Saranac Lake board adopts six-month outdoor wood boiler moratorium
By EMILY HUNKLER, Enterprise Staff Writer
POSTED: May 13, 2008
SARANAC LAKE — The village board adopted a six-month moratorium on outdoor wood boilers on Monday night.
“Perhaps we should take the less restrictive avenue and see what has been done out there in terms of regulation,” Mayor Thomas Michael said regarding whether it was in the agenda to ban or regulate the boilers.
The moratorium puts a stop on granting any future permit for an outdoor wood boiler starting Monday evening and lasting 180 days, during which time the board will discuss plans to regulate or ban the use of them.
Trustee John McEneany was concerned with making sure the language of any future law or regulation is precise and does not leave room for misinterpretation.
“I don’t want to get into, ‘His smoke is different from my smoke because his smoke is outside and my smoke is inside’,” McEneany said.
The board assured him any future laws would be directed specifically towards the use of outdoor wood boilers.
Outdoor wood boilers came under fire recently when a Saranac Lake resident petitioned the board to do something to regulate their use for the health and safety of neighbors living nearby.
According to studies done by the New York Attorney General’s Office, outdoor wood boiler smoke contains fine particulate matter which, for those exposed to it on a regular basis, can lead to chronic lung and respiratory conditions.
“We need to be sure that, as a board, we are going in the right direction of regulating instead of banning,” Trustee Jeff Branch said.
Some have turned to outdoor wood boilers as a method of heating their homes due to the rising costs of oil. Outdoor wood boilers are fueled by wood, which for some homeowners is an appealing source of energy as it is less expensive than oil and renewable.
The board members said they hope to be diligent in deciding what action to take and hope to be finished well before the six-month moratorium is expired.
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise
54 Broadway
PO Box 318
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Web master comment....Yes, please BAN all outdoor wood boilers.
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