It's ugly out there in the trenches of the energy wars. Neighbor pitted against neighbor. Rich towns and counties versus poor ones. Angry New Yorkers fearing pollution, disease and death are squaring off against angry New Yorkers desperate for economic relief. Sound familiar?
The Daily Freeman's William Kemble reports that the DEC's proposal to regulate outdoor wood boilers is so controversial that it may take almost a year for the agency to get through the mountain of public comments it's generated:
A state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Monday said reviews of about 2,000 comments on proposed rules governing outdoor wood-burning boilers could mean the issue remains unsettled through April 2011.
Spokeswoman Lori Severino during a telephone interview noted there was no shortage of concern on both sides.
“Some things we get no comments on what’s proposed, some will get a handful, some will get a few hundred, and once it’s over 1,000 it’s considered a lot,” she said.
Photo of wood boiler smoke rising into a clear blue sky by Flickr user Michael Hoy. Posted under Creative Commons license.
