MARMORA – A barrage of social media postings has publicized the plights of two warring factions about whether and how much smoke is too much. What is at issue in Marmora is the constant burning of wood as fuel to warm a house.
The homeowner, identified as Shari Troiano, through Facebook and other postings by her supporters, has been burning wood as a means to economize and avoid high electrical bills during the winter.
Through “crowd source” funding her friends have rallied sponsors and donations, which have reached nearly $4,000 out of the desired $5,000 to help with her legal bills. These legal bills are a result of her having to go to court to answer her neighbor’s lawsuit, identified as John Huber, complaining about the smoke from the wood she burns to heat her home. Huber has complained that the wood smoke is polluting the air around his house and also is a potential carcinogenic.
Per the Facebook comments of Troiano’s, they believe her basic rights have been violated by this lawsuit. Several posters say that they as well heat their homes with wood stove inserts including in other locations in Upper Township and that they use wood as fuel for the entirety of the winter months.
These posters, as well as defendant Troiano, state that they burn wood to save on their home-heating costs. They also have written on social media that they “process” all their own wood in the other three seasons, by cutting down dead trees, cutting them again to the proper length to fit their stoves, splitting the logs, then stacking and carrying them to their woodpile. Facebook photos show Troiano standing next to a huge pile of split logs that she worked on during just one weekend. She says she burns around nine cords of wood through the duration of the winter (one cord measures four feet high, four feet wide and eight feet long).
Social media posters have stressed the point that Huber, the plaintiff, i.e. the complainant in this lawsuit, is not only Troiano’s neighbor but also a lawyer so “it’s easy for him to complain since he has the resources.” Huber has in fact represented himself in court for these legal proceedings. Troiano’s friends say they recognize that “many people do not like the smell of wood smoke” as a “personal preference” but they say they love it and to them it “smells like winter, home, warmth and burning wood.”
The basis of the lawsuit is to legally require Troiano to “cease and desist wood burning.” She has hired her own legal counsel to represent her in court and defend her right to heat her house with an EPA-certified wood-burning insert.
Per Facebook descriptions, legal arguments lasted 90 minutes after which the judge rendered his decision by deciding that Troiano could not start a fire or put additional wood on an existing fire from the hours of 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., with an additional “cease burn” from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
NBC TV footage has shown considerable billows of smoke spewing from her chimney as photographed by Huber. Troiano’s friends say this smoke has had to emanate just when she first starts a fire since that is when there is smoke after which only “vapors” are emitted.
However, what seemed like final resolution of this complaint has been termed a “temporary injunction” which means another court date and additional legal fees are in Troiano’s future. The new outcome could mean that she will be totally prohibited from burning wood at any time. Her friends say she has already spent $2,500 for her lawyer, and thus, and ironically, she has lost any financial advantage of heating her home with wood by fighting this lawsuit.
If Troiano loses again in court, she will have to convert her stove to a gas burning stove. She also will have to pay to have gas lines to be run to her house, which will be close to another $5,000 per her friends’ estimate.
Neither Troinao nor her friends responded to a request for comments. Neighbor-plaintiff Huber also did not respond to a similar request.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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