Jeffrey M. Sanders says EPA is punting GHG issues related to biomass boilers for three years to further study the issues.

U.S. EPA is deferring, for three years, greenhouse gas (GHG) permit requirements for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from biomass-fired and other biogenic sources. By July 2011, EPA plans to complete a rulemaking that will defer permitting requirements for CO2 emissions from biomass-fired and other biogenic sources for three years. During the three-year period, EPA will seek input on critical scientific issues from its partners within the federal government and from outside scientists who have relevant expertise.

At the same time, EPA will also look at the more than 7,000 comments it received from its July 2010 Call for Information, including comments noting that burning certain types of biomass may emit the same amount of CO2 emissions that would be emitted if they were not burned as fuel, while others may result in a net increase in CO2 emissions. Before the end of the three-year period, EPA intends to issue a second rulemaking that determines how these emissions should be treated or counted under GHG permitting requirements.

EPA will also issue guidance shortly that will provide a basis that state or local permitting authorities may use to conclude that the use of biomass as fuel is the best available control technology for GHG emissions until the agency can complete an action on the three-year deferral in July.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/nsr