Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
04/06/2013 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB163 | |
| HB198 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 198 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 163 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 163-REGULATION OF SOLID FUEL BURNING DEVICES
1:06:40 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 163, "An Act prohibiting a person from burning
certain materials in a solid fuel burning device; relating to
solid fuel burning device emission standards; and relating to
prohibitions on the burning of solid fuels."
1:06:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, paraphrased
from the following sponsor statement [original punctuation
provided]:
This bill would establish a new emission standard for
solid fuel burning devices within the EPA designated
2.5 nonattainment areas by allowing only the cleanest
burning devices to be sold at local retail stores.
Those who have a solid fuel device currently installed
are grandfathered under the new emission standard and
would not need to convert their device.
Currently, a PM 2.5 nonattainment area has been
designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
within the Fairbanks North Star Borough. During the
winter months, air quality status can reach unhealthy
levels for many of the people who reside within the
nonattainment area. This was especially true this
last winter when the average temperate between
November and December was minus 40 degrees.
This bill ensures the most efficient EPA certified
appliances are installed as homeowners naturally
upgrade their units, saving Alaskans money by reducing
the cost of space heat. Additionally, by installing
the best technology, air quality at a neighborhood and
regional level will also improve. This is important
for the overall health of the communities and for
achieving federal attainment with EPA.
Finally, HB 163 guarantees an individual's right to
use a solid fuel burning device in accordance with
their budget and local and state law. The
consequences of not reaching EPA PM 2.5 attainment
status stretch beyond health concerns. If attainment
is not reached by 2014, the EPA could sanction the
state of Alaska by withholding Federal highway funds
within the non-attainment area, which ranges from the
City of Fairbanks to the City of North Pole and the
outlying areas. It is not the entire Fairbanks North
Star Borough but is the populated area. It also would
include Ft. Wainwright. This would prevent many of
Alaska's roads and transportation infrastructure from
being constructed or upgraded. This bill is a
proactive bill and will hopefully prevent additional
communities from becoming a PM 2.5 nonattainment area.
1:09:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON indicated she originally considered
making the bill apply statewide, however, since then she made
several changes to the bill. Perhaps if the community had been
more proactive it might not be in a non-attainment area now, she
said. The EPA certified wood stoves are rated up to 7.5 grams
per hour. Due to temperature inversion issues, the EPA and
Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) do not think the community
can meet attainment without specifying cleaner burning stoves,
such as ones that rated at 2.5 grams per hour.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON explained that the interpretation of
the EPA's standards related to British Thermal Units (BTUs)
indicated none of the wood stoves would have qualified, which
was not the intent of the bill. Additionally, the DEC will
address by regulation any stoves over 200,000 BTUs, which are
more the commercial size. She said the intent of this bill is
to provide relief for her community. In fact, she hoped that a
natural gas project will move forward, which will ultimately
solve the air quality problem.
1:10:44 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 163, Version 28-LS0248\R, Nauman, 4/4/13,
as the working document. There being no objection, Version R
was adopted as the working document.
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked how much of the non-attainment issues
were the result of tar emissions versus emissions from a wood
stove or other stove.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON indicated that over 50 percent of the
air quality issue is attributed to burning solid fuel from wood
stoves.
1:11:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER asked whether the sponsor is comfortable
with the standards on [page 2, lines 10-31, and page 3, lines 1-
2], subsection (c)]. He further asked whether the sponsor is
comfortable that the department will have time to adopt the
regulations.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON answered yes; that at this point these
standards will work the best for Fairbanks. She remarked that
the coal burners within the FNSB are exempt. She emphasized
that the community is not seeking a whole new test model.
Instead, she would like regulations to be clearly set so
companies bringing in any device not currently certified by the
EPA will have the ability to have the device tested, submit the
results, and receive approval or denial.
1:12:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER remarked that she has hit on the key. He
offered his belief the one of the areas that will be most
impacted by the bill is the Fairbanks area. He said, "If you
are comfortable with it, I'm comfortable with it."
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON clarified that another community,
Juneau, "is on the edge." She stated that Juneau represents a
smaller area and while it does not fall in the EPA's non-
attainment area for air quality, it does fall in the next stage.
She hoped one outcome will be that companies will manufacture
cleaner-burning stoves.
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER said he appreciated her bringing the bill
forward.
1:13:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON understood the sponsor will be working
with the DEC in the next several months and if necessary would
bring additional changes forward next year.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON agreed. She said that she will be
working with the community, the DEC, and the dealers on the air
quality issue. She stated that her overreaching goal and intent
is not to do harm.
1:14:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR suggested the sponsor could also work with
the Department of Health and Social Services. She understood
that high rates of asthma currently exist in Fairbanks due to
particulate matter. She expressed concern that burning fuel and
other materials such as plastics which emit toxic fumes is also
related to asthma and other health conditions.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON answered that the list of items not to
burn is already addressed in regulation. She highlighted that
the asthma problem in Fairbanks is more closely related to
burning of "greener" wood, which doesn't combust to the fullest
extent. In fact, the temperature inversion holds all
particulates at the ground level. Further, at extreme low
temperatures the problem has been exacerbated [since people burn
more wood]. She anticipated one outcome of the bill is that
people automatically will look for cleaner burning stoves.
1:16:11 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked whether stoves already in stores'
inventory that do not meet the standards will pose a problem for
retailers.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON answered that issue will be worked on
with DEC [as part of the interim work on the bill]. She
envisioned that a list will be sent to DEC so the department is
informed on store inventories; however, she understood the
stoves would be sold outside the non-attainment area. She
acknowledged that one of her goals is to hold companies
harmless.
1:16:53 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked how much more expensive a high-
performance, high-efficiency low-particulate emitting stove is
as compared to one with a lesser emission standard.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON responded that the cost ranges from
$100 to $200 or more for high-efficiency stoves, which is not
related to emissions as much as the stoves' appearance since
features such as glass or curlicues cost more. In fact, most of
the high-efficiency stoves contain a catalyst, which is the
mechanism that makes the stoves cleaner burning, she said.
1:17:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to background information in
members' packets entitled, "EPA Certified Wood Stoves." He
understood the EPA maintains a list of 1988 accredited
laboratory tested stoves. He asked whether the 1988 standard
has not been replaced by a new standard. He further asked
whether the 2.5 grams per hour for each 200,000 BTUs of heat
output represents a new "Alaska-only standard" or if the EPA has
another designation.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON responded that 1988 is the year in
which certification of all stoves began, which ranges from .4 to
7.5 grams per hour. A few years ago Washington [state] had the
same issue and instead of banning stoves, their agencies
approached the issue by lowering the amount of emissions. She
had hoped the EPA would impose the emissions standards, similar
to how car emissions are regulated, by requiring catalytic
convertors to reduce emissions. However, she did not want to
wait for the EPA to act, so the aforementioned standard would
only apply to the non-attainment area in Alaska. Additionally,
as sponsor, she will consider adding a sunset provision so once
attainment is reached the statutes would no longer apply.
1:19:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON understood the EPA performs the
certification so the state will not need to do the testing;
instead, it will be done by the EPA laboratory. He wondered if
stickers or some type of plaque would be applied to stoves to
indicate the particulate emissions.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON responded that this would apply to wood
stoves and qualified solid fuel burners, but coal burners will
be exempt. The DEC would set up the equivalent standard related
to the EPA, by regulation, for testing by certain laboratories.
She stated that the FNSB currently will test any units not
currently certified or not qualified by the EPA, at the owner's
expense.
1:20:45 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE understood that catalytic converters help burn
the contents more completely and cuts down on the particulate
emissions. He asked whether it is possible to retrofit older
stoves with some type of in-stack catalytic converter.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON stated that some testing is currently
happening, especially for outdoor boilers. She stated, for
example, that the Tok School has a [catalytic converter] in one
of its bigger units. She highlighted that while it works best
job when the stove is burning hot, it's a little harder to
control with wood stoves as opposed to furnaces. Typically,
people get the stove started then turn it down while they are at
work. The catalytic converter will make the stoves burn cleaner
and longer. She pointed out that most of the non-catalytic
stoves emit 4.5 grams of particulates or higher.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON compared the process as being similar
to the Inspection and Maintenance (IM) program some communities
had in place. What ultimately happened was that car
manufacturers were forced to make their products cleaner and as
older cars wore out and were replaced by newer ones [with
catalytic converters], the carbon dioxide emission issue
subsided. She offered her belief that it may take combined
efforts from states to request EPA offer testing. Currently,
the EPA tests units in a big warehouse with certain types of
wood, but not under cold temperatures. She expressed doubt that
the actual performance outcome would be the same in sub-zero
temperatures.
1:23:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked whether the committee previously
considered a bill to provide loans for wood-burning stoves and
if that aspect will also help private homeowners to meet the new
standards.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON asked whether she was referring to HB
35, which would allow people to change out any type of furnace
to a more efficient type. She explained that under HB 35, a
person could not exchange the home heating system for a manual
wood stove, but a person could put in an automated system.
1:24:07 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked whether this bill would bar other second
class cities and municipalities from imposing either more
rigorous or more lenient standards. He was uncertain of the
impact the bill will have on emissions. He referred to [DCED
Fiscal note 1 dated 3/22/13] which read, "It would limit all
municipalities from adopting a particulate air contamination
emission standard for solid fuel burning devices other than the
standard adopted by regulation by the state."
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON stated the fiscal note he referred to
is a fiscal note which refers to the original bill and will be
updated to reflect the proposed committee substitute. She
anticipated the updated fiscal note would be a zero fiscal note.
She pointed out the original fiscal note was based on a
statewide impact and required the DCED to perform the testing.
1:24:59 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked whether this bill will assist in delaying
the EPA's implementation of any sanctions or would result in any
loss of highway funds.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON answered that the state is required to
have a state implementation plan and this will fit within the
plan. The more ways in which the state can demonstrate to the
EPA that the state is attempting to meet the standards can help
the state receive an extension to meet the standards. She
offered her belief that the EPA realizes it will take a
different type of fuel, primarily gas, before the FNSB can meet
the air quality standards. However, as long as the state is
making progress in lowering the emissions, the EPA has been
willing to work with the state. Additionally, the EPA's air
quality standards will impact the military bases since the
military must take into account the non-attainment area when
considering transporting troops into the Fairbanks area.
1:26:20 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE indicated Representative T. Wilson has another
hearing to attend. He asked to hold HB 163 over.
1:26:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to page 3, line 10, to subsection
(e), which read, "A state or local authority may not adopt the
particulate air containment emission standard for solid fuel
burning devices other than the standard adopted by regulations
under (c) of this section." He asked whether this statewide
requirement is necessary in this bill since the program is
limited to the non-attainment area.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON understood that is already state law
and is not something added.
[HB 163 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB198 ver C.pdf |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |
| HB198 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |
| HB198 Sectional Summary.pdf |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |
| HB198-DNR-DOG-4-4-13.pdf |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |
| HB 198.Apache letter.pdf |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |
| HRES HB198 Hilcorp Letter 4.6.13.PDF |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |
| HRES HB198 DNR Presentation 4.6.13.pdf |
HRES 4/6/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 198 |