EPA fines stove retailer, pursues informal enforcement with many others

In 2019, the EPA issued a $8,250 fine to a Seattle based company, Keller Supply Company,  for selling five uncertified residential wood stoves in Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington. That appears to be the only formal enforcement action in recent years amid an ongoing effort by the EPA to ensure the wood heater regulations are followed.

Almost all of the recent efforts of the EPA enforcement office fall under the term “informal enforcement,” consisting of phone calls, emails, on site visits and other communications that regularly result in corrective measures that bring manufacturers and retailers into compliance.   

In some cases, companies put uncertified stoves on the U.S. market, in violation of the EPA

The uncertified Lion pellet stove has
on the market for up to a year.

requirement that all residential wood and pellet stoves be certified by an EPA approved lab.  One example is Lion Energy, who has been importing a small pellet stove from China since at least March of 2019.  The Lion Pellet Heater is listed at $699 on the company’s website and is also sold by many online retailers for lower prices.  Amazon sold it for several months but their page on the product now says “currently unavailable.”  The stove has five reviews on Amazon including one that gave the stove one out of five stars and said, “This stove doesn’t appear to be state certified and our homeowners insurance will cancel us if we use this stove.”  

This uncertified Wanme stove is made
 in China and available to import to
the US.

The EPA office of enforcement has known about the Lion stove since at least August of 2019. The Lion Pellet Heater is the cheapest pellet stove on the US market, undercutting manufacturers who follow EPA regulations and still available from many online retailers, including the importer, Lion Energy, based in Utah.  A representative of the company told AGH that they had not heard about this issue before.  Emails to the company’s owners have not been answered.

Another pellet stove that appears to be uncertified under the name Wanme was being sold on internet sites for many months.  The online retail giant Wayfair recently removed the stove after being contacted by the Alliance for Green Heat.  However, it may still be on the market via smaller internet retailers.

Uncertified products were often
adverstised as using wood and coal after
the 2015 regulations took effect, requiring
certification for stoves using wood.

In December 2019, on a conference call with staff from the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), the Alliance for Green Heat urged the EPA to do more to make public their enforcement activity and assure stakeholders that it was following up on tips and infractions.  EPA staff relayed instances of numerous site visits and interactions with manufacturers and retailers in 2018 and 2019 that led to changes in advertising and other activities.  EPA staff explained that the EPA actively sends emails and make phone calls to manufacturers, retailers and test labs when deficiencies are identified through audits or public complaints/tips.  They also send non-compliance letters.

Tips from industry and the public resulted in scrutiny of and changes by several companies who were

Some fireplaces were advertised as "EPA
compliant" and having greater heating
capacities than many certified
wood stoves.

advertising fireplaces as heater-rated wood stoves in 2019 or uncertified stoves that could use wood or coal.  Under EPA regulations, any stove that advertises wood as a fuel must be certified.  Companies were also asked not to display the full barrel stove, when only certain parts of it were being sold.

The EPA confirmed that it had sent out what is known as “Section 114 letters,” to five or six wood heater manufacturers in 2016.   Section 114 of the Clean Air Act allow EPA to require regulated entities to submit information on a one-time basis.  It is not clear if or when the content of those letters and the responses would be public or could be through a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) request.  However, letter requests to collect information that can be used in a potential rulemaking, investigation or enforcement action. Many of the submissions often end up being used by third parties in litigation. Responding to these requests can require the recipient to conduct testing and generate new data.

The Alliance for Green Heat often posts examples of misleading adverstisements in our free monthly e-newsletter.  If you are concerned about an enforcement issue with residential wood heaters, you can contact Rafael Sanchez at the EPA's Office of Enforcement at Sanchez.Rafael@epa.gov.