HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/17/2002 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 188, 2002, AMENDING AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 19
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL DATE: December 17, 2002FROM
Lucinda Smith
SUBJECT:
First Reading of Ordinance No. 188, 2002, Amending Chapter 20 of the City Code to Limit
Residential Chimney Smoke Opacity to 20%.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff and the Air Quality Advisory Board recommend adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Although local emissions from residential wood-burning devices have declined over the past decade,
approximately 10% of citizens still believe there is too much wood smoke in their own
neighborhood. Some wood smoke complaints are not resolved through the City's Wood Smoke
Response Program, although staff has spent up to forty hours per complaint attempting to resolve
individual complaints. Section 20-1 of the City Code currently restricts residential chimney smoke
opacity to 40% (100% opacity is too dense to see through. 0% opacity is clear.). A review of
residential chimney smoke opacity restrictions used by other communities around the country shows
that 20% is the limit used most commonly. Bringing Fort Collins' residential chimney smoke
opacity limit into line with the national norm will provide staff with a better tool to help address
neighborhood-scale wood smoke problems, and assist in meeting the City's policy objective of
reducing area-wide wood smoke emissions.
Section 20-1 would be modified as follows:
(b) No person shall cause or allow the emission of smoke exceeding-forty-(46) twenty (20)
percent opacity from any flue or chimney,except for a single fifteen-minute period for cold
start-up. Any emission in excess hereof is hereby declared to be a nuisance and is prohibited.
BACKGROUND:
Scope and Purpose
The 2000-2003 Air Quality Action Plan ("AQAP") contains the objective to "reduce area-wide
wood smoke emissions". A three-point program of education (Wood Smoke Response Line),
incentives (ZILCH loans for upgrade to gas stove), and regulation (40%opacity limitation and only
permitting installation of EPA-certified wood-burning units)is used to help meet this objective. The
current AQAP also calls for the wood smoke program to be evaluated and improvements
recommended.
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DATE: ITEM NUMBER: j
An intergovernmental committee was convened in December 2001 to review the Fort Collins Wood
Smoke Program. The recommendations of this Committee are outlined in Attachment A, and
include tightening residential chimney smoke opacity to 20% (down from the current 40%).
Council Policv
Tightening residential chimney smoke opacity would assist in achieving the AQAP objective of
reducing area-wide wood smoke emissions, and the overall City air quality goal of "continuall% I
improving air quality as the city grows."
Basis for Staff Consideration
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Staff recognizes that wood smoke levels are affected by the type of wood-burning device used, the i
quality of the wood burned, and operator practices. EPA-certified devices should not emit 20%
opacity, if used correctly, according to experts. The accepted industry standard for efficient
combustion after a period of start-up is 15% opacity.
The Wood Smoke Review Committee, City staff, and the Air Quality Advisory Board agree that it
is important to tighten the City's opacity standard in order to"strengthen the tool box" available for
resolving neighborhood wood smoke complaints.
Tightening residential opacity is part of a comprehensive package of opacity-related
recommendations made by the Intergovernmental Wood Smoke Committee which are being
addressed in staff work plans. A primary suggestion was completed when a City Code Enforcement
Officer became certified to read opacity.
Supporting Data
The following table lists other areas using a 20% residential chimney opacity restriction.
Location Regulation Reference
State of Idaho 20% for wood smoke http://www.nicon.org/sos/
howmuchislegal.html
Iowa, Linn 20% opacity (40% for 6 minutes http://www.air.linn.ia.us/ordinance/
County with each new fire) ordinance4.html
Nebraska, 20% opacity w/6 minute start up http://www.epa.gov/re iion07/
Lincoln/Lancast limited to 27%. (Exceptions = 30% programs/artd/air/rules/nebraska/
er Counties for teepee wood waste burner, 40% llc2-20.pdf
for alfalfa dehydration) �
Oregon, Jackson Zero opacity (no visible smoke) 'www.co.jackson.or.us/pdf/
County during Red and Yellow Advisory CodeOnline/Partl8.pdf
periods; Green (clean) advisory And
periods allow 50 % opacity, with 30 http://www.co.jackson.or.us/Page.a
minute start-up exceptions in any sp?NavID=338
four-hour period.
State of 20% chimney opacity; future spot http://www.scapca.org/document/
Washington checks lead to escalating fines. regs/rla8.pdf
DATE: ITEM NUMBER:
Attachments
Attachment A— City of Fort Collins Wood Smoke Program Review, Executive Summary, April
2002
• ORDINANCE NO. 188, 2002
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 20 OF THE CITY CODE TO LIMIT
RESIDENTIAL CHIMNEY SMOKE OPACITY TO 20%
WHEREAS, the Air Quality Action Plan, a component of City Plan most recently updated
by the Council in Resolution 2001-44 in March 2001, identifies an air quality goal of continually
improving air quality as the city grows; and
WHEREAS, the Air Quality Action Plan contains an air quality policy to reduce area-wide
wood smoke emissions; and
WHEREAS, the City utilizes a three point program to address wood smoke emissions that
includes education (a wood smoke response line), incentives (ZILCH loans for upgrade to gas
stove),and regulation(opacity limitation,and prohibition on installation of other than EPA-certified
wood-burning units); and
WHEREAS, 10%of citizens feel there is too much wood smoke in their own neighborhood,
according to a 2002 citizen survey; and
WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Wood Smoke Committee, a group of City, County, and
Poudre Health services District staff,convened in 2001 to review the City's Wood Smoke Program,
and recommended that residential chimney opacity be limited to 20%, instead of the current limit
of 40% opacity; and
WHEREAS, opacity refers to the amount of light blocked by smoke, with 100% opacity
describing the condition in which no light passes through smoke; and
WHEREAS, an accepted industry standard for efficient wood combustion, after an initial
period of start-up, is 15% opacity; and
WHEREAS, numerous other communities in the nation restrict residential chimney smoke
opacity limit opacity to 20%; and
WHEREAS, starting in 2002, City staff has been certified to read smoke opacity according
to EPA Method 9; and
WHEREAS, the Air Quality Advisory Board considered the proposed reduction in allowed
opacity, and voted to recommend Council approval at its regular meeting on September 24, 2002.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS, that subsection (b) of Section 20-1 of the City Code be amended as follows:
(b) No person shall cause or allow the emission of smoke exceeding-forty-(46)
• twenty (20) percent opacity from any flue or chimney, except for a single fifteen-
minute period for cold start-up. Any emission in excess hereof is hereby declared to
be a nuisance and is prohibited.
Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 17th day of
December, A.D. 2002, and to be presented for final passage on the 7th day of January, A.D. 2003.
Mayor
ATTEST:
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City Clerk 1
Passed and adopted on final reading this 7th day of January, A.D. 2003. P
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Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Attachment A, Page I of 3
City of Fort Collins Wood Smoke Program Review
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
April 2002
BACKGROUND
The City of Fort Collins has two policies on wood smoke; to reduce area-wide wood smoke
emissions, and to reduce the number of non-certified wood stoves and conventional fireplaces.
The City currently addresses wood smoke issues with a multi-pronged program of education,
incentive, and regulation.
In recent years, the number of wood smoke complaints has been declining, yet the existing
complaints are becoming more difficult to resolve successfully. In light of this situation, the
City's Air Quality Action Plan was amended in 2001 to include a task to "Evaluate City
programs designed to reduce residential woodsmoke emissions and recommend improvements, if
needed. "
An intergovernmental committee made up of representatives from the City of Fort Collins,
Larimer County, Poudre Health Services District, and Poudre Fire Authority was convened in
December 2001 for the purpose of reviewing the City's wood smoke program.
KEY FINDINGS
Forty complaints (unique addresses) and 89 calls were received by the City's Wood Smoke
Response Line between 1995 and 2001. An average of seven wood smoke complaints were
documented since its inception in 1989. Since 1999, there have been less than seven wood
smoke complaints each year. However, City staff still spends a significant amount of time
trying to resolve wood smoke complaints. (NOTE: Some multiple complaints about the same
location, and complaints to other departments and agencies are not reflected in these numbers.)
Estimates of local wood smoke emissions vary. Citizen survey data between 1990 and 2001
suggest that carbon monoxide emissions associated with wood smoke are declining, city-wide.
However, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment projections show wood
smoke emissions steadily increasing from 24 tons CO/day in 1992 to 27 tons CO/day projected
for 2015. These projections assume the number of wood stoves would grow proportionally with
population from 1990 levels, and amount of wood burned, by device type, would not change
from 1990 levels. Better data are needed to accurately quantify local wood smoke emissions.
Recent surveys show that most Fort Collins citizens view wood smoke as a minor source of air
pollution, yet 15% view it as a major source. Survey data also show citizen support for more
stringent wood smoke controls. In 2001, 85% of citizens agreed or strongly agreed that the City
should prohibit wood-burning and 60% of citizens agreed or strongly agreed that the City should
require removal of non-certified units at point-of-sale.
The current City opacity restriction (40%) is seriously limited in its ability to resolve wood
smoke problems because the readings are not made at night when woodburning typically occurs,
and the certified opacity readers are not always available to make the reading at the time of
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Attachment A,Page 2 of 3
highest opacity. No opacity violations have ever been recorded in Fort Collins, and no air
pollution nuisance cases have ever been brought to the City's Municipal Court.
An Internet search revealed that other communities limit opacity to 20%, and three states use a
non-EPA-approved method to measure opacity at night. !
Although wood smoke potentially affects everyone, children, people with respiratory diseases,
and the elderly are more likely to be affected.
The number of local asthma-related emergency room visits has increased slightly since 1998,
and the number of asthma-related hospital admissions has decreased slightly since 1998. Data on i
asthma-related doctor visits are not available.
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RECOMMENDATIONS i
The Committee's recommendations are outlined below, in no special order of priority. They will
be submitted to the City's Natural Resources Department, which has primary responsibility for
implementing the City's wood smoke program. Recommended regulatory actions will be
reviewed with the City government at appropriate levels, and recommendations that are deemed !
appropriate will be forwarded to City Council, with input from the Air Quality Advisory Board.
Education
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1. Manage expectations about the City's ability to resolve complaints.
2. Increase general education about the impacts of wood burning.
3. Modify the Wood Smoke Response Program, and promote widely.
4. Examine the feasibility of reducing smoke in homes.
5. Provide guidelines about how prospective home buyers can avoid smoky
neighborhoods.
6. Work more closely with industry to promote wood burning education.
7. Publicize ZILCH more broadly.
8. Insure adequate communication between agencies.
9. Evaluate a voluntary "high pollution day " no burn program.
Incentive
1. Do not offer City-funded incentives that support any wood-burning at all, such as
chimney sweeping or stove maintenance.
2. Encourage retailers to develop their own rebate program for upgrade to gas units.
3. Seek grant funding to remove or upgrade problem units to gas.
4. Consider offering incentives for not burning.
Regulation
1. Strengthen the City's opacity restriction.
• Tighten opacity limit to 20%.
• Certify a City employee to read opacity.
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Attachment A,Page 3 of 3
. • Work with Municipal Judge and Prosecutor so they better understand the opacity
limit.
• Collect more data with each opacity reading.
• Evaluate the opacity limitation for effectiveness two years after adoption.
2. Explore the option of using nighttime opacity measurements.
3. Evaluate mandatory removal of non-certified units when homes are sold. Provide an
incentive program to aid buyers/sellers in achieving this mandate.'
4. Review the general clause of City's Air Pollution Nuisance Ordinance and develop
implementation guidelines.
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