WASHINGTON (News release) - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's recent decisions to stay the Environmental Protection Agency's "Good Neighbor" plan and overturn the longstanding Chevron precedent:

"The U.S. Supreme Court rulings are significant for the U.S. pulp and paper industry. Without the stay, AF&PA members would have faced hundreds of millions in unrecoverable costs to comply with the Good Neighbor Plan while the litigation continues. This rule was based on controls that were neither proven nor cost-effective, and the Supreme Court ruling affirms that position.

"Furthermore, we appreciate the Supreme Court's decision overruling Chevron as contrary to the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, as explained in our amicus brief with the American Farm Bureau Federation and others.

"We hope that this focus on courts' constitutional role to interpret the law, while respecting agency expertise, will lay the foundation for sustainable regulation that withstands the test of time."