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“For too long, the air permit process has been overly bureaucratic, slow and outdated, thereby causing unwarranted red tape, costs and delay for the regulated community.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 6, 2017 | News
The Kitchen Cabinet Makers Association (KCMA) may come to the defense of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after various non-profit organizations throughout Louisiana announced they would sue the EPA for stalling its formaldehyde rule enforcement.
Through the lawsuit, Louisiana-based NGOs Sierra Club and Earthjustice are demanding the EPA be prevented from extending compliance with new regulation. Both groups survived Hurricane Katrina, in which FEMA deployed trailers containing formaldehyde-treated wood products to assist displaced victims.
“It is outrageous that people recovering from this year’s hurricanes might have to deal with the same health issues in their emergency housing that the EPA has known about — and was supposed to address — years ago,” attorney Patti Goldman said in a statement. Earthjustice published a story about their decision to sue on its website.
“Though the story is wrought with errors with respect to the alleged adverse health effects from formaldehyde exposure, the fact remains that a lawsuit has been filed that could impact the earlier granted extensions of the compliance dates to December 12, 2018,” said the KCMA in its newsletter. “KCMA is exploring our options and potential involvement in the suit; we will provide more details in the coming days. KCMA is also reaching out this week to related D.C. trade associations and will work with them to ensure a coordinated effort on this important issue.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/kcma-could-defend-epa-formaldehyde-lawsuit?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Nov 1, 2017 | News
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a direct final rule October 25 to update a few voluntary consensus standards in the rule governing formaldehyde emission standards for composite wood products.
The direct final rule corrects the rule at 40 CFR 770.20(b) by allowing the formaldehyde emissions mill quality control test methods to correlate to either the ASTM E1333-14 test method, or if shown to be equivalent, the ASTM D6007-14 test method. This correlation was inadvertently omitted from the original final rule, EPA wrote.
The correction aligns the mill quality control testing requirements with the California Air Resources Board standards allowing mill quality control tests to be correlated to the less expensive ASTM D6007-14 test method.
These updates apply to emission testing methods and regulated composite wood product construction characteristics. The voluntary consensus standards were updated, withdrawn or superseded to because of new information, technology, and methodology, EPA wrote.
EPA’s final rule takes effect December 11, unless EPA receives adverse comments on it by November 9.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/epa-publishes-final-rule-fixes-place-formaldehyde-standards?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Sep 8, 2017 | News
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will issue a final rule that will extend compliance dates for the national Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products, according to Furniture Today.
“As announced on its website this week, the dates will be amended as follows:
* Emission standards, recordkeeping and labeling provisions from December 12, 2017, to December 12, 2018
* Import certification provisions from December 12, 2018, to March 22, 2019
* Laminated product producer provisions from December 12, 2023, to March 22, 2024
* The conclusion of the transition period for CARB Third-Party Certifiers from December 12, 2018, to March 22, 2019
“On July 11, the EPA also published a direct final rule that would remove a provision that prohibited the early labeling of compliant products before the original December 12 deadline. As it received no adverse comments on this matter, the rule has been changed to allow companies to label compliant products before the new December 2018 deadline. That change became effective August 25, meaning that companies can begin labeling product manufactured by this date.
“The EPA said it has received no negative comments on these changes, which are being finalized as proposed.”
From Floor Daily: https://www.floordaily.net/flooring-news/epa-extends-compliance-dates-for-composite-wood-products
by Web Editor | Jul 7, 2017 | News
After receiving negative feedback from the industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew its Direct Final Rule Wednesday, removing delayed compliance dates for certain formaldehyde emissions standards on wood products.
“Since the direct final rule and proposed rule’s publication, EPA has received several comments on the proposed amendments to the compliance dates that the agency considers to be adverse,” the agency said.
Published in May, the Direct Final Rule gave the composite wood industry more time to comply with certain standards, including extending the deadline to meet emissions standards, record keeping provisions and labeling rules:
• Emissions, recordkeeping and labeling provisions – March 22, 2018
• Import certification – March 22, 2019
• Laminated products – March 22, 2024
The rule also proposes to extend the transitional period for CARB-certified third-party certifiers (TPCs) to March 22, 2019.
The EPA will instead proceed with a final rule based on its proposed rule published on May 24 after considering all public comments.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/epa-withdraws-final-rule-delay-formaldehyde?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
