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MORIAH — After months of wrangling, the Moriah Town Council has decided to regulate outdoor wood burners in the community.
The town was responding to numerous citizen complaints when it passed the law that tells owners of the controversial outdoor woodstoves when they can use them and how far they must be from a neighbor's home.
Even existing stoves must now be at least 50 feet from the edge of the owner's land and can only be operated eight months out of the year.
Fines for non-compliance can be as high as $200 a week.
Moriah Town Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava said he and the Town Council did extensive research before drafting and passing the new law.
"We tried to strike a balance between people who have outdoor wood burners and people who don't. With these hard times, we don't want to restrict people, but you still have to be cognizant of your neighbor. I feel this law will work well in this area."
He said the Town of Moriah is unique in that it has four hamlets outside the Village of Port Henry — Mineville, Witherbee, Moriah Corners and Moriah Center.
"So you have areas with close proximity of homes. The technology of these stoves has been getting better, and the newer ones are less problematic. The gasification units are more efficient."
Outdoor wood burners contain a steel firebox surrounded by a water reservoir and cost several thousand dollars. They heat and circulate water throughout a residence.
The circumstances will be taken on a case-by-case basis when there are issues, Scozzafava said.
"We're not trying to shut down your outdoor wood burner, but you have to respect your neighbor's rights, too."
Violations of the law carry a $200 fine, and each week of illegal operation can be considered a separate violation.
Many of the complaints in Moriah stemmed from the Grover Hills subdivision in Mineville, where several people installed outdoor wood stoves that neighbors said filled the area with smoke.
Moriah's law says if an outdoor stove is a verifiable nuisance, modifications must be made, such as extending the chimney height or relocating the stove further from the property line.
Although the stoves must be 50 feet from the property line, they must be 100 feet from any residence not served by the stove.
New stoves must now be installed with a chimney height no less than two feet above the roof peak of any home not served by the stove. Only wood may be burned in the stoves, and they may only be used from Sept. 15 to May 15.
Scozzafava said the town held several public workshops to draft the law, then public hearings before adopting it.
"We tried to get as much participation as we could from the community. This is an issue throughout the Northeast. Right now it's a checkerboard of regulations."
Some municipalities have banned outdoor wood stoves entirely, while others have severely restricted them.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation is working on regulations that would supersede local laws on the stoves, Scozzafava said.
A 2005 report from the State Attorney General's Office said the stoves they tested produced as much particulate pollution in an hour as 45 cars or two diesel trucks.
E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
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