U.S. jobs and government regulations were the topics on everyone's mind during the Hardwood Federation's Fly-In, held Oct. 4-5 in Washington, D.C.
One of the subjects the cross-section of hardwood industry leaders discussed was the so-called maximum achievable control technology rule, or "boiler MACT," a rule on boiler emissions like mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under a court order now to finalize the rule on Nov. 16, according to Reuters; however, manufacturers across several industries-including hardwood flooring-are fighting to delay finalization.
"Realistically, there isn't a wood flooring mill in the U.S. that can meet the EPA standards right now," said NWFA CEO Michael Martin, who attended the Fly-In. "The impact of those regulations being enforced would be far-reaching and has the potential to shut down many mill operations at least for a time. This would have a direct impact on the entire wood flooring supply chain, from the direct impact on manufacturers to the price increases and lack of supply for distributors, retailers, and contractors."
In addition, attendees collaborated on a letter to the U.S. Congress concerning the Lacey Act, which has come under fire recently due to the federal raid on Gibson Guitars. The letter, titled "The Lacey Act Means Jobs for U.S. Forestry and U.S. Forest Products," was sent to every member of the Senate and House on Oct. 11. "… We want to highlight the important role the Lacey Act plays in fighting illegal logging and supporting jobs and markets for the U.S. forest products industry," the letter read. "We urge that no legislative action be taken to diminish the contributions of the Lacey Act to these important objectives." The NWFA, along with 15 other wood products associations, signed the letter.
The letter also highlighted 1) the organizations' commitments to maintaining healthy forests, 2) the international pervasiveness of illegal logging, which cost the U.S. $1 billion, according to a 2004 report, and 3) the widespread support of the Lacey Act, including a wide swath of industry, environmental and labor organizations.
"We want to keep the Lacey Act intact and see it enforced," said Shaw Hardwood CEO Don Finkell, who attended the Fly-In.
Also, the hardwood industry delegates discussed upcoming changes to the LEED standard, which could require building specifiers use FSC-100% wood products to earn credits. The proposed change prompted attendees to discuss ways to increase demand for wood products through bypassing the popular LEED standard. To that end, the Hardwood Federation, of which the NWFA is a part, is attempting to persuade Congress to discourage LEED-only building guidelines while encouraging the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) systems in specifying building products. (The NWFA has LCAs available for both solid and engineered wood flooring.)
"Right now, the LEED point system doesn't reflect the true renewable value of wood products," Martin said. "When compared to other building materials and the manufacturing processes of those materials, there are few contenders with the same renewability level as wood, yet the point system doesn't clearly recognize this fact."
The Hardwood Federation used the event to tout a lobbying success it had regarding the specification of a bamboo sports floor for a Navy building; in May, the Navy agreed to install a domestically harvested species. In addition to convincing the Navy to install a domestic species at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, a Navy representative guaranteed the Fly-In attendees that there would be no more "bamboo-only" specifications in future Navy buildings. Deb Hawkinson, executive director for the Hardwood Federation, called the success with the Navy a "huge win."
All told, more than 35 Hardwood industry participants held 85 meetings with Congressional representatives during the event. "Well-attended events show them that we are an engaged industry," Hawkinson said.
Below is the letter the Hardwood Federation sent to Congress on Oct. 11.
