Letter to Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Protecting Consumers from Formaldehyde in Wood Products

Letter

Dear Administrator McCarthy,

During the 111th Congress, we sponsored the bipartisan Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act that was passed by Congress and was enacted into law by President Obama on July 7, 2010. This legislation set tough limits for formaldehyde emissions to protect consumers from potentially hazardous levels of formaldehyde in composite wood products and to ensure a level playing field for the U.S. timber industry.

This law is the result of several years of negotiations and has the support of all of the affected industries, as well as public health and environmental groups. That is why we are concerned that the implementing regulations for this legislation have not been finalized. The law required final promulgation of regulations no later than January 1, 2013. We are now two full years past that statutory deadline with action by your Agency still incomplete and there are reports that potentially hazardous products are still being sold in the United States, posing a risk to consumers and families.

It is important for American consumers and the wood products industry that we have a national formaldehyde standard for composite wood products in place as soon as possible. We urge swift action to complete this regulation that will protect consumers and set clear, enforceable standards for these products. We request that your Agency provide our offices with a timeline for completing the necessary rulemakings on formaldehyde in composite wood products. We also request an explanation for the delay in this rulemaking. Please provide this information to our offices by March 13, 2015. Thank you for your timely action on this important issue.

Sincerely,

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