Phone Conference Call, Wednesday, June 25, 2014 

Tom Powers – Senior Policy Advisor, US EPA 

Greg Green – Outreach and Information Director, US EPA 

Mike Koerber – Associate Director of Policy, US EPA 

Dennis Brazier, CEO, Central Boiler 

Mark Reese, Chief Engineer, Central Boiler 

David McDonald, Environmental Relations, Central Boiler 

Chris Tureson, Corporate Relations, Central Boiler 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

ITEMS DISCUSSED: 

I. Central Boiler 

a. Started in 1984 - ( NOTE: Mr. Brazier might have misspoke and said 

1994) - 220 employees – subcontractors in the area employ about another 

200 

b. EPA Voluntary Program 

1. 1st manufacturer to qualify both Phase 1 and Phase 2 furnace 

2. Worked with states and lobby for Phase 2 limits –Train dealers to 

sell and operate Phase 2 units 

3. Central Boiler sponsored company trade in program – Between500 

to 600 wood stoves taken in on trade for new Phase 2 units 

 

c. When Proposal 1st published – “Nightmare” for dealers – Don’t know what 

products they can sell a year from now – Expensive to put in inventory - 350 

dealers 

II. Top Five “Concerns” – Short term : 

1) Grandfathering/Transition for ALL EPA Phase 2 qualified hydronic heaters which 

meet .32 limit 

a. HHs “qualified” with the old method (Method 28 OWHH) and still being 

manufactured under remainder of 5 year qualification period 

b. HHs “qualified” with the old method, no longer being manufactured but 

possibly in manufacturer inventory or in retail dealer inventory. 

c. Other matters discussed: 
(i) Dealer trade ins of used Phase 2 “qualified” units 

2) Retail Sell Through Important 

a. Only talking about Phase 2 units – Not unqualified or uncontrolled units 

b. Clarity prior to rule is what dealers need 

3) Clarify Test Method 

a. Testing is a long process 

b. After testing EPA taking about 2 months to review 

4) Step 2 or 3 limit - .06 lb/mmbtu1

a. “Death sentence” for all manufacturers 

i. Central Boiler Model 3200: 

 Old Method Results: .08 limit 

 New Method Results (recently conducted): .18 

ii. Central Boiler Model 1450: 

 New Method Results .18 

 European Cleanest under EN 303-5 

5) Cord wood testing 

a. Testing now takes up to 2 weeks, if all test runs successful, and not including 

prep time – Very expensive and would cause confusion 

b. Industry walked into a meeting and was told in 2007 that the testing 

requirements would be conducted with oak crib wood rather than cord wood. 

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS DISCUSSED: 

o Most visible emissions water related and not combustion related 

o Phase 2 cleaner units expensive (lower income who need them the most not able 

to afford ) and require intensive dealer and consumer training 

o Sales in 10 states that adopted Phase 2 are significantly less than other 40 states 

                                                            

1 Discussion intended to only be about qualified ‘stick-wood’ models and not automatically fed 

‘pellet’ fueled appliances which in general achieve cleaner and more efficient results over stick 

fueled models because pellet appliances meter the amount of fuel that is needed.