Get credit for wood stove replacement

It can pay to replace an older wood stove.
The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District will offer a $200 rebate — which becomes $300 if you’re a San Lorenzo Valley resident — for replacing a wood stove that isn’t certified by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The rebate program begins July 8 in addition to a federal tax credit program that can be worth as much as $1,500.
The replacement can be a certified wood stove, propane heater or furnace, electric system or pellet stove.
SLV residents were singled out because natural gas isn’t available there and winter air inversion layers often trap wood smoke, making the valley the most-smoke-polluted area in the region, according to Betsy Hibbits, the district’s smoke management coordinator.
“We do get complaints in the winter,” Hibbits said.
Wood smoke contains gases, toxic components and particulate matter that can be cut by 50 percent or more with a modern heating device, she said.
For information: www.mbuapcd.org or 647-9411, ext. 213.