A new study has found that more than 20,000 primary pulp and paper industry jobs and as many as 36 mills around the United States would be at risk of elimination if the Boiler MACT and other air regulations are implemented. Boiler MACT refers to federal rules governing particulates emitted by boilers used nationwide in factories, including wood boilers. In many cases, these rules are complex and would require either switching fuels or installation of multiple emissions-control technologies.
“This study reinforces not just the harmful job impacts of the Boiler MACT rules issued, but also the need to get the rules right,” said Donna Harman, American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) president and CEO. “The Boiler MACT regulations can and must be developed in a way that protects both jobs and the public health.”
However, the entire forest products industry could be affected. According
to the AF&PA, the job losses rise to more than 87,000 if supplier and downstream industries are figured into the equation.
“The impact on job losses reflected in this new study is cause for great concern throughout the forest products industry,” said Robert Glowinski, president of the American Wood Council (AWC). “Although the AF&PA study focused on job losses in the pulp and paper sector, we anticipate that jobs in the wood products sector would also be impacted. Because our facilities are much smaller in size and less able to absorb new capital costs, job losses could be at even greater rates. Under the current Boiler MACT rule, our initial total compliance costs would top $1 billion and could triple if the bio-based fuels we use are classified as waste under the related Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials rule.”
The report created by Fisher International assesses the impact of compliance costs on the economic viability of U.S. pulp and paper mills. It is available at www.afandpa.org.
