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SALT LAKE CITY — From now on in Salt Lake County, when state air quality regulators call for voluntary action and suggest you stop burning the wood stove or fireplace because of diminishing air quality, be mindful it is no longer just a suggestion.
On Thursday, the Salt Lake County Board of Health voted to make it illegal to burn solid fuel such as wood, coal or pellets in devices such as wood-burning stoves or fireplaces on those voluntary days. Patio pits, bonfires and charcoal grill flames are off limits too.
The new regulation does exempt those residences where wood or coal are the only means to heat a home and makes exceptions for power outages and homes above 7,000 feet in elevation.
Royal DeLegge, environmental health director of the Salt Lake County Health Department, said the idea is to take the wood-burning ban one step further than what is instituted on "red" days and be proactive when inversions begin to creep in.
"The voluntary actions days usually precede the mandatory action days," DeLegge said. "We are trying to mitigate the building of inversions by banning a little in advance of the actual threshold when the bans go into place under state law."
Fines could be up to $299 a day for those caught burning, but health department officials say they will not ding violators on "voluntary" action days for the first year. Fines will be assessed for those who violate no-burn bans on mandatory action days.
Any steps we can take, however large or small, to incrementally improve air quality, we are willing to take those steps where reasonable.
–Royal DeLegge, Salt Lake County Health Department
"During this first year, the health department will focus on educating residents about the regulation and the health issues associated with solid fuel burning,” said Gary Edwards, executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department.
Health officials say solid fuel burning is a significant contributor to the Salt Lake Valley’s air pollution. One fireplace emits as much particle pollution as 90 sport-utility vehicles, and the pollution from one traditional wood-burning stove is equivalent to the amount emitted by 3,000 gas furnaces producing the same amount of heat per unit.
DeLegge said the ban should be viewed as part of a collective effort to improve the air quality in Salt Lake County, which struggles to meet clean air standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and attracts national attention for the 24-hour spikes in pollution termed the country's worst.
"Any steps we can take, however large or small, to incrementally improve air quality, we are willing to take those steps where reasonable," he said.
The Salt Lake County health board action comes as the Utah Division of Air Quality is poised to begin a series of public hearing on a proposed ban on wood burning during the entire inversion season.
A series of public hearings in impacted counties begins next week.
