King, Michaud Ask EPA to Clarify and Finalize Rules Impacting Maine’s Paper Industry

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Angus King and Representative Mike Michaud sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency today on regulations impacting Maine’s paper industry. They requested that EPA clarify a boiler rule and amend the list of non-waste fuels, which are both issues that were brought to their attention during the University of Maine’s Paper Days.

“The EPA has gone to great lengths to balance critical public health concerns with the need to make them achievable and affordable for businesses throughout the country. We believe that finalizing these rules with the clarifications we’ve requested will help EPA achieve this balance for our state,” said Michaud and King

The full text of the letter sent today can be found below:

May 31, 2013

The Honorable Bob Perciasepe

Acting Administrator

Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Acting Administrator Perciasepe:

Last month we participated in Paper Days at the University of Maine, an annual event designed to highlight and advance the paper industry in our state. The industry raised some concerns about forthcoming regulations, although they also expressed that much progress had been made.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency’s Boiler MACT and Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials final rules issued in January and February contained key improvements to these regulations. However, the regulations will still have a major impact on the way mills power their plants by creating incentives to switch fuels or forcing the installation of controls that could cost millions of dollars. Given their economic impact, we urge the EPA to act quickly to finalize key provisions of the regulations.  

The Boiler MACT regulations, despite the recent revisions, will still require millions of dollars for compliance costs for some of Maine’s mills. Ongoing uncertainty about key provisions could increase those costs. If mills are required to find alternative sources of fuel that are not as cost-effective, they may face added expenses on top of the overall compliance costs of the regulations.    

In addition, the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials regulations, while also improved from previous versions, still do not address the forest products industry’s concerns about the inclusion of certain materials as non-waste fuels. The mills in Maine that burn these materials in their boilers need quick resolution to this outstanding issue. 

Therefore:

• Under Boiler MACT, we ask that the EPA clarify the “clean fuels” requirements during startup and shutdown.  
• Under Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials, we urge that the EPA move quickly to amend the list of non-waste fuels to include paper recycling residuals, processed construction and demolition wood, and railway ties. 
• We further ask that the EPA finalize the provisions of both regulations expeditiously. Finalizing both of these rules in a way that accommodates the needs and realities of the paper industry is critical to a sector that employs 7,000 Mainers and is a driver of our state’s economy. 

Thank you for your consideration of this letter. We look forward to working with you to protect the environment and promote the U.S. paper industry.

Sincerely,

Angus S. King, Jr.                   Michael H. Michaud

United States Senate              Member of Congress

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