OWBs create permitting problems
By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
What is happening in Chicopee is a warning to other western Massachusetts communities as the heating season approaches.
Some Chicopee residents have installed a technology that was certainly new to me when I first heard of it: Outdoor Wood Boilers or OWBs.
OWBs are simply a wood-fired furnace situated in a shed outside a residence or building. They produce hot water, which then can be used to heat a building.
They are being sold as a way to either supplement whatever heating system you already have or to replace it. In these times of uncertain oil and natural gas prices, the idea of having a hedge is attractive to many.
Across the northeast and the northern section of the mid-west, OWBs are growing in popularity, according to 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.
Here's the rub, there are currently 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 at a recent Chicopee aldermanic meeting.
So people can install these boilers wherever they choose unless restricted by a local regulation.
The result is one neighbor having a device that can affect the air quality of his street. The OWBs were not designed for urban areas, but they're popping up in densely populated cities. There are four in Chicopee.
This is one of these terrible situations in which no one is wrong, but someone is going to have to pay a price. The neighbors shouldn't have to endure bad air quality.
The problem is that one of these OWBs was installed only after the resident went to the city to obtain a permit for it. After a two-month period, the city's Building Department issued a permit. The trouble is that legally the city has currently no jurisdiction over the OWBs.
If the city bans the OWBs a distinct possibility the residents will lose the thousands of dollars they've invested. They will be punished even though they didn't break any regulation.
But their neighbors shouldn't pay a price either in a lessened quality of life.
In all seriousness, where's Solomon when you need him?
This is an example of a new technology out-racing a community's ability to deal with it. Other communities should take notice now before this same problem spreads.
***
Leading up to the primary, here are some thoughts.
I had the opportunity recently of sitting down with Kevin Scott, a Republican who is facing the party's nominee Ken Chase in the primary. Both men hope to have the chance of facing incumbent Senator Ted Kennedy in the Nov. 7 election.
Scott, who unlike his opponent has been successfully elected to office, has been an employer for 20 years and he would like to work to make the state more business friendly.
"Massachusetts is a product we need to sell," he said. "We need to make it easier to prosper in Massachusetts."
Scott supports a national flat income tax and called the current federal tax code a "30,000-page hairball" that no one understands.
He described himself as "more of an old school conservative and not a neocon." He is in favor of giving more control to local and state governments, balanced budgets and energy efficient polices.
He hopes to debate Kennedy if he wins a place on the ballot. He said that if Kennedy chooses not to debate then he would be shunning the concept of democracy.
To learn more about Scott's candidacy, log onto www.massforscott.com.
***
Brian Lees has been called many things I'm sure in his political career, but this is probably the first time the term "monkey wrench" has been applied.
I'm willing to bet the two Democratic candidates for Hampden County Clerk of Courts, the incumbent Marie Mazza and the challenger James Goodhines might be looking at Lees as the fly in their ointment.
After all, the race was until Aug. 31 just between them and was going to be settled on Sept. 19. I'm sure both candidates have budgeted their campaign funds and time accordingly.
Now one of them will have to face Lees in the Nov. 7 election. Don't worry, Lees will get the 1,000 votes he needs to get his name as the Republican candidate. He is too popular and canny an elected official not to have a plan in place to get out the votes he needs on the 19th.
The real issue for voters is whether or not they will ultimately choose Lees over Mazza, the clerk for the past 12 years or Goodhines, an experienced prosecutor who knows the court system inside and out. Lees is not an attorney nor has he had training in the court system.
Lees will have a problem with his reasons to seek this job. People will want to know why would Lees, who has held the position of minority leader in the State Senate, want a relatively low-profile procedural job such as Clerk of Courts? His answer that he is seeking another opportunity to serve the public may be genuine, but I think he will have to enlarge upon it to convince voters skeptical about the situation.
This column represents the opinions of its author. Send your comments to mdobbs@reminderpublications.com or to 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028.
|
|
