[ back ]
WANAQUE - Council adopts wood furnace requirements
(by Teresa Edmond - Staff Writer - July 23, 2008)
WANAQUE - The Borough Council adopted an outdoor wood furnace ordinance at its July 14 meeting that mandates property requirements any resident must meet in order to own an outdoor wood furnace.
At the meeting, borough wood furnace owners Keith Mitchell and Ben and Lorin Thompson demanded that they be allowed to keep their furnaces since they predated the ordinance. They said they had to find legal representation to get the protection of being “grandfathered” from the new law.
The ordinance defines an outdoor wood furnace as a unit that heats water and indoor space, and provides heat and water to stoves. The adopted ordinance dictates that any potential owner of wood furnaces must own at least 2 acres of property, and the furnace must be located 250 feet off the property line. In addition, any of the furnaces’ smokestacks must be 20 feet taller than any surrounding structures. Ben Thompson said that no one came to inspect the impact his stove’s smoke has had on his neighbors.
The ordinance was first introduced at the council’s June 9 meeting. When it was adopted on July 14, the council changed the furnaces’ no operation or use dates from April 15 to Oct. 15 and from May 1 to Oct. 1 because landlords are legally required to provide heat during winter.
The ordinance also requires any person seeking to install and/operate an outdoor wood furnace to get a $25 permit from the borough. This ordinance also lists unsuitable items for burning that include coals, paint and garbage.
Thompson said that furthermore, his neighbors have been lying about his oven causing smoke that is making children sick. Thompson said that the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspected his stove and refuted his neighbors’ complaints.
Thompson said he uses his stove because wood burning is cheaper than purchasing heating oil.
“It cost me nothing to heat my house. Nothing,” he said.
Borough Attorney Anthony Fiorello said that Thompson has been grandfathered regarding his stove’s installation, but not in terms of the appropriate burning materials.
The modified ordinance is based on that of an air quality management association that New Jersey is a member of, Fiorello said. The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) said that incomplete wood burning is a public health concern that should be addressed, Fiorello said.
Smoke comes from the burning of inappropriate objects like paper, clothes and leaves. Since these items have low combustion rates, they leave behind residue in the chimney called creosote. Burning creosote produces smoke that can be a threat to health and the environment. If a chimney is not high enough, the smoke could reach nearby properties, hence the reason the borough’s ordinance has a chimney height regulation.
Thompson’s wife Lorin said that she, too, is fed up with her neighbors’ criticism over the couple’s stove.
“We’re not looking for trouble in this town. We’ve complied (by) putting the chimney up,” she said.
Keith Mitchell echoed the Thompsons’ frustrations over his neighbors having issues with his stove.
“My neighbors are throwing garbage into my stove because they don’t like it,” he said. “That’s where the smoke is (coming from) … Ben and I should be grandfathered in. Why should we hire a lawyer?”
[ back ]
