Agenda Item 5 

 1 

FEATHER RIVER AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT 

MEMORANDUM 

02/03/2014 

TO: FRAQMD BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

 

FROM: Christopher D. Brown, AICP, APCO 

SUBJECT: Approve the adoption of Resolution #2014-02 directing the APCO to submit Rule 

3.17 Wood Heating Devices to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a 

revision to the California State Implementation Plan. 

DISCUSSION: 

This is an administrative action only and the adoption of Resolution #2014-02 only directs staff 

to submit current District rules to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and does 

not adopt or implement new controls on local sources. 

EPA has requested that any District rule that controls emissions of directly emitted fine particle 

pollution (PM2.5) or its precursors to be submitted as a revision to the California State 

Implementation Plan (SIP). Rule 3.17 also achieved emission reductions that assisted the 

Yuba City-Marysville Nonattainment area in attaining the 24-hour PM2.5 national ambient air 

quality standard (NAAQS) and therefore should be submitted as a revision to the SIP. 

Rule 3.17 was last amended on October 5, 2009. The rule controls emissions of PM2.5 by 

setting emission and performance standards for newly installed residential wood heating 

devices such as wood stoves and fireplaces. The rule also prohibits the burning of unseasoned 

wood and prohibited materials (as defined in District Rule 2.0 section E.15) or any other 

material not intended by the manufacturer for use in a wood heating device. The rule also 

established a voluntary program to curtail wood burning when conditions are projected to 

cause an exceedance of an air quality standard. 

When Rule 3.17 was amended in October 2009 the resolution adopting the rule did not 

specifically direct District staff to submit it to the EPA as a SIP revision. The resolution must 

direct staff to send the Rule as a SIP revision, thus the staff have prepared another resolution 

and the District is holding another public hearing, which are only administrative and do not 

result in any new rules or controls. 

The District published a public notice of the hearing on January 3, 2014, in the legal section of 

the Appeal Democrat. The notice invited public comment on the SIP submittal. The District 

also published the notice on its webpage. 
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The District is excluding portions of Rule 3.17 from the SIP submittal because they contain 

director’s discretion or voluntary measures that would not be approved in a federally 

enforceable SIP Rule. The sections to be excluded are sections E.8 and F.2. Excluding these 

sections would not change how the District implements this Rule locally. All portions of the 

Rule would still be in effect locally. However, once the Rule is approved as a SIP revision, 

then it would also be Federally enforceable. 

Section E.8 defines the term “unseasoned wood” and allows director’s discretion to approve 

other test methods outside of ASTM method D4442-92 to determine percent moisture. The 

District has never used this compliance option; therefore excluding this section of the Rule 

should not have any impact on emissions or enforcement of this Rule. 

Section F.2 provides a compliance option yet does not list the test method to determine 

emission standards. EPA has requested that this section be excluded from the SIP submittal 

until such time as the District revises Rule 3.17 and can provide a list of approved test 

methods. Staff have never implemented this compliance option locally and agrees with EPA’s 

request. 

The approval of Resolution #2014-02 would allow District staff to submit Rule 3.17 to the EPA 

and support the Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request for the Yuba City-Marysville 

PM2.5 Nonattainment Area. 

Resolution #2014-02 has been included as Attachment A. Rule 3.17 has been included as 

Attachment B. A copy of the public hearing notice has been included as Attachment C. A list 

of public comments received as of January 27, 2014, has been included as Attachment D. 

FISCAL IMPACT: 

There are no expected fiscal impacts as there are no proposed amendments to Rule 3.17. 

RECOMMENDATION: 

Approve Resolution #2014-02 directing the APCO to submit Rule 3.17 Wood Heating Devices 

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a revision to the California State 

Implementation Plan. 
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Attachment A: Resolution 2014-02 

 
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Attachment B: Rule 3.17 Wood Heating Devices (10/05/09) 

 
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Attachment C: Public Notice 01/03/2014 

 
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Attachment D: Public Comments