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February 25, 2009 -
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) reintroduced the Renewable Biofuels Facilitation Act, legislation that would allow the development and use of cellulosic ethanol derived from woody biomass on federal lands and from private forests as well. The bill would significantly broaden the definition of cellulosic ethanol within the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to include biomass gathered from federal lands.
The Walden-Herseth Sandlin bill addresses a flaw included in The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which included an historic 36 billion gallon renewable fuels standard (RFS), of which 21 billion gallons are required to be derived from “advanced biofuels” by 2022. Unfortunately, the legislation’s definition of renewable biomass prevents almost all federal land biomass, such as trees, wood, brush, thinnings, chips, and slash, from counting toward the mandate if it is used to manufacture biofuels.
This provision not only discourages the use of such biomass, but in doing so could result in a decrease in responsible forest management by denying land managers an important outlet for the excessive biomass loads that often accumulate on public lands. The Walden-Herseth Sandlin bill would promote the use of energy from waste products gathered on federal lands, including those that are byproducts of preventive treatments and are removed to reduce hazardous fuels, to reduce or contain disease or insect infestation, or to restore ecosystem health.
“Our bipartisan legislation would give the country a better chance of reaching its goal of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels a year by 2022—enough to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 20 coal-fired electricity plants,” Walden said. “There’s technology out there to turn woody biomass from forest health treatments in our choked forests into clean fuel, a process that would create good paying jobs and a healthier environment at the same time. A major roadblock standing in the way of that progress is this flawed federal energy policy we’re trying to correct.”
“As we seek to strengthen and diversity our nation’s energy portfolio, it’s critical that we keep all sources of renewable fuels on the table to aid us in that effort,” Herseth Sandlin said. “While the energy bill took tremendous strides to decrease our dependence on foreign sources of energy, not allowing biofuels made from certain types of biomass to count toward the RFS hinders the potential benefits of the landmark legislation. I will continue my advocacy for this critical improvement in the definition of the RFS as it not only benefits our country’s energy security but keeps forests healthy and promotes economic development in the surrounding communities.”
The Renewable Biofuels Facilitation Act currently has a geographically diverse and bipartisan group of original cosponsors: Representatives Greg Walden (R-OR), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Jo Ann Emerson (R-VA), Mike Ross (D-AR), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Peter DeFazio (D-OR).
The Renewable Biomass Facilitation Act would change the definition to clarify that federally sourced biomass is eligible for consideration under the renewable fuels standard. Additionally, the bill would allow RFS credit for broad categories of biomass from non-federal and tribal lands including agricultural commodities, plants and trees, algae, crop residue, waste material (including wood waste and wood residues), animal waste and byproducts (including fats, oils, greases, and manure), construction waste, and food and yard waste.
Biomass projects that would be conducted under the authority of the Walden-Herseth Sandlin bill on federal lands would still have to comply with federal and state law and applicable land management plans. There is an additional requirement for old-growth maintenance, restoration, and management on federal lands as defined in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
Representative Greg Walden represents the Oregon’s Second Congressional District, which is comprised of 20 counties in eastern, southern, and central Oregon. He is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
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