Oregon Public Broadcasting

Wood-fired boilers and heaters are being promoted as one way to reduce people's carbon footprint and dependence on fossil fuels. But Northwest companies and lawmakers fear that proposed new air pollution limits could undermine that renewable energy initiative.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed tougher pollution limits for boilers and heaters in response to a clean air lawsuit filed by three environmental groups.

Northwest timber and paper companies say the new rules endanger nearly 3,000 local jobs. It could also choke off a push to use renewable logging scraps instead of fossil fuels to heat some public buildings.

Llewellyn Matthews is with the Northwest Pulp and Paper Association.

Llewellyn Matthews: "The excess stringency of the rule drives excess costs. Those excess costs put about half of our pulp and paper mills at risk in this economy and the jobs that go with that."

For its part, the EPA produced a study which says that every dollar businesses spend complying with this rule would return more than $5 in public health benefits.

Still, the agency says it could modify its proposal in response to concerns before it becomes final toward the end of this year.