Court halts sale of dirty wood boilers

In a press release issued earlier this week, Earthjustice anounced that a state court judge has prohibited the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from allowing the sale of outdoor wood boilers (OWBs) that do not meet new emissions standards. The new standards went into effect on April 15.

Earthjustice and the American Lung Association are suing the DEC over its last-minute April decision to allow noncompliant OWBs to be sold until July. From the press release:

The Supreme Court of the State of New York today granted a preliminary injunction in a case brought against the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) by public health and environmental organizations last week. The groups asked the court to stop the state agency from allowing the continued sale of dirty outdoor wood boilers that endanger public health and can exacerbate asthma symptoms. The court’s ruling from the bench today restrains the DEC from implementing its April 15 “emergency” rule allowing the sale of the polluting wood boilers until July. The court will decide the merits of the underlying action on June 20.