IWPA Concerned with EPA's Proposed Regulation of Formaldehyde

Alexandria, VA - The International Wood Products Association (IWPA) submitted comprehensive comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on their proposed regulation of formaldehyde in composite wood products. IWPA was concerned by many items in the proposed regulation including the lack of a de minimis exemption, the overly broad scope, the time frame for implementation, and the confidential business information that would be disclosed to the public.

"U.S. companies depend on composite wood products, and this proposed regulation if enacted as-is would drastically impact a host of businesses and consumers alike. IWPA is particularly concerned by the lack of protection for confidential business information in the regulation, a concern shared by many other members of the Federal Wood Industry Coalition" noted Cindy Squires, Executive Director of IWPA.

In addition, IWPA also raised concerns with proposal’s first ever requirement that importers of “articles” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) file an import certification. EPA has never before applied the import certification requirement to articles under TSCA and the burden of certification will be substantial.

IWPA's comments were split between the two Federal Register notices; one notice dealt expressly with the Third Party Certifier (TPC) portion of the proposed rule, the other notice covered the implementing regulation. Additionally, IWPA has been an active member of the Federal Wood Industry Coalition (FWIC) that also submitted comments on the proposed regulation. To view the IWPA comments on both Federal Register notices, as well as the FWIC comments to the docket you can visit www.iwpawood.org.

Source: IWPA

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