ARCC Letter to Vice President Gore

October 19, 1999

Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.
The White House
Washington, DC 20501

Dear Mr. Vice President:

The Alliance for the Responsible Use of Chlorine Chemistry (ARCC), a coalition of major American labor unions and companies, is extremely concerned over your suggestion (in a letter to the National Wildlife Federation dated July 27) to begin shifting federal government paper purchases to chlorine-free paper. We are aware that PACE International has expressed its alarm on this issue.

Very few U.S. mills are capable of producing "totally chlorine free" (TCF) paper. Your suggestion, if implemented, would drive the federal government's paper procurement to offshore sources. This is a blow against U.S. workers and companies complying with the EPA pulp and paper Cluster Rule adopted just two years ago. We strongly oppose this course of action.

The Cluster Rule mandates the U.S. industry's shift to a chlorine dioxide process (which is elemental chlorine free, or ECF). As you may recall, the EPA undertook a lengthy, extensive and open public process in selecting ECF technology instead of TCF for the Cluster Rule.

EPA determined that ECF provided the same substantive environmental benefit as TCF with additional advantages: ECF would minimize job loss in the U.S. pulp and paper industry and save the industry tens of billions of dollars. At the same time, it provided incentives for companies that want to go beyond the rule's requirements. Then as now, it is a progressive and balanced approach.

We wish to recall that on March 6, 1997, the ARCC expressed its support for the ECF technology option in the Cluster Rule in a letter to President Clinton. We reaffirm our position, and ask that you take no further unilateral steps to undo the balance between environmental progress, good U.S. jobs and U.S. plant investment achieved by the Cluster Rule.

Respectfully yours,