Reduce residential burning of wood and yard waste and eliminate ‘backyard’ trash burning.

Education: 

• Use the MPCA Air Pollution Score on the Environmental Justice Areas of Concern Map (MPCA) to locate areas for targeted assistance and incentives. 
• Burning woody yard waste may be allowable (larger than a recreational fire would require an open burn permit through MN DNR), but there are often better options. The anticipated quantity of EAB wood waste calls for consideration of no/limited burning and better/higher value management options. 
• Burning household garbage such as in a burn barrel is generally against the law in MN.
• The MPCA recommends burning dry wood (10-20% moisture content) over wet wood whenever possible, as this reduces particulate emissions. 
• EPA Burnwise has great information and lots of resources including information about how to build a wood shed, to tips for a long lasting burn in a wood stove, and many, many more. 
• An outreach campaign might partner or be run by chimney sweeps, who are in people's houses and can recommend cleaner burning techniques and technologies, potentially incentivized by the city.

Programs: 

• Environmental Initiative’s Minnesota Project Stove Swap is a voluntary program that provides financial incentives to consumers to replace old wood heating appliances with new, more efficient, less-polluting technologies. Across Minnesota one-third of homes are heated without natural gas, and use wood, fuel oil, bottle/tank propane, and electricity-alone.
• New high-efficiency air source heat pumps (ASHPs) run by electricity can replace these non-natural gas fuels and operate with outdoor temperatures as low as -13 degrees F. Financial payback for installing ASHPs is short when an existing heating or cooling system needs to be replaced. If replacing propane, total heating costs/energy reduced is in the range of 28% to 54%. Check for utility, state, and federal rebates and tax credits. 

Ordinances:

• Many cities across the state require permits for recreational fires. This is a great option to help educate more residents about the important factors to consider when having recreational fires that can impact neighbors. City of St. Anthony Village and City of St. Louis Park ordinances are great examples of how to regulate recreational fires.
• A number of Minnesota cities have placed a ban on use of outdoor wood boilers (Savage, Burnsville, Stillwater). Other cities have adopted additional standards like moratoriums, restrictions on warm season usage, and/or permitting, setback and stack height requirements. See certified hydronic heaters / outdoor wood boilers on the EPA site.
• In 2016, the MPCA developed two model nuisance and zoning ordinances to address solid fuel-fired heating devices such as wood boilers or outdoor furnaces to assist local governments in addressing wood smoke complaints.