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ALERT: Air District Pushing Point-of-Sale for Fireplace Replacements
Replace the fireplace at point-of-sale in the transaction or risk the home sale being stopped. That's the proposal from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). Technically, the point-of-sale is the key to proposed amendments to Regulation 6, Rule 3: Wood-Burning Devices.
Attend a Public Workshop & Make Your Opposition Known
The district will be holding a public workshop on Monday, April 6 from 6 to 8 PM. at the Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Road.
The BAAQMD's proposal uses the point-of-sale mandate to enforce the rule for 'wood burning devices' (fireplaces and wood burning stoves), but ALL homes with fireplaces—not just those with wood-burning or pellet stoves—are subject to the point-of-sale retrofit requirements. While the seller may decommission the uncertified device or replace it with gas- fueled, electric, or EPA certified devices that meet or exceeds new NSPS standards; the BAAQMD can still stop the sale of that home until the work is completed.
Contact San Mateo County's representatives on the BAAQMD Board and express your opposition to this proposal:
Supervisor Carole Groom cgroom@smcgov.org (650) 363-4568
Daly City Councilman David Canepa david@davidcanepa.com (650) 991-8008
Talking Points:
- The BAAQMD does NOT have the staff nor the funding to inspect every single home sale in the nine Bay Area Counties that has a fireplace… which is what is required for compliance.
- It will take the BAAQMD 50 YEARS to achieve their goal of reducing particulate matter (PM) using this method.
- While the goal is to reduce PMs throughout the Winter on Non-Spare-the-Air Days, the district's own air monitoring data show concentrations of PMs have decreased over time.
