New restrictions could put a damper on seasonal fireplace use

Sonoma Valley residents may find themselves forbidden to burn fires in fireplaces and stoves on some chilly winter nights, even if those appliances meet local standards. According to the new rule adopted in July, health officials may call a Spare the Air Tonight health advisory. During these days, the burning of wood is banned.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) will issue the ban when they forecast high levels of fine particles, which are microscopic pollutants linked to heart and lung disease, in the air. Bans will be posted on the district’s Web site and publicized in the media in the same manner as summer-time Spare the Air Days. People can sign up for e-mail alerts on the district’s Web site.
“These rules do apply to residents of the City of Sonoma, but the city is not responsible for enforcement of the ban,” said Wayne Wirick, Jr., who is the City of Sonoma’s development services director. “The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is in charge of making sure residents are aware of and are observing the ban.” said Eric Pop, an air quality specialist who helped develop the new regulation.
When the ban is in effect, it is against the law to burn wood, pressed logs or pellets in fireplaces and stoves. The district may call for burning bans up to 20 days each winter. First-time offenders will receive a warning. Residents who chose to continue to ignore the ban will face fines up to $1,000 a day. “The ban will affect those folks who burn mostly for the ambience.”
Despite much opposition, air quality regulators voted unanimously on July 9 to pass mandatory controls on residential wood-burning with only one exception: People who rely on their fireplace or stove as their only source of heat are exempt from the ban.
“The previously proposed regulation was changed to allow those folks who burn as a way to keep warm or who live in areas where electricity or natural gas is unavailable to not be affected by the ban,” said Pop.
The new wood-burning regulation passed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District includes stove and stove insert restrictions that are similar to those passed by the City of Sonoma in 2006. The rule requires that only cleaner burning EPA-certified models may be installed in the Bay Area, which includes all of Sonoma County. It also prohibits the burning of garbage, plastics, chemically treated wood and waste petroleum products.
The City of Sonoma prohibits the installation of any new wood-burning appliance unless it is one of the following:  a pellet-fueled wood heater; an EPA-certified wood heater; a wood-burning unit approved by the Northern Sonoma Air Pollution Control District; a wood-burning appliance designed for cooking; an outdoor unit; or is located within a qualified historic structure.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site:  “Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic matter burn. The biggest health threat from smoke comes from fine particles (also called particulate matter or PM). These microscopic particles can get into your eyes and respiratory system, where they can cause health problems such as burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis.”
Fine particles include both solids and liquid droplets that measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which is one-seventieth the size of a human hair, and cause the air to reach unhealthy designation when large concentrations of them are detected. In 2006, the federal government set a new standard for deeming air unhealthy when fine particles surpass 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District reports that smoke from the Bay Area’s estimated 1.2 million fireplaces and wood stoves is made up of 80 to 90 percent fine particulate matter. During the winter, wood smoke from these units can be a significant air pollution and public health problem.
To learn more about the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s new regulations and to sign up for wood-burning ban alerts, go to www.baaqmd.gov.