Friday, July 22, 2011

Central Boiler Responds to Rhode Island Outdoor Boiler Story

Last month, we posted a story which also ran in our newsletter about attempts in Rhode Island to pass legislation on outdoor wood boilers. We received several interesting communications as a result and wanted to update that story - and correct ourselves.

One of the communications was from Central Boiler, who gave us permission to quote from their email. They rightly pointed out that we failed "to make mention of the most recent Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Regulation No. 48 which became law April 14, 2011." That regulation requires that all outdoor boilers installed after July 1 are Phase 2 qualified and Central Boiler was not opposed to this regulation.


Central Boiler also noted that the Alliance for Green Heat mistakenly indicated that Pennsylvania has established a 150 foot set back, whereas in fact it is 50. We stand corrected.

Also, Central Boiler said that they had "NOT taken out any ads regarding the Bills" in Rhode Island, as the Alliance had alleged. However, the Alliance has in its possession a paid advertisement on page 11 of the March 30 edition of the Rhode Island “Bargain Buyer” signed by Central Boiler and apparently taken out by a Central Boiler dealer or agent. The ad urges owners of outdoor wood boilers to contact their legislator to oppose H5783.

The Alliance for Green Heat believes that the EPA should have established a mandatory program for outdoor wood boilers years ago, requiring that only Phase 2 boilers be installed anywhere in the country. We also support the provision in H5783 that would have required that non Phase 2 boilers be removed upon the sale or rental of a home and that outdoor boilers be set back 150 feet from the property line.

While the Alliance for Green Heat and Central Boiler do not agree on many things, we appreciate the open and respectful dialogue we have with them.

No comments:

Post a Comment