Sonoma County extends rebates for wood stove upgrades

Sonoma County supervisors this week renewed a program offering some businesses and residents financial rebates for replacing old wood stoves with new, more environmentally friendly appliances.

Home and business owners along the coast, some parts of the Russian River and north of Windsor in the Highway 101 corridor are eligible to apply for rebates - $1,000 to $2,500 - to install new gas stoves, environmentally certified fireplaces and stoves that burn wood or biomass pellets.

The Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District, which is funding the program, has $30,000 this year from grants and air pollution fines levied on people who in the past violated air quality regulations, such as rules that prohibit burning trash.

District officials said they plan to begin accepting applications Oct. 15, and rebates are processed on first-come, first-served basis. Funding could provide roughly 15 to 30 replacements, depending on the type of appliance.

In the past two years of the program, the district has spent $40,000 on 33 stove replacements. The idea is to reduce fine particulates in the air from wood burning.

For more information and to view a map of the district boundaries go here.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.