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WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) has joined with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing legislation to expand the federal definition of “renewable biomass” as it relates to timber. H.R. 5236, the Renewable Biofuels Facilitation Act, would remove a prohibition on using woody biomass from federal lands for the production of cellulosic ethanol or biodiesel to meet the new federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
“To exclude timber harvested from the national forests puts northern Michigan at a disadvantage as new jobs are created in the renewable energy sector,” Stupak said. “This legislation recognizes the important role one of northern Michigan’s most abundant resources can play in America’s energy future.”
In December 2007, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The new law significantly expands the previously established RFS. Instead of requiring 5.4 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2008, the new law requires 9 billion gallons. It also requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2022, instead of an estimated 8.6 billion gallons under previous law.
To meet this new goal, the law creates tax and loan incentives for investment in technologies and facilities that produce biofuels. In the past, federal incentives have focused on corn-based biofuels, but the new law creates incentives for “advanced biofuels,” those biofuels produced from feedstocks other than corn. While the law does recognize trees and thinnings as a qualified renewable biomass source, it specifically prohibits trees and thinnings from federal lands, including federal forestlands.
“Not only does the current definition exclude a significant source of renewable biofuels, it creates a logistical nightmare for any ethanol or biodiesel plant that attempts to use woody biomass,” Stupak said. “The prohibition is neither practical nor prudent. Timber is not sorted based on what type of forest it comes from.”
Stupak noted that the proposed revision to include woody biomass from national forestlands in no way effects the National Forest Service’s forest management plans and state and federal laws relating to timber harvesting would still have to be followed.
“What we are talking about here is taking the timber that is already being harvested from the forests and allowing it to be used to meet our domestic energy needs,” Stupak said. “By redefining woody biomass, northern Michigan and its forestry industry will be even better positioned to play an important role in the country’s energy future.”
Stupak is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over energy policy including the Renewable Fuels Standard. |
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