COEUR d'ALENE - New federal rules to improve wood stove emissions are going into effect soon, and while existing wood stoves won't be affected, new ones will.

The Environmental Protection Agency adopted new rules on Feb. 3 that will halve allowable emissions for new wood-burning heating devices this year, and significantly tighten the standards by the year 2020.

Manufactures of wood-burning heating systems will be affected the most, according to Jack Freeman, production manager for Kuma Stoves in Rathdrum.

Initially, Freeman said, the impact won't be too costly because many of Kuma's stoves already meet the phase one emission standards, but in five years the cost to re-certify their stoves to meet "significantly reduced standards" will be huge.

"This really hurts the small manufacturers," he said. "The costs to test just one model could be as high as $100,000."

Freeman said unless the manufacturer has the ability to sell the newly-certified stoves in volume, a lot of those costs will have to be passed to the consumers.

"That's why as a manufacturer, we are somewhat opposed to these new regulations," Freeman said. "The negative effect is people with older smoke-belching wood stoves won't be inclined to upgrade."

Freeman said they estimate the cost of new stoves would increase by at least $300 to $400. He said most new stoves already have one of two types of re-burning systems to remove particulates in smoke.

He said those two technologies will now have to be combined to meet the new standards in 2020.

"We will have to come up with a hybrid and essentially double the re-burning capability," he said.

Enesta Jones, a spokesperson for EPA, said the rules are being implemented in two phases over five years to allow manufacturers time to adapt emission control technologies to their particular model lines.

"The rule will not affect existing wood stoves and other wood-burning heaters currently in use in people's homes," she said in an email response to The Press. "It ensures that consumers buying wood heaters anywhere in the United States in the future will be able to choose from cleaner-burning models."

Freeman said his company is all for cleaner burning stoves, but he thinks the EPA should try to incentivize consumers, possibly with tax breaks, to trade in their older stoves.

"They did that in Libby, Mont., and the results were very good," he said, adding the air quality in that region improved dramatically.

Jones said EPA is looking at ways to encourage consumers to upgrade their stoves.

"Our experience with wood stove change out programs has shown us that these voluntary programs can significantly improve air quality, both indoors and out," she said. "EPA is talking with our state and local partners, other federal agencies and industry about ways to support and expand voluntary change out programs in the future."

Jones said EPA is also promoting programs such as Burn Wise to provide technical assistance directly to the public on stove selection and wood-burning practices that reduce wood smoke pollution and use less wood.

More information is available at www.epa.gov/burnwise.