Custom cabinetry trends

American Wood Council president, Robert Glowinski, applauded U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) for introducing the Forest Products Fairness Act of 2012 in May, which would modify the definition of “biobased” materials to specifically include forest products in the United States Department of Agriculture Biobased Markets Program.
“I applaud Sens. Pryor and Blunt for recognizing and taking steps to correct a blatant deficiency with the USDA’s Biobased Markets Program,” said Glowinski. “It’s difficult to imagine how some wood products could have been excluded from the program in the first place since they are all made from biobased sources.”
The USDA Biobased Markets Program was originally enacted as part of the 2002 Farm Bill to help consumers identify and use biobased products. However, Glowinski says that products with just 25 percent biobased content are recognized under the program’s current implementation guidelines, while many traditional wood products that have up to 100 percent biobased content are not.
“We believe excluding traditional wood products from the program is misleading to the public,” said Glowinski. “All we are asking is for wood to be recognized for its renewable and biobased properties.”

The American Wood Council elected its 2012 officers and board of directors.
Brian Luoma, LP, was elected as chairman of the wood industry group. Fritz Mason, Georgia-Pacific, was elected as first vice chairman; Andrew Miller, Stimson Lumber, was elected as second vice chairman; and Joe Patton, Westervelt, was named as immediate past chairman.
Ray Dillon of Deltic Timber was newly elected, and Rob Taylor of Weyerhaeuser was re-elected to the board. The board of directors is nominated and elected by AWC membership.
“On behalf of all the members of AWC, we’re pleased to have such experienced board representation,” said AWC President Robert Glowinski. “We had many great achievements in 2011 on building codes, standards and sustainability efforts, as well as on public policy issues on Capitol Hill and in the states. We expect that with this board’s leadership, we will continue to grow, prosper and make a difference for the wood products industry.”
For more information about AWC, visit www.awc.org.

American Wood Council, www.awc.org, President Robert Glowinski issued a statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s release of its most-recent proposed Boiler MACT, Incinerator and Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials rules.
In his statement, Glowinski said: “We are pleased that the EPA recognized the need to reconsider the Boiler MACT, CISWI, and NHSM rules it was forced by the courts to finalize in March, and we are carefully reviewing the proposal to understand its full impact on the wood products industry.
“If implemented, the previous rules would have put at risk thousands of American manufacturing jobs and cost the wood products industry alone approximately $3 billion in compliance costs.
“While we are hopeful that this new set of rules will be more reasonable, we will continue to support Senate passage of legislation that will provide assurance to businesses as they move forward with implementation of the rules.
“AWC is gathering data that we hope will help EPA write new rules that take into consideration the variability that exists under real-world operating conditions for industrial boilers. We remain committed to working with EPA to get the Boiler MACT rules right so that they impose the least burden on employers while protecting public health and the environment.”

American Wood Council, www.awc.org, President Robert Glowinski commented on the U.S. House approval of H.R. 2250 – the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011.
In his comments, Glowinski said: “I applaud the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 2250 and thank Reps. Morgan Griffith and G.K Butterfield for their leadership in proposing this bipartisan bill. By voting in favor of this legislation, our elected representatives are helping to protect tens of thousands of jobs that would be in jeopardy due to the high compliance costs associated with the current proposed Boiler MACT rules.
“This bill provides EPA the time it needs to write a more affordable and reasonable set of regulations. As the economy continues its struggle to gain footing, employers across the country need assurance that their capital investments are well placed.
“The passage of H.R. 2250 is a step in the right direction, and we now encourage the Senate to pass the EPA Regulatory Relief Act to move us further down the path of regulatory certainty.” 

American Wood Council President Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service on the benefits of using wood in green building construction.
“This study supports what we in the industry have long-advocated about the use of wood as a responsible choice for green building. Engagement by USDA and the Forest Service on issues related to green building is extremely welcome, and we commend Secretary Vilsack’s commitment to sound scientific study on the matter.
“The study, Science Supporting the Economic and Environmental Benefits of Using Wood and Wood Products in Green Building Construction, calls for supporting three industry initiatives that further USDA’s climate change mitigation and job creation objectives. We strongly endorse the support of the Forest Service for additional LCA research, technology transfer for wood use in the nonresidential sector, and to demonstrate the significant carbon-reducing benefits that accrue from wood product use.
“Life-cycle assessment has revealed significant environmental benefits associated with the use of wood, such as reduced greenhouse gas air emissions and the sequestration of carbon. Working forests are functional carbon sinks for communities across the country and provide economic incentives for landowners to maintain healthy forests rather than selling the property for development. The resulting wood products store carbon for life and net much lower air and water emissions than other building materials whose production is fossil-fuel intensive.
“Perhaps one of the most important findings is related to the current state of the economy and how using wood supports jobs. In addition to the obvious environmental benefits of maintaining working forests and producing wood products, the industry provides well-paying rural jobs, from forests to lumber yards. We hope that others in the industry and government will take note of these findings and support policy and regulations to protect the health of the industry.
“We appreciate all the work that the U.S. Forest Service has done and will continue to do in support of green building. The projects the Forest Service proposes to undertake can only serve to further enhance rural jobs and communities, and we will look forward to seeing the follow-up work related to this study.”  

American Wood Council President Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding House Energy and Commerce Committee approval of H.R. 2250 – the Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Relief Act.
“I applaud the Committee’s action to protect jobs in the wood products industry by voting in favor of H.R. 2250. Under Chairman Upton’s leadership, the Committee demonstrated the decisiveness Americans need to see from Congress at a time when the economy continues to struggle.
“Without legislation to provide EPA with the time they need to rewrite the current Boiler MACT rules, tens of thousands of jobs could be in jeopardy in our industry. The EPA Regulatory Relief Act provides that time along with the regulatory certainty that companies need to plan for future business investments. We now call on the full House to pass this measure in a bipartisan fashion as soon as possible.”

American Wood Council President Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the American Forest & Paper Association’s release of a new study on the economic impact of pending air regulations in the wood industry. The study, conducted by Fisher International, found that direct pulp and paper industry job losses exceed 20,000, with 36 mills at risk for closure throughout the U.S. 
“The impact on job losses reflected in this new study is cause for great concern throughout the forest products industry. 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.
“As the housing market struggles to gain footing, it would be difficult for our businesses to come up with the capital necessary to afford these excessive costs, putting tens of thousands of jobs in the wood products sector at risk. Wood products industry employment has already plunged 43 percent since early 2006, and many rural communities across the country rely on the remaining, well-paying jobs that our industry provides. In order to maintain jobs in this sector, environmental regulations need to be developed in a way that allows our businesses to survive and compete.”

American Wood Council President Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding woodworking manufacturers’ requests that the Environmental Protection Agency keep the Boiler MACT and Commercial Industrial Solid Waste Incinerator rules.
“AWC and its fellow coalition members believe strongly that EPA should stay both the Boiler MACT and CISWI rules, while issues with them are addressed. EPA has within its power to stay the rules, and we’re requesting that they do so.
“EPA itself has identified several areas of the rules they plan to reconsider, so companies trying to comply with rules that will certainly change becomes a futile exercise. We feel that staying both rules is in the best interest of everyone so that work can continue toward making much needed improvements in the rules.
“Given the complexity of the rules with multiple control requirements, including some that may not be achievable, competition for qualified engineering firms and control providers, as well as lead time for capital acquisition, permitting, and installation, will necessitate that companies have three full years to devise and implement very complex compliance plans.
“We look forward to working with the EPA, and feel staying the rule is an important next step in the process toward achieving the necessary changes to it.”

American Wood Council President Robert Glowinski commented on the Environmental Protection Agency’s final ruling on Maximum Achievable Control Technology for Industrial Boilers (Boiler MACT).
“We are pleased that some concerns have been addressed, especially relating to the Boiler Generally Achievable Control Technology rule (Boiler GACT), by allowing cost-effective boiler tune-ups rather than mandating unachievable limits. This will require certain wood product manufacturers to make adjustments to existing equipment that will reduce emissions, but at the same time facilitate cost-effective production practices and continued employment for thousands of wood products industry workers in many American communities. We are also pleased that EPA recognizes that resinated wood residues are valuable fuels and not wastes.
“The improvement thus far is encouraging, but there is a need for more change. We look forward to working with EPA in the months ahead to improve the rule to address additional industry concerns.”