Biogenic CO2 Coalition wants Congress to ensure EPA will close woody biomass loophole

In Washington, the Biogenic CO2 Coalition is urging Members of Congress to seek assurances from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it will close a regulatory loophole that is hurting the U.S. agriculture industry and job growth in the broader bioeconomy.

In its letter to Capitol Hill, the Coalition said that while it would support EPA’s position that woody biomass does not contribute to excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it would strongly object to EPA’s failure to address the need for a similar determination for biogenic emissions from the processing of agricultural feedstocks. “Extensive scientific literature and positions of government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agree that biogenic emissions from crop-based feedstocks are carbon neutral, de minimis or insignificant from a carbon accounting and regulatory perspective. There is no scientific or practical reason for EPA to ignore the life cycle of annual crops,” the Coalition wrote.