Natural gas and oil do not throw up as much particulate matter as wood does, and definitely doesn't throw up the toxic particulate matter of coal which often contains uranium lead and other known killers.

Since Natural Gas starts off as a gas, it throws out the least amount of particulate matter, its usually only local dust that has been charred - AKA soot.

Wood fireplaces do not have scrubbers, thus unlike the modern coal plants that burn 'clean coal' which has nothing to do with the coal itself, but the process for removing coal dust, soot and particulate matter in the emissions, wood fires can be more harmful for everyone than a modern, scrubbing coal power plant.

Yes the EPA is going overboard, since it doesn't give people an affordable cleaner alternative to wood.

However I have seen how a few houses with wood fire stoves can turn a valley into a death trap when the atmosphere traps smoke in that valley. So I get where they are coming from.