CANTON — St. Lawrence County legislators passed a resolution during a full board meeting last week opposing a potential ban on wood burning in the state, although no ban has been proposed.
The resolution recaps how, in 2019, the state signed into law the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which requires the state to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels 40% by 2030, and no less than 85% by 2050.
The state’s Climate Action Council is researching ways to accomplish the goals.
“In a draft plan,” the resolution states, “members of the advisory panel to the CAC describe scenarios where wood consumption decreases within that time frame, and this could mean a potential future ban on wood-burning stoves.”
The resolution condemns such a ban due to the widespread reliance in upstate New York on wood-burning stoves for heating homes and cooking.
“A ban on wood-burning would have a major impact on many St. Lawrence County households including the Amish population who rely on wood burning stoves for cooking and cost-effective energy,” the resolution says.
The draft of the CAC’s plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions does not call for a ban on wood burning, nor does it contain any specific recommendations related to wood burning. Read the CAC’s draft plan at wdt.me/CACdraft.
“Legislator (Nicole A.) Terminelli brought up a good point, which is that there’s no place in the draft plan that mentions wood burning,” Legislator David W. Forsythe, R-Lisbon, said. “But this is how it gets started.”
He said that soon, legislation could seek to ban wood burning, making this resolution a sort of preventative measure.
Legislator James E. Reagen, R-Ogdensburg, sees a similarly slippery slope.
“In New York City, there’s a ban on hooking up to natural gas lines. Who would ever have thought such a thing would occur in our lifetimes?” he said.
New York City officials in December approved a phased-in natural gas ban only in most newly constructed buildings.
“Unless we draw the line in the sand now, and make the case that for some families burning wood is a financial imperative, these kinds of measures are likely to come along by people who don’t know what life is like in St. Lawrence County,” Mr. Reagen said.
Legislator Margaret G. Haggard, D-Potsdam, hesitated to support a resolution that doesn’t address anything tangible. She was the only legislator not to support it, choosing to vote “present” instead.
“I have a hard time voting on something that hasn’t happened yet,” she said. “I don’t have anything against people burning wood, but eventually we will have to make tough choices in order to save the planet.”
In reply, Legislator Kevin D. Acres, R-Madrid, said “the planet is cleaner than it ever has been, almost.”
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February 14, 2022 at 06:11AM
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St. Lawrence County legislators oppose nonexistent ban on wood burning - NNY360
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