Washington, D.C. – American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of New Source Review (NSR) emissions accounting guidelines. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the agency’s new approach on Tuesday, March 13.

“Clear EPA New Source Review emissions accounting guidelines are a long-overdue step to provide our industry and all U.S. manufacturers with a common-sense, realistic approach to air permitting. We are one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the nation, have invested billions of dollars on environmental stewardship and remain committed to innovative and sustainable business practices.

“Yet the ambiguous, confusing and deeply complex air permitting processes of the past have led to significant delays and higher costs for projects that should get the green light for improving efficiency and replacing outdated, higher-emitting equipment. By simply allowing increases and decreases to be counted together, minor projects with emissions below regulatory thresholds can now proceed quickly, saving mills and state regulators time and money.

“We appreciate and thank the EPA for its ‘win-win’ approach to protecting air quality and supporting our companies’ ability to grow the economy and create American manufacturing jobs.”