[Senate Report 115-422]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 579
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-422
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TO ESTABLISH A COMPLIANCE DEADLINE OF MAY 15, 2023, FOR STEP 2
EMISSIONS STANDARDS FOR NEW RESIDENTIAL WOOD HEATERS, NEW RESIDENTIAL
HYDRONIC HEATERS, AND FORCED-AIR FURNACES
_______
December 6, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Barrasso, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1857]
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1857) to establish a compliance deadline
of May 15, 2023, for Step 2 emissions standards for new
residential wood heaters, new residential hydronic heaters, and
forced-air furnaces, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
GENERAL STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND
S. 1857 is a bipartisan bill that delays the compliance
date for Step 2 of the EPA's 2015 New Source Performance
Standards (NSPS)\1\ for New Residential Wood Heaters (i.e.,
woodstoves and pellet stoves) and New Residential Hydronic
Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces for three years--from May 15,
2020 to May 15, 2023.
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\1\80 Fed. Reg. 13672 (Mar. 16, 2015).
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Step 1 of the NSPS is now in effect. Step 2 would impose
even stricter limits. Prior to Step 1 going into effect, the
federal emissions requirements for wood and pellet stoves had
not been changed since 1988, and hydronic heaters and forced-
air furnaces had never been subject to federal standards.
Step 1 of the NSPS is already leading to higher appliance
prices and lower product availability.\2\ For example, one
furnace retailer in West Virginia has faced diminishing demand
as prices increase. In 2015, this retailer sold 42 appliances.
In 2016, the retailer sold 11. In 2017, as of November 2017,
only eight were sold. This trend will continue to worsen
without relief. The retail cost of a new furnace doubled in
price since Step 1 became effective, with the retail cost
rising from $1,000 to $2,000.
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\2\Legislative Hearing on S. 1857, S. 203, S. 839 and S. 1934
Before the S. Comm. on Env't & Public Works Subcomm. on Clean Air &
Nuclear Safety (Nov. 14, 2017) (statement of Paul Williams, Vice
President of Business Intelligence, United States Stove Company)
[hereinafter Williams Testimony].
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The industry is working, and has been working, to comply
with the next phase of the 2015 NSPS--the Step 2 regulations--
before they go into effect. There is simply not enough time and
lab capacity to complete the effort within the original
timeline.\3\ Part of the problem is that there are currently
only five test labs in North America authorized to certify all
wood and pellet stoves, hydronic heaters, and wood furnaces.
Only a fraction of Step 1-certified models have been certified
for Step 2 as of July 2018: 91 of the 571 currently-certified
Step 1 models of wood and pellet stoves, 11 of the 113 hydronic
heaters, and one of 16 forced-air furnaces.
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\3\Letter from Jack Goldman, President & CEO, Hearth, Patio &
Barbeque Association, to Chairman John Barrasso et al., S. Env't &
Public Works Comm. (Sep. 14, 2018, submitted to record of Sept. 18,
2018 Committee meeting); Letter from VP Berger, President, Hearth &
Home Technologies, to Chairman John Barrasso et al., S. Env't & Public
Works Comm. (Sep. 17, 2018, submitted to record of Sept. 18, 2018
Committee meeting).
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Existing inventories of these products can remain with
retailers for years. The NSPS prohibits the sale of new
appliances that are not compliant with Step 2 as of May 15,
2020. This looming cutoff point disincentivizes the continued
production and offering for sale of new appliances subject to
modernized emission standards. If such appliances are not sold
by May 15, 2020, they become a sunk cost for the retailers who
purchased them for retail sale.
This situation has negative economic and environmental
consequences for the millions of Americans who rely on wood
heating as a critical heating source. Approximately 11.5
million households rely on wood as a primary or secondary
heating source.\4\ A significant share of purchasers of heaters
are from lower income households and use these wood heating
appliances to reduce their energy bills. Faced with fewer
choices and higher prices, it is likely consumers will extend
the lives of their older, more emissive appliances--many of
which may be decades-old and not certified to be compliant with
even Step 1.\5\ Without enactment of S. 1857, sales of new,
modernized appliances will continue to diminish and higher-
emitting appliances that are not certified to be compliant with
the NSPS will stay in use.
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\4\U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy:
Increase in Wood as Main Source of Household Heating Most Notable in
the Northeast (Mar. 17, 2014), https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/
detail.php?id=15431.
\5\Williams Testimony, supra note 2.
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The EPA itself would also benefit from a delay, as the
agency has yet to codify the needed cord wood reference test
method and make a best system of emission reduction (BSER)
determination based on that test method. EPA is now years
behind in that process, which the agency had planned to
complete shortly after its proposal of the NSPS in 2014.\6\
Cord wood (i.e., firewood) is broadly recognized as the best
test fuel for ensuring that tested emission levels better
reflect how heaters are used by Americans in their homes. Use
of crib wood (i.e., two-by-fours) for tuning heaters ``often
results in poorer performance in homes.''\7\ Before Step 2
compliance is required, the cord wood test method and BSER
determination should be finalized and available for use.
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\6\80 Fed. Reg. at 13678.
\7\Id.
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A substitute amendment offered by Senator Carper would have
provided a one-year sell-through for only Step 1 models
manufactured before May 15, 2020 and would have prevented EPA
from making adjustments to the NSPS regulations in any way--
even if slight changes are needed to make them workable. That
amendment would also have authorized a new EPA-administered
buyback program for wood heaters. The amendment would not have
provided needed relief.\8\
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\8\Crouch, John, Hearth, Patio & Barbeque Ass'n, ``Opinion: Mirrors
and Smoke, Smoke and Mirrors'' (Sept. 14, 2018, submitted to record of
Sept. 18, 2018 Committee meeting), available at http://
biomassmagazine.com/articles/15594/opinion-mirrors-and-smoke-smoke-and-
mirrors.
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OBJECTIVES OF THE LEGISLATION
The three-year delay provided by S. 1857 provides relief
for retailers to sell their existing inventory while they await
availability of new models compliant with the revised NSPS. The
deadline extension also is vital to ensuring that the
manufacturing industry has time to develop, engineer, certify,
manufacture, and deliver updated woodstoves and furnaces.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Step 2 Compliance deadline for new residential wood heaters,
new residential hydronic heaters, and forced-air furnaces
Sets a compliance deadline date with respect to the final
rule entitled ``Standards of Performance for New Residential
Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air
Furnaces,'' at May 15, 2023. States that the Administrator of
the EPA shall finalize technical and conforming changes to
documents as may be necessary.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On September 26, 2017, Senator Capito introduced S. 1857, a
bill to establish a compliance deadline of May 15, 2023, for
Step 2 emissions standards for new residential wood heaters,
new residential hydronic heaters, and forced-air furnaces, with
Senators McCaskill, Manchin, and Shelby. Senators Klobuchar,
Wicker, Inhofe, and Tester are also cosponsors. The bill was
referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works.
The bipartisan, companion bill H.R. 453, the Relief from
New Source Performance Standards Act of 2017, passed the U.S.
House of Representatives on March 7, 2018.\9\
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\9\The language of H.R. 453 was added to H.R. 1917, the Blocking
Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 2017, for floor
consideration and passage.
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HEARINGS
A legislative hearing was held on November 14, 2017 in the
Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and
Nuclear Safety.
ROLLCALL VOTES
On September 18, 2018, the Committee on Environment and
Public Works met to consider S. 1857. The bill was ordered
favorably reported by a roll call vote of 11 ayes and 10 nays.
Amendments rejected
Carper #1--A substitute amendment to codify residential
wood heater emission standards and to establish a federal grant
program for wood heater emissions reductions failed by a roll
call vote of 10 ayes and 11 nays (Senators Booker, Cardin,
Carper, Duckworth, Gillibrand, Markey, Merkley, Sanders, Van
Hollen, and Whitehouse voted aye. Senators Barrasso, Boozman,
Capito, Ernst, Fischer, Inhofe, Moran, Rounds, Shelby,
Sullivan, and Wicker voted nay).
Final Committee vote to report
S. 1857 was ordered favorably reported by a roll call vote
of 11 ayes and 10 nays (Senators Barrasso, Boozman, Capito,
Ernst, Fischer, Inhofe, Moran, Rounds, Shelby, Sullivan, and
Wicker voted aye. Senators Booker, Cardin, Carper, Duckworth,
Gillibrand, Markey, Merkley, Sanders, Van Hollen, and
Whitehouse voted nay).
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee makes evaluation of
the regulatory impact of the reported bill.
The bill does not create any additional regulatory burdens,
nor will it cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of
individuals.
MANDATES ASSESSMENT
In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds that S. 1857 would not
impose Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State,
local, or tribal governments. The bill contains no new private-
sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
COST OF LEGISLATION
Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be
included in the report. That statement follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 27, 2018.
Hon. John Barrasso,
Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1857, a bill to
establish a compliance deadline of May 15, 2023, for Step 2
emissions standards for new residential wood heaters, new
residential hydronic heaters, and forced-air furnaces.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 1857--A bill to establish a compliance deadline of May 15, 2023, for
Step 2 emissions standards for new residential wood heaters,
new residential hydronic heaters, and forced-air furnaces
S. 1857 would delay the deadline for industry to comply
with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) performance
standards for new residential wood heaters, hydronic heaters,
and forced-air furnaces from 2020 until 2023.
Using information from EPA about its current activities
related to implementing the regulations, CBO estimates that
enacting the legislation would not have a significant effect on
the agency's workload or spending. CBO expects that extending
the deadline would result in more resources being spent on
assistance with compliance than on enforcement.
Enacting S. 1857 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1857 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
S. 1857 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On December 21, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 453, the Relief from New Source Performance Standards Act
of 2017, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy
and Commerce on December 6, 2017. The two pieces of legislation
are similar, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary effects are
the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Minority Views of Senators Carper, Cardin, Whitehouse, Gillibrand,
Booker, Markey, and Van Hollen
S. 1857 would delay achievable Clean Air Act emission
standards for new residential wood heaters, new residential
hydronic heaters, and forced-air furnaces for three years. Such
a delay would result in an increase in deadly air pollution,
which will negatively impact the health of millions of
Americans, and punish manufacturers that have already made
investments to manufacture wood heaters that meet the
standards.
Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated
11.5 million homes use wood as a primary or secondary heat
source. 58% of those homes are found in rural areas.
Residential wood heaters (i.e., woodstoves, pellet stoves and
wood furnaces) often have a long life-span, some lasting more
than fifty years. Due to the long lifespan, industry estimates
that 6 million residential wood heaters in operation today do
not meet 1988 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air
Act emission standards, much less the emissions standards
implemented in 2015.\1\
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\1\Congressional Research Service (CRS), ``EPA's Wood Stove/Wood
Heater Regulations: Frequently Asked Questions'' (March 12, 2018),
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43489.pdf. Hereinafter, ``CRS Wood Heater
Regulations Report.''
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Collectively, older residential wood heaters are a major
source of air pollution in the United States, especially in
rural areas. According to EPA, smoke from old, inefficient
residential wood heaters can produce a deadly mix of
particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide, volatile organic
compounds (which contributes to ozone), black carbon (which
contributes to climate change) and air toxics (which includes
benzene and formaldehyde).\2\ This pollution builds up inside
and outside the home, triggering asthma attacks and causing
lung damage, cancer and other significant health problems,
including death. EPA estimates nationally residential wood
heaters emit hundreds of thousands of tons of PM annually and
account for 44% of all polycyclic organic matter emissions,
nearly 25% of all area source air toxics cancer risks and 15%
of non-cancer respiratory effects.\3\ Compared to other sources
of air pollution, residential wood heaters emit five times more
PM pollution than the U.S. petroleum refineries, cement
manufacturers and pulp and paper plants combined.\4\ EPA has
also found that old, inefficient residential wood heaters are
causing some areas in the country--like Fairbanks, Alaska,
Tacoma, Washington and Keene, New Hampshire--to be in, or close
to, nonattainment for EPA's national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) for PM.\5\ Fortunately, new residential wood
heaters made and sold in the U.S. are dramatically cleaner and
more energy efficient than older heaters. This means using the
latest in residential wood heater technology results in less
pollution, less fuel needed and lower costs for consumers.
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\2\U.S. EPA, ``Basic Information about Residential Wood Heaters''
(October 2018) https://www.epa.gov/residential-wood-heaters/basic-
information-about-residential-wood-heaters#why.
\3\U.S. EPA, ``Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for Residential
Wood Heaters NSPS Revision, Final Report,'' (February 2015), https://
www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-02/documents/20150204-
residential-wood-heaters-ria.pdf. Hereinafter, ``Final Rule RIA.''
\4\EPA 2001 National Emissions Inventory.
\5\Final Rule RIA.
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On February 3, 2015, EPA issued Clean Air Act New Source
Performance Standards (NSPS) for New Residential Wood Heaters
and New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces
(hereafter called the ``2015 Wood Heater NSPS'').\6\ Set to be
phased-in over five years, the 2015 Wood Heater NSPS updated
the PM emissions limits for woodstoves and set the first
standards for several other types of wood heaters, such as
pellet stoves, indoor and outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters,
wood-burning forced-air furnaces; and single burn-rate stoves.
The 2015 Wood Heater NSPS only applies to wood heaters being
manufactured and sold, not to wood heaters already in homes.
Wood-burning fireplaces are also excluded from regulation.
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\6\80 FR 13671.
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The 2015 Wood Heater NSPS Step 1 emission reductions for
most wood heater manufacturers went into effect on May 15,
2015. At the time of implementation, over 85% of the wood
heaters on the market required to meet Step 1 met the emission
standards.\7\ Retailers were able to continue to sell the few
residential wood heaters that did not meet Step 1 for an
additional eight months until December 31, 2015. The 2015 Wood
Heater NSPS Step 2 emission reductions go into effect for
manufacturers and retailers on May 15, 2020. EPA estimated in
total, these emission standards will get an estimated 70%
reduction in PM and VOC emissions and 62% in carbon monoxide.
EPA estimated the health benefits from these pollution
reductions to be up to $7.6 billion and costs to industry
estimated to be $46 million.\8\
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\7\Final Rule RIA.
\8\Final Rule RIA.
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During the public comment period for the 2015 Wood Heater
NSPS, EPA received an estimated 1,300 public comments.\9\
Overwhelmingly, state and local governments commented on the
need for federal residential wood heater emission standards,
and many commented that the Step 2 standards should be
implemented at a faster rate than the five year timeline. The
following are a few examples of these comments. Environmental
agency directors from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio and Wisconsin joined together in a letter to EPA stating,
``an update to the NSPS for Residential Wood Burning Devices is
long overdue.''\10\ Wisconsin's Air Director would later
comment that residential wood heaters represented ``32% of
Wisconsin's total PM2.5 emissions'' and
``[R]eductions in PM2.5 emissions from wood burning
devices would have a positive impact on Wisconsin's ability to
maintain a recently-achieved redesignation of the 2006 24-hour
fine particle standard as well as continue improving air
quality in the remainder of the state.''\11\ Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality commented that it, ``strongly supports
EPA's proposed rule'' and that ``Oregon has at least two
nonattainment areas and many other areas close to violating the
PM2.5 standard, primarily due to woodstove
smoke.''\12\ The Missoula City-County Health Department stated
that, ``[W]ood smoke from residential wood heating is the
single largest contributor to the high PM2.5
concentrations in western Montana and Missoula County and
revising the current NSPS for wood stoves is critically needed
for Missoula County to meet and maintain PM2.5
ambient concentrations below the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards . . . . [W]e question whether five years, as
contemplated under the preferred option, is too long given that
the proposed final standards, based on BSER, are already being
met by top industry performers, and urge that the second,
tighter phase of standards be accelerated where
practicable.''\13\ The Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection echoed Missoula City-County's
comments, stating that wood smoke greatly contributes to
Connecticut's air quality concerns and, ``we question whether a
compliance window of five years is necessary given that the
proposed final standards are now met by top industry
performers.''\14\ And finally, the National Association of
Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), which represents air pollution
control agencies in 40 states, the District of Columbia, 116
metropolitan areas and four territories, commented several
times that, ``[N]ACAA welcomes this proposal . . . .
[R]esidential wood combustion is extremely difficult to
regulate at the state level because the devices are installed
and operated in private homes and consumers are able to
purchase wood heaters and stoves outside their own state (which
could enable a consumer to purchase a device that does not meet
the standards of his state of residence). We cannot overstate
the importance of federal standards for these sources. In the
absence of strong new federal standards, states and localities
will have no choice but to pursue or build upon their own
regulatory programs in order to attain and maintain NAAQS and/
or meet other clean air goals . . . . [N]ACAA favors EPA's
preferred option of a two-step approach and, further, urges
that EPA accelerate implementation of the second, tighter phase
of standards where practicable.''\15\
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\9\CRS Wood Heater Regulations Report.
\10\Letter to USEPA Administrator Jackson from Lake Michigan Air
Directors Consortium (LADCO)--NSPS for Residential Wood Burning
Devices, to EPA Docket (EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734), October 10, 2012, EPA-
HQ-OAR-2009-0734-0246 at https://www.regulations.gov.
\11\Comment submitted by Bart Sponseller, Bureau of Air Management-
Director, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to EPA
Docket (EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734), May 2, 2014, EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734-1511
at https://www.regulations.gov.
\12\Comment submitted by Uri Papish, Air Quality Program Manager,
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to EPA Docket (EPA-HQ-OAR-
2009-0734), May 5, 2014, EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734-1640 at https://
www.regulations.gov.
\13\Comment submitted by Benjamin Schmidt, Air Quality Specialist,
Missoula City County Health Department (MCCHD), Montana to EPA Docket
(EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734), May 5, 2014, EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734-1580 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
\14\Comment submitted by Robert J. Klee, Commissioner, Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to EPA Docket
(EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734), May 5, 2014, EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734-1502 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
\15\Comment submitted by George S. Aburn, Jr., (Maryland), Co-chair
and Lynne A. Liddigton, Co-Chair (Knoxville, Tennessee) NACAA Criteria
Pollutants Committee, National Association of Clean Air Agencies
(NACAA) to EPA Docket (EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0734), May 1, 2014, EPA-HQ-OAR-
2009-0734-1417 at https://www.regulations.gov.
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Since the 2015 Wood Heater NSPS was implemented, states and
local communities still suffer from air pollution from
residential wood heaters and are depending on the reductions
from Step 2 to help meet or maintain attainment for
PM2.5 NAAQS.\16\ Many states have included the
expected pollution reductions from the 2015 Wood Heater NSPS in
their State Implementation Plans and some states--like Colorado
and Vermont--have taken the extra step of adopting the 2015
Wood Heater NSPS into state law. At the same time, there are
over 200 different models of wood heaters that are already
meeting Step 2 emission requirements and an estimated twenty
states, including Alaska, Vermont and Iowa that have some type
of residential wood heater change-out program to help address
the legacy pollution concerns from older, inefficient wood
heaters.\17\ States have told Minority staff that these change
out programs have been highly successful, however, state funds
cannot keep up with demand.
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\16\See National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) letter
to EPW members, ``Comments of the National Association of Clean Air
Agencies on Technical Provisions of S. 839, the Blocking Regulatory
Interference from Closing Kilns Act and S. 1857, the Relief from New
Source Performance Standards Act,'' (June 21, 2018), Entered into
public record September 18, 2018. Hereafter, ``NACAA EPW Letter.''
\17\Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), ``Wood Stove
Changeout'' (October 2018), https://www.hpba.org/Promotional-Campaigns/
Woodstove-Changeouts/What-is-a-Woodstove-Changeout/Ongoing-Changeout-
and-Incentive-Programs.
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S. 1857 proposes a delay in the compliance date of Step 2
of the 2015 Wood Heater NSPS from May 15, 2020 to May 15, 2023.
Because wood heaters have a long lifespan, a three year delay
in Step 2 will result in an increase in air pollution that will
be compounded over decades. The Northeast States for
Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM)--501(c)(3) nonprofit
association of air quality agencies in the Northeast--estimates
that if S. 1857 became law it would result in an additional
2,500 tons of PM emitted annually or 50,000 tons over twenty
years. This additional PM pollution will result in up to 280
additional premature deaths per year and a loss of up to $2.3
billion annually in foregone monetized public health benefits
from increased premature deaths, asthma attacks, lost work
days, and other effects.\18\
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\18\See Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management
(NESCAUM) letter to EPW staff, ``NESCAUM Analysis on 3 year NSPS
Residential Wood Heating Extension,'' (December 18, 2017).
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This additional air pollution has stakeholders concerned
that enacting S. 1857 would make it much more difficult for
many states to achieve clean air health standards and would
have an effect on public health for decades to come, especially
those living in rural America. State agency organizations--like
the Western Governors Association, NESCAUM and NACAA--have
publically stated they are opposed to delaying the 2015 Wood
Heater NSPS. NACAA summed up their opposition to S. 1857 with
the following statement, ``[I]n short, the three-year extension
to the Step 2 emission standards sought by S. 1857 is
unnecessary and would adversely impact public health and the
environment and undermine clean air efforts in certain states
and local areas as well as harm the bottom line for most
manufactures that have already taken steps to comply.''\19\
Twenty other environmental and health groups have also
expressed their opposition to S. 1857, with health groups
stating that ``[T]he (wood heater air pollution) problem would
not end in three years, unfortunately: due to the long lives of
these devices, they would continue to spew toxic pollution into
the air in their homes and neighborhoods for decades.''\20\\21\
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\19\NACAA EPW Letter.
\20\See letter opposed to S. 1857 from Allergy & Asthma Network,
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Lung Association,
American Public Health Association, American Thoracic Society, Asthma
and Allergy Foundation of America, Center for Climate Change and
Health, Environment and Human Health, Inc., Health Care Without Harm,
Trust for America's Health Allergy &Ast to EPW members, (August 2018),
Entered into public record September 18, 2018.
\21\See letter opposed to S. 1857 from Alliance for Climate
Education (ACE), California Safe Schools, Center for Biological
Diversity, Doctors and Scientists Against Wood Smoke Pollution,
Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Law & Policy Center,
Earthjustice, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense
Council, Sierra Club, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment to EPW
members, (September 17, 2018), Entered into public record September 18,
2018.
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We share the concerns of states, public health and
environmental groups and oppose S. 1857. We believe as written,
S. 1857 ignores the plight of states and communities suffering
from residential wood heater pollution and will have long-term
negative effects on public health for our constituents and
future generations. Instead of a blanket three year delay,
during Committee markup of S. 1857, Senator Carper offered what
we believe to be a common sense compromise proposal that would
address some of the industry's concerns, while still
maintaining critical emissions standards to protect public
health.
Senator Carper's amendment to S. 1857 would have
accomplished three things. First, it would have reduced
regulatory burden for residential wood retailers and
manufacturers. It would have done so by allowing retailers one
full year to sell Step 1 products after the May 15, 2020
deadline and allowing manufacturers to waive the thirty-day
notice comment period for testing as long as testing data could
be securely stored for EPA to analyze in the future. Second,
the amendment would have codified the emission standards in the
2015 Wood Heater NSPS. Third, the amendment would have
established a $75 million annual voluntary residential wood
heater change out program for five years within EPA called the
Wood Heater Emissions Reduction Act (WHERA) to incentivize the
removal and replacement of old, inefficient residential wood
heaters.
WHERA mimics the successful Diesel Emissions Reduction Act
(DERA) and residential wood heater programs already implemented
in twenty states. WHERA allows for states, territories,
regional and local air quality agencies and Indian tribes to
compete for EPA dollars to run programs that work for their
communities with the goals of scraping or recycling old, dirty
wood heaters; and replacing old wood heaters with new,
efficient, clean burning and properly installed heaters that at
least meet EPA's Step 2 wood heater emission standards. The
language also requires EPA to ensure rural communities are
fairly represented in funding allocations and that Indian
tribes receive at least 4% of funding.
We believe the WHERA program will have the most benefits
for public health and wood heater consumers. According to EPA,
replacing one dirty inefficient wood heater is equivalent to
taking five dirty diesel engines off the road and the monetized
public health benefits from replacing the nation's old,
inefficient residential wood heaters would be up to $126
billion per year.\22\ In addition to cleaner air, homeowners
that replace inefficient wood heaters with more efficient
heaters also save money in reduced annual heating costs.
Industry and EPA estimate that the newest residential wood
heaters use about a third of wood compared to older heaters,
saving consumers 20 to 40 percent in heating costs. The Hearth,
Patio & Barbecue Association--an association representing North
American manufacturers, retailers, distributors,
representatives of residential wood heaters--issued a study
reviewing a similar residential wood change out program in
Montana and found that, ``[T]hose who upgraded to an EPA-
certified model found wood use cut by a third, effectively
saving them time and money, while significantly lowering
particulate emissions both inside and outside their homes.''
The study went on to conclude that, ``a changeout (program for
wood stoves) is one of the most cost-effective methods of
reducing fine particulates, and an upgrade to EPA-certified
wood stoves offers homeowners ancillary safety and efficiency
benefits.''\23\ We couldn't agree more.
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\22\ U.S. EPA, ``Burn Wise, Wood Smoke Awareness Kit'' (October
2018), https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-11/documents/
kit_2_fast_facts.pdf.
\23\ Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. ``Preliminary Report:
Clearing the Smoke: The Woodstove Changeout in Libby, Montana''
(January 2008), https://www.hpba.org/Initiatives/Woodstove-Changeouts/
Success-Stories/Libby-Montana-Changeout.
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We also believe WHERA supports retailers and manufacturers
with the transition to cleaner, more efficient residential wood
heaters better than the underlying bill. WHERA incentivizes
homeowners to buy the best available residential wood heater
products--when they might not otherwise do so--giving financial
incentives for retailers and manufacturers to sell and make the
best products. Overall, the residential wood heater industry
has been supportive of such change out programs at the state
and local level.
An early version of the proposed WHERA program was shared
with the Majority and the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association
in July 2018, and was refined with input from stakeholders and
EPA. The final WHERA language in the Carper Amendment reflected
edits and comments from two states that currently run a
residential wood heater change out program, from two major
state agency organizations that collectively represent 40
states, 160 metropolitan areas, 4 territories and D.C., from
nine tribal, environmental and health organizations (two of
which help communities establish change out programs), and from
technical assistance provided by career EPA staff. We believe
WHERA is now well vetted and should be part of any solution
that the full Senate considers.
We were greatly disappointed that our Republican colleagues
voted down the Carper Amendment and passed S. 1857 without
modification. Even though we continue to oppose S. 1857 as
written, we stand ready to work with our colleagues to advance
legislation that will support states and local governments
grappling with residential wood heater pollution, protect
public health, and aid the residential wood heater industry.
Thomas R. Carper.
Benjamin L. Cardin.
Sheldon Whitehouse.
Kirsten Gillibrand.
Cory A. Booker.
Edward J. Markey.
Chris Van Hollen.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made
by the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no
changes to existing law.
[all]