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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE The Ordinance Committee of the Chicopee Board of Aldermen will continue its discussion what to do with the city's four known Outdoor Wood Fired Boilers (OWB) to a meeting in mid-September. Options before the committee include banning OWBs outright in the city or putting restrictions of the size of the lot where they are installed. Another possible regulation concerns the distance an OWB is placed from a property line. In the meantime, those owning OWBs will be able to use them starting Sept. 5, but no new units will be allowed in the city. The existing OWBs will be monitored by the Department of Health. The Aug. 30 meeting was almost standing room only and was attended by Chicopee residents opposing and supporting the OWBs, as well as OWBs dealers from Granby and Lee and residents from Hampden, Palmer and Shutesbury. OWBs are out door wood furnaces that heat hot water. Their use is a growing trend in the Northeast and mid-West, according to the presentation made by Saadi Motamedi of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. In 1990 there were 195 sold in this country. In 2005, there were 67,546 units sold. The cost to purchase and install a unit is between $8,000 and $10,000 depending upon size and application. Currently there are no federal standards governing efficiency or emission on OWBs, unlike indoor wood stoves and only a hand-full of state or local regulations, Motamedi explained. Because of the lack of regulations, OWBs are being used in urban areas as well as rural ones to replace or supplement gas or oil-fired furnaces and water heaters. The short smokestacks and the varying degrees of burning efficiencies have resulted in problems with the dispersion of the smoke, Motamedi said. Motamedi said that studies have shown that not all owners burn the right fuel seasoned, dry wood and that the units can produce as much fine particulate matter as four heavy duty diesel trucks or 18 federally-certified indoor wood stoves or 205 homes with oil heat. They have efficiency rating of 28 to 55 percent. The result, Motamedi said, is health impact on neighbors and the nuisance caused by the smoke. The New England states, through the New England States for Coordinated Air Use Management, are now working on further analysis of the impact of OWBs and working with local health departments with problem OWBs in residential areas. The use of OWBs in a densely populated city such as Chicopee took up much of the time for public input at the meeting. Joseph and Arelia Tumiadajewicz of Chicopee spoke about how living near an OWBs have resulted in continual smoke at their home. "I simply could not breathe," Arelia Tumiadajewicz said. Edward Nowak of Chicopee said that when he tried to sell his house, the buyer backed out because of a nearby OWB and the smoke it produced. He eventually sold his house but at a lower price. Andrea McKinney of Chicopee owns one of the OWBs and said that she and her husband have made modifications including a tall smokestack with fans to push the smoke higher into the air in order to address the smoke problem. She said they only burn seasoned wood and restrict their use of the OWB to use in the winter. McKinney's unit was given a permit by the city's Building Department. If the city bans OWB, her family will lose a $10,000 investment that the city initially approved. Her husband Robert McKinney said "the whole discussion for the city of Chicopee [on OWBs] has been one-sided." |