On September 16, 2009, the Board of Supervisors approved the proposed rules modifying the Linn County Code Air Quality Ordinances. This includes conditional requirements for existing Outdoor Wood Boilers that do not meet the emission standard of 0.6 lb/MMBtu. In a
September 9, 2009 ammendment, the Board of Supervisors added a provision giving existing OWBs that do not meet the standard, three years to modify the height of the stack to provide for adequate dispersion.
All installed OWBs that currently meet the 0.6 lb/MMBtu standard are currently in compliance and do not need to make any future stack modifications.
All new OWBs must meet the 0.6 lb/MMBtu standard for particulate matter emissions. New units installed after October 1, 2009 cannot qualify for the exemption. The Iowa Department of Justice (a.k.a. Iowa Attorney General's Office) is currently notifying OWB manufactures that units sold in Iowa must meet the Linn County and State of Iowa emission standard and that failure to do so could be consider fraudulent under Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act.
Additional provisions of the OWB portion of the ordinance are described in detail on this website. Those provisions included a requirement to permit the OWB, limits the amount of wood that can be fired, and does not allow for operation during the summer in residential areas.
Linn County Public Health will be preparing a draft permit application over the week of Septebmer 21 and post for public review and feedback. Please check back to
www.linncleanair.org or call 319-892-6000 for more informaiton.