Starting in October, the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District will be sponsoring financial incentives for property owners in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties to upgrade their wood burning fireplace or older uncertified wood stove to a cleaner alternative. Eligible alternatives include conversions to gas, propane and pellet stoves and fireplace inserts. Change-outs to EPA Certified wood stoves or fireplace inserts are eligible in some areas.

The incentives will be available in the form of discounts from participating hearth products dealers. Discounts range from $1,000 to $2,500 in the San Lorenzo Valley (SLV) and $250 to $1,000 in all other areas. A budget of $125,000 is available for the program.

Available discounts are summarized below:

¹⁾ The San Lorenzo Valley (SLV) includes the communities of Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Felton, Lompico and Zayante.
²⁾ A limited discount is available for EPA certified wood burning stoves and inserts for areas outside SLV and the Monterey Peninsula /Carmel Valley Smoke Sensitive Area.
³⁾ Income qualification is determined by Central Coast Energy Services using criteria from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).The funds will be allocated by phone on a first come, first served basis until the funds are exhausted starting at 10 am on two dates:

> Application for Income Qualification
> CCES Flyer Sent to SLV
> Interest Card

Please note, these materials are for qualification for the Income Qualified Discount, which is determined by CCES. Qualification for the Change-Out Program is determined by the Air District.

• GENERAL CALL-IN DAY - Call (831)647-9411 no sooner 10:00 am on Tuesday, October 16th. For the general public from all areas.

Callers will be pre-qualified for the Wood Stove Change-Out Program and issued a Reservation Number for the funds if the planned change-out meets our program guidelines.

The purpose of the change-out program is to reduce emissions of residential wood smoke, especially in the SLV. It is part of the District's continuing effort to protect public health by reducing pollution in the air we breathe. It is being carried out in partnership with participating area dealers, the Pacific section of the Hearth Patio and Barbeque Association and Central Coast Energy Services in Watsonville. A list of participating dealers will be posted on this website.

> Program Overview
> Application for 2012 Woodstove Change-Out Program
> FAQs
> List of Participating Dealers
> Wood Stove Recycling Certificate

> Residential Home Heating Cost Calculator - Type your costs into the spreadsheet.
> San Lorenzo Valley General Plan Boundary 2012

RESIDENTIAL WOOD SMOKE

Wood smoke contains inhalable fine particulate matter (PM2.5), gases, and even toxic compounds. These pollutants can cause or aggravate health effects including eye, nose, and throat irritation as well as respiratory disease.

In many areas, wood smoke accumulates during the winter months when wood burning increases. This is especially true in rural mountain communities such as the SLV in the Santa Cruz Mountains where wood burning is common for home heating purposes.

Aside from switching to a cleaner home heating system, which can be an expensive proposition, wood smoke can be reduced by how the existing stove or fireplace is operated.  This includes proper seasoning and drying of the wood as well as creating a hot efficiently burning fire from loosely stacked wood.

The following links contain helpful suggestions for clean and efficient wood burning:

> EPA Video - How to Determine Proper Wood Moisture Levels for Efficient Burning
> EPA Video - 4 Simple Steps to Drying Firewood
> ARB Wood Burning Handbook
> Wood Stoves and Fireplaces: Burn Clean for Better Health
> EPA Burn Wise Tips
> Wet Wood is a Waste
> Your Old Wood Stove's Dirty Little Secrets
> Current List of EPA Certified Wood Stoves and Inserts
> EPA's Burn Wise website

AIR QUALITY AND METEOROLOGICAL MONITORING

The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District will be conducting air monitoring in SLV to quantify wood smoke levels in Felton, Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek through the winter months. The District will be using continuous monitors with telemetry which will allow for the collection and remote observation of hourly readings of PM2.5 from each instrument. With this data, hourly, daily, and weekly trends can be examined, as well as times for peak wood burning. Meteorological sensors attached to the monitoring instruments will also monitor air movement and temperature.

The particulate monitoring is part of a new permanent wintertime program to characterize ambient PM_2.5 levels in smoke impacted areas such as SLV.  Over time, the long-term trends will help assess reductions in PM2.5 brought about by the change-outs, as well as the effectiveness of related efforts to reduce smoke.

Special monitoring conducted in SLV last winter revealed over 40 days when wood smoke levels exceeded hearth based air quality standards for inhalable PM2.5.  In many cases the exceedance episodes persisted for multiple days in a row.  These types of episodes are unheard of elsewhere in the region making SLV a very unique air shed.

Additional information will be posted on the District's web-site (www.montereybaycleanair.org).