Iowa Department of Natural Resources
 
April 10, 2008
For immediate release
 
1.      EPC to continue meeting on recreational stream uses April 16
2.      DNR asks for Darling residents’ ideas at May 1 meeting
3.      Caution urged for outdoor wood-fired boilers

 
EPC TO CONTINUE MEETING ON RECREATIONAL STREAM USES APRIL 16
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Karen Grimes at (515) 281-5135 or [log in to unmask] 
 
DES MOINES – The Environmental Protection Commission will continue their regular monthly meeting on April 16 in Des Moines. 
 
Commissioners met April 8 in Carroll, but ran out of time to make decisions on 295 recreational stream use designations. If approved, the rule would reclassify 295 stream and river sections, granting protection for children’s recreational use to 39 of them and protecting 241 for secondary contact such as wading, fishing, trapping or boating. The proposal would protect fish and aquatic life in all of the stream sections under consideration. 
 
The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. in the third floor conference room of the Wallace State Office Building, 502 East Ninth Street. 
 
Commissioners will not be taking public comments, since they accepted comments on the same topic at their regular meeting. However, the public is welcome to attend or call into the meeting. 
 
To attend via conference call, dial (866) 685-1580 shortly before 1 p.m. Follow the prompts, entering the conference code of 5152818383, followed by the pound (#) sign. Call Jerah Gallinger at (515) 313-8909 if you have problems with access. 
 
The proposed stream uses are available on the DNR Web site at www.iowadnr.com/water/uaa.html
 
Look for more information about the agenda on the DNR Web site under Commissions and Boards at www.iowadnr.gov. 
 
The members of the commission are David Petty, chair, Eldora; Charlotte Hubbell, vice chair, Des Moines; Suzanne Morrow, secretary, Storm Lake; Henry Marquard, Muscatine; Ralph Klemme, LeMars; Susan Heathcote, Des Moines; and Paul Johnson, Decorah. The director of the DNR is Richard Leopold. 
 
Writer: Karen Grimes
 
# # #
 
DNR ASKS FOR DARLING RESIDENTS’ IDEAS AT MAY 1 MEETING
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Steve Waters, SE Iowa District Fisheries Supervisor, at (319) 694-2430 or Mike McGhee, DNR Lake Restoration, at (515) 281-6281.
 
BRIGHTON — As improvements continue at Lake Darling, local residents are invited to a meeting to discuss their ideas and visions for the lake.
 
The May 1 meeting at Brighton City Hall, 100 East Washington St., will begin at 6 p.m. The DNR is hosting the meeting to gather the community’s input for the next steps in improving Lake Darling.
 
As the lake level is drawn down this summer to repair the spillway, there is an opportunity to do other restoration work in the lake and make improvements to Lake Darling State Park. The DNR will also discuss the results of a recent watershed and lake assessment conducted by Iowa State University, which points out successes and areas that still need help.
 
“We’ve decreased the amount of sediment reaching the lake by 60 percent through the Lake Darling Watershed Project, and that’s been a great help to the lake,” said Mike McGehee, DNR Lake Restoration. “However, the ISU study shows that we still have work to do when it comes to nutrients reaching the lake. We’d like to hear residents’ ideas on ways to improve the watershed and the lake.”
 
Following the meeting, the DNR is encouraging local residents to consider joining the Lake Restoration Advisory Council. The council, which could have five to 15 members, will work with DNR technical staff to discuss restoration options and develop a lake management plan. 
 
For more information about the meeting, contact the Southeast District Fisheries office at Lake Darling at (319) 694-2430.
 
# # #
 
Caution urged for Outdoor Wood-Fired Boilers
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Christine Paulson, Environmental Specialist Senior, (515) 242-5154
 
DES MOINES — The high cost of petroleum-based fuels for home heating has Iowans looking at alternative sources. In both rural and residential areas, some Iowans have purchased or are considering outdoor wood-fired boilers (OWBs) or furnaces. DNR officials caution against burning any wood other than untreated, well-seasoned wood and advise that OWBs can be more polluting and less efficient than other home heating devices.
 
“Unlike residential wood burning stoves, OWBs are not required to meet federal emission standards,” says Christine Paulson, an air specialist with the DNR Air Quality Bureau. “We’ve received a number of complaints about the OWBs, and our investigations have revealed that many of the concerns raised are valid. Because of the large fireboxes on the units, some people have jumped to the conclusion that anything can be burned in them.”
 
OWBs are free-standing wood burning devices that heat water, which is then pumped to one or more structures to provide heat. They look like a small shed with a short smokestack on top. They may be used to heat homes and outbuildings, produce domestic hot water, heat hot tubs or provide heat to agricultural operations. OWBs are also called Outdoor Wood-fired Hydronic Heaters (OWHH).
 
Household garbage and debris contain chemicals that are illegal to burn in such devices without an air permit. Burning such items releases toxic air pollutants, some of which are carcinogens.
 
“We had a case recently where someone was burning railroad ties in his OWB,” adds Paulson. “Railroad ties are treated with creosote, a probable carcinogen. Just handling railroad ties has been shown to cause skin rash and irritation. Imagine what it can be when vaporized and drawn deep into the lungs.”
 
Even wood smoke from well seasoned hardwood contains fine particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and other pollutants, so it is important to release it through a stack well above roof lines so that children, people with lung and heart disease, and other sensitive groups are not exposed to it.
 
Before buying an OWB, the DNR asks you to consider the possible health and environmental impact to your family, neighbors, pets and livestock, and to contact your county health department or city hall to see if OWBs are allowed. 
 
“We encourage consumers to choose the cleanest, most efficient models available, preferably EPA-certified units. Then operate and maintain the unit, whether it is new or one of the older models, according to manufacturers’ instructions,” emphasizes Paulson.
 
The DNR also recommends that OWB operators place the unit at least 500 feet from an adjoining property line, keep the doors of the unit closed unless loading or stoking the live fire,  and install a vertical, unobstructed stack that is at least 5 feet taller than the roof line of nearby structures and residences. Never use propellants to start a fire and do not store them near an OWB. A child in Iowa recently died from burns linked to a propellant stored near an operating OWB.
 
A DNR OWB Fact Sheet with more information is available at www.iowadnr.gov/air/. Information on EPA's OWB program, including information on EPA-certified models, is available at http://www.epa.gov/woodheaters/.
 
Questions or complaints regarding specific OWB or other wood heaters should be directed to appropriate DNR field offices. A map and contact information for the six DNR field offices is available at http://www.iowadnr.gov/fo/fomap.html or call (515) 242-5100. Those with questions or concerns within Polk County should call (515) 286-3351; or within Linn County call (319) 892-6000. Permit questions may be directed to the DNR Air Quality Bureau permit hotline at 1-877-247-4692. 
 

 
Writer: Jessie Brown
 
-30-
 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see:
 http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp