PORTLAND (AP) - The state Department of Environment Quality has asked Gov. Ted Kulongoski to support a grant program that would encourage homeowners to replace older wood stoves with newer models that pollute less.

The grants would provide money toward stoves that consume about two-thirds less wood and emit half as much smoke. The DEQ also has asked the governor to back legislation that would require replacement of “noncertified” wood stoves when a home is sold.

The plans come just as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued new limits on the amount of tiny particles in the air that come mainly from smoke and diesel exhaust. Klamath Falls, Oakridge, Medford and Eugene-Springfield either violate the limits or are close to violating them. Oakridge, which has no natural gas service, most seriously violates the new standards.

Oregon pioneered requirements for clean-burning wood stoves in part to reduce air pollution in some parts of the state, and the program was later adopted nationwide by the EPA. Wood stoves cannot be sold in Oregon unless they are certified, but thousands of older, dirtier wood stoves remain. Smoke from the burning wood contains particles that penetrate deep into people's lungs, damaging tissue and worsening respiratory problems.

About 94,000 homes in Oregon burn wood for heat, said David Collier of the DEQ. Surveys have found that roughly half of homes in Oregon that burn wood do so in wood stoves. More than half of wood stoves used in the state are older, noncertified stoves.

The state grants for wood-stove replacements would be targeted first at the parts of the state that most exceed the new air-quality standards but should also apply to other areas, said Andy Ginsburg, head of DEQ's air quality division.

The DEQ is proposing that the grants be funded by fines collected by the state for open burning and asbestos violations.