The law enacting the controversial statewide regulations on outdoor wood boilers was tabled and will again be subjected to public view time.

The proposals were tabled at the Environment Conservation board meeting in Albany, a few days after the state Department of Environmental Conservation declared it would be submitting the proposals to the board.

According to DEC the directions would have ensured that the new OWBs burn not less than 90% cleaner than the older models and have the users use preserved clean wood and not garbage and other remains. The new OWBs set a minimum of 100 feet from neighbors’ property and smoke stacks of not less than 18feet above the ground.

With New York a shorter time length than other parts of the state, the outdoor wood boiler would have been banned completely between 1st June and 31st August.
The directions had faced a lot of stiff opposition and subjected to public hearings last summer. 100 people, most against the proposals, were drawn from the North County at the Harrietstown Town Hall.

State Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury on Tuesday said that she was happy regulations had been tabled and supposed to be dwelt with at the local level. She added the directions were too strict and thought the local government was to deal with the issue.

She went on to say that, she had got different opinions both for and against the proposals and thought that they needed some realignment. She gave an example on the distance required to use the facility noting that in some incidences where people were sparsely populated, the commodity would be used without a problem but where people were densely populated then that caused such a big problem, as it would be disruptive.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, R-Watertown, and co-sponsored by Little had played a part in having the proposals deferred, this was said by Lori Severino DEC spokeswoman. The Senate passed the Aubertine’s legislation the legislation 61-0 on June 30, allowing the continued use of the boilers currently in use, need for new OWNs on sale in New York be authorized by the Environmental protection Agency, and allow for local decision on issues concerning zoning and chimney heights.

Through a press release Aubertine said that the public was not for the idea of having the DEC meddle and ban wood boilers in New York and that the delay gave the DEC time to rethink on its role of protecting rural New Yorkers. This was evident in the overwhelming opposition to the bill and the senate had passed the required legislation to have the locals have the boilers and left the issue of regulation to local zoning boards and not DEC.

The decision caught many unawares as on Wednesday the DEC said it was submitting the proposed regulations to the Environmental Conservation board and five days later, on Monday, the proposals were tabled.

It remains unclear whether the firing of DEC Commissioner Pete Grann had anything to do with the directions being pulled. Severino wrote in an email saying that it was not offering any further details only that the proposed law on outdoor wood boilers had been suspended from Environmental Board agenda yesterday to give room for public opinion time and any other details would be communicated in due time.

Image Credit: