29 Nov 2011

US EPA / Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Mail Code: C404

- 05 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Attn: Mr. Gilbert Wood

Subject: Revision of the Residential Wood Heater NSPS

Dear Gil:

A recent article in USA Today, claimed that the number of US households heating with wood
rose 34% nationwide from 1.8 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2010

— faster than any other heating fuel. Another proj ection indicates that the number of households heating with wood could increase to 3 million over the next 5 years. If this trend continues, it places an even greater importance on the regulatory efforts of US EPA regarding residential wood combustion.

I realize that EPA has begun the revision process for the new proposed emission standards for wood burning appliances. EPA is proposing to match the Standards adopted by Washington State in 1995 of 4.5 grams an hour for wood and pellet stoves and 2.5 grams a n hour for catalytic stoves. EPA, however, has decided not to include fireplaces in the current NSPS revision process.

In 1988, when EPA implemented the Residential Wood Heater New Source Performance Standard (NSPS), the intention was to regulate the manufacture and sale of wood heaters or wood stoves and some wood burning fireplace inserts. EPA’s intention was never to re gulate open wood burning fireplaces with this Standard. In fact, it states in the CFR that open masonry fireplaces constructed on

- site and not subject to that subpart. However, in an effort to meet their obligations under the Clean Air Act and to the Natio nal Ambient Air Quality Standards as imposed by EPA, states and local air districts across the country have been using the 1988 Wood Heater Standard to regulate wood burning fireplaces. Their positions as explained to me have been that they have no other r ecourse. There was no other standard available at the time. As you know, many of these air districts have actually incorporated language into their wood burning rules invoking the EPA requirements set forth in Part 60, Title 40, Subpart A AA, Code of
Federa l Regulations to regulate the installation and use of open wood burning fireplaces.

Our position is that the 1988 Wood Heater Standard should NOT be applied to wood burning fireplaces. The EPA’s 7.5 g/hour requirement for woodstoves is a weighted average derived from weighting each of a minimum of four test runs, one conducted in each of four required burn rate categories, with heating

- degree

– day frequency distribution factors from across the U.S.The NSPS woodstove emissions results are weighted towards low burn

- rate operating

conditions with a weighted average burn rate of approximately 1.17 kg/hour or a weighted average heat output of about 14,000 Btu/hour.

We believe that comparing or applying the 7.5 g/hour woodstove standard to wood burning fireplac e performance is a very poor regulatory approach to solving the particulate problems of the national airshed. As an example, an EPA Certified wood heater has an allowable limit of 7.5 grams of particulates per hour and an average burn rate for the 4 requir ed test runs of 1.17 kg/hour. Therefore, if a wood heater has an average performance of 6.40 g/kg, it would meet the current EPA wood heater requirement. However, a wood heater with emissions performance 6.40 g/kg would not meet the current emissions limit for EPA Phase II Qualified Fireplaces of 5.1 g/kg. It is not good science to apply the wood heater standard to wood burning fireplaces.

When testing a wood heater, you can easily manipulate burn rates to develop a weighted average over four distinct burn cycles. A wood burning fireplace, on the other hand, has a much higher burn rate that cannot be manipulated to create a low burn rate scenario to fit into the wood heater guidelines. Washington State, the architect of the original emissions standards
used by EPA has officially recognized and acknowledged this anomaly. On 20 April 2011, the Washington State Department of Ecology issued a letter to all EPA wood burning test labs expressing a preference for all new open wood burning fireplaces to be tested and qualified to
the ASTM E

- 2558 Standard instead of the outdated WAC 51

- 50

- 31200 Test Standards for wood
heaters.

EPA Phase II Qualified is a term used for appliances that have been demonstrated to meet the emission level set by EPA's Voluntary Fireplace Pr ogram with performance measured in terms of grams per kilogram of wood burned. However, these clean burning fireplaces cannot be
"EPA

- Certified" per EPA's Wood Heater NSPS which measures the weighted average of four burn cycles in a sealed combustion chamb er in terms of grams of particulates per hour. This simply means that states and local air districts that want to recommend or require use of the clean burning fireplaces listed on the EPA Burnwise website are unable to do so. The response
from states and local air district that I have spoken with is that they want to use our cleaner burning fireplaces but wood burning fireplaces are historically required to meet the EPA requirements set forth in Part 60, Title 40, Subpart AAA, Code of Federal Regulations ( 1988 )

.
If EPA had followed through with their expressed intention of regulating wood burning fireplaces with a New Source Performance Standard, these problems would have all gone away with the release of the new standard. However, as mentioned earlier in this correspondence, EPA has decided not to include fireplaces in the current NSPS revision process.

Clear Skies Unlimited and FMI Products LLC have collectively invested millions of dollars to
deliver clean burning fireplaces to the EPA recommended t est standard (ASTM E

- 2558)

. In response to the regulatory need expressed by US EPA for clean burning fireplaces, we developed some of the cleanest wood burning fireplaces in the world. In response to ourdevelopment effort, EPA agreed in our Partnership A greements to promote the benefits of

cleaner wood

- burning fireplaces to state and local air quality regulators. We have not yet seen this kind of support from EPA.

We are extremely disappointed that our EPA Phase II Qualified clean burning fireplaces have
not been widely recommended by EPA to state and local air quality regulators across the country , especially in PM 2.5 non

- attainment areas . Most of these air quality regulators are
focused on the current NSPS for Wood Heaters and refuse to officially acknowledge or accept the outstanding performance that we have achieved with our EPA Phase II Qualified Fireplaces. You would think that an EPA Qualified Technology that reduces wood smoke emissions by at least 70% would be celebrated by the air quality community instead of being ignored.

In October of 2009, EPA issued a ―Wood Smoke Strategies Document‖ for states and local air districts. However, the language in the document was very ―weak‖. EPA stated that ―air districts

may consider firep lace r egulations based on the EPA voluntary fireplace program. ‖ We were expecting a more assertive position from EPA. The EPA / HPBA wood stove program has tens of millions of dollars in funding for change

- outs and retro

- fits. The hydronic wood heater

prog ram has mandates and incentives for Phase II Qualified units. The EPA wood burning fireplace program, however, has virtually no support at all within the regulatory community.

We believe that much of the confusion by air quality regulators can be clarifie d by EPA in their upcoming revision to the Wood Heater NSPS. We recommend that EPA state clearly in the
revised Wood Heater Standard that the standard “does not apply to open wood burning fireplaces” and that “ open wood burning fireplaces are regulated by ASTM E

- 2558. ” We would also request tha t consideration be given to EPA Clean Burning Fireplaces as the ―Best Available Control Technologies‖ for wood burning fireplaces for use in residential wood combustion

. This would be very helpful in working with the State Implementation Planners. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Please contact me with questions @ 951

- 264

- 8725. Thank you for your time.

Best Regards,

David Kelly Director of Business Development
FMI Products LLC
2701 Harbor Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
cell 951

- 264

- 8725 www.fmiproducts.com

w/ attachment: Letter State of Washing ton Dept of Ecology dated 20 April 2011