Sick of rising oil prices, more home and business owners in Maine are striving for energy independence by installing wood-fired boilers in their backyards. But some of their neighbors, as well as health and environmental experts, are finding it hard to be happy for them.
When the wind blows just right, smoke from her neighbor's boiler fills Beth Thomas' yard in Bowdoinham, she said. The polluting particulates, she said, give her headaches and make her two children wheeze and feel dizzy.
"We just want to go outside and not feel like we're getting sick," Thomas said.
It's the kind of dispute that state officials are hearing from Fort Kent to South Berwick, and from rural Farmington to densely populated South Portland.
And more complaints are expected. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection estimates that 400 more units will be bought this year, on top of 2,000 units already in Maine.
Resolving conflicts about boiler-related pollution is difficult, because there are no federal regulations governing emissions from these boilers as there are for indoor wood stoves.
But the critical mass of complaints - the DEP's air quality bureau has received about two or three a month this summer - has state and local officials in a rush to fix the problem as soon as possible, with or without the federal government.
Towns such as Millinocket have begun to consider passing ordinances that would regulate boilers. Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Protection is working with a regional group called the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management on developing emissions standards for the boilers.
David Littell, DEP commissioner, said he hopes to introduce a state regulation by early next year. In the meantime, he plans to brief the Natural Resources Committee when the Legislature convenes this fall, and also is considering intervening in situations in which boilers present imminent health risks to neighbors. He noted that several cases involve people with asthma.
"These things are really creating some serious localized air issues," Littell said.
The boilers work by burning large loads of wood. The fire heats water in a reservoir, which is then pumped through underground pipes to the home and circulated through the home's heating system.
When the home reaches the desired temperature, oxygen is cut off to the fire, leaving the wood smoldering and releasing soot and smoke. Smokestacks are usually no higher than 8 feet tall, keeping the smoke close to the ground.
The average unit emits more than 70 grams of particle pollution per hour - 15 times the federal standard for other wood stoves, according to the American Lung Association of Maine.
The lung association said this is an added hazard for Maine, which contends with air pollution wafting overhead from the Midwest and Canada. Chief Executive Officer Ed Miller said the stakes are high: Maine has one of the highest lung disease rates in the country, sickening 150,000 people and resulting in $150 million in health care costs.
Miller said the association is not calling for an outright ban on boilers, but advised owners to ask manufacturers how to retrofit their units so they burn more cleanly. He also suggested people considering buying boilers wait until regulators set up emissions standards, forcing improved models onto the market.
"We would really like to see the competition really be driven by who can have the cleanest stove," Miller said.
At least one Maine company is making progress in producing a better outdoor wood boiler, said Louis Fontaine, compliance manager for the Bureau of Air Quality at the state environmental agency.
Clean Wood Heat in East Millinocket is producing a Black Bear boiler that is as clean, if not cleaner, than a modern EPA-certified wood stove, Fontaine said. But wood-burning stoves of any design, he added, still pollute more than oil burners and natural gas and propane heaters.
Other leading brands are from Heatmor, Central Boiler and AquaTherm. The units are not sold at major home improvement stores such as The Home Depot, but rather by local dealers who often also sell tractors and lawn mowers, and by individuls who advertise in Uncle Henry's, a weekly advertisement publication.
Fontaine said he sees why people are attracted to the convenience of an outdoor boiler, because messy wood can stay outdoors.
Also, depending on the unit's size, it may need to be loaded only once a day.
But he questioned whether boilers actually save people money. "If they buy wood on the market, that's about $250 a cord," Fontaine said.
People who have cheap and accessible wood supplies, though, can get a return on their investment within two years, said Bruce Markham, owner of Best Way Wood Heat in Readfield. A boiler that heats an average-sized home costs about $6,000, he said.
Sales of his Heatmor line have increased from about 40 units five years ago to an anticipated 150 this year.
Markham said he noticed an uptick in sales after Hurricane Katrina sent oil prices skyrocketing. While some of Markham's customers feel they have no choice but to buy boilers, others are trying to make a statement.
"Some of my other customers can afford oil, and they just don't want to put up with the oil company's games," Markham said.Portland Press-Herald
