Rep. TOM CAMPBELL (R-Roy)
2nd LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia office: 334 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600 Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Office: (360) 786-7912

 
For immediate release: April  6, 2007

House wood smoke emissions bill passes Senate

Olympia - The Senate yesterday passed House Bill 2261 -- dealing with environmental concerns brought on by smoke emissions from wood burning stoves -- by a vote of 36 to 12. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Tom Campbell, Chairman of the House Select Committee on Environmental Health. The House had passed the measure three weeks ago on a 64-31 vote.

Over the past two decades, the number of wood stoves, pellet stoves, fireplaces and fireplace inserts have increased to the point that nearly half of Washington's households have wood burning devices that emit hundreds of times more pollution than other forms of heat, including natural gas, electricity or oil.

"We know the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to decrease the acceptable level of  particulate matter, which now stands at 2.5," Campbell said. "It is imperative for our state to consider how we can deal with this environmental problem before the feds mandate it for us."

Campbell's wood smoke emissions bill establishes a work group to study the impacts of wood smoke from solid fuel burning devices and make recommendations to the Legislature on practical, cost-effective ways to reduce the public health threats from exposure to wood smoke.

The work group would be appointed by the director of Department of Ecology and include representatives of the departments of Ecology and Health, regional air quality agencies, local health departments, related industrial representatives and nongovernmental health organizations. Their report would be concluded by the end of this year so the legislature can take it up next session.
 
"It's very important for us to reduce the hazardous effects wood smoke has on the respiratory system of individuals, especially for children and for the elderly, Campbell said. "We need to stay ahead of the problem to reduce the harmful health effects on our citizens."

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Contact: Rep. Tom Campbell at (360) 786-7912 or campbell.tom@leg.wa.gov