7 March 2010

 Armidale-Dumaresq Council has placed the Draft Sustainable Domestic Energy Use and Local Air Quality Policy on public exhibition for community feedback.
The main proposals in the Draft Policy are

•  increased education and communication about domestic energy options and safer use of wood heaters to reduce air pollution
•  a Local Approvals Policy for installing wood heaters
•  a lower emissions level on wood heaters than the Australian Standard (AS4013)
  
•  applying penalties for homes with excessively smoking chimneys.

The policy will be on exhibition at the Council office in Dumaresq St, and various other locations in town, until 13 April 2010. The draft policy document can also be downloaded from the Council website. The local ABC radio station also has a news report and audio recording of an interview with the Council's Public Health and Environment Manager on their website.