Sample Wood Smoke Nuisance Regulations

This outdoor wood boilers in Morgan
County Utah was somehow found not
to be a nuisance by a County Judge. 

Updated: May 2022 - Many jurisdictions in the Western US have “burn bans” that disallow the use of wood or pellet stoves when air quality is very poor, often in conjunction with weather inversions.  Nuisance regulations, on the other hand, apply when one person is creating excessive smoke that bothers an immediate neighbor.  That person may be using an EPA certified stove, an old stove or an outdoor or indoor boiler.

In the US, wood smoke complaints are handled locally, and more often than not, local officials are at a loss to handle complaints effectively. There is also a range of standards by which excessive smoke is measured.  Lack of resolution between neighbors is all too common, due sometimes to a lack of a clear nuisance standard for that town or county, or simply due to a lack of the ability or willingness to enforce a nuisance standard.  

The Alliance for Green Heat and many in the wood heating community support strong nuisance regulations and urge local officials to train their staff to enforce them.  Often, the problem is less about the stove technology and more about poor operator behavior. Many stove owners do not understand that their energy solution should not be their neighbor's problem.  Reducing fossil fuel use is a great benefit of wood stoves, but when a single stove is too polluting, or there are simply too many stoves in a valley or town, solutions are needed.  Pellet stoves are often an excellent solution from a pollution standpoint.

In areas with frequent inversions and in urban areas, limiting the new installations of cordwood stoves is often a good solution.  And, not allowing the installation of uncertified, second hand stoves is also a good solution.  Requiring permits and professional installation can also help.  

Sometimes, standards are less important than the discretion and findings of a local health official.  In Massachusetts, for example, a City Commissioner of Public Health has wide discretion to order someone to stop burning wood, as a Commission did in June 2017 after local residents complained of smoke from a restaurant. The 6-page decision found that a $65,000 scrubber performed poorly and ordered the owner to stop burning wood and charcoal.

If a jurisdiction has no written standard or regulation and does not allow the kind of discretion a health commission in Massachusetts has, the sample provisions below offer an excellent starting point for the jurisdiction to adopt.  Most jurisdictions use "opacity" as a measure of smoke - meaning the ability to see through it.  An opacity of 20% or lower is often listed as acceptable, but not always.  In some regulations, a specific amount of start-up time is exempted, ranging from 6 to 20 minutes in these sample regulations. However, many wood stove experts say 20 - 30 minutes is often the time needed to get a fire without visible smoke.

The Ringellman chart or scale was developed in 1888 and is still sometimes used and referenced today.

The Ringellman scale was adapted by the US Bureau of Mines.

The Alliance for Green Heat has noticed an increase in complaints about wood smoke.  We know that in many cases excessive wood smoke results from burning unseasoned wood, caused in part by the shortage of seasoned firewood this year.  Too many people with wood stoves wait until the fall to order wood and too many firewood distributors try to pass off unseasoned wood as seasoned.

The proposed ban of stoves in Utah has also brought the issue of “responsible burning” to the forefront, with industry calling for EPA certified equipment to be exempt from any ban.  These nuisance provisions, with a few exceptions, make no distinction between the kind of device that is being used, and focus solely on how well the operator is using it. 

STATES

We have updated the links to current laws as much as possible, but check the actual language in the current law, not on our summary to be sure of how the law or regulation works.

Colorado

No person shall cause or allow the emission of smoke exceeding twenty-percent opacity from any flue or chimney, except for a single fifteen-minute period for cold start-up. Any emission in excess hereof is hereby declared to be a nuisance and is prohibited.

Maine (2013)

A person who operates in a densely populated area an outdoor wood-burning device that produces visible emissions, measured as any opacity, totaling 12 minutes in any hour that cross onto land or buildings immediately adjacent to a dwelling or commercial building not owned by the owner of the outdoor wood-burning device creates a nuisance.

Massachusetts (2022)

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) regulations limit visible smoke (or "opacity") and prohibit air pollution that places people at risk, interferes with property uses, threatens natural resources, or creates nuisances, such as excessive odor and soot.

Oregon (2014)

Wood smoke in Oregon

* Existing sources outside special control areas. No person may emit any air contaminant for a period or periods aggregating more than three minutes in any one hour which is equal to or greater than 40% opacity.
* New sources in all areas and existing sources within special control areas: No person may emit any air contaminants for a period or periods aggregating more than three minutes in any one hour which is equal to or greater than 20% opacity.

Utah (2021)

* A nuisance is anything which is injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. A nuisance may be the subject of an action.
* A nuisance under this part includes tobacco smoke that drifts into any residential unit a person rents, leases, or owns, from another residential or commercial unit. [There is no mention of wood smoke or opacity in the nuisance provisions of the Utah Code.]

MODEL ORDINANCE

California Bay Area model ordinance

No person shall cause or allow a visible emission from any wood-burning device in any building or structure that exceeds No. 1 on the Ringlemann Chart or 20 percent opacity for a period or periods aggregating more than three consecutive minutes in any one hour period. Visible emissions created during a fifteen-minute start-up period are exempt from this regulation.

CITIES AND COUNTIES

Albuquerque, NM

* Certified wood heaters may be operated during a no-burn period provided that no visible emissions are produced after a twenty (20) minute period following start up or refueling.
* During a period in which the Director has not declared a no-burn, no person shall operate a solid fuel heating device in a manner which produces emission into the atmosphere if the emissions exceed 30 % opacity twenty (20) minutes or longer after ignition or refueling of the solid fuel burning device. Visible emission opacity shall be determined by an observer certified by the Director.

Amherst, MA

Smoke shall not exceed an average of 20% opacity for any 2-minute period during an hour or average of 40% for 6 minutes after start-up.

Davis, CA

The emission into the open air of visible smoke from any residential indoor non-wood pellet-burning appliance or any non EPA-Phase II certified wood burning appliance or fireplace used for home- heating purposes in such manner or in such amounts as to endanger or tend to endanger the health, comfort, safety or welfare of any reasonable person, or to cause unreasonable injury or damage to property or which could cause annoyance or discomfort in the area of the emission, is prohibited.

Eugene, OR (2021)

* During a green or yellow advisory, no person in charge of property shall operate or allow to be operated a solid-fuel space-heating device which discharges emissions that are of an opacity greater than 40 percent. This provision does not apply to the emissions during the building of a new fire, for a period or periods aggregating no more than ten minutes in any four-hour period.
* Upon a determination that a person has violated section 6.255 of this code, the city manager may impose upon the violator and any other person in charge of the property, an administrative penalty not greater than $500.

Fort Collins, CO
* After the first 15-minutes of start-up, smoke from the chimney must be at or less than 20% opacity (smoke should be barely visible looking at it with your back to the sun).
* Violation of City Code can result in a summons to appear in municipal court resulting in a fine of up to $1,000 and 180 days in jail.

Juneau, AK (2008)

No person may operate a solid fuel-fired heating device in such a manner that visible emissions reduce visibility through the exhaust for more than 15 minutes in any one hour by 50% opacity or greater.

St. Louis, MO (2021)

"The emission or escape into the ambient (outside) air within the City from any source or sources whatsoever of smoke, ashes, dust, soot, cinders, dirt, grime, acids, fumes, gases, vapors, odors, or any other substances or elements in such amounts as are detrimental to, or endanger the health, comfort, safety, welfare, property, or the normal conduct of business shall constitute a public nuisance, and it is considered unlawful for any person to cause, permit, or maintain any such public nuisance.  The Commissioner of Health and or his or her designee operating as Delegated Agents of the State of Missouri, may give additional consideration to the presence of emissions that cause severe annoyance or discomfort, or are offensive and objectionable to a significant number of citizens as determined by the Commissioner of Health and or his or her designee within the City of St. Louis Department of Health."

Vancouver, WA

* State law limits the density of smoke from indoor fires to ensure that people use clean burning techniques. This requirement is called the 20 percent smoke opacity limit. Opacity means how much your view through the smoke is blocked.
* 100 percent opacity means you can't see anything through the smoke. 20 percent opacity means there is very little smoke and you can see almost perfectly through it. If you use dry enough fuel, the right equipment, and give your fire the right amount of air, there should be no visible smoke from your chimney or stove pipe--only heat waves.
* There are two exceptions to the opacity rule which allow you limited time for denser smoke:
• Starting the fire. You have up to 20 minutes every four hours.
• Stoking the fire. You have up to six consecutive minutes in any one-hour period.

As Demand for Wood Heat Grows, Report Card Finds Few States Ready to Tap its Potential

 California, Colorado, Oregon, New Hampshire and Washington State lead the way on promoting cleaner renewable wood heat

America's oldest heating source - firewood - is experiencing a comeback, with wood heat soaring 50% - 80% in the last decade in some states, but only a handful of states are prepared to leverage American's newfound enthusiasm for wood heat.   

A report released today, the "Residential Wood Heat Report Card," by the Alliance for Green Heat, finds that most states do little to promote and manage what is often the second or third most popular heating fuel in hundreds of rural counties around the US.

Darker green indicates highest per-capita wood use.

"Wood heat is overwhelmingly America's most common form of residential renewable energy, but states are just beginning to tap into its potential to drastically lower fossil fuel use while managing emissions," said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

"Already, homes with wood and pellet stoves displace about 17 times more fossil fuel than homes that have solar panels.  The states that tap into this potential of clean wood heat can create thousands of jobs, improve energy security and keep tens of millions of heat dollars in their own state," Ackerly noted.

According to the US census, about a quarter million more Americans are heating primarily with wood than in 2000.  In six states, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin, the number of Americans heating with wood rose between 50 - 80%.

The Alliance graded each state on six categories, including policies that help reduce wood smoke, promote the cleanest appliances and restrict the most polluting ones, and provide educational information on best wood heat practices. 

The states that got the top grades, such as California, Colorado, New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington are states that are often at the forefront of developing renewable energy, but are not necessarily the states with the highest per capita wood heat use.

The top-scoring states were the ones who: 1. Restricted installations of more polluting wood appliances not certified by the EPA, 2. Provided Energy Star-like incentives for residents to buy the cleanest stoves, and 3. Provided extensive educational information on clean burning practices. 

The report identifies a growing array of creative and cost-effective ways to leverage the use of a renewable energy while mitigating emissions.  For example: 

• New Hampshire provides a rebate of up to $6,000 for residents to buy an ultra-clean automated central pellet heat system, similar to the technology that is routinely incentivized in much of Europe.
• Pending legislation in Maryland would provide a pellet stove rebate for any resident and a wood stove rebate for rural residents whose primary heat is oil, electric or propane.
• Arizona provides a $500 tax deduction to install an EPA certified wood stove in a fireplace, preventing excessive pollution from traditional fireplaces.
• California and Washington are the only states that require new stoves to be EPA certified, whereas the other 48 states allow cheap, unregulated stoves (often made in China) to compete against clean EPA regulated stoves made in America.
• Oregon requires old uncertified wood stoves to be removed and destroyed upon sale of a home.

The Report Card sheds new light on a very old form of renewable energy that is still used by millions of Americans.  The EPA estimates there are about 12 million wood stoves compared to only 300,000 solar photovoltaic systems in homes in the US.  "This country can achieve renewable energy and energy independence goals significantly faster and cheaper by deploying modern thermal biomass systems," said Mr. Ackerly.

American stove manufactures produce some of the cleanest stoves in the world, up to 90% cleaner than EPA requirements, but most Americans are still using older, polluting models.  Pellet stoves, invented in Washington State, are exceptionally clean but America has done little to incentivize them while Europe has produced tens of thousands of jobs in the pellet sector.

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Darkest green indicates largest increase in wood use, white indicates no change, while darkest blue indicates largest decrease in wood use.

   

•  Full Report Available Here 
• The full report explains the project and has state by state explanations of the programs (or lack thereof) that lead to the State's grade.  
• Grade Breakdown Chart Available Here 
• This is a simple chart graphic visually comparing the different state's performances in the six categories 
• Background Q&A on Residential Wood Heat  Available Here  
• This document provides helpful background information on the Alliance for Green Heat and residential wood heat in the US. 
• Wood Heat Census Data Fact Sheet Available Here  
• This fact sheet provides state specific data on wood as a primary heating source in 2000 and 2009.