John Boyle at the local daily provided a local human interest angle on the EPA’s pending regulations on wood stoves.
The EPA estimates the restrictions will reduce fine particle emissions from wood heaters by nearly 70 percent. It says that will result in an average of one fewer premature death per day and yield about $100 of public health benefits for $1 of additional cost to manufacturers.
Manufacturers of wood stoves are somewhat skeptical, saying the devices are already regulated past the point of diminishing returns. Missouri, Michigan, and Virginia have already forbidden their environmental agencies to enforce the requirements, contending freezy cold people come with their own set of problems.
“Any time you put regulatory means on the end product, more cost is going to be there for the manufacturer and the retailer — and always the customer,” said Claudia Honeycutt, sales and marketing director for Spruce Pine-based New Buck Corp., maker of the popular Buck Stove brand of wood-burning stoves.
