devices; 

3.1.1.2 Proper sizing of wood burning devices; 

3.1.1.3 Proper fuel selection and use and the importance of 

using seasoned wood or manufactured logs; 

3.1.1.4 Weatherization methods for the home; 

3.1.1.5 Proper fuel storage to maintain low moisture content; 

3.1.1.6 Health benefits from low-emission wood burning 

devices. 

3.1.2 Retailers may use pamphlets prepared by the Butte County Air 

Quality Management District (DISTRICT), the California Air 

Resources Board, or industry, subject to the Air Pollution Control 

Officer's (APCO) approval. 

3.1.3 Installation of Wood Burning Devices 

3.1.3.1 No wood burning device for which a building permit 

application is submitted on or after December 11, 

2008 may be installed in any new or existing interior 

space unless it is a DISTRICT-approved device as 

defined in Section 6.1 of this Rule. 

3.1.3.2 An inspection by the APCO or his designee shall be 

performed upon completion of the installation, or 

prior to issuance of final approval for all wood 

burning devices installed that are DISTRICTapproved devices as defined in Section 6.1. 

3.2 Installation of Wood-Fired Outdoor Boilers: Effective December 11, 

2008 no person shall install a wood-fired boiler to provide heat for any 
BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-6 

residential, commercial or public building or accessory building unless the 

unit has been certified to meet the standards established in EPA’s Outdoor 

Wood-fired Hydronic Heater Programs or equivalent as approved in writing 

by the APCO. 

3.3 Sale and Installation of Used Wood Burning Devices: Effective October 

25, 2001 no person shall sell, advertise or offer for sale, supply, install, or 

transfer ownership of a used wood burning device unless it has been 

rendered permanently inoperable, or is either EPA-Certified, OregonCertified, a Pellet-Fueled Wood Heater, or other DISTRICT-approved 

device as defined in Section 6.1. 

3.4 Fuel Types 

3.4.1 No person shall cause or allow the burning of any materials other 

than firewood or other wood or plant products designed and 

marketed specifically for use as a fuel in wood burning devices. 

3.4.2 Prohibited fuel types include but are not limited to 

3.4.2.1 Garbage; 

3.4.2.2 Treated wood or wood composition products; 

3.4.2.3 Plastic products; 

3.4.2.4 Rubber products; 

3.4.2.5 Petroleum products, including tar or tar paper; 

3.4.2.6 Paints and paint solvents; 

3.4.2.7 Coal; 

3.4.2.8 Other material which may produce noxious odors or 

toxic compounds when burned. 

4 EXEMPTIONS 

4.1 Wood burning cookstoves and other wood burning devices not specifically 

defined herein are exempt from the requirements of this Rule. 

4.2 Wood burning devices classified as antique or having historical significance 

may be exempted from the requirements of this Rule by the APCO upon 

presentation of evidence that they qualify as an antique or historically 

significant device. 

4.3 Wood burning devices sold as appurtenances to real property in an escrow 

transaction shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 3.3 of this Rule. 

5 TEST METHODS 

5.1 The standard for determining air/fuel ratios and emissions testing where 

allowed under Section 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 below for wood heater combustion is 

EPA's test procedure set forth in Part 60.534, Title 40, Code of Federal 

Regulations. 
BUTTE COUNTY AQMD RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Rule 207 December 11, 2008 207-7 

5.2 Wood moisture content shall be measured by the American Society for 

Testing and Materials Methods D 2016-74, D4442-84, or other test method 

as specified by the APCO. 

6 DISTRICT-APPROVED DEVICES 

 

6.1 DISTRICT-approved devices for installation in new and existing interior 

spaces shall include the following: 

6.1.1 All EPA-Certified Phase II wood burning devices; 

6.1.2 Catalytic wood burning devices which emit less than or equal to 

4.1 grams per hour of particulate matter which are not EPACertified but meet the documentation requirements defined in 

Section 6.2 below; 

6.1.3 Non-catalytic wood burning devices which emit less than or equal 

to 7.5 grams per hour of particulate matter which are not U.S. 

EPA-Certified but meet the documentation requirements defined in 

Section 6.2 below; 

6.1.4 The total number of wood burning devices allowed for any interior 

space is limited to a cumulative maximum of 7.5 grams per hour of 

particulate matter emissions for all devices. 

6.1.5 Pellet-fueled woodheaters; 

6.1.6 Dedicated gas-fired fireplaces. 

6.2 The APCO shall maintain a current list of approved wood burning devices. 

The APCO shall update and/or add new wood burning devices to this list 

upon completion of review and verification of the following information for 

each device under consideration: 

6.2.1 A dated letter from an EPA-accredited laboratory which includes: 

6.2.1.1 Product model identification; 

6.2.1.2 Date(s) of emissions testing and test method used; 

6.2.1.3 Explanation of the reason why the product was 

exempted from EPA certification or is classified as a 

nonaffected device; 

6.2.1.4 Listing of the grams/hour particulate emission rate for 

the model tested. 

6.2.2 Documentation of the quality assurance program used by the 

manufacturer to ensure that tolerances and materials used in the 

model line under consideration are the same as those used for the 

tested device. Listing by a nationally-recognized testing lab shall 

be deemed adequate to satisfy this requirement. 

6.2.3 Documentation of the warranty coverage provided for the product 

model. 

6.2.4 A copy of the owner’s manual for the product model. 

6.3 Devices approved as clean-burn by other air quality agencies may be added 

to the list of DISTRICT-approved devices at the discretion of the APCO.