WASHINGTON – American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement today regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of its final Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT), Incinerator, and Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials (NHSM) rules.
“While we need to study the rule in more depth, we will be looking for improvements from the December 2011 re-proposed rules on the use of biomass residuals as fuels, compliance time, and overall achievability. However, several billions of dollars in capital spending will be necessary to comply. This is a significant investment for an industry still recovering from the economic downturn, especially in light of the growing cumulative regulatory burden we face.
“We appreciate the amount of time and energy that the EPA, many members of Congress, governors, and other stakeholders have taken to fully understand our concerns related to this final rulemaking. Throughout this process, we maintained an open and healthy dialogue with EPA and provided extensive data and comments in the hope that rules would be developed that are achievable and affordable for our industry.”
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The American Forest & Paper Association is the national trade association of the forest products industry, representing pulp, paper, packaging and wood products manufacturers, and forest landowners. Our companies make products essential for everyday life from renewable and recyclable resources that sustain the environment. The forest products industry accounts for approximately 5 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP. Industry companies produce about $190 billion in products annually and employ nearly 900,000 men and women, exceeding employment levels in the automotive, chemicals and plastics industries. The industry meets a payroll of approximately $50 billion annually and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states. Visit AF&PA online at www.afandpa.org.