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Wood stove replacement program extended

By Clare Jensen

Still burning timber in an old wood stove?

If your stove was manufactured before 1995, keeping your home cozy could be a major contributor to Pierce County’s increasing air pollution issue.

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) and the State Department of Ecology are working with homeowners in Pierce County to help curb this issue.

The Wood Stove replacement program was launched in November 2007 after PSCAA received a $175,000 grant from the Department of Ecology. So far, 112 people in Pierce County have switched over to a cleaner, more efficient way to heat their homes because of PSCAA’s monetary incentives.

But since the agency hasn’t reached their goal quite yet, they still have money to give so they extended their service for an extra two months

Until April 30, anyone in the city of Tacoma, as well as 27 other Pierce County zip codes, are eligible for a wood-stove replacement coupon. A homeowner can receive $750 to get a new natural gas or propane freestanding stove or fireplace insert, and $500 for a new pellet stove or insert.

If a homeowner chooses to trade in their outdated freestanding stove and upgrade to a high-efficiency natural gas furnace or heat pump, they’ll receive $750 from the agency as well as additional incentives of up to $750 from Puget Sound Energy and Tacoma Public Utilities. Qualifying low-income homeowners can receive $2,500 for any replacement option.

According to Amy Warren, communications specialist at PSCAA, the county is facing non-attainment for federal environmental standards in fine particle pollution, which Warren said is basically soot and smoke. Fine particles carry toxins, and are easily imbedded into lung tissue, which could potentially cause lung and heart problems.

“For them (homeowners) it will have benefits, they’ll have more efficient heating costs and less pollution,” she said.

Warren said PSCAA still has enough funds to help about 100 more homes replace their old stoves.

A representative from Heritage Enterprises Inc. in Tacoma gave price estimates ranging around $3,000 for free-standing stoves and somewhere around $5,000 for installation of high-efficiency heat pumps.

This means in addition to PSCAA’s offer, homeowners will still have to dig into their pockets to cover the difference.

But the payoff could be huge.

Pierce County is getting closer to being deemed a non-attainment county. Warren said a recommendation for how to handle certain areas will come out this at the end of this year, but the issue is too important to sit and wait for a recommendation, when it is already clear what a major contributor to the problem is.

“We’re not waiting for this formality to come out, we’re getting on top of the problem now. It’s a years-long process,” she said.

For more details on the wood stove replacement program and qualifying zip codes visit www.pscleanair.org/woodstove.replacement or call (888) 859-5799.

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