The Honorable Gina McCarthy 

Administrator 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW 

Washington DC 20460 

RE: The EPA's proposed New Source Performance Standards for warm air 

furnaces 

Dear Administrator McCarthy: 

In reviewing the proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for warm air 

furnaces, we found that the proposal departs from prior regulations for similar sources under 

Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the timeline for compliance threatens 

unreasonable economic damage to furnace manufacturers in the United States. 1 The proposed 

rule, which under the provisions of the CAA must be finalized by EPA by February 3, 2015, 

would prohibit the manufacture or sale of any warm air furnace that is not certified by EPA 

within 60 days of the final rule's publication in the Federal Register.2 That timeline is 

impossible to achieve without undue harm to market participants. We ask EPA to ensure the 

compliance timeline for warm air furnaces is at least one year in length. 

Prior to this proposal, EPA has never required emissions controls on warm air furnaces, 

and manufacturers will now be required to modify and submit their models to costly tests prior to 

certification. Mandating only 60 days to complete the necessary research and development, 

testing, and retooling of their manufacturing operations is beyond the capacity of many 

manufacturers. Additionally, EPA's Office ofEnforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) 

has informed industry that certification may be unavailable until the 60-day period has expired, 

and the certification and testing process for manufacturers is further complicated by EPA's drive 

to transition from crib to cordwood testing, a development that significantly complicates the 

testing process for these manufacturers. This situation leaves manufacturers no choice but to 

cease production during the period between the rule's finalization and availability of EPA 

certification. 

Many of the warm air furnace models manufactured are sold to retail home-improvement 

and hardware stores, which purchase stock several months in advance. Because of their 

purchasing decision timeline, these stores will now be stuck with non-certified inventory, and 

1 79 Fed Reg 6330 (February 3, 2014). 

2 42 U.S.C. § 741l{b){l)(B). 
development, testing, and certification work. 

The "standards of performance" described in Section 111 of the CAA require a 

consideration of the cost of achieving the associated emission reductions. In this instance, the 

60-day timeline for compliance exacerbates the cost. The financial burden that the proposed rule 

threatens to places on warm air furnace manufacturers - in the form of uncertain certification 

resulting in production halts as well as manufacturers having to buy back furnaces from retailers -

will force many out of business, decreasing consumer choice in the marketplace and increasing 

unemployment. This stands in contrast to EPA's first NSPS for woodstoves, promulgated in 

1988, which allowed small manufacturers a year to attain compliance3 and staggered effective 

dates for all other manufacturers.4 This year-long compliance timeline was set to explicitly 

ensure that manufacturers could surmount the financial and logistical challenges to certification. 

We urge EPA to follow past precedence and ensure the compliance timeline for warm air 

furnaces is at least one year in length to give consumers, retailers, and manufacturers the 

certainty necessary to develop and manufacture compliant furnaces. Thank you for your time 

and attention to this matter. 

3 See 52 Fed. Reg. at 5,000 (Feb. 18, 1987). 

4 !d. § 60.532 (1990). 

Sincerely, 

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