Carper, Murkowski Reintroduce Bill Incentivizing Homeowner Transitions to Cleaner, More Efficient Wood Heaters

Statement

U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, reintroduced a bill today that would improve indoor and outdoor air quality and encourage manufacturing job growth by advancing the deployment of cleaner burning wood stoves, which are used by an estimated 11.5 million families throughout the United States. The Wood Heaters Emissions Reduction Act (WHERA) would establish a grant program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would award $75 million annually to incentivize the removal and replacement of old, inefficient residential wood heaters with efficient, clean-burning heaters. WHERA also requires that tribal and rural communities are fairly represented in funding allocations.

Older wood stoves are a major driver of particle pollution in this country. EPA data indicates that nation-wide, inefficient residential wood heaters emit five times more particulate matter pollution than the U.S. petroleum refineries, cement manufacturers, and pulp and paper plants combined.

"Many Americans in Delaware, Alaska and states in between rely on wood heaters to keep their family and property safe from harsh winter temperatures. While these appliances protect millions of families from the cold, many older wood heaters harm indoor and outdoor air quality because they emit a wide range of harmful air toxins -- creating higher risks of respiratory illness and exacerbating breathing difficulties for those living with asthma," said Senator Carper. "This bill will help homeowners, most of whom live in rural and tribal areas, to replace these high-polluting stoves with technology that can help their families breathe cleaner air inside their homes. This wood heater replacement program is similar to the incentives provided to retrofit and upgrade old, dirty diesel engines through the highly popular, bipartisan Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, a program that has provided $13 in health and economic benefits for every dollar of federal investment since 2005. In addition to improving public health by reducing harmful air pollution, WHERA would also boost demand for American-made wood stoves. I'm proud to partner once again with Senator Murkowski in this effort, and I'm optimistic that other colleagues will join us in supporting this important measure."

"With our record-breaking summer heat it might seem like winter is a long way off, but the reality is it will be here before we know it. Unfortunately for many Alaskans, the thought of winter inevitably brings concerns about the cost of heating their homes," Senator Murkowski said. "For many Alaskan communities, burning wood is the most affordable option to stay warm, but older heaters can contribute to local air pollution and affect public health. Our bill capitalizes on the benefits of woody biomass as an energy resource by taking important steps to help Alaskans, in a cost-effective way, transition to more efficient and cleaner-burning wood heaters. Giving Alaskans more affordable home heating options and reducing air pollution is a win for us and our environment."

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