Paul,

We lost.

Staff was quite clever at not entertaining any questions or descent until after getting into the language of the proposed ordinance and then there was only minor discussion over wording. The ordinance will permit, in addition to EPA certified stoves and pellet stoves, "EPA certified fireplaces" with the hope that some day EPA will certify fireplaces. They suggested we might want to sue the EPA.

During Bill Guy's presentation he basically dismissed all of our arguments as not persuasive. One comment he made that might interest you is that he talked with Dennis Jaasma who told him the Washington test procedures were not reproducible and that basically "a skilled fire builder could beat the test". John Crouch argued in favor of some "equivalency" for fireplaces and was ignored. I tried to make a point about emission factors and mentioned masonry heaters, rambled a bit and was also ignored. My sense was that not all the committee - maybe only about half - agreed with staff but, again, staff was good at framing the issue and diverting any real discussion.

Jeff McNear submitted a well written position paper, but he likes gas logs, sees no problem just putting gas logs in our fireplaces.

So what now?

1) There will be a full board meeting on the committee recommendations December 16th and maybe public hearings, depending on whether the Board makes it a "model ordinance" or a "district rule". Maybe we could organize and lobby but, without much industry support I'm not sure how effective we'd be.

2) We could promote gas logs, but we can sell Rumfords with gas logs now in Petaluma. We're not selling many Rumfords there because the word is out "they've outlawed fireplaces".

3) We could try to pass the EPA stove test. Toward that end I have a lot of questions and would like to come to OMNI and watch a stove test to see if it looks possible to test a masonry Rumford on a scale, use the stove fueling protocol without setting your lab on fire and shut the Rumford down far enough to do the slow burn.

Best,

Jim

John,

What is your take on the events last week in San Francisco? Seems to me we lost without a fair hearing or a clear line in the sand, though I was impressed with Bill Guy's bureaucratic skill in avoiding any real discussion and getting right to the details of meaningless linguistic differences in the proposed ordinance.

What should we do?

1) We could do more testing maybe at VPI or some other lab to verify our results - or wait and see what George Erdman will come up with, but I don't really think any amount of science will be persuasive.

2) Maybe we could convene a blue ribbon panel of scientists (Paul Tiegs, Dennis Jaasma and Skip Hayden) to evaluate the Washington protocol or come up with some other method of finding a fireplace equivalency to the EPA stove standard - sort of like the court-appointed silicone breast implant scientific committee in the news in the last few days.

3) We could see if we could surround a Rumford core in fiberglass, install tight doors, put it on a scale and see if we could pass the EPA stove test, but I'm not sure what it would prove if we did morph a fireplace into a stove.

4) We could give up and sell gas log sets with every fireplace in the Bay Area, but that strategy doesn't seem to be working very well for us in Petaluma.

5) Or we could hire lawyers. Seems to me we've been treated unfairly - not given equal treatment under the law.

I kind of favor the lawyers - or at least I'd like to see where we might stand legally and use that information politically. I have already called a couple of law firms.

What are you going to recommend on behalf of the zero-clearance fireplace manufacturers you represent? Can we work together or at least coordinate our efforts?

Best,

Jim Buckley

Jim,

I do agree that science does not, at least by itself, carry the day. I also think that the industry should bring legal issues to the fore. In any case, it will take some sizable and dedicated time and expense to be effective. We have already flailed away considerable time and expense with no visible results. As always I am willing to chip in but all my cash is in my knowledge and all my time is in survival. If you can get something going, or have ideas on how I can help to get things going, let me know.

Paul Tiegs

Subject: Re: Bay Area Fireplace Strategy

Paul,

What I want from you is your knowledge, as you put it, and maybe your writing skills - not your money.

1) I'd like your support and willingness to participate in an investigation of the fireplace "equivalency" issue, along with other scientists like Jaasma and Hayden, et.al., which might result in a published white paper that would have legitimacy in the scientific community and some impact with regulators. I wouldn't expect you and the others to do that for nothing and I would expect to help find funding for the effort from industry sources.

2) I'd like your support and testimony, if it came to that, if we decide to take legal action. I know it will take some time to educate a lawyer and I would think any lawyer would want your experience and views even if I did most of the groundwork and basic education.

I plan to call Jaasma and, as you saw, I have already emailed Crouch. I have also talked with a couple of environmental law firms. I hope to see if we have a legal case and what our chances might be if we did file suit. Armed with that information I may be able to be effective politically and not actually go to court. Without that information I risk going out on a limb and making idle threats and dismissed. My hope is that, with a convincing legal case, we will be taken more seriously and the various regulators will be forced to play fair.

Best,

Jim Buckley

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