02/19/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Responding to a question from Mr. Holmer, Mr. Arkell said fine particles cause respiratory diseases. Replying to questions from Mayor Obie, Mr. Arkel1 said the Amazon Park monitoring site was placed away from street intersections so that it could accurately measure wood smoke. Some other monitoring sites are at street intersections. The monitoring sites are located so that they receive repre- sentative samples of the area1s air. He said chemical analyses have deter- mined that most of the fine particles that violate the primary standards are from wood smoke. Answering another question from Mayor Obie about the effect of air pollution on economic development, Mr. Arkell said the Federal Clean Air Act indicates that sanctions may be imposed on areas that are not in compliance with air quality standards. The sanctions prohibit major industrial growth. Responding to a comment from Mr. Hansen, Mr. Arke1l said the community has done well at reducing emissions from industrial sources and road dust. The recent growth in emissions seems to be from wood stoves, which the community has not regulated. He said State laws prohibit LRAPA and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from regulating residential wood burning. He said there are 40,000 wood burning appliances in the Eugene/Springfield area, and regulating them would be difficult. Ms. Wooten wondered if the council could encourage LRAPA to be explicit and demanding about wood burning when air pollution is bad. Mr. Arkell responded that LRAPA issues air quality advisories when the area exceeds the EPA stan- dards. The advisories recommend that people stop burning wood if other forms of heating are available. He said a temporary curtailment program seems to get the best results, but it cannot be imposed by State agencies in Oregon. Where it can be imposed, homes whose only heating system is a wood stove are exempt from mandatory curtailment. He said the results of voluntary coopera- tion when advisories are issued are difficult to assess. He added that advisories are usually issued when it is cold and people want to burn wood. Ms. Ehrman said LRAPA has a on-going educational program about wood burning. Responding to a question from Mr. Rutan, Mr. Arkell discussed filters for wood stoves. He said a ceramic matrix seems to be the best, but filters cannot be put in some old wood stoves safely. Mr. Gleason said fires caused by wood burning have increased and become a major problem as wood burning has increased in popularity. Ms. Schue reiterated that State agencies cannot regulate wood stoves; conse- quently, the City will have to do it if it is needed. She said regulations should not be imposed now, but they may have to be considered in the future. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 19, 1986 Page 2