General Description

A fireplace or wood burning stove used for the generation of heat. The primary emission is particulates.

Summary of Federal Requirements

Although not regulated by Federal regulations, the EPA promotes the use of cleaner burning fireplaces and stoves to reduce the particulate matter in the ambient air. Their website http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/ provides information on how to select the most suitable stove/fireplace, the health effect issues, and related concerns.

Summary of State Requirements

This is a State-regulated issue. Typically the state mandates hours during which woodburning fireplaces or stoves may and may not be operated.

In January 2006 the EPA issued guidance for states that want to incorporate a voluntary woodstove changeout program into their state implementation plans. The nonbinding guidance outlines how state air quality agencies may quantify emissions reductions from such programs and then use the reductions to meet state implementation plan (SIP) obligations for complying with federal fine particle standards. If states voluntarily adopt woodstove changeout or replacement programs in residential homes, they can use the emissions reductions to obtain credit for areas that are not in compliance with the standards.

http://epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/guidance_quantfying_jan.pdf

State-by-state guidance concerning air emissions can be found at ENVCAP's Air Pollution State Resource Locator.

Laws and Statutes

Clean Air Act

http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/