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Wood Products Enforcement Initiative
In 1988, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began investigating a suspected nationwide pattern of noncompliance with the Prevention of Serious Deterioration/ New Source Review (PSD/ NSR) requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) within the Louisiana-Pacific, Inc. Wood Products companies. Subsequent investigations of other companies in the Wood Products industrial sector for similar violations included Georgia-Pacific, Inc., Weyerhaeuser Company, Willamette Industries, Inc., and Boise-Cascade Corporation. All of the above companies were found to be in violation for failure to obtain either PSD or minor source permits for new construction and/or modifications made at the facilities.
The Wood Products industry sector includes manufacturers of plywood, panelboard, medium density fiberboard and oriented strand board. In general, the processes use wood as a raw material, which is then sliced into thin veneer strips or broken down into sawdust-like fibers which are dried, coated with an adhesive, and pressed into wood panels under conditions of high temperature and pressure.
Settlements reached with Louisiana-Pacific (1993), Georgia-Pacific (1996) and Willamette (2000) resulted in penalties of $289 million and will result in reductions of more than 177,000 tons of pollutants, including Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Particulate Matter (PM), or the equivalent of taking 5,600,000 cars off the road. The Weyerhaeuser Company reached similar settlements with six states where its facilities are located. All the companies are required to install the Best Available Control Technology (BACT), conduct compliance audits of all facilities, and get appropriate permits. In addition, the companies must perform Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in the states in which they operate.