GOVERNING BOARD

Hub Walsh, Chair Supervisor, Merced County

Tom Wheeler, Vice Chair Supervisor, Madera County

Oliver L. Baines III Councilmember, City of Fresno

Tony Barba Supervisor, Kings County

Skip Barwick Councilmember, City of Tulare

Sally J. Bomprezzi Councilmember, City of Madera

Dennis Brazil Mayor, City of

John Capitman, Ph.D. Appointed by Governor

Judith G. Case McNairy Supervisor, Fresno County

David Couch Supervisor, Kern County

Bob Elliott Supervisor, San Joaquin County

Harold Hanson Councilmember, City of Bakersfield

William O’Brien Supervisor, Stanislaus County

Alexander C. Sherriffs, M.D. Appointed by Governor

J. Steven Worthley Supervisor, Tulare County

Seyed Sadredin

Executive Director
Air Pollution Control Officer

Northern Region Office 4800 Enterprise Way Modesto, CA 95356

- 8718 (209) 557

- 6400 • FAX (209) 557

- 6475

Central Region Office 1990 East Gettysburg Avenue Fresno, CA 93726

- 0244 (559) 230

- 6000 • FAX (559) 230

- 6061

Southern Region Office 34946 Flyover Court Bakersfield, CA 93308

- 9725 (661) 392

- 5500 • FAX (661) 392

- 5585

www.valleyair.org DATE: September 18, 2014

TO: SJV UAP CD G overning B oard

FROM: Seyed Sadredin, Executive Director/APCO Project Coordinator: Sheraz Gill

RE: ITEM NUMBER 7 : ADOPT PROPOSED

AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL

WOOD BURNING PROGRAM

RECOMMENDATION :

1. Adopt proposed amendments to Rule 4901 (Wood Burning Fireplaces and Wood Burning Heaters).

2. Adopt proposed amendments to the District Burn Cleaner Program to offer additional financial incentives to Valley residents for the purchase of cleaner devices, including:

a. Increase per

- unit incentive amounts from current amounts ($100

- $500) to a maximum of $1,500 with an additional $500 for installation of gas

- fired units;

b. Increase per

- unit incentive amounts for low

- income qualified applicants from up to $1,500 to up to $2,500 with an additional up to $500 for installation of gas

- fired units;

c. Expand low

- i ncome provisions to include property owners

who rent to low

- income qualified tenants; and

d. Work with retailers to allow qualified low

- income applicants to purchase devices through the Burn Cleaner program without requiring up

- front payment.

3. Adopt propos ed new Rule 3901 (Fees for Registration of Wood Burning Heaters).

4. Authorize the Chair to sign the attached Resolution.SJV U

APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

BACKGROUND :

On December 20, 2012, your Board adopted the District’s 2012 PM2.5 Plan which laid out a host of strategies aimed at attaining the 2006 federal ambient air quality standard for PM2.5. One of the measures contained in the plan was amendments to District Rule 4901 (Wood Burning Fireplaces and Wood Burning Heaters). Your Board directed the staff to develop the necessary amendments for implementation in the winter of 2014

- 15

. The Governing Board directed the staff to craft amendments that lower the threshold for daily residential wood burning prohibitions during winter seasons while increasing the number of permissible burn days for Valley residents that have invested in cleaner wood burning devices. The District staff was also directed to investigate the feasibility of enhanced financial incentives to encourage Valley resident s to upgrade to cleaner devices. Today’s recommendations were developed through an extensive public process including multiple workshops, public meetings, and consultations with various stakeholders including representatives from the hearth industry.

DISCUSSION :

Due to the Valley’s geography, topography, and meteorology, the challenges that we face in meeting the federal health

- based ambient air quality standards are unmatched by any other region in the nation. In response to these federal mandates a nd to improve quality of life for Valley residents, the District has developed and implemented multiple generations of rules on various sources of air pollution. Since 1992, the District has adopted over 500 rules, requiring the installation and operation of the most effective air pollution control technologies and processes. Valley businesses are currently subject to the most stringent air quality regulations in the nation. Despite significant progress in improving the Valley’s air quality, more reducti ons in emissions are needed to attain the ever toughening federal standards. The District’s attainment plans contain a comprehensive set of local and state measures to reduce air pollution from stationary and mobile sources throughout the Valley. However , attaining the 2006 federal PM2.5 standard is impossible without significant further reductions in wood smoke emissions.

Further reducing residential wood smoke emissions is also a high priority under the District’s Health Risk Reduction Strategy given the significant localized health impacts

associated with residential wood smoke. Scientific studies show that prolonged inhalation of wood smoke contributes to lung disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and pulmonary heart disease, which can eventual ly lead to heart failure. The proposed rule is designed to improve public health by reducing toxic wood smoke emissions in Valley neighborhoods during the peak PM2.5 winter season (November through February).

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APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE D ISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
Summary of the Proposed Wood Burning Curtai lment Strategy

The proposed amendments to the residential wood burning program will enable Valley residents to play a major role in reducing emissions at almost no cost, and, in many cases, with savings in heating

- related energy costs. The District will encourage the

tr ansition to less polluting wood burning heaters by decreasing the number of allowable burn days for high polluting wood burning heaters and fireplaces while at the same time increasing the number of burn days allowed for registered clean wood burning heate rs through a tiered episodic wood burning curtailment program. The proposed amendments to Rule 4901 will lower the No Burn threshold for high polluting wood burning heaters and fireplaces from the current limit of 30 μg/m 3 to 20 μg/m 3 . The proposed amend ments will significantly increase the number of permissible burn days for cleaner certified wood burning devices by raising the No Burn threshold to 65 μg/m 3

. If approved, the proposed amendments will double the number of No Burn days for high polluting u nits that are the source of over 95% of the wintertime residential wood smoke emissions. By contrast, under the proposed rule, clean certified units will be subject to minimal number of No Burn days ranging from zero to six days depending on the

location in the Valley during the winter season.

Figure 1 Current and Proposed Curtailment Thresholds

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APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
Additionally, the proposed enhancements to the District’s Burn Cleaner Program will provide additional financial incentives to Valley residents for the purchase of cleaner

devices. The proposed regulatory and financial incentives which encourage the purchase of cleaner units will result in significant additional emission reductions throughout th e season even on permissive burn days. Overall, the proposed wood burning strategy is expected to reduce over 5.1 tons per day of PM2.5 valley

- wide during the winter season.

Table 1 below provides the potential number of wood burning prohibitions that will occur in each county at the proposed curtailment thresholds. These estimates are based on the District’s wood burning forecasts as averaged over the last five wood burning

seasons.

Table 1 Potential Change in No Burn Days Based on Proposed Amendments

County Current Average No

Burn Days (≥30 μg/m3) Proposed

Level 1 (20

– 65

μg/m 3 ) Proposed

Level 2 (above 65 μg/m 3 ) TOTAL No Burn Days for

Non

- Registered

units (L1 + L2)
San Joaquin 24 53 0 53

Stanislaus 36 70 2 72

Merced 19 55 0 55

Madera 29 66 1 67

Fresno 49 79 6 85
Kings 39 64 6 70

Tulare 36 65 4 69

Kern 44 73 6 79

Registration Program for Wood Burning Heaters The approach under the proposed rule that will allow clean units to burn on days when burning is prohibited for conventional units will be nearly impossible to enforce without a mechanism to readily identify and verify qualifying devices. To provide the District with

an enforceable mechanism for allo wing certified devices to burn during a level one curtailment (greater than 20 μg/m 3 but less than 65 μg/m 3 ), the District proposes a registration program for these cleaner burning devices. Without preregistering qualifying devices the District would be f orced to resort to more intrusive enforcement techniques which would involve routine access to private property. The preregistration will also enhance enforcement capabilities by allowing the District to better focus resources. Registration will also ens ure that the equipment is maintained in proper working condition and provides the expected reduction in emissions.

Registration would be voluntary and will only be necessary if the owner of a certified unit wishes to take advantage of the additional bu rn days provided under the proposed rule. Under the proposed approach, registrations would be valid for three wood burning seasons and registered devices would be required to operate with no visible smoke

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING P ROGRAM September 18, 2014

under normal operating conditions, be maintained p roperly, and refrain from burning prohibited materials. Wood burning devices found to be in violation of Rule 4901 requirements by the District may be disqualified.

Registration Program for Wood Burning Heater Professionals Proposed rule requirements w ill require a registered wood burning heater to be inspected by a Wood Burning Heater Professional to verify that the wood burning heater is in good operating condition, including ensuring that the device has been cleaned, maintained, and operated in accor dance with manufacturer specifications. To ensure qualified individuals are performing these inspections and verifications, the District proposes a registration program for Wood Burning Heater Professionals. The District will maintain a list of these reg istered individuals on the District’s website for the public

to access.

Free I nterim Registration during 2014

- 15 Winter Season If adopted in September the rule will take effect in November leaving a short amount of time for the public to accommodate sig nificant changes to the rule. To provide for a smooth transition, the District proposes a simplified registration process at no charge to the public for the first year. The interim registration process will rely on self

- certification by interested appli cants and interim registrations will expire at the end of this first wood burning season on February 28, 2015. The District is committed to educating the public on how the tiered episodic wood burning curtailment program works and how to comply with it, a s well as how to register clean wood burning heaters in order to encourage upgrading to cleaner devices through the additional burn days afforded them through the tiered program.

Clarifications to Existing Rule Requirements Proposed amendments will simplify rule language and clarify existing requirements through the removal of redundant and expired language in the rule. Additionally, in response to EPA’s proposed amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations Part 60, Subpart AAA, the District is updating all references of “EPA Phase II Certified” to clarify as “Phase II certified or the most stringent EPA certification as enforced by the NSPS”.

New definitions will be added to rule language to clarify existing standards or in support of proposed standards. Proposed new definitions include: Normal Operating Conditions, NSPS, and Wood Burning Season.

The exemptions section of the rule will be amended to add new exemption 4.3 to clarify that open burning is regulated by Di strict’s Rule 4103, and as such are not subject to Rule 4901 rule requirements.

Proposed amendments to Section 5.1 (Sale or Transfer of Wood Burning Heaters) will clarify that the section is applicable to the sale and the transfer of new wood burning

he aters, and is not strictly limited to the sale of such heaters. Proposed amendments also clarify that the certification of wood burning heaters is pursuant to the NSPS to

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APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
ensure that the most recent and stringent requirements in the NSPS are being impleme nted for these new wood burning heaters.

Proposed amendments to Section 5.3 (Limitations on Wood Burning Fireplaces or Wood Burning Heaters in New Residential Developments) will clarify existing requirements in the rule. These amendments will be effect ive as of January 1, 2015, consistent with the time frame provided in the 2003 amendments to Rule 4901 which first introduced these requirements to the rule.

Proposed amendments will clarify that the prohibited fuels are not only not allowed in

indoor woo d burning heaters but also in the outdoor wood burning devices (Section 5.5)

and will add a clarification that butane is not considered natural gas (Section 5.6.3), and

clarifications will be added to clarify that the most recent ASTM shall be used to test the moisture content of wood to verify it is seasoned wood (Section 7.1).

Residential Wood Burning Emissions in the Valley

Residential wood burning is a significant contributor to V alley PM2.5 emissions during the winter season. Based on data from the Metropolitan Planning Organizations, the U.S. Census, and survey results, the District estimates that there are over 240,000 residences in the Valley contributing 13% of total winter

- t ime PM2.5 emissions (see Figure 2 ).

Figure 2 Wintertime Valley Source Contributions to the PM2.5 Emission Inventory

AGRICULTURAL

WASTE BURNING

& FOREST MGMT

11%

FIREPLACES &

WOOD STOVES

13%

COOKING

INCLUDING

CHARBROILING

6%

FARMING

OPERATIONS

17%

HEAVY DUTY

DIESEL TRUCKS

6% OTHER MOBILE

SOURCES

10% FUGITIVE

WINDBLOWN

DUST

7% ROAD DUST

13%

OTHER SOURCES

17%

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
During peak winter days, organic carbon contributes up to 33% of the composition of PM2.5 emissions in the Valley, the vast majority of which is from residential wood burning, as can be seen in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3 Wintertime Peak Day PM2.5 Emission Speciation (Fresno)

According to EPA, of the wood stoves in use today, 75% are not EPA certified. Because these devices produce so much more pollution than EPA certified wood stoves, these older wood burning heat ers and fireplaces represent 95% of the overall emissions from residential wood burning. An EPA certified wood burning heater is at

least 20 times cleaner than a wood burning fireplace, as demonstrated in the figure

below. This tremendous difference in e missions between these units highlights the importance of replacing existing high polluting devices with cleaner burning alternatives. ELEMENTS

2% GEOLOGICAL

1%
ELEMENTAL

CARBON

7%

ORGANIC

CARBON

33%

AMMONIUM

SULFATE

6% AMMONIUM

NITRATE

51%

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APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

Figure 4 Average PM2.5 Emissions Based on Wood Burning Heater Type

Emission Reductions f r om Proposed Amendments

The total emission reductions achieved from the proposed amendments to Rule 4901 is

calculated to be 5.1 tons per wood burning season day which includes :

• 3.33 tons of r eductions from simply lowering the threshold from 30 μg/m 3 to 20 μg/m 3

,

• 0.065 tons/day increase in emissions if all existing clean certified units registered and burned on days when P M2.5 concentrations are projected to be between 30 μg/m 3 to 65 μg/m 3

,

• 0. 22 tons/day increase in emissions if 24% of existing higher pol luting devices

transition to clean certified units and all registered and burned on days when PM2.5 concentrations are projected to be between 20 μg/m 3 to 65 μg/m 3 , and

• 2.04 tons/day of r eductions from the transition of older dirtier wood burning heaters and wood burning fireplaces to cleaner certified devices

.

Wood Smoke Reductions Critical to Attaining the PM2.5 Standard

Based on the m odeling conducted for the 2012 PM2.5 Plan

, reaching attainment requires reductions of 68.6 tons per day of NOx, 4.3 tons per day of PM2.5, and 1.8 tons per day of SOx. These numbers reflect the average daily reductions needed based on a 180 day winter season (November through April). The bulk of these reductions will come from a multitude of measures targeted at mobile and stationary

sources of pollution throughout the Valley

. However, modeling indicates that attainment is not possible without the reductions in directly

- emitted PM2.5 emissions from

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APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

residential wood burning. The projected 5.1 tons per day reductions from the proposed rule represents the average reductions during the 120

- day wood burning season (November through February).

H ealth Impacts of Wood Smoke Particulate Matter Emission s

Reducing emissions from residential wood burning is a priority under the District’s Health Risk Reduction Strategy because m ultiple scientific studies show that prolonged

inhalation of wood smoke has adverse impacts on human health . Inhalation of wood

smoke contributes to lung disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and pulmonary heart disease, which can eventually lead to heart failure. Wood smoke has also been linked to oxidative stress and blood coagulation and can ultimately lead to cancer. Children with the highest exposure to wood smoke show a significant decrease in lung

function.

Health benefits from reducing emissions from residential wood burning are related to the high level of population exposure to urban resident ial wood burning emissions with relation to other stationary sources. People can be exposed to wood smoke when they use their wood burning devices. Additionally, people can be exposed to wood smoke when people in their neighborhoods use their wood burnin g devices because windows and doors cannot keep the particles in wood smoke out of people's homes. A Central Valley Health Policy Institute Study found that wood burning curtailments on high pollution days reduced annual exposure by 13.6% in Fresno, and a n estimated 12.9% in Bakersfield resulting in 30 to 70 avoided cases of annual premature deaths.

Proposed Rule Amendments Guided by Scientific Public Survey

In January 2014, the District hired a third party company to perform a telephone survey

of Va lley residents . One of the primary goal s of this study was to learn more about residential wood burning habits and attitudes. S urvey results support the implementation of a tiered episodic wood burning curtailment program and increasing

incentive amounts for the Burn Cleaner Program. Some of the results of the survey are summarized below an in Figure 5. R efer to Appendix E of the final draft staff report for the complete surve y :

• 32% of those surveyed reported having a wood burning device in their residence

• 80% of people surveyed are aware of the Check Before You Burn program

o 78% of whom have reduced wood burning activities as a direct result of this program

• 29% of survey respo ndents stated that they would upgrade their existing wood burning device to a clean alternative if doing so meant that they could use their device more days then they currently can

• 24% of respondents said they would upgrade their existing wood burning dev ice to a clean alternative if they were given up to a 50% discount on a new unit.

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

Figure 5 Percentage of Wood Burning Devices in the Valley (Survey Results)

Summary of Proposed Amendments to Burn Cleaner Incentive Program

The District’s Burn Cleaner Wood Stove Change

- out Program (Burn Cleaner Program) plays a key role in the success of the transition from older more polluting wood burning heaters and firepla ces to cleaner wood burning heaters. Since 2006, the Burn Cleaner Program has been helping residents overcome some of the financial obstacles in purchasing cleaner alternatives. The District continues to take proactive steps to

enhance the Burn Cleaner P rogram and as such proposes the following changes to the District’s current Burn Cleaner Program as a complementary strategy to the proposed regulatory amendments:

Increased Incentive Amounts The results of the scientific survey indicated that 24% of Val ley residents with wood burning heaters would transition to cleaner burning heaters if they were provided a discount of up to 50% off the total cost of the heater. 1 In light of this new information, the District is proposing to increase the current incentive amounts to about half of the total cost of entry level heaters. The dollar amounts are based on information gathered

from local hearth retailers and the Distri ct’s database of funded Burn Cleaner Program projects.

The increase in incentive funding amounts will encourage more residential property owners to replace their existing heaters with cleaner burning heaters sooner in conjunction with the upcoming propos ed Rule 4901 amendments by making the

1 Gomez Research. Residential Wood Burning, Lawn Care, and Commuting Survey Final Report. February 2014.

Retrieved from http://www.valleyair.org/Board_meetings/GB/agenda_minutes/Agenda/2014/march/final/09.pdf

. WOOD

BURNING

FIREPLACE

25%

WOOD STOVE

4%

PELLET STOVE

3% NO WOOD

BURNING

DEVICE

68%

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APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
replacement costs more feasible. More importantly, the proposed funding amount for

low

- income qualified applicants will help them pay for a majority of the costs of a replacement, as many are unable to afford these ex pensive new heaters. The proposed funding amounts are summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2 Proposed Amendments to Burn Cleaner Program Incentive Amounts

New Heater Current Funding Proposed Funding Gas Insert/Stove/Fireplace* $500 $1,500

- Additional Incentive for Installation of Gas

Infrastructure* Not Available $500**

EPA Certified Pellet Insert/Stove $250 $1,500

EPA Certified Wood Insert/Stove $100 $1,500

Low

- Income Qualified Applicants $1,500 $2,500

- Additional Incentive for Installation of Gas

Infrastructure* Not Available $500**

*Gas fireplaces must be certified as heater

- rated (ANSI Z21.88/CSA 2.33) **Applies only to eligible installation costs beyond the proposed funding amount for the new gas heater.

Addit ional Assistance for Low

- Income Residents As a part of the District’s ongoing efforts to encourage more low

- income qualified applicants to participate in the Burn Cleaner Program, the District sought feedback and suggestions from the Environmental Justice Advisory Group (EJAG), the Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC), the public at public workshops, and the Ad Hoc Technical Workgroup Committee on how to make the program more accessible. The District is proposing to make several enhancements to the existing Burn Cleaner Program, including:

• Increased per

- unit incentive amounts for low

- income qualified applicants from $1,500 to $2,500 with an additional $500 for the installation of natural gas

infrastructure

,

• Reducing the upfront cost of purchasing and installing a new unit for low

- income applicants. The District has partnered with contracted hearth retailers to allow

low

- income qualified applicants to make the purchase at a reduced price by deducting the incentive amount from the invoice at the time of purchase. Allowing the incentive funding to be directly applied to the cost of the unit makes

it more feasible for low

- income applicants to take advantage of the program

, and

• Expanding low

- income provisions to include property owners who rent to low

incom e qualified tenants;

**Check Before You Burn** Campaign Outreach and Education

The success of implementing the proposed amendments to the residential wood burning program will hinge on the expansion of the District’s comprehensive multi

lingual Check Befor e You Burn outreach and education program. The District has an

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNI NG PROGRAM September 18, 2014
extremely successful outreach and education program with regards to residential wood burning and educating Valley residents about air quality, the effects of air pollution on the populations’ health, and on options they can take to reduce emissions. The

District’s Check Before You Burn program is the District’s public education program most recognized by Valley residents. In both the District’s 2010 and 2014 public opinion surveys, over 80 pe rcent of Valley residents indicated that they were familiar with the

program.

The PM2.5 air quality improvements that the Valley has experienced since adoption of Rule 4901 have been assisted by strong multimedia outreach by the District and the

resultant increase in public awareness and participation in winter District programs. Since the inception of Check Before You Burn , the District’s complementary tools, such

as the Real

- time Air Advisory Network (RAAN) and the “Valley Air” smart phone app,

have con tinued to gain in popularity.

The District’s seasonal public outreach advertising campaign is retooled each year to include timely and relevant messaging. In the past few seasons, this messaging has been delivered by the District’s Governing Board membe rs, with billboards in English and Spanish strategically placed throughout the Valley in older neighborhoods where open hearth fireplaces and older devices are most likely to be, targeted radio and TV spots, and value

- added messaging delivered through medi a throughout the Valley.

The key message of this outreach is to ask residents to call the District’s 1

- 800 number, check the website, check their local news outlet, check their smart phone or visit social media to assess their county’s burn status. The District maintains partnerships with television, newspaper, radio, outdoor and print, as well as more non

- traditional media,

such as on

- screen messaging in local movie theaters, internet advertising and video loops in medical offices.

Looking forward, the Check Before You Burn outreach messaging will expand to focus

on three areas:

• E ducat ing the public and the media about the new tiered episodic wood burning curtailment program,

• E ncourag ing residents to upgrade to cleaner certified device s and take advantage of the enhanced Burn Cleaner Program , and

• E ducating Valley residents regarding the severe health impacts associated with

wood smoke.

Continued emphasis will be placed on reaching those communities that might be heavily impacted by ne ighborhood smoke from older devices and open hearth fireplaces. The District is prepared to work with retail partners, media partners and non

- profit stakeholders to launch these new outreach and education efforts immediately after the adoption of proposed amendments.

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
Summary of Proposed New Rule 3901

Proposed new Rule 3901 (Fees for Registration of Wood Burning Heaters) will create the fee structure for the registration of wood burning heaters with the District pursuant to Rule 4901. The registration fee and registration renewal fee will be established at $12.50. In order to ensure a smooth transition for registered devices , there will be no fee for this coming season (2014

- 15 wood burning season) and the registration process

will be truncated by eliminating third party verification.

Public Process for Developing Proposed Amendments

The District has conducted a robust pu blic process for developing the proposed

amendments to Rule 4901 and the Check Before You Burn program. The public has been actively participating and providing feedback and comments on potential amendments to Rule 4901 since the beginning of the developm ent of the District’s 2012

PM2.5 Plan , through subsequent public workshops and meetings, and through a scientific public opinion survey of Valley residents.

2012 PM2.5 Plan Development The District hosted a series of public workshops and updates at pub lic meetings such as the Governing Board meetings, Citizen Advisory Committee meetings, and Environmental Justice Advisory Group meetings throughout the plan development process. Potential opportunities to reduce emissions were discussed at these meetings , including potential emission reductions opportunities from Rule 4901. Public comments specific to Rule 4901 were received throughout the plan development process and incorporated into the plan as appropriate.

Technical Workgroup Committee meetings

In preparation for amendments to the District’s Residential Wood Burning Program, the District formed an Ad Hoc Technical Workgroup Committee consisting of District staff, retailers of residential wood burning heaters, and representatives of the Hearth, Pati o & Barbeque Association. The technical workgroup committee met monthly for five months during the summer of 2013 to discuss concepts related to potential rule amendments, implementation issues, outreach considerations, and enhancements to the Burn

Cleane r Program. The expertise and suggestions from the Ad Hoc Technical Workgroup Committee were invaluable in helping the District to craft the proposed innovative amendments to the District’s Residential Wood Burning Program.

Public Opinion Survey of Va lley Residents In September 2013 the District hired a third party company to develop and administer a bilingual user survey of residential wood combustion, lawn care and personal commuting activity in the Valley. In January 2014 the telephone survey of 1, 000 random Valley residents took place, the final draft report was drafted in February 2014 and presented to the District’s Governing Board in March 2014. Information gained from this survey has been incorporated into the proposed amendments to the

Reside ntial Wood Burning Program.

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

Public Workshops and Meetings The District held two public workshops in the evening hours at all three District offices. On the evening of March 27, 2014 the District presented conceptual information and plan commitments, new NSPS regulations, potential methods of public outreach, and potential incentive program enhancements. On the evening of July 31, 2014, the District presented draft amendments to Rule 4901 and draft new Rule 3901. Each workshop was followed by a two

- week public comment period. Comments received were evaluated and incorporated into the rules and staff report as appropria te. Refer to Appendix A (Comments and Responses) for a summary of significant comments and District responses. In addition to the workshops, the District provided regular updates on the development of Rule 4901 at public meetings of the District’s Citize n’s Advisory Committee and Environmental Justice Advisory Group.

Public Hearing for Rules 4901 and 3901 In accordance with CH&SC Section 40725, the proposed amendments to Rule 4901 and proposed new Rule 3901 and the Final Draft Staff Report were public ly noticed prior to the Governing Board public hearing to consider adoption of the proposed amendments and proposed new rule. The proposed amendments to Rule 4901, proposed new Rule 3901, the Final Draft Staff Report, and other supporting documents

were m ade available for public comment on August 19, 2014. Summaries of comments received prior to 5:00 PM on September 2, 2014 with District responses are in Appendix A of the final draft staff report. The public is also invited to provide comments during the public hearing for proposed adoption of this rule.

Public Comments and Responses

The comments and questions received during workshops and associated written comment periods have been integral to development of this rule. The key issues raised

durin g development of this rule are summarized below:

Comment: T he District should focus on regulating businesses, the agricultural community, and mobile sources instead of Valley residents.

Response: Since 1992, the District has adopted over 500 rules, requiring the installation and operation of the most effective air pollution control technologies and processes. Valley businesses

, including agricultural sources are currently subject to the most stringent air qual ity regulations in the nation and have a lready achieved significant

emissions reductions (over 80%) that the Valley is at the point of diminishing returns from new regulatory controls on businesses , and new opportunities for more stringent regulatory controls continue to become increasingly scar ce. Achieving additional

emission reductions from businesses beyond those already achieved will require significant investments on the part of Valley businesses who have already spent billion s of dollar s in control technology. Despite significant progres s in improving the Valley’s air quality, more reductions in emissions are needed from all source categories to attain the ever toughening federal standards. Therefore, attaining the 2006 federal PM2.5 standard is impossible without significant further red uctions in wood smoke emissions.

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ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

Further reducing residential wood smoke emissions is also a high priority under the District’s Health Risk Reduction Strategy given the significant localized health impacts

associated with residential wood smoke. Scient ific studies show that prolonged inhalation of wood smoke contributes to lung disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and pulmonary heart disease, which can eventually lead to heart failure. The proposed rule is designed to improve public health by redu cing toxic wood smoke emissions in Valley neighborhoods during the peak PM2.5 winter season (November through February).

C omment: A mending the curtailment threshold for all wood burning devices in the Valley from 30 to 65 μg/m 3 is a relaxation of the rule and the draft curtailment threshold should be no higher than 30 μg/m 3

.

Response: On the contrary, the proposed amendments will make this rule the most stringent wood burning curtailment rule in the nation

. T he District is proposing to lower

the curtailment threshold to 20 μg/m 3 for o lder more polluting wood burning heaters and wood burning fireplaces, which comprise over 9 5 % of wood burning emissions . In addition, the operation of non

- registered clean devices will also be restricted at the 20 μg/m 3 threshold . This proposed curtailment level is significantly lower than the current curtailment threshold of 30 μg/m 3 . Amending the rule to allow the cleanest wood burning heaters to be used between 20 and 65 μg/m 3 would provide significant motivation to Valley residents for transitioning away from old er high er polluting devices to the cleanest wood burning heaters. A registered wood burning heater pollutes at

least twenty times less than a wood burning fireplace ; therefore, encouraging this transition would reduce emissions beyond those that could be accomplished by only reducing the curtailment threshold to 20 μg/m 3

. T he proposed amendments will achieve

an estimated reduction of 5.1 tons per day of PM2.5 emission s.

Comment: The Duraflame Company provided a comment that t he proposed revision of lowering the concentration threshold to 20 μg/m 3 dramatically increases the number of No Burn days and tilts the burden of reducing PM2.5 emissions far beyond the

contribu tion that occasional residential wood burning makes to PM2.5 emissions in the Valley. Additionally, they suggested that the high PM2.5 concentrations experienced in

the winter of 2013

- 14 indicate the need for controlling other sources of air pollution tha t were allegedly responsible for such increases.

Response: Valley Businesses are already subject to toughest air regulations in the

nation

. The District’s attainment plans call for significant reductions in emissions from mobile and stationary sources throughout the Valley. With regards to directly emitted PM2.5 emissions, residential wood burning is the largest source in the Valley during the winter months, as supported by Appendix B (Emissions Inventory) of the District’ s 2012

PM2.5 Plan. 2 During the 2013

- 14 winter season, the Valley experienced unprecedented stagnation and extreme weather conditions with century old drought records being broken in many of the cities in California

. These unique conditions

2 SJVUAPCD. 2012 PM2.5 Plan. Appendix B (Emissions Inventor y). December 2012. Retrieved on 8/15/14 from http://www.valleyair.org/Air_Quality_Plans/PM25Plans2012.htm

.

15SJV U

APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

r esult ed in abnormally high PM2.5 concentrations during the 2013

- 14 winter season and

t he Valley’s PM2.5 concentrations would have been even higher absent the wood burning restrictions. The District and the California Air Resources Board also conducted extensive grid based and photochemical modeling during the development of the 2012

PM2.5 Plan and determined that significant PM2.5 reductions were achieved through the implementation of the Districts PM2.5 control strategy which includes the wood burning heater and wood burning fireplace rule

. Reducing directly emitted PM2.5 emissions will have a greater benefit on Valley air and public health than reducing precursor emissions to PM2.5 as supported by California Air Resources Board modeling summarized in Chapter 4 (Scie ntific Foundation and PM2.5 Modeling Results) of the

2012 PM2.5 Plan

. 3 Nonetheless, given the ever tightening federal health standards, the District is mandated to pursue all available measures to reduce direct and indirect sources of particulate emission s.

In addition, prolonged inhalation of wood smoke has adverse impacts on human health

. Inhalation of wood smoke contributes to lung disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and pulmonary heart disease, which can eventually lead to heart failure. Wood smoke has also been linked to oxidative stress and blood coagulation and can ultimately lead to cancer. Children with the highest exposure to wood smoke show a significant decrease in lung function.

Health benefits from reducing emissions from resident ial wood burning are related to the high level of population exposure to urban residential wood burning emissions with relation to other stationary sources. A Central Valley Health Policy Institute Study found that wood burning curtailments on high pollut ion days reduced annual exposure by 13.6% in Fresno, and an estimated 12.9% in Bakersfield resulting in 30 to 70 avoided cases of annual premature deaths.

Comment: Duraflame suggested that their logs should be given the same preferential

treatment as clean certified devices under the proposed rule, claiming that their manufactured logs emit 80% less air pollution.

Response: Duraflame claims a manufactured log “produces 80 percent fewer fine

particle emissions than a wood fire of a similar duration ”

. This is correct, however, Duraflame’s own information indicates that the heat generated by their product is only

25% of the heat generated from the same amount of Douglas Fir wood for a fire of the

same duration. Therefore

, for the same amount of heat ge nerated, there will be no

reductions in emissions.

The following table further demonstrates that the emissions are higher from a Duraflame log vs a Douglas Fir Cordwood log of the same weight :

3 SJVUAPCD. 2012 PM2.5 Plan. Chapter 4 (Scientific Foundation and P M2.5 Modeling Results), page 4

- 24.

December 2012 Retrieved on 8/15/14 from http://www.valleyair.org/Worksho ps/postings/2012/12

- 20

- 12PM25/FinalVersion/04%20Chapter%204%20Sci%20Foundation%20and%20Modeling.pdf

.

16SJV U

APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMEN TS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014

Table 3 General Air Emission Factors 4

In addition, t he comparison to certified wood stoves which produce even more useful heat than open hearth fireplaces is even more dramatic. Duraflame logs also contain other chemicals in the wax that lead to generation of other emissions including toxics.

Comment: Proposed rule is not as stringent as wood burning curtailment rules in other

air d istricts.

Response: Proposed amendments to Rule 4901 as a whol e are far more stringent then analogous rules in other air districts in California

. No reductions in emissions will be achieved if the District adopted the curtailment thresholds in place in any of the other

air districts in California. With the District being at the forefront of wood burning curtailment regulations since 2003, other air districts rules either copied the District’s existing rule or are less stringent. The proposed amendmen ts will result in 5.1 tons per day of reductions in PM2.5 emission s. M atching the curtailment threshold in other air

districts ’ rules will not result in any reductions in emissions and in fact may result in an

increase in emissions.

As discussed above, the District is going far above any of the other districts and is proposing to lower the No Burn curtailment to 20 μg/m 3 , which is 10 μg/m 3 lower than any of the other districts and by itself will result in s ignificant emission reductio ns since 95% of the PM2.5 emissions are associated with older high polluting devices. The following are the thresholds for other districts for comparison purposes:

• The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 445 (Wood

Burning Devices) wa s recently amended in 2013 and has a No Burn curtailment

4 Pitzman, L., Eagle, B. Smith, R., Houck, J. OMNI Environmental Services. Dioxin/Furan Air Emissions, General Emissions, and Fuel Composition of Duraf lame Firelogs, and Douglas Fir Cordwood . Prepared for Jim Nolan Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. May 23, 2006.

17SJV U

APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL WOOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014
threshold of 30 μg/m 3

– copies District’s current rule, no emissions reductions if adopted in the Valley,

• The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Regulation 6

– Rule 3 (Particulate Ma tter and Visible Emissions

– Wood

- Burning Devices) has a No Burn curtailment threshold of 35 μg/m 3

– less stringent than the District’s current rule and will result in an increase in emissions if adopted in the Valley,

• Sacramento Metro Air Quality Manage ment District Rule 421 (Mandatory Episodic Curtailment of Wood and Other Solid Fuel Burning) implements a tiered curtailment program where the lowest No Burn curtailment threshold begins at 30 μg/m 3 while allowing certified devices to burn up to 35 μg/m 3

– less stringent than the District’s current rule and will result in an increase in emissions if adopted in the Valley.

Supporting Regulatory Analyses

Economic Analysis The District has prepared a cost effectiveness analysis to analyze the economic feasibility of the proposed rule amendments. No significant socioeconomic impacts are expected from this rule project. Refer to Appendix C of the final draft staff report for these analyses.

Rule Consistency Analysis The District prepared a rule consistency analysis that compares the elements of the proposed amendments for Rule 4901 and proposed new Rule 3901 with the corresponding elements of other District rules and fede ral regulations and guidelines that apply to the same type of equipment or source category. The proposed amendments and proposed new rule will not conflict with other District rules, or federal rules, regulations, or policies covering analogous stationary sources. Refer to the final draft staff report for this analysis.

Environmental Impacts The District investigated the possible environmental impacts of the amendments to Rule

4901. Based on the lack of evidence to the contrary, the District has concluded that the rule amendments will not have any significant adverse effects on the environment. As such, the District finds that the rule amendment project is exempt per the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant impact on the environment (CEQA Guidelines §15061 (b)(3)). Pursuant to Section 15062 of the CEQA Guidelines, the District will file a Notice of Exemption upon Governing Board approval of amendments to Rule 4901.

FISCAL IMPACT :

In addition to the reductions in emissions from lowering of the No Burn threshold in the rule, we hope to achieve additional reductions through transition to cleaner burning certified devices. Towards that end, today’s recommendations include added incentiv es

18SJV U

APCD Governing Board

ITEM NUMBER 7: ADOPT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT’S RESIDENTIAL W OOD

BURNING PROGRAM September 18, 2014 to encourage purchase and installation of cleaner devices. An allocation of $2.1 million for the District’s Burn Cleaner Program is included in the District’s 2014

- 15 budget. Therefore, no budget amendments are needed at this time.

The increase in the number of No Burn days is expected to result in increased enforcement related workload. The proposed registration program is designed to facilitate effective enforcement without the need for intrusive inspection of residential wood burning devices. T he added administrative costs associated with the registration process will be defrayed with the proposed registration fee of $12.50 for every three

years. No fees will be charged for registrations for the first wood burning season in

2014

- 15. The Distri ct expects to have adequate resources in 2014

- 15 to handle the additional enforcement related workload without any increase in staffing. If additional resources are needed as the fiscal impacts of the amendments become more defined, staff will present rec ommendations for additional appropriations to your Board either through annual budget requests or mid

- year budget adjustments, as necessary.

Attachments:

Attachment A: Resolution for Proposed Amendments to Rule 4901 and Proposed New Rule

3901 (5 pages)

Attachment B: Proposed Amendments to Rule 4901 (14 pages) Attachment C: Proposed New Rule 3901 (2 pages)

Attachment D: Final Draft Staff Report with Appendices for Propo sed Amendments to Residential Wood Burning Program ( 20 0 pages) Attachment E: Registration Form s ( 2 page s )

19