Outdoor Wood Furnaces May Get Smoked Out in Twinsburg
City Council will decide if option to restrict outdoor wood furnaces will go on the November ballot
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In the next few weeks Twinsburg City Council will decide whether or not the city will put an issue to restrict outdoor wood furnaces on the November ballot.
The city’s planning commission has approved the measure to ban the wood furnaces (also known as outdoor wood boilers), which can be harmful to the environment and cause problems in neighborhoods. Larry Finch, the director of planning and community development, said outdoor wood furnaces are specifically meant to burn wood, but it’s hard to stop people from burning other, less-friendly fuels.
“The problem with them is that you can put anything in them,” Finch said. “You can put rubber tires in them. You can burn whatever you put in them.”
According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, outdoor wood boilers are free-standing wood-burning devices that heat water, which is then pumped to one or more structures to provide heat. They are similar in size to a small backyard shed.
Many communities in states such as New York, New Hampshire and Michigan have either banned or put heavy restrictions on outdoor furnaces because of the pollution they can produce. Burning items like household trash, treated particle board, and plastic or treated woods releases toxic chemicals into the air. There are no regulations in Ohio, but communities can decide what restrictions they put in place.
“The air quality that comes out of these stacks is terrible,” Finch said. “You have odors that come out of these things and the smoke drifts across neighboring properties.”
Finch said so far there is only one outdoor furnace he is aware of, but feels it is best for the city to take a proactive stance on restricting them.
“Rather than deal with the issues of the nuisance part of this thing and permitting them, it is in our best interest as a community to prohibit them,” Finch said.
Allowing wood burners would also contradict the city’s efforts to be a green community, Finch said.
“It may be fine if you’re burning wood material and you’re in a rural setting,” he said. “But Twinsburg is not a rural setting.”
Dirty Aviston
11:05 am on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Outdoor Wood Furnaces (OWFs) also known as Outdoor Wood Boilers (OWBs) are a hazardous nuisance! I know because I live next door to one!. There would be no problem with the operation of OWFs/OWBs if they were able to contain all of the rancid smoke and toxins on their property, but they do not. Would you allow your neighbor to flood your property with raw sewage? Would you allow your neighbor to throw their trash onto your property? Would you allow your neighbor to enter your home anytime they wanted so that they could have a large bowl movement in the middle of your kitchen table? Why should I allow the OWF/OWB owner to invade my property with rancid smoke and toxins? Every property owner should have the right to do what they want on their property as long as their actions do not have an impact on their neighbors. OWFs/OWBs have a negative impact on their neighbors! For those of you who are not familiar with the OWF/OWB, I have launched a website: DirtyAviston.com. DirtyAviston.com contains OWF/OWB videos and reference material. DirtyAviston.com...Knowledge is power!
William Otter
8:44 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
I am of al the same opinion(s) -I have addressed our Countys (Wayne) building ordinance dept and asked; If i want to build a house without an approved septic system I would be denied: How can you allow a close neighbor to build a house, and install one of the ODWF that pours smoke onto my property? To date, I have not received an intellegent reply other than " Contact the Reigional EPA office"!
I have talked to my neighbor and received a reply: If one lives in a rural area, you have to expect some of this. I dont live in an rural area anymore, the houses are 2 or 300 ft apart and everywhere! I would certainly wold like to receive some intellegent information as to what is and can be done to stop this type of a situation!!
Bill Otter - Wayne County, Fredericksburg.
John Smith
9:55 am on Friday, August 26, 2011
I'll make this short and to the point. I would much rather have an OWBF next door that only burns during the winter months than some knuckle head with a fire pit next door that burns during the summer when many folks have their windows open and are trying to enjoy a stench free outdoor enviornment.
Twinsburg