Wood-fired boilers legal to sell, use

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is trying to lay an egg on wood-fired boilers. There are only about 200 of them in Linn County, so let's stomp them, the DNR says, claiming they are in violation of emission standards that have been on the books for more than 30 years.

And whose fault is that? Why were they allowed to be sold in Iowa? And why is the DNR, after 30 years, all of a sudden worried about air quality? Only because a handful of neighbors complained of smoke blowing in their yards from wood-fired boilers?

These boiler owners clean up the environment by burning dead trees. If boilers were legal to sell in Iowa, they should be legal to use.

Lawn mowers are the biggest air polluters. Why hasn't the DNR stopped the sale of lawn mowers? Maybe because more than 200 people have them.

Gary L. Roberts

Center Point