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1 1 (March 14, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govchvs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: &~ ~ riE SE .$rCh &~ ~ ~ March 14, 2018 New Residential Wood Heaters: Potential Impacts from Delaying Federal Emission Standards On March 7, 2018, the House passed H.R. 1917, which would, among other things, delay the effective date of federal emission standards for new residential wood heaters promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2015. House and Senate hearings in late 2017 highlighted concerns about inadequate time to demonstrate compliance with emission standards by the 2020 deadline. Others have expressed concerns about the air quality impacts of delaying the 2020 deadline. The legislation also raises questions about state- and local- level impacts. For example, one witness testified that a delay could negatively affect jurisdictions in which wood smoke emissions already make it difficult to meet federal air quality standards. This In Focus explores how the legislation might interact with state- and local-level emission standards. For more information about the federal standards, their potential impacts, and stakeholder views, see CRS Report R43489, EPA's Wood Stove / Wood Heater Regulations: Frequently Asked Questions, by James E. McCarthy and Kate C. Shouse. EPA found that wood smoke a mixture of fine particles, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and toxic air pollutants emissions causes respiratory illness and premature death in some people at certain exposures. Nationally, EPA estimated that wood smoke emissions account for nearly 25% of all area source toxic cancer risks and 15% of non-cancer respiratory effects (EPA, Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces, 80 Federal Register 13673, March 16, 2015). EPA first promulgated wood heater emission standards in 1988 under the Clean Air Act. The standards are called New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and they apply only to new, residential wood heaters. In 2015, EPA revised the standards for woodstoves and pellet stoves and established first-ever federal standards for other types of new residential wood heaters. The newly added heaters included indoor and outdoor boilers (also known as hydronic heaters), forced air furnaces, and single burn rate stoves. (See the text box for descriptions.) The 2015 NSPS is implemented through a two-step process over a five-year period. Step 1 standards became effective in 2015, while the more stringent Step 2 standards are to become effective in 2020. Types of Residential Wood Heaters Wood stoves are appliances that burn wood to produce heat. Consumers may use them as a primary or secondary source of heat. Wood stoves are typically made out of cast iron, steel, or stone. Pellet stoves are similar to wood stoves except that they burn fuel made of ground, dried wood and other biomass wastes compressed into pellets. They operate by pouring pellets into a hopper that feeds into the stove. Most require electricity. Hydronic heaters (also called outdoor wood heaters or outdoor wood boilers) are typically located outside the buildings they heat and are often housed in small sheds with short smokestacks. They typically burn wood to heat liquid that is piped to provide heat and hot water to occupied buildings such as homes and barns. Forced air furnaces (also called warm-air furnaces) are designe d to burn cordwood, wood pellets, or wood chips to heat an entire residence. Typically located indoors, these furnaces distribute heat through ducts using a blower fan. Source: EPA, Burn Wise-Types of Appliances, https://www.epa.gov/bu rnwise/bu rn-wise-types-appliances. Are WVood Hteres S~b ,-cto Ste aun State and local jurisdictions have enacted measures to address wood smoke emissions. For example, Washington State promulgated woodstove emission standards in 1995 that were more stringent than federal standards. Other states promulgated regulations limiting emissions from residential hydronic heaters before these heaters were subject to federal emission standards. As a result, prior to 2015, wood heaters sold to consumers in certain jurisdictions were required to meet tighter emission standards than those at the federal level. Stakeholders, including manufacturers and environmental groups, supported the 2015 NSPS rule in part because it provided uniformity of standards across the country. There had been broad concerns about the patchwork of state regulations and voluntary programs addressing wood smoke. It is unclear how delaying the 2020 Step 2 effective date in federal standards would affect state and local programs. State or local standards could potentially negate a delay to the effective date of the federal standards, but there is not enough information to determine the likelihood of this scenario. The status of state and local regulations for wood heaters is not systematically tracked, thereby making it ~fl:O~ p\w -- , gnom goo mppm qq\ a , q 'M I 11LULANJILiN,

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