63 Members of Congress wrote EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson yesterday to “express our deep disappointment and concern over the EPA’s decision in its final PSD Tailoring Rule to depart from the government’s consistent past practice of excluding biomass combustion emissions in calculating GHG emissions.” These Members remind Administrator Jackson that the EPA’s action contradicts long-standing federal policy that the combustion of biomass does not increase carbon in the atmosphere if done sustainably, and that changing that policy will encourage the use of more fossil fuels over renewable, domestic forest biomass.
The Members ask Administrator Jackson to provide Congress a written, detailed explanation of EPA’s plan to reconsider, in a separate regulatory action, removing biogenic emissions of carbon dioxide under the PSD and Title V programs.
These Members recognize the sustainability, carbon benefits, and energy security advantages of renewable forest biomass energy. NAFO applauds them for their leadership on this issue.
The full letter is available here (PDF). Additionally, recent studies on the ecological sustainability and carbon benefits of forest biomass energy in addition to predictions on supply and demand of biomass for energy are available on NAFO’s website. They get past hyperbole and help paint a realistic picture of the future of biomass energy in the United States.
Tags: biomass
