Revision: Jan. 30, 2017, 10:11 a.m.
HB 336 - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0657
08/10
HOUSE BILL 336
AN ACT relative to standards for outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters.
SPONSORS: Rep. McNamara, Hills. 38
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill defines certified outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters and regulates their installation and operation.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0657
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to standards for outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Definitions; Outdoor Wood-Fired Hydronic Heaters. Amend RSA 125-R:1 to read as follows:
125-R:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
I. "Certified Outdoor Wood-Fired Hydronic Heater" or "Certified OWHH" means an OWHH certified to meet the emissions standards codified in 40 C.F.R. part 60, subpart QQQQ and labeled accordingly
[I.] II. "Clean wood'' means wood that has not been painted, stained, coated, preserved, or treated with chemicals such as copper chromium arsenate, creosote, or pentachlorophenol. The term does not include construction and demolition debris as defined in RSA 149-M:4, IV-a.
[II.] III. "Commissioner'' means the commissioner of the department of environmental services.
[III.] IV. "EPA'' means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
[IV.] V. "Municipality'' means cities, towns, and counties in which there are located unincorporated towns or organized places. Municipality shall not mean village districts.
[V.] VI. "Outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater'' (OWHH) or "outdoor wood boiler'' means a fuel burning device:
(a) Designed to burn wood or other solid fuels;
(b) That the manufacturer specifies for outdoor installation or in structures not normally occupied by humans, including structures such as garages and sheds; and
(c) Which heats building space and water through the distribution, typically through pipes, of a fluid heated in the device, typically water or a mixture of water and antifreeze.
[VI.] VII. "Person'' means any individual, partnership, firm or co-partnership, association, company, trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency, private or municipal corporation, or any political subdivision of the state, the United States or political subdivisions or agencies thereof, or any other entity recognized by law as subject to rights and duties.
[VII.] VIII. "Phase I OWHH'' means an OWHH that has been certified or qualified by the EPA as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.6 pounds per million British Thermal Units input and is labeled accordingly.
[VIII.] IX. "Phase II OWHH'' means an OWHH that has been certified or qualified by the EPA as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.32 pounds per million British Thermal Units output and is labeled accordingly.
2 Unit Requirements. Amend RSA 125-R:2 to read as follows:
125-R:2 Unit Requirements.
[I. Effective January 1, 2009,] No person shall buy, sell, offer for sale, [or] distribute for sale, or install an OWHH that is not a [Phase I or Phase II OWHH] Certified OWHH. Non-certified OWHHs that were in operation as of July 1, 2017 may continue to operate in compliance with the requirements of RSA 125-R:3, so long as they are not re-installed at a new location.
[II. Effective April 1, 2010, no person shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale an OWHH that is not a Phase II OWHH. The commissioner shall delay or indefinitely postpone the effective date of this paragraph through rule adoption under RSA 541-A if the EPA does not establish or is delayed later than April 1, 2009 in establishing a certification or qualification process for Phase II OWHHs as determined by the commissioner.]
3 Setback and Stack Height Requirements. Amend RSA 125-R:3 to read as follows:
125-R:3 Setback and Stack Height Requirements.
I. No person shall [install] operate a Phase I OWHH unless it is installed at least 100 feet from the nearest property line and has a permanent attached stack that is at least 2 feet higher than the peak of the roof of a residence or place of business not served by the OWHH if that residence or place of business is located within 300 feet of the OWHH.
II. No person shall [install] operate a Phase II OWHH unless it is at least 50 feet from the nearest property line.
III. No person shall [install] operate an OWHH that is not a Certified OWHH, a Phase I OWHH, or a Phase II OWHH unless it is located at least 200 feet from the nearest abutting residence and has a permanent attached stack that is at least 2 feet higher than the peak of the roof of a residence or place of business not served by the OWHH if that residence or place of business is located within 300 feet of the OWHH.
IV. No person shall install or operate a Certified OWHH unless it is at least 50 feet from the nearest property line.
4 Exemption. Amend RSA 125-R:5 to read as follows:
125-R:5 Exemption. An OWHH that is specifically designed to burn wood pellet fuel with metered fuel and air feed and controlled combustion engineering, which is operated according to manufacturers' specifications and burns only wood pellet fuel, and that was installed prior to July 1, 2017, shall be exempt from this chapter.
5 Notice to Buyers. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 125-R:8, I to read as follows:
I. Prior to the execution of a sale for [a new or used] an OWHH, the distributor/seller shall provide the prospective buyer with a copy of this chapter and a written notice which includes: