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RILEY'S LETTER TO EPA ENDORSED BY WESTERVELT CO. (09/02/10)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Robby Johnson, 205.562.5445, 205.391.7101 (mobile)
[email protected]

RILEY'S LETTER TO EPA ENDORSED BY WESTERVELT CO.

Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- September 2, 2010 -- In a letter dated July 23, 2010, from Governor Bob Riley to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, the governor expressed concerns with Alabama's economic recovery and unemployment rates should the EPA's proposed Boiler MACT rule pass in Congress later this year.

The Boiler MACT (which stands for "Maximum Achievable Control Technology") rule proposes additional compliance for both small and large organizations, municipalities, universities, government  facilities and commercial entities using boilers to produce steam energy beyond a minimum threshold level. Riley sited a potential total cost of $710 million to Alabama businesses – of which the forest products industry alone would incur an estimated $620 million – as restrictive to the flow of capital investment and hiring and, even more, threatening to the viability of continued operations for many businesses.

Riley urged Jackson to identify solutions that address the diversity of boiler operations and are sustainable for both the environment and economy.

A Fisher study commissioned by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) suggests implementation of the Boiler MACT rule, in its current state, could lead to a nationwide job loss of 71,774; 16,888 of those jobs are expected to be lost in paper mills around the country. This number does not include jobs lost at wood products facilities, which are subjected to additional MACT rules.

Additionally, AF&PA cites Clean Air Act regulations as a barrier to recognizing biomass as a carbon-neutral fuel source. Biomass provides about two-thirds of the fuel sources used to generate power within the forest products industry.

"Our organization owns nearly 500,000 acres of land, the bulk of which is used to grow SFI-Certified Southern Yellow Pine timber which is manufactured into wood products at our production facility in Moundville, Alabama," said Mike Case, President & CEO of The Westervelt Company.

"We power the Moundville facility using biomass which is commonly accepted around the world as a carbon-neutral fuel source, and our ongoing forestry activities provide critical carbon sequestration that offset air pollution," he said.

"Governor Riley's letter to Lisa Jackson and the EPA is on point, and we support his request for a solution that addresses the diversity of boiler output while promoting both environmental and economic sustainability. This is important not only to our industry, but even more so for public facilities like hospitals and universities whose capital resources would be wasted on increased controls to measure non-threatening boiler output levels " Case said.

The AF&PA study is available at http://www.afandpa.org/pressreleases.aspx?id=1545.

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