New law keeps wood boilers at a distance

With a growing number of people using them and a nearly equal amount of people complaining about them, the state has set new standards for outdoor wood boilers.

A new state law requires homeowners who use boilers that are installed as of this month to consider the distance between the devices and their neighbors. Newer models will also have to meet tightened emission standards starting next year.

The state, with the help of municipalities, will also curtail or shut down existing boilers if they continue to choke neighbors with black smoke, the Department of Environmental Services said.

"We would wake up in the middle of night coughing and have to go around our home and close the windows," said Hanover resident David Cole, an attorney who won a temporary court injunction to stop his neighbor from using a wood boiler.

While pleased the state will tighten emissions standards for the boilers, Cole thinks it's still not enough.

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