2017-01-23-minutes-cds-study-session

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January 13, 2017 Kittitas County Board of Commissioners: The Kittitas County Air Quality Advisory Committee (AQAC) is recommending that Community Development Services of Kittitas County revise the permit fees for installing home heating systems, including wood, pellet, and gas stoves. This request is based on: 1) the shared interest of the County and the AQAC to decrease air pollution and increase safety within the community; and 2) an effort to ensure the fees are realigned with actual costs. 1) Decrease air pollution and increase public safety The AQAC is facilitated by the Kittitas County Public Health Department and consists of state and local partners with the common goal of improving air quality through the reduction of PM2.5 (fine -particle pollution) in Kittitas County. The committee had been successful in applying for and receiving several grants that seek to educate the community about the dangers of PM2.5 and what we can do as a community to improve air quality. As you know, this goal is important to the County because of the potential threat of receiving non -attainment status from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We know that one of the key contributors of PM2.5 in Kittitas County is wood stove smoke, and specifically old, uncertified wood stoves that emit a higher amount of PM2.5. An ongoing strategy has been to replace those uncertified stoves with new certified wood, pellet, gas stoves or ductless heat pumps. One partner in the AQAC, HopeSource, currently administers a Washington Department of Ecology grant which provides a discount to homeowners who remove old or uncertified wood stoves from their homes. All replacements are required to have the appropriate permit to qualify for the program. Armstrong's Stove & Spa, another partner, has testified there are customers who live in the county who have decided against replacing their wood stove and/or opted out of the discount program to avoid the required permit. The lower fees will also hopefully incentivize a larger number of homeowners to obtain the appropriate permits, thereby reducing the potential safety issues that have been a concern of Fire Marshal Joe Seemiller (KVFR) and others, given the number of installations that go uninspected. We believe the goals and initiatives of the AQAC are aligned with the interests of the County. Preventing non -attainment while decreasing wood smoke and home fires are significant goals for the community and the County. The participation of Community Development Services by decreasing the service fees for wood, pellet, gas stove and space heater permits is crucial to achieving these goals. 2) Alignment of fees with actual costs Community Development Services explained to the AQAC that the wood stove permit fee of $295 was based on the assumption that most inspections took two visits to the home before the installation was approved. This might have been the case in the past, but in the last two years (2015 and 2016) statistics show most inspections now only take, on average, slightly over one visit (see attached spreadsheet). This significantly reduces the actual cost to the County and could reduce the permit price by upwards of $90. This would encourage more homeowners to participate in the Wood Stove Replacement program and ensure the stove is safely installed.