EPA says “No” to MSW, forest waste as qualifying biofuels: report

In Illinois, a team from McGuireWoods has published one of the most cogent summaries of the EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas lifecycle rules released on May 5th.

“The political and economic stakes are high and regulating on the basis of “lifecycle” emissions including “indirect land use changes” is unprecedented,” the report says. “EPA proposes to narrowly interpret the statutory language and limit renewable fuels to crops and trees grown on land that was cleared for production prior to December 19, 2007 and continuously “actively managed” since that time.

“EPA is also proposing to exclude the broad category of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW),” the report continues, “as an eligible feedstock based on the fact that EISA specifically references only “separated” yard and food waste. However, in this instance, EPA recognizes that the exclusion of MSW would eliminate a large and energy rich source of renewable fuels feedstock — 35% of MSW is paper waste and 6% is wood waste — and asks for public comment.”

EPA has scheduled a hearing in Washington D.C. on June 9th and is accepting comments on the proposed rule until July 27, 2009. EPA is also sponsoring a workshop on June 10-11, 2009 in Washington, D.C. to present the details of its lifecycle analysis.

The McGuireWoods report is here, including contact details for the report team.

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