AWC-Led Coalition Opposed Changes to Air Permitting Program

AWC led a coalition of 20 trade groups that filed comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed changes to the New Source Review (NSR) air permitting program. AWC and others believe the proposal would make it more difficult for mills to avoid the burdensome NSR review process by restricting how emission decreases could offset emission increases from a project.

Current rules encourage modernization projects that increase efficiency and generally reduce emissions over time if their net emissions are below regulatory thresholds. The comments provided a dozen examples of the unintended and negative environmental and economic impacts of the proposed changes. EPA is unlikely to finalize any changes this year, but AWC will closely monitor future agency actions.