The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized emission limits for industrial boilers and certain solid-waste incinerators, bringing to a close a rule-making process that stretches back to Bill Clinton's second term in office.
Of the 14,000 or so industrial boilers in the U.S., about 1,700 will need to meet numerical emission limits to minimize toxic emissions like mercury, non-mercury metals, hydrogen chloride, lead and sulfur dioxide, according to a fact sheet from the EPA. For the remaining 12,300 industrial boilers, companies will need to follow work practices like providing regular maintenance and annual tune-ups to reduce toxic emissions. Companies have three years to comply and can be granted a fourth year if needed to install emission-control devices.
"The adjusted standards require only the largest and highest emitting units to add pollution controls or take steps to reduce air pollution, making the standards affordable, protective and practical," the EPA said in a press release. EPA estimated that for every dollar spent to reduce pollutants, the public will see $13 to $29 in health benefits, including fewer instances of asthma and heart attacks, as well as fewer premature deaths.
In related air-quality action, the EPA also finalized a rule clarifying the types of fuels-so called "non-waste fuels"-industrial operators can use in their boilers. With its latest Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule, EPA codified the burning of resinated wood in boilers citing that "wood as a fuel is an integral part of the wood manufacturing industry's production process."
Also, the EPA left the door open for the public to petition the agency to codify the use of other non-hazardous materials to be used in boilers and incinerators. People in the wood products industry have already petitioned the EPA to categorize railroad ties as well as wood from construction and demolition as non-waste fuels, and the agency has indicated it is likely to follow through in subsequent rulemaking.
Wood products associations said they needed more time to examine details of the new rules before they could share their full opinion; however, in the meantime they at least determined that the regulation will be costly.
"Our preliminary review indicates that implementation of the final rule will still impose significant costs on the industry," said Dana Cole, executive director of the Hardwood Federation, a lobbying group. "However, progress has been made in several areas, particularly the intent to ultimately include construction and demolition wood and potentially railroad ties in the list of approved biomass fuels. We appreciate EPA's willingness to work with the industry to make improvements to the rule and look forward to continuing cooperative efforts."
"… Several billions of dollars in capital spending will be necessary to comply," the American Forest & Paper Association said in a press release. "This is a significant investment for an industry still recovering from the economic downturn, especially in light of the growing cumulative regulatory burden we face."
"We will need time to understand the details of these complicated rules, but it appears that some of our concerns have been addressed. Nonetheless, these are costly regulations that require significant investment for our industry while the housing market that we serve is still only inching toward recovery," said American Wood Council President and CEO Robert Glowinski.
