by Web Editor | Jan 31, 2018 | News
American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman and American Wood Council President and CEO Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) issuance of new guidance to reclassify certain major sources as area sources under the Clean Air Act:
Donna Harman, President and CEO of AF&PA
“For too long, the air permit process has been overly bureaucratic, slow and outdated, thereby causing unwarranted red tape, costs and delay for the regulated community. In some cases, these problems have been created by agency interpretations that are not even consistent with the plain meaning of the Clean Air Act as written by the people’s duly elected representatives in Congress. The old ‘Once In, Always In’ approach contradicted both the law and common sense by treating a source as major even if production process changes or controls permanently reduced emissions levels to the minor source level.
“We applaud EPA’s new guidance, which is faithful to the text of the Clean Air Act and will not only reduce unwarranted red tape but will remove disincentives to voluntary efforts and technical innovations that could reduce emissions.
“This action is consistent with our recommendations to EPA and the Department of Commerce in response to President Trump’s early directive on streamlining permitting and reducing regulatory burdens to promote domestic manufacturing.”
Robert Glowinski, President and CEO of AWC
“Reforming the cumbersome environmental permit system is essential to reviving the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. Eliminating the old ‘Once In, Always In’ policy is a step in the right direction to streamline the air permitting systems.
“We are pleased that EPA has returned to the plain reading of the Clean Air Act for air toxic regulations. The old policy arbitrarily put a facility into a regulatory time warp from which it could never escape.
“Eliminating the OIAI policy creates incentives for facilities to reduce emissions below the regulatory thresholds which is a win for the environment and a win for business.
“The regulatory burdens of complying with a MACT standard are significant, especially for smaller mills, which this policy could help. Mills that are able to reduce their emissions below the threshold, and this guidance gives them an incentive to do so, should be freed of unnecessary reporting, monitoring and recordkeeping requirements as long as they operate controls to stay below the cutoffs.
“Consistent with today’s action, we encourage EPA to make the appropriate changes to the regulations as soon as possible.”
From the American Forest & Paper Association: https://www.afandpa.org/media/news/2018/01/26/forest-products-manufacturers-applaud-epa-permit-streamlining
by Web Editor | Nov 3, 2017 | News
American Wood Council released the following statement regarding the U.S. House of Representative’s passage of the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 (H.R. 2936). The bill (H.R. 2936) includes the research title of the Timber Innovation Act (H.R. 1380/S. 538), which would establish a performance driven research and development program for advancing the use of innovative wood products in building construction.
“The United States has an opportunity to help bring an innovative and sustainable technology to our nation’s construction industry,” said AWC president and CEO Robert Glowinski.
“This bill includes language directing the technical assistance and research components already in place at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to facilitate the use of these innovative wood products into mainstream construction through research and development, education, and technical assistance. Supporting mass timber construction is a win-win because it would introduce new carbon-neutral building materials to our urban areas, as well as job creation in rural areas.”
Congressmen Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Mike Thompson D-Calif.) helped sponsor and advance the bill.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/pricing-supply/wood-council-applauds-house-passage-resilient-federal-forests-act?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Mar 20, 2017 | News
A new piece of bipartisan legislation has been tabled by The United States Senate and House of Representatives named the Timber Innovation Act. The bills were put forward to further the development of tall timber buildings in the U.S., thereby supporting the nation’s considerable timber market and the rural manufacturing jobs it entails.
“The United States has an opportunity to bring new, sustainable mass timber technology to our construction industry, and the Timber Innovation Act directs technical assistance and research components already in place,” said Robert Glowinski, President and CEO of the American Wood Council (AWC).
The bills aim to create a focused research and development program to aid in the advancement of tall wooden structures in the United States. Federal grants will be awarded to fund the research undertaken on state, local, university, and private sector levels. This includes the provision of education to architects and builders, in relation to timber construction.
“Mass timber technology is revolutionizing and disrupting the way buildings are being built around the world. Unfortunately, the United States has been trailing other markets in this regard. The Timber Innovation Act will significantly contribute to enhancing our industry’s ability to close the knowledge gap and stimulate private sector investment,” remarked general manager of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC), Cees de Jager.
Additionally, the act will introduce educational and technical programs on timber design and applications, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and state foresters. Responding to continued job scarcity in the aftermath of the recession, retrofitting buildings in regions of high unemployment will create new positions in rural areas, while also addressing environmental concerns.
From ArchDaily.com: https://www.archdaily.com/866841/new-timber-innovation-act-advocates-for-nationwide-timber-construction-in-the-united-states
by Web Editor | May 9, 2016 | News
A new bill from Congress would establish performance driven research for advancing tall wood building construction in the U.S.
The “Timber Innovation Act” would:
· Authorize the Tall Wood Building Prize Competition through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annually for the next five years
· Create federal grants to support state, local, university and private sector education, outreach, research and development, including education and assistance for architects and builders, that will accelerate the use of wood in tall buildings
· Authorize technical assistance for USDA, in cooperation with state foresters and state extension directors (or equivalent state officials), to implement a program of education and technical assistance for mass timber applications
Recent advances in technology, engineering and safety have made it possible to build taller wooden buildings using newly-developed mass timber products, like cross-laminated timber. In the last five years, 17 buildings between seven and 14 stories have been built using heavy timber construction globally. Canada, Norway, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and France all have constructed and occupied multiple tall-wood buildings.
Other countries have already been considering wooden skyscrapers. Researchers presented the Mayor of London with plans for an 80-story wooden building just a few weeks ago.
Multiple organizations in the U.S. wood industry, including The American Wood Council (AWC), American Forest Foundation (AFF), Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC) and Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association (SLMA), have all announced strong support for the bill.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/new-bill-would-push-research-timber-building-construction-us?utm_source=WIT050616&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees
by Web Editor | Jan 13, 2016 | News
The American Wood Council says the International Code Council (ICC) Board of Directors approval of the formation of a Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee.
The committee will be made up of stakeholders, code officials and other interested parties. The committee will study tall wood construction and may develop code changes to be submitted for the 2021 International Building Code. Tall wood is an industry term to identify the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) and other heavy timber manufactured wood products in building heights greater than six stories.
“Other nations have already seen the benefits of tall wood construction – from the low carbon footprint, ease of construction and reduced construction time.
“Wood products are made from renewable resources found abundantly in North America. AWC petitioned ICC for creation of the committee to research the building science of tall wood buildings, and are pleased that it is moving forward. This is an important step toward the advancement of tall wood in the United States, a carbon-sequestering alternative in construction.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/tall-wood-building-committee-will-work-2021-global-building-codes
