EPA Boiler MACT extension denied
By: Heath E. Combs
Furniture Today
WASHINGTON — The U.S. District Court here today denied a motion by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to extend the release of final rules on Boiler MACT by 15 months, and said a rule must be in place by Feb. 21.
The EPA was seeking an extension that would have given the agency until April 2012 to adopt any such rule, and would have allowed another public comment period.
Boiler MACT which stands for Maximum Achievable Control Technology. Furniture manufacturers have argued that the rule will prevent them from using wood as a combustible fuel for their boilers. Several domestic furniture makers visited U.S. senators last month to issue a plea for an extension.
Officials with the American Home Furnishings Alliance, which had lobbied for the extension, were unavailable for comment at press time.
As proposed, the boiler rule would lump dry wood fuel used in furniture plant boilers into a larger biomass category that includes less clean fuels such as “wet” wood, pulp, bark and animal waste.
The court said today that the deadline for having a rule in place would be extended to Feb. 21 to allow the EPA additional time to complete its obligations under the Clean Air Act and issue emission standards.
It was unclear when enforcement of the rule would begin. The court noted that the EPA said it expected a further challenge of the rule.
