Recreational Fires Must Be Eliminated

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WELCOME TO HELL ON EARTH

The air is smoky from burning wood in North St. Paul, MN, almost every evening. It is a nightmare. What used to be a nice place to live has become a living hell.

WARNING: If you buy a house in North St. Paul, MN, you will regret it! It may be the biggest, most expensive mistake you ever make. You will breathe smoky air almost every day of your life in this town. This is not an exaggeration. The wood smoke in this town gets heavy and gets heavy often. When you want to get out of this dump of a town, how many people do you think are going to want to buy a house in a city where heavy air pollution every night is normal and clean air is rare? This blog gets thousands of visitors every year. The word is out: North St. Paul is a horrible place to live!

Fresh air is very rare around here. If you are considering moving to North St. Paul or buying a home here, I strongly recommend that you do not do it no matter how good of a price you get. The only way you will be happy in this town is if you love breathing smoky air almost every day. North St. Paul, MN, is a horrible place to live because of the smoky air!

Burning wood, grass, leaves, paper, cardboard, and sometimes plastic, construction materials, and chemicals, if it is combustible it gets burned in North St. Paul and you are going to breathe it.

The air was smoky 25 out of 31 evenings in July 2009. We had 37 hours of continuous wood smoke in the air Aug. 29th - 31st. There was wood smoke in the air 19 consecutive evenings from Aug. 21st to Sept. 8th. It rained heavily on Aug. 20th, providing the only relief we got from wood smoke for almost three weeks.

Is this a good way to live? No. It is a horrible way to live. Take it from someone who knows. Breathing smoky, polluted air every day is misery.

Every day in this city several people are having recreational fires. Every evening the air is filled with the stench of burning wood. I am one person sick and tired of breathing smoky air every day. Is it too much to ask to be able to breathe fresh air in your own home?

Who is responsible for this wood smoke nightmare? The four city council members are responsible. Council members Jan Walczak, Bob Bruton, Terry Furlong, and Dave Zick have refused to do anything about this wood smoke problem. They don't care if you have a child with asthma. They don't care if you have to live like a shut-in because the air is so polluted. They don't care if your sinuses burn because the wood smoke is so heavy.

Our four Council members have defended the rights of a small percentage of households to burn wood daily over the rights of all the rest of us to breathe.

You have no right to breathe under Walczak, Bruton, Furlong, and Zick. Burners have the right to burn wood 49 hours a week recreationally. The rest of us have no rights at all.

If you are considering purchasing real estate in the city of North Saint Paul, Minnesota (55109), factor this blog carefully into your decision. Buying a home in this city means that your kids will breathe smoky air while playing in the yard almost every day. Your baby will breathe smoky air in her crib should you leave the windows open around your house. If you leave your windows open you will wake up in the middle of the night choking on smoky air.

Perhaps worst of all, your utility rates will be high because you will have to run the air conditioner instead of leaving the windows open on a cool summer evening. You have no other choice because almost every night the air is too smoky to breathe in this city. Consider this blog your warning.

North St. Paul, Minnesota, is a wonderful community other than the wood smoke. If we could restore fresh air like we used to enjoy, life would be happy again. But that is not going to happen any time soon.

Tell others about this blog!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sunday 04/25/2010 Air Pollution

5:00 PM: No wood smoke. No wood smoke all day. It rained a little earlier today during the morning hours. 60 degrees.

5:20 PM: Faint wood smoke at this time. It smells like meat grilling with some wood. It did not last much more than an hour or so.

7:30 PM: No wood smoke. Fresh air again. 58 degrees at North High School.

Other than the little bit of wood smoke earlier, this was a smoke-free evening.

Saturday 04/24/2010 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening. I was stunned. It was cool enough that I expected some recreational fireplace use. There was none upwind from us. The air was delightfully fresh all evening. It rained earlier in the morning hours. The ground was a little damp at 7 PM with a temperature of 56 degrees. With the exception of some wood smoke with grilling this past Sunday, the entire week has been free of wood smoke. This fresh air is wonderful!

Friday 04/23/2010 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening. This is the sixth evening in a row without wood smoke! 65 degrees at 3:30 PM. 56 degrees at 9:30 PM with light rain drizzle. The temperature is just right for fresh air. It is a little cool for bonfires and a little warm for recreational fireplace use. If it was a little warmer or cooler, the air would certainly have been smoky on this Friday night.

Thursday 04/22/2010 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening. 63 degrees and sunny at 4:30 PM. With the exception of some grilling wood smoke last Sunday afternoon, this is the fifth evening in a row without the horrible stench of wood smoke in the air.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Wednesday 04/21/2010 Air Pollution

6:30 PM: No wood smoke yet. The air is fresh. 61 degrees and sunny. I do not expect any bonfires tonight. Bonfires are not prevalent when the temperature is below 70 degrees. But we could have some wood smoke from recreational fireplace use. We will find out soon enough.

There was no wood smoke this evening. The air was fresh all night long.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tuesday 04/20/2010 Air Pollution

6:30 PM: No wood smoke yet. 74 degrees measured at North High School. This evening is warmer than the last and even more beautiful. It is sunny and nice. You can sit outside without a sweatshirt. I spent some time outside already this evening. I think wood smoke is likely. This evening is too perfect not to be ruined by wood smoke pollution. But I have my fingers crossed.

There was no wood smoke this evening. Not a trace. The air was delightfully fresh all evening and night long. Every day should be as good as this one.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Monday 04/19/2010 Air Pollution

4:00 PM: Fresh air. 65 degrees, sunny, very pleasant.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke yet. Not a trace. It would be nice to have another smoke-free evening.

There was not a trace of wood smoke this evening. The air was fresh all evening and all night long. The fresh, unpolluted air was wonderful!

Sunday 04/18/2010 Air Pollution

12:45 AM: Moderately strong wood smoke continues. The air has been very smoky for hours now with no end in sight.

7:00 AM: Fresh air!

2:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke from a grill. Someone is grilling with wood or wood chips. Close windows. 63 degrees.

3:30 PM: The air is fresh and clear. Open windows.

Other than the wood smoke from the cooking of food earlier there was no wood smoke this evening. It was a very nice evening to sit outside. It was beautiful. 66 degrees at 5:15 PM.

This has been one of the nicest springs I can remember so far. The weather has been nice. Leaves have started appearing on the trees and I saw some trees and shrubs full of blossoms. It seems to be a little early for that.

North St. Paul is very nice in the spring. Except for the wood smoke.

Saturday 04/17/2010 Air Pollution

It is another smoky hell of an evening in North Saint Paul, Minnesota.

5:15 PM: No wood smoke yet.

7:00 PM: Still no wood smoke. 64 degrees, sunny, a nice spring evening.

7:30 PM: Grass and wood smoke. Some people burn wood then drop their grass clippings on top of it to hide their illegal grass burning. I would prefer grass burning to be legal and wood burning to be illegal. Wood smoke is much more of an irritant and I have never seen anyone produce grass smoke for 10 hours like people do with wood in this city.

8:00 PM: Light wood smoke. I went out and discovered who was doing it. It's the same house that burns frequently around this time in the evening. The house that burns 3 - 5 days per week all summer long. The house that burns grass after midnight.

9:00 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Very smoky outside. Poisonous air!

10:45 PM: Moderate wood smoke continues. Last check of the evening.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Friday 04/16/2010 Air Pollution

Wood smoke returns. The cooler temperature likely encouraged some recreational fireplace use. Fireplaces or bonfires, the air is smoky just about every evening in this town.

7:00 PM: No wood smoke yet this evening. 60 degrees.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke.

At this time I left the city. On my way back, the air was smoky on Lydia in Maplewood near Helen St. I encountered a few pockets of very smoky air in North St. Paul. I literally could not breathe at one point and had to hurry out of the area because the air was so smoky. I was in many smoky bars in my younger years and none of them were as smoky as the air I encountered this evening.

Does it not seem strange that smoking cigarettes is illegal in bars and restaurants but somebody can smoke up an entire neighborhood with a bonfire or a fireplace and that is perfectly acceptable? We can choose whether or not we want to go to a smoky restaurant. We cannot choose whether we want smoky air in our own yards or homes.

9:20 PM: Very faint wood smoke where we live. It is not as bad here as it is elsewhere around North St. Paul.

10:15 PM: Faint to light wood smoke varying with the breeze. 52 degrees.

11:30 PM: Light wood smoke at this time. It got smokier. Lucky us. Last check of the evening.

Thursday 04/15/2010 Air Pollution

4:35 PM: No wood smoke. 71 degrees, sunny.

7:00 PM: No wood smoke.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke.

9:00 PM: A very faint trace of wood smoke is blowing in on the wind. The smoke is barely noticeable and intermittent. When the wind blows right I can smell a little of it. If there is one thing you will know in this city it is the smell of wood smoke. You will smell it almost every day here.

10:00 PM: A very faint trace of wood smoke continues if the breeze is right.

Midnight: No smoke of any kind in the air.

There was not much wood smoke this evening. It was not a smoke-free evening. But we will take it over how polluted the air usually is in North St. Paul.

Wednesday 04/14/2010 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke where we live this evening. This is the second evening in a row without wood smoke! It rained during the late morning or early afternoon. The driveway was still a little wet at 7 PM. 69 degrees at 6:30 PM.

Tuesday 04/13/2010 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke where we live this evening. Others were not so lucky. 68 degrees at 4:45 PM. It was nice evening to be outside for us.

I was out a little after 8 PM. I first encountered a faint trace of wood smoke at Helen St. & Indian Way. The breeze was blowing to the northwest this evening. I expected to find the wood smoke back in the Poplar-Swan horseshoe. It was faintly smoky in that area. My nose was getting irritated and tingly. The source was not back there. I lost the wood smoke on the west side of Silver Lake. I picked it up again by the dock. The wood smoke was strongest in front of a house on the east side of Reardon, 2nd or 3rd in from the corner of 19th. There was light wood smoke in front of the residence. I saw some chairs in the backyard. I did not see a fire. I cannot pinpoint it to any house. It was nearby.




The distance from where I first smelled the wood smoke to where I tracked it is close to 1/2 mile. A lot of people do not understand that wood smoke can travel far from where it is produced. Wood smoke does not stay confined to the property of the burner. It blows out of the burner's yard and into the lungs of everyone around him, even people a half-mile away.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Monday 04/12/2010 Air Pollution

A smoky Monday morning.

5:00 AM: Light to moderate wood smoke fills the air. The air stinks. 51 degrees.

4:30 PM: No wood smoke. Sunny, 66 degrees.

7:00 PM: A very faint smokiness is in the air that has a sweet smell to it. It smells a little like wood smoke but I cannot be certain. I just noticed it now. It could have been heavier earlier. The windows around the house were closed, for obvious reasons.

8:00 PM: No smoke.

8:45 PM: No smoke.

11:00 PM: No smoke. Last check of the evening.

This will count as an evening without wood smoke.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Sunday 04/11/2010 Air Pollution

The wood smoke from yesterday evening continues into the early morning hours.

3:45 AM: Light wood smoke continues.

5:30 AM: Faint wood smoke can be detected in the air. That is 11 hours of continuous wood smoke in the air.

7:30 AM: The air is mostly clear. Thank God!

3:45 PM: Grass smoke and possibly wood smoke. Somebody is disposing of yard waste. I think I know who the culprit is.

5:05 PM: Light grass and wood smoke. Somebody is burning grass and wood. I went out and checked the usual suspect. Smoke was rising from his backyard. 69 degrees and sunny.

5:45 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Same person as before.

6:30 PM: No smoke.

8:45 PM: No smoke.

There was no wood smoke up until 10 PM. The air was smoky at 5 AM the next morning. If the air is smoky that early when it is this warm, it had to have been smoky all night.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Saturday 04/10/2010 Air Pollution

Have we died and gone to hell or are we still living in North St. Paul? You cannot tell the difference tonight!

It is a smoky evening of epic proportions. Not just a smoky evening, but an evening with smoke that stinks so badly I suspect that something else is being burned along with the wood.

2:30 AM: No wood smoke at this time but a very faint burnt wood smell is in the air. Other than the slight burnt wood smell the air is clear. Burnt wood odor in the morning usually means somebody had a bonfire.

7:00 AM: Fresh air!

Noon: No smoke of any kind yet.

3:15 PM: Faint grass smoke. Somebody is burning grass. Wood, grass, leaves, whatever people can get their hands on they burn in this nightmare of a town.

4:00 PM: Air is clear. Enjoy it while it lasts because it will not last long.

6:45 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. I do not see anyone near us burning. I suspect it is the same person who was burning at this time last week. That pyromaniac burns at least five days a week in the summer. He's not the only one who burns. There are several. There are three or four wood burners on every block. That is why the air is smoky every evening in this town. 64 degrees. An otherwise nice spring evening is shot to hell because of wood smoke pollution.

7:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Smoky as hell outside! We have the worst city council ever. The wood smoke is intense and there is something in it that stings your nose. This is not normal wood smoke.

I suspect the burner is burning wood to hide the disposal of waste. I do not know who it is. I went out and looked at the usual suspect's property and could not see any smoke rising. Wood smoke permeates the entire area and there is not much of a breeze so I can not pinpoint it to one property.

8:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. At least the toxic air pollution decreased in intensity.

9:00 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It is smoky as hell!

10:30 PM: Strong wood smoke. This smoke is so heavy you cannot stand it!

11:30 PM: Strong wood smoke continues. Last check of the evening.

The air was smoky at 3:45 AM and faintly smoky at 5:30 AM the next morning. That makes 11 hours of wood smoke this night.

Does North St. Paul, Minnesota, sound like a good place to live to you? You can thank city council members Jan Walczak and Bob Bruton for the smoky air. Both of them support wood burning and smoky air. Walczak and Bruton don't care about the elderly, the babies with developing lungs, or you.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Friday 04/09/2010 Air Pollution

2:15 AM: Very faint wood smoke is in the air at this time.

6:00 AM: A smokiness probably from vehicle exhaust is in the air.

4:35 PM: No wood smoke. 64 degrees. A nice spring day sure to be ruined by wood smoke.

8:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. It is smoky outside! You do not want to be sitting outside breathing this air. We closed our windows earlier. Nobody around me appears to be burning. I cannot see any smoke rising from any back yard or chimney. It could be a bonfire or a recreational use of a fireplace. I am not going out to look for it. Going to bed to dream about living in a city that doesn't have smoky air every day.

11:55 PM: The air is mostly fresh. I woke up and checked the air on my way back to bed.

Thursday 04/08/2010 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air this evening until I noticed it after 2 AM. There was a very faint smokiness in the air before 6:30 PM. I cannot say it was wood smoke. It could have been vehicle exhaust with air conditions trapping the pollutants near the ground. 45 degrees at 10 PM.

Wednesday 04/07/2010 Air Pollution

There was no real wood smoke this evening. There was a very faint smoke of some kind coming out of the east for a period of time around 8:15 PM. I cannot say it was wood smoke. It could have been a grill. It was breezy at the time. 45 degrees at 11 PM.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Tuesday 04/06/2010 Air Pollution

3:15 AM: Light wood smoke. 51 degrees. I checked the air on my way back to bed.

5:30 AM: A very faint trace of wood smoke remains in the air.

There was no wood smoke this evening. 49 degrees at 5:20 PM with light rain. The cold and rain kept any recreational wood burners or yard waste burners from doing what they love to do. Nobody upwind or nearby was using a fireplace either. It was a rare evening of fresh air in the city of North St. Paul, Minnesota.

The weather forecast is for highs in the upper 60s to low 70s this weekend. If the forecast holds it is going to be a smoky weekend. The early spring is a mixed blessing.

Monday 04/05/2010 Air Pollution

1:00 AM: Fresh air.

5:00 AM: Fresh air.

5:00 PM: No wood smoke. 59 degrees, cloudy.

6:40 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. I do not know where it is coming from. I suspect it is from the same person who burned the prior two days during the early evening.

6:53 PM: Light rain falling at this time.

7:30 PM: No wood smoke.

9:00 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.

10:00 PM: Faint wood smoke. Last check of the evening.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Complaint to the EPA

I submitted a complaint to the federal Environmental Protection Agency this evening regarding the terrible wood smoke pollution in the city of North St. Paul, MN, using the agency's web submission form. The federal government mandated that Fairbanks, Alaska, clean up its air because of wood smoke pollution that exceeded federal guidelines. I am hoping for the same here.

I first contacted city council member Jan Walczak about the wood smoke problem in the city almost two years ago. She not only refused to help, but I found her reply to be belittling. I contacted city council members Bob Bruton, Dave Zick, and Terry Furlong in May of 2009. Bruton replied indicating his support for recreational wood burning and both Zick and Furlong ignored me completely. Mayor Mike Kuehn was sympathetic to our problem and feels strongly about it. Nobody on the city council cares if the smoky air triggers asthma attacks in children or makes it difficult for the elderly to breathe.

What I am ultimately after is the riddance of wood smoke pollution in North St. Paul, at least during the warm months of April through the end of October. I hope the EPA or another government agency will come out and measure the air pollution in the residential areas of the city. I think that wood smoke so strong it burns your sinuses would be beyond federal wood smoke pollution guidelines. If I can get the air pollution in the city measured and it exceeds federal guidelines, perhaps some legal action can be taken against the city.

This is the text of the complaint I submitted to the EPA.

I am writing about our terrible air pollution problem in North St. Paul, MN (zip code 55109). The city of North St. Paul is a separate city from St. Paul, MN. Many assume I am talking about the city of St. Paul when I am not. North St. Paul is a suburb northeast of the city of St. Paul.

Wood smoke pollution is a major problem in our city. Every evening the air is very smoky. Wood smoke this strong cannot be within EPA guidelines. Often the wood smoke is so heavy it burns your sinuses, makes you short of breath, or makes you feel nauseous. If it does not rain, the air is smoky every evening all year round. Spring, summer, and fall are smokier than winter in this city due to the prevalence of backyard bonfires.

Our city council has refused to deal with this problem. I contacted the state of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency last year and was told there was nothing they could do about this problem since it was a local issue.

So what are we supposed to do? Breathe smoky air every day that is filled with particulate pollution and not only smells terrible but is also bad for our health? We have a lot of elderly people in this city and children who should not be breathing smoky air every day.

I recently read an article that the federal government made Fairbanks, Alaska, clean up its air because wood smoke emissions were not within federal guidelines. I would like the same thing here in North St. Paul.

I was wondering if it would be possible to get the air quality measured in some residential areas in the city of North St. Paul, MN. If we can get the air pollution in this city quantified, maybe we can do something about it.

The city council has refused to do anything. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has refused to help. I do not know where else I can turn. As I write this on Easter Sunday, the air has been very smoky for 4 hours now. It will likely be smoky all night long. As it often is.

Is there anything the EPA can do to help us? The root cause is the city's generous recreational burning ordinance. If you can help Fairbanks, AK, can you help us here in North St. Paul, MN?

My email: northsaintpaulresident@gmail.com

My wood smoke documentation blog: http://northsaintpaulresident.blogspot.com

Please forward this complaint to the appropriate department if necessary. Thank you.
If the EPA refuses to help, I don't know what we can do. I will have to see if I can hire a company to come out and measure the air quality or something. I have no idea how much that would cost.

Sunday 04/04/2010 Air Pollution

It is a polluted smoky hell of an Easter in North St. Paul again. We were treated to burning grass smoke Easter of 2009. This Easter, we have been given burning paper and wood smoke.

3:00 AM: Faint wood smoke from last evening lingers in the air.

4:45 PM: Moderate wood smoke and what smells like burning paper. There was no smoke prior to this. The same people who were burning yesterday evening are responsible for this evening's smoke. It is very smoky outside now.

5:45 PM: Light to moderate stinky wood smoke continues.

6:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke.

7:45 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. That's three hours of continuous wood or paper smoke. 63 degrees.

It is going to be a long smoky hell of a night in North St. Paul. Just like every night.

8:20 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It has gotten smokier since the last check.

9:00 PM: Moderately strong wood smoke continues. You cannot stand to be outside in air this smoky. You will feel sick to your stomach in a short amount of time.

9:30 PM: Light wood smoke at this time.

10:30 PM: Mostly fresh air.

11:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Saturday 04/03/2010 Air Pollution

It is another smoky hell of an evening in North St. Paul, MN.

5:45 AM: Very faint wood smoke remains in the air. I could smell it when I brought the newspaper in.

6:00 PM: No wood smoke. 59 degrees.

6:30 PM: Light wood smoke. I think I know who is doing it. I will go out and check.

It was who I thought it was. The burner is about 500 feet from city council member Jan Walczak's house. Walczak is a supporter of wood smoke pollution. It will be very smoky soon, the way Jan Walczak likes it. That polluter smokes up the entire neighborhood for hours at a time. Sometimes 10 hours or longer. He also burns grass late at night, sometimes after midnight.

7:40 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It is smoky as hell outside! I had to change my shirt because sticking my head out the door for a few seconds left a wood smoke odor in it. That is how potent the wood smoke is in North St. Paul. Stepping outside for a few seconds leaves your clothes reeking of wood smoke. 59 degrees.

North St. Paul, Minnesota, is a polluted nightmare

9:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues.

10:00 PM: Light wood smoke continues.

11:00 PM: Light wood smoke continues. Last check of the evening.

Faint wood smoke was still in the air at 3 AM.

Friday 04/02/2010 Air Pollution

4:30 PM: No wood smoke. 63 degrees. It rained earlier today.

9:00 PM: No wood smoke yet.

10:00 PM: No wood smoke.

10:45 PM: Very faint wood smoke is in the air. I can smell it just enough to detect its presence. I opened a window for a while and could smell the smoke in the room. Someone must be burning in the distance.

11:35 PM: Very faint wood smoke continues.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Thursday 04/01/2010 Air Pollution

12:15 AM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. This is why we can never leave the windows open at night in this town and have not been able to for years. It is like this all summer long at night.

2:00 AM: A very faint hint of wood smoke remains in the air. You can smell it, but not much.

5:00 AM: Fresh air! 54 degrees.

4:10 PM: No wood smoke. Fresh air! 77 degrees.

5:00 PM: No wood smoke. 79 degrees.

7:15 PM: No wood smoke yet. The wonderful fresh air continues. 80 degrees.

8:00 PM: Still fresh air.

9:00 PM: Wood smoke hasn't arrived yet.

10:30 PM: Still no wood smoke. Will we have a rare evening without wood smoke pollution?

Midnight: No wood smoke. Fresh air! 72 degrees.

This will be about the only nice evening we have all year without wood smoke pollution. If the temperature is between 70 and 90 degrees and it is not raining, the air is smoky in North St. Paul almost always.

At midnight I sat out on the deck for a short while enjoying the warm air and the nice breeze. Yesterday at this time the air was smoky. We were fortunate tonight.