Rogers City Council makes ban on outdoor wood burning furnaces permanent

After receiving a comprehensive report on the issue by the Planning Commission, the Rogers City Council noted that the ban on outdoor wood burning stoves would remain in effect. Planning Commission chairman Del Conley presented the report at the City Council meeting Monday night. The commission was directed to research what types of problems may be caused by the units, what types of regulations are in place in other areas, and whether the rules are effective in regulating the units. ?We were charged with researching the issue for the council but not to make any recommendations on the use or restrictions on use,? Conley said.

Conley noted that one of the companies, Hawken Energy, engaged in selling the units had sent a letter to the City in September concerning the use of the units in towns and cities. ?Please note that Hawken Energy does not sell outdoor wood furnaces to residents of any city, we only sell to customers living in ?the country? and have turned away many prospective customers who have close neighbors. We would not oppose an ordinance requiring specific chimney heights within city limits,? the company stated in its letter.

THE PLANNING Commission report included a detailed study titled ?Smoke Gets in Your Lungs? issued by Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of New York State in August 2005. The New York study noted that the relative emissions of fine particulate matter from home heating devices show that outdoor wood boilers produce 72 grams of particulate per hour. Conventional wood stoves release 18 grams/hour; EPA Certified wood stoves, 6 grams/hour; oil furnaces, 0.07 grams/hour; and, gas furnaces, 0.04 grams/hour. The report cited EPA fine particulate standards that were developed in 2004. Exposure to fine particulate matter coming from wood stoves can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat, and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath and can also affect lung function and worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease.

It was pointed out in the planning commission report that, while the upper respiratory system will filter larger particles, fine particulates can bypass the body?s natural filtering mechanisms to lodge deep in the lungs causing irritation and infection. The EPA notes that more than 60,000 deaths each year in the US can be attributed to exposure to air polluted with fine particulate matter. Mayor Beach Hall thanked Conley for the commission?s report. ?If we had this information in the beginning, we would have banned the stoves permanently based on the excellent data that was provided by the planning commission,? he said.

IN OTHER BUSINESS the council recognized councilman Karl Heidemann for the years of service he devoted to the council. Heidemann decided not to run for re-election this year and will be replaced by former council member Deb Greene who was elected last month.

Chief Matt Quaine presented the qualifications of the Rogers City Police Department?s newest officer, Matt Bredow,

and introduced him to the city council members. Bredow graduated from Rogers City High School in 1999 and attended Saginaw Valley State University for a year before enlisting for four years in the Navy. He attained the rank of E-5, second class petty officer. While in the Navy, he took correspondence courses from Southern New Hampshire University. After an honorable discharge from the Navy, Bredow received an associate degree from Alpena Community College in Criminal Justice and graduated from the police academy at Kirkland Community College in November. He will be assigned to normal patrol duties in the department.

The ?Light up the City? program initiated by the Optimist Club was applauded by the council for kicking off the holiday season in fine shape. ?It?s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around town thanks to the efforts of everyone involved,? Hall remarked.

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