WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won a court decision Tuesday, giving it the green light to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources, including wood production factories.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the EPA has the authority to regulate green house gases under the Clean Air Act.
The court ruling was met with staunch criticism from the head of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), representing an industry coalition made up about two dozen state and national manufacturing association's including the National Association of Home Builders. The group is already weighing its legal options to potentially appeal the ruling.
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of NAM, said the EPA is bad for business and will "require new burdensome permitting requirements for more than 6 million stationary sources, including 200,000 manufacturing facilities, 37,000 farms and millions of other sources such as universities, schools, hospitals and even American homes."
“Today’s ruling is a setback for businesses facing damaging regulations from the EPA. The Clean Air Act was not designed to regulate greenhouse gases, and even the EPA said that it could not comply with the statute as written to implement these regulations," Timmons said.
"The EPA’s decision to move forward with these regulations is one of the most costly, complex and burdensome regulations facing manufacturers. These regulations will harm their ability to hire, invest and grow. By moving forward, the EPA is adding to the mounting uncertainty facing manufacturers of all sizes. We will be considering all of our legal options when it comes to halting these devastating regulations. The debate to address climate change should take place in the U.S. Congress and should foster economic growth and job creation, not impose additional burdens on businesses,” Timmons said.
Rich Christianson is Associate Publisher and Editor at Large of Woodworking Network. During his 25+ years covering the wood products industry, Rich has toured hundreds of manufacturing plants throughout North America, Europe and Asia. His reporting has covered everything from the state of the industry and impact of wood imports to technology and environmental issues. In his current capacity he is responsible for editing the daily Woodworking Network Update newsletter and coordinating events including the annual Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo and Canada’s biennial Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo.
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