Washington, DC – The American Wood Council and American Forest & Paper Association issued the following statement regarding the House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee markup of H.R. 3128. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), seeks to clarify which types of facility upgrades require an owner to obtain a New Source Review (NSR) permit.

Robert Glowinski, President and CEO of AWC
“The existing NSR permitting program has become a significant impediment to needed facility and environmental improvements because it relies on unrealistic modeling and emissions assumptions. Representative Griffith’s bill is a badly needed update to requirements that will allow projects to move forward, while remaining consistent with the intent of the Clean Air Act to promote public health and welfare. The program is currently broken, in one example preventing a new project that would have reduced emissions. This update will encourage industry to undertake projects that will both reduce emissions as well as enhance economic opportunities.”

Donna Harman, President and CEO of AF&PA
“It doesn’t make sense to discourage upgrading plants already subject to myriad of other regulatory requirements, or to block beneficial projects simply due to antiquated policies. Yet, that is what is happening under an inflexible New Source Review permitting program. We thank Representative Griffith and Chairman Shimkus for their leadership on improving the New Source Review permitting program to ultimately result in more efficient manufacturing while still achieving the program’s goals.”