Russell Black

The rise of electricity rates at the beginning of January came at a tough time for many Maine residents.

After suffering through high fuel oil, gasoline and propane prices for nearly a year, Maine residents were entering the coldest part of the winter season with no relief in sight.

For those who heat with electricity, it was their second increase in just 12 months.

Whether people heat with electricity, fuel oil or kerosene, it’s not hard to imagine that some Mainers needed just a gentle push to search for alternative heating methods that can offer a respite from high prices. And here in Maine, wood is one of those alternatives with an abundance of supply options.

One such person was a constituent in Chesterville who contacted me last year. She and her husband wanted to install a new, more efficient outdoor wood boiler to take advantage of tax breaks and rebates that were being offered by Efficiency Maine. In essence, they were doing exactly what the program was designed for — updating old heating technology with new, more efficient technology to cut emissions.

Making the decision was easy, although they soon found Maine’s myriad environmental regulations were far from it.

It turns out that current Maine Department of Environmental Protection regulations require outdoor wood boilers to have a 300-foot setback from all abutting residences. However, the regulations are based on an emission limit of 0.32 pounds per MMBtu (Metric Million British thermal unit), which measures the amount of particulate matter that is released through the smoke.

The problem is today’s wood boilers produce a third of that — roughly 0.10 pounds per MMBtu — so the regulations as they stand make no sense. If nothing changes, the couple testified that their only solution is to install a 20-foot-high stovepipe needed to exceed the height of their roof, a rather unsteady, unsafe option since five four-foot sections of stovepipe would need to be stacked vertically and be nearly impossible to stabilize.

During a subsequent visit by an inspector from the Maine DEP’s Air Bureau, he acknowledged to the couple that the current regulations were antiquated, especially since about half of all stovepipes stacked that high fail in the first storm. I have since learned that this particular problem has affected others who have tried to install new outdoor wood boilers only to find themselves just short on the setback requirements.

Clearly the regulations need to change; and I’ve submitted a bill to address it.

LD 400 is rather straightforward and directs the Maine DEP to examine the setback requirements for wood boilers that are much more efficient now than they were even 10 years ago. It also directs the department to submit a report upon completion of the review to the Legislature’s Environmental and Natural Resources Committee, which may elect to submit a bill related to the report.

The Maine DEP agreed with the notion of reexamining the current rules regarding wood boilers during ENR’s work session. However, it begs the question of whether other state regulations are outdated or have been rendered obsolete by technology, especially as it progresses at a faster rate today than, say, 20 or 30 years ago.

A great example of that is a bill submitted by my colleague, Sen. Jeff Timberlake, regarding the lifespan of double-walled underground oil storage tanks. The tanks today are much sturdier than the single-walled versions of years ago, so the regulations of when to remove them needed updating as well.

For both Sen. Timberlake’s and my bills, they were unanimously voted as ought to pass by the ENR Committee. His has already been signed into law.

With the cost of heating a home at all-time highs regardless of what type of fuel you use, we should be doing everything we can to support people who want to use a natural resource to heat their homes.

What’s even better is when that fuel comes from right here in Maine.

Sen. Russell Black represents District 5, which includes communities in Franklin, Kennebec and Somerset counties. He is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee and the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.