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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Air Quality is considering a proposal to extend regulations currently in place for residential stoves and fireplaces that burn solid fuels to businesses and industries.
The division will conduct a stakeholder workshop Monday to discuss the proposal with commercial and industrial facilities that may be affected by the amendment.
The current rule applies only to homes in "non-attainment" portions of the state — Utah, Tooele, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Box Elder and Cache counties. The counties are classified as non-attainment areas because they exceed the amount of pollution allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency during certain times of the year.
Residences with stoves or fireplaces that burn solid fuels are subject to voluntary or mandatory restrictions, depending on air quality conditions. Gas-fueled appliances are not included in the rule.
The proposal seeks to extend the same regulations to businesses and industries, with the exception of restaurants that use solid fuel burning appliances in food preparation.
The idea for including businesses in the rule came as a recommendation from residents during a community meeting in January, according to Joel Karmazyn, a planner with the Division of Air Quality. The findings of the meeting were presented to the Utah Air Quality Board, which expressed interest in further research in the prospect of extending the rule to businesses.
Karmazyn said the department hopes to learn how businesses would be affected by the amendment during the stakeholder workshop.
"We want to find out who would be impacted, how they would be impacted and what their feeling is," he said, "because we typically hear from the residents, but we don't hear from businesses on this matter."
Karmazyn said the department will use the information garnered at the workshop to inform the board on the implications of the proposal.
The workshop will be held 10 a.m. to noon Monday on the fourth floor of the Multi Agency State Office Building, 195 N. 1950 West.
