Dear New York State Citizens,
In our state of 6.4 million people, the government wants to take away our freedom – The state wants to take away our freedom to burn wood to heat our homes, and pass a “regulation” that will destroy thousands of jobs and will increase the cost for New York State Citizens to heat their homes by thousands of dollars each year.
But will New York State Citizens be able to vote on this? NO.
Will New York State Citizens be able to even vote an elected representative out of office for passing this new regulation? NO.
This new regulation is being proposed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”). And we cannot do anything to stop them, except let our voices be heard. More on that later – BUT THE DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING, SO YOU MUST TAKE ACTION NOW.
In spite of the high cost of fossil fuels (from terrorist countries), and our failing economy here, the State of New York wants to take away our freedom to burn wood to heat our homes. They ignore the fact that wood is a readily-available and renewable fuel! Apparently they prefer that we use high-cost fossil fuels from terrorist countries.
Again we find that the government wants to take away our liberty. A recent poll of small business owners shows that more than 90 percent of small business owners list “Government Regulation” as the BIGGEST THREAT TO THEIR BUSINESS.
This NYSDEC has decided to attempt to regulate how citizens of NYS use wood as a fuel. If you currently use wood to heat your home with an outdoor wood furnace, the NYSDEC wants to regulate you. We find this mystifying because of the following reasons:
1. Wood is a renewable fuel that has been safely used since the beginning of recorded history.
2. Wood does not harm the environment. Fossil fuels DO harm the environment. Wood does not add greenhouse gasses to the environment – Fossil fuels DO.
3. This regulation will damage the economy of New York State by killing jobs, and by increasing the heating cost of many homeowners by over 400 percent.
4. The State consists primarily of heavily-wooded, rural areas. It makes no sense to burden the citizens of our entire State with a rule that really only applies to densely populated areas that constitute a tiny portion of the State.
Here is what the proposed regulation will require:
1. If you do not yet have an outdoor wood furnace but want to purchase one, you will have to purchase one of the “EPA Approved” furnaces that were developed for use in densely populated cities – even if you live in the country or on a 100-acre farm!
2. These “EPA Approved” furnaces cost approximately 400 percent more per BTU of output than traditional outdoor wood furnaces. Because of this high cost, very few people are purchasing these “EPA Approved” furnaces – one company that sold them has even gone bankrupt.
3. If you currently own an outdoor furnace, but it gets old and needs to be replaced, you will be required to pay 400 percent more for the higher cost, “EPA Approved” furnace.
4. If you currently own a furnace, you will automatically and retroactively be forced to spend roughly $800 to install a chimney stack extension that extends your furnace chimney to a height 18 feet above the ground. If another home is within 150 feet of your furnace, the regulation retroactively requires you to extend your chimney even higher.
5. If you currently own a furnace, your freedom to use your furnace to heat your hot water, or pool, or anything else will be ELIMINATED during non-winter months. Imagine the State of New York State wanting to be able to tell you how to heat your hot water. All this at a time when heating costs are skyrocketing, money is tight, and fossil fuels from terrorist countries are paying for their evil practices.
6. If you currently own a furnace, it must be replaced with a new outdoor wood boiler meeting requirements or must be PERMANENTLY REMOVED from service within 10 years of commence operation date but not later than August 31, 2020. What if you have a furnace carrying a 20 YEAR WARRANTY?????
I have prepared a letter to the NYSDEC to outline for them why such regulation is a bad idea. I have attached this letter to my company blog for you to read if you are interested. The link to the letter is as follows: http://blog.hawkenenergy.com/2010/06/proposed-revision-of-6-nycrr-part-200.html.
The bottom line is that we believe that any needed regulation should be left to local municipalities. Accordingly, we recommend that the NYSDEC NOT adopt the proposed, or any regulation of outdoor wood boilers (“OWBs”). Such regulations can be easily managed by local municipalities of densely populated areas.
But I doubt they will listen to just me. Here is where we need to work together. If you agree that NY citizens should have the freedom to choose to burn wood, you can help to preserve our freedom by doing two simple things:
1. Attend a meeting – the NYSDEC has 11 meetings scheduled to hear from you. These dates, times and locations are listed at the bottom of this letter.
2. Send an e-mail to the NYSDEC as soon as possible at 247owb@gw.dec.state.ny.us
3. Forward this email to any and all friends who would be interested in this issue and would also like to have their voice heard by sending an email to the NYSDEC.
4. Send a fax to the NYSDEC.
For your fax to the NYSDEC, please follow these simple steps:
1. Print the “Sample Letter to NYSDEC” below.
2. Make any changes or additions you wish to make. (Alternatively, you can just write your own letter – I only provide the Sample Letter below to simplify this for you.)
3. Make sure to add your name and address so the NYSDEC knows you are a NYS constituent.
4. Send the fax to the following fax number: (518) 402-9035
5. Please confirm the timely receipt of faxed comments by calling the NYSDEC Division of Air Resources at (518) 402-8396.
6. YOUR EMAIL OR LETTER MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5:00 P.M. FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2010!!
7. Alternatively, if you live near Albany, you can hand deliver your comments. Hand delivered comments will be accepted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Resources, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3251.
A sample of a letter you could send to the NYSDEC is attached below. If you have any questions on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me – you can reach me at Warren at(@) HawkenEnergy.com
And don’t forget to forward this email to your friends!
Thanks, and warm regards,
Warren W. Walborn
President & CEO
--
June 16, 2010
TO:
John Barnes, P.E.
NYSDEC Division of Air Resources
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-3251
FROM:
(your name)
(your address)
(your city, state, zip)
Re: Proposed revision of 6 NYCRR Part 200, General Provisions and Proposed Part 247, Outdoor Wood Boilers
Dear NYSDEC:
Please do NOT proceed with your proposed rulemaking regarding outdoor wood-fired boilers. I believe this would be unacceptable for our State for the following reasons:
1. Wood is a renewable fuel that has been safely used since the beginning of recorded history.
2. Wood does not harm the environment. Fossil fuels DO harm the environment. Wood does not add greenhouse gasses to the environment – Fossil fuels DO.
3. This regulation will severely damage the economy of New York State by killing jobs, and by increasing the heating cost of many homeowners by over 400 percent. With our current tough economic conditions, this is DEFINITELY not the time to pursue such an agenda, particularly over a few complaints in a state of 6.4 million people.
4. The State consists primarily of farmland and heavily-wooded, rural areas. It makes no sense to burden the citizens of our entire State with a rule that really only applies to densely populated areas that constitute a tiny portion of the State. We believe that any needed regulation should be left to local municipalities. Accordingly, we recommend that the NYSDEC NOT adopt the proposed, or any regulation of OWBs. Such regulations can be easily managed by local municipalities of densely populated areas.
Thank you.
--
DATES & LOCATIONS OF PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSIONS. These sessions are intended to be informal and will not be part of the official hearing record. Any comments that the public wishes be included in the record should be submitted during the official public hearing, or by email at the address listed below.
Location: Dulles State Office Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
317 Washington Street, Watertown, NY 13601
Date: Thursday, June 3, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: NYSDEC – Region 1, SUNY@Stony Brook
50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Date: Monday, June 7, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: NYSDEC Central Office, Public Assembly Room 129
625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Rockland County Fire Training Center
35 Fireman’s Memorial Drive, Pomona, NY 10970
Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Herkimer County Community College, Robert McLaughlin College Center
Hummel Corporate Center, 100 Reservoir Road, Herkimer, NY 13350
Date: Thursday, June 10, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Genesee Community College, College Drive
Conable Technology Bldg., Room T102, Batavia, NY 14020
Date: Monday, June 14, 2020
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Cortland County Office Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium
60 Central Avenue, Cortland, NY 13045
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Allegany County Office Building, Legislative Board Chambers
7 Court Street, Belmont, NY 14813
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Jamestown Community College, Training Center, Room 117
10785 Bennett Road (Route 60), Dunkirk, NY 14048
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Norrie Point Environmental Center, Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park
256 Norrie Point Way, Staatsburg, NY 12580
Date: Monday, June 21, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Location: Harrietstown Town Hall
39 Main Street, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Public hearing 6-8 p.m., Information Session 5-6 p.m.
Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment