Income requirements relaxed for stove changeout program

Income-based eligibility requirements for a Libby-area woodstove changeout program have been relaxed, allowing some people who may not have previously qualified to replace their old stove with a new one free of charge.

The stove changeout program is aimed at reducing air pollution under tightened federal standards for particulate matter. Studies have shown the primary ingredient in the Libby area to be wood smoke. The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, which represents the woodstove industry, donated 300 stoves for the program along with related equipment and cash. A $100,000 grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency is helping to pay for stove installation.

Under the changeout program, area homeowners who meet low-income requirements can have their non-EPA-certified stoves replaced with new EPA-certified models at no cost. Landlords who rent homes to qualifying families can also participate in the program but must make a $500 co-payment.

To date, about 165 applications for the changeout program have been received.

Income guidelines were previously set at the same level used by the Low Income Energy Assistance Program and other federal programs. Those guidelines have since been increased by 25 percent to boost participation in the program, said Lincoln County Sanitarian Ron Anderson.

"Lots of folks that we wanted to have involved in the program were just above the income guidelines for some of those programs," Anderson said.

A lot of people in the Libby area, including many retired couples, may meet the income guidelines but have never registered for public assistance, said HPBA spokesman John Crouch.

"They get by by heating with wood," Crouch said. "They are exactly who we want to help."

The guidelines for the changeout program are strictly income-based and do not take assets into account, Anderson said. Income verification is still required, however. Verification can be done at the fuel and energy assistance office, the public assistance office, Head Start, and — for seniors — at the Libby Senior Citizens Center. Those agencies can provide a signed form letter validating income, which is all that is needed, Anderson said.

"They don't enroll them in the program or anything," he said.

Anderson encouraged people who previously applied for the program but were turned down for not meeting income guidelines to re-apply.

"If they were just a little above, they're probably in now," he said.

Maximum income levels are $17,456 for a household of one person, $23,419 for two people, $29,381 for three, $35,344 for four, $41,306 got five and $47,269 for six. Eligibility is also restricted to the core of the area not meeting air quality standards, loosely described as the area bordered by the ends of the four-lane section of U.S. Highway 2 on the west and south, by the Kootenai River on the north and by Libby Creek on the east.

Next year, the program will be expanded to encompass households that do not meet low-income requirements. While details have not been finalized, the stoves won't be free, Crouch said.

"They'll have to provide some kind of co-payment," he said. "We haven't figured out how much it will be — maybe a third."

Anderson stressed that the income guidelines apply to the residents of a home heated by a woodstove, not to the owner. He urged landlords with tenants meeting the income guidelines to take advantage of the program. The co-payment of $500 for a new stove and complete installation won't be bettered by next year's program, he said.

"This is the bargain this year," he said.

More information on the program is available by calling program coordinator Jerry Marquez at 293-7781 extension 212 or emailing jmarquez@libby.org .