Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560-0021
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Call for Information: Information on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources
Posted Date: 2010-07-15T04:00Z

[Federal Register: July 15, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 135)]
[Notices]               
[Page 41173-41177]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15jy10-49]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560; FRL-9175-9]

 
Call for Information: Information on Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
Associated With Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Call for Information.

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SUMMARY: EPA is publishing this Call for Information to solicit 
information and viewpoints from interested parties on approaches to 
accounting for greenhouse gas emissions from bioenergy and other 
biogenic sources. The purpose of this Call is to request comment on 
developing an approach for such emissions under the Prevention of 
Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Programs as well as to 
receive data submissions about these sources and their emissions, 
general technical comments on accounting for these emissions, and 
comments on the underlying science that should inform possible 
accounting appoaches.

DATES: Information and comments must be received on or before September 
13, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your information, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2010-0560, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov: 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: GHGBiogenic@epa.gov.
     Fax: (202) 566-1741.
     Mail: EPA Docket Center, Attention Docket OAR-2010-0560, 
Mail code 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand/Courier Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading 
Room, Room 3334, EPA West Building, Attention Docket OAR-2010-0560, 
1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004. Such deliveries 
are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your information and comments to Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560. EPA's policy is that all information received 
will be included in the public docket without

[[Page 41174]]

change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless the information 
includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information 
(CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected through http://www.regulations.gov. The http://
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment 
directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov your 
e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on 
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that 
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters or any form of 
encryption, and should be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA's Docket Center, 
Public Reading Room, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20004. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Jenkins, Climate Change 
Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs (MC-6207J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 343-9361; fax number: (202) 343-2359; e-mail 
address: jenkins.jennifer@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. General Information
A. What is today's action?
B. What additional background information is EPA making available?
C. Where can I get the information?
D. What specific information is EPA seeking?
E. What should I consider as I prepare my information and comments 
for EPA?
F. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI).

I. General Information

A. What is today's action?

    On June 3, 2010, EPA published the final Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule (known hence 
forth as the Tailoring Rule) (75 FR 31514). In that Rule, EPA did not 
take action on a request from commenters to exclude CO2 
emissions from biogenic fuels \1\. Instead, EPA explained that the 
legal basis for the Rule, reflecting specifically the overwhelming 
permitting burdens that would be created under the statutory emissions 
thresholds, does not itself provide a rationale for excluding all 
emissions of CO2 from combustion of a particular fuel, even 
a biogenic one. The fact that the Tailoring Rule did not take final 
action one way or another concerning such an exclusion does not mean 
that EPA has decided there is no basis for treating biomass 
CO2 emissions differently from fossil fuel CO2 
emissions under the Clean Air Act's PSD and Title V Programs. Further, 
in finalizing the Tailoring Rule, the Agency did not have sufficient 
information to address the issue of the carbon neutrality of biogenic 
energy in any event.
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    \1\ GHG emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic sources are 
generated during the combustion or decomposition of biologically-
based material, and include sources such as, but not limited to, 
utilization of forest or agricultural products for energy, 
wastewater treatment and livestock management facilities, landfills, 
and fermentation processes for ethanol production.
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    This Call for Information serves as a first step for EPA in 
considering options for addressing emissions of biogenic CO2 
under the PSD and Title V programs as indicated above.
    Given the broad and complex nature of this issue, EPA also welcomes 
stakeholders to respond to this Call for Information by providing data 
submissions about these sources and their emissions and technical 
comments on approaches generally to accounting for GHG emissions from 
bioenergy and other biogenic sources. EPA requests that stakeholders 
provide relevant information on the underlying science that should 
inform possible accounting approaches.
    In response to this Call for Information, interested parties are 
invited to assist EPA in the following: (1) Surveying and assessing the 
science by submitting research studies or other relevant information, 
and (2) evaluating different accounting approaches and options by 
providing policy analyses, proposed or published methodologies, or 
other relevant information. Interested parties are also invited to 
submit data or other relevant information about the current and 
projected scope of GHG emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic 
sources.

B. What additional background information is EPA making available?

    National-level GHG inventories are a common starting point for 
evaluations and discussions of approaches to accounting for GHG 
emissions from bioenergy sources. EPA's Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse 
Gas Emissions and Sinks (the Inventory) \2\ is an impartial, policy-
neutral report that tracks annual GHG emissions including carbon 
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide 
(N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), 
and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The United States has 
submitted the Inventory to the Secretariat of the United Nations 
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under its obligation as 
a Party to the Convention every year since 1993. The UNFCCC, ratified 
by the United States in 1992, defines the overall framework for 
intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate 
change. The Inventory submitted by the United States is consistent with 
national inventory data submitted by other UNFCCC Parties, and uses 
internationally accepted methodologies established by the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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    \2\ US EPA. 2010. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 
Sinks: 1990-2008. U.S. EPA 430-R-10-06. Available in Docket 
at EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560.
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    The Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines (IPCC Guidelines) \3\ provide 
methodologies for estimating all anthropogenic sources and sinks of GHG 
emissions at the national scale, classified into six broad sectors: 
Energy, Industrial Processes, Solvents and Other Product Uses, 
Agriculture, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LUCF), and Waste. The Energy 
Sector includes all GHGs

[[Page 41175]]

emitted during the production, transformation, handling and consumption 
of energy commodities, including fuel combustion. The LUCF Sector 
includes emissions and sequestration resulting from human activities 
which change the way land is used or which affect the amount of biomass 
in existing biomass stocks. According to the IPCC Guidelines, 
CO2 emissions from biomass combustion
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    \3\ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 1996. 
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas 
Inventories, Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories 
Programme. Published: IGES, Japan. 3 Volumes. Available in Docket at 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560.

    ``* * * should not be included in national CO2 
emissions from fuel combustion. If energy use, or any other factor, 
is causing a long term decline in the total carbon embodied in 
standing biomass (e.g. forests), this net release of carbon should 
be evident in the calculation of CO2 emissions described 
in the Land Use Change and Forestry chapter.'' \4\
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    \4\ Ibid., Reference Manual (Vol. 3), Page 1.10.

    Thus, at the national level, these CO2 emissions are not 
included in the estimate of emissions from a country's Energy Sector, 
even though the emissions physically occur at the time and place in 
which useful energy is being generated (i.e., power plant or 
automobile). The purpose of this accounting convention is to avoid 
double-counting that would provide a misleading characterization of a 
country's contribution to global GHG emissions (i.e., to avoid having 
CO2 emissions accounted both in the Energy Sector and the 
LUCF Sector). Carbon dioxide emissions from bioenergy sources are still 
reported as information items in the Energy Sector of the Inventory, 
but are not included in national fuel-combustion totals to avoid this 
double-counting at the national scale.\5\
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    \5\ Emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from the combustion 
of biomass for energy are included in the Energy Sector, however, 
because their magnitude is dependent on the specific way in which 
the fuel is burned (i.e., combustion technology and operating 
conditions), which cannot be known by analyzing the changes in the 
amount of carbon in standing biomass.
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    The IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories are 
relevant to today's Call for Information because they have influenced 
subsequent reporting systems, such as the World Resources Institute/
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) 
protocols.\6\ Additionally, some stakeholders have identified the IPCC 
Guidelines and the Inventory as providing a foundational methodology 
for accounting for GHG emissions from bioenergy.\7\
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    \6\ World Resources Institute/World Business Council on 
Sustainable Development. 2004. A Corporate Accounting and Reporting 
Standard. Available in Docket at EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560.
    \7\ Letter from Mr. Daniel Fulton, President and CEO, 
Weyerhaeuser Corporation to Administrator Jackson, May 24, 2010. 
Available in Docket at EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0560.
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    Separately, to assist interested parties in considering the broader 
issues pertaining to this Call for Information, EPA has assembled and 
placed into the docket a set of documents relevant to the topic of 
today's action. This collection of documents is not intended to 
represent a complete or exhaustive set of materials, but rather serves 
as a starting point to provide further background information to 
interested parties regarding key concepts and scientific research. For 
example, the Docket includes for review the following information:
     U.S. EPA. 2010. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
and Sinks: 1990-2008. U.S. EPA 430-R-10-06.
     Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 1996. 
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, 
Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. 
Published: IGES, Japan.
     IPCC. 2000. Special Report on Land Use, Land-Use Change, 
and Forestry. Watson, R., Noble, I., Bolin, B., Ravindranath, N., 
Verardo, D., and Dokken, D. (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University 
Press.
     IPCC. 2000. Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty 
Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Prepared by the 
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. Published: IGES, Japan.
     IPCC. 2003. Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use 
Change and Forestry. Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas 
Inventories Programme. Penman, J., Gytarsky, M., Krug, T., Kruger, D., 
Pipatti, R., Buendia, L., Miwa, K., Ngara, T., Tanabe, K. and Wagner, 
F. (eds.). Published: IGES, Japan.
     IPCC. 2006. 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse 
Gas Inventories, Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories 
Programme. Eggleston, H.S., Buendia, L., Miwa, K., Ngara, T. and 
Tanabe, K. (eds.). Published: IGES, Japan.
     World Resources Institute/World Business Council on 
Sustainable Development. 2004. A Corporate Accounting and Reporting 
Standard.
     Letter from Mr. Daniel S. Fulton, President and CEO, 
Weyerhaeuser Corporation to Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. May 24, 
2010.
     Response from Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy to Mr. 
Fulton. June 2, 2010.
     Interim Phase I Report of the Climate Change Work Group of 
the Permits, New Source Review and Toxics Subcommittee, Clean Air Act 
Advisory Committee. February 3, 2010.
     Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. 2010. 
Massachusetts Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy Study: Report to 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. 
Walker, T. (Ed.). Contributors: Cardellichio, P., Colnes, A., Gunn, J., 
Kittler, B., Recchia, C., Saah, D., and Walker, T. Natural Capital 
Initiative Report NCI-2010-03. Brunswick, Maine.
     USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 
2009. Biomass to Energy: Forest Management for Wildfire Reduction, 
Energy Production, and Other Benefits. California Energy Commission, 
Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program. CEC-500-2009-080.
     Searchinger, T., Hamburg, S., Melillo, J., Chameides, W., 
Havlik, P., Kammen, D., Likens, G., Lubowski, R., Obersteiner, M., 
Oppenheimer, W., Robertson, G.P., Schlesinger, W., Tilman, G.D. 2009. 
Fixing a critical climate accounting error. Science 326: 527-528.
     Meridian Institute. 2010. Summary of Bioenergy Greenhouse 
Gas Accounting Stakeholder Group Discussions. May 13, 2010. Washington, 
DC.

C. Where can I get the information?

    All of the information can be obtained through the Air Docket and 
at http://www.regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES section above for docket 
contact information).

D. What specific information is EPA seeking?

    As described in Section I.A, EPA is requesting two types of 
submissions via this Call for Information: (1) Technical comments and 
data submissions related to the accounting for GHG emissions from 
bioenergy and other biogenic sources with respect specifically to the 
PSD and Title V Programs, and (2) more general technical comments and 
data submissions related to accounting for GHG emissions from bioenergy 
and other biogenic sources without reference to specific rulemaking 
efforts.
    EPA is soliciting from interested parties information and views on 
topics and questions including, but not limited to the following:
     Biomass under PSD/BACT. What criteria might be used to 
consider biomass fuels differently with regard to the Best Available 
Control Technology (BACT) review process under PSD? How could the 
process of determining BACT under the PSD program allow for

[[Page 41176]]

adequate consideration of the impacts and benefits of using biomass 
fuels?
     National-scale carbon neutrality in the IPCC Guidelines. 
In the IPCC accounting approach described in Section I.B, at the 
national scale emissions from combustion for bioenergy are included in 
the LUCF Sector rather than the Energy Sector. To what extent does this 
approach suggest that biomass consumption for energy is ``neutral'' 
with respect to net fluxes of CO2?
     Smaller-scale accounting approaches. The Clear Air Act 
(CAA) provisions typically apply at the unit, process, or facility 
scale, whereas the IPCC Guidance on accounting for GHG emissions from 
bioenergy sources was written to be applicable at the national scale. 
EPA is interested in understanding the strengths and limitations of 
applying the national-scale IPCC approach to assess the net impact 
(i.e. accounting for both emissions and sequestration) on the 
atmosphere of GHG emissions from specific biogenic sources, facilities, 
fuels, or practices. To what extent is the accounting procedure in the 
IPCC Guidelines applicable or sufficient for such specific assessments?
     Alternative accounting approaches. Both a default 
assumption of carbon neutrality and a default assumption that the 
greenhouse gas impact of bioenergy is equivalent to that of fossil 
fuels may be insufficient because they oversimplify a complex issue. If 
this is the case, what alternative approaches or additional analytical 
tools are available for determining the net impact on the atmosphere of 
CO2 emissions associated with bioenergy? Please comment 
specifically on how these approaches address:

--The time interval required for production and consumption of 
biological feedstocks and bioenergy products. For example, the concept 
of ``carbon debt'' has been proposed as the length of time required for 
a regrowing forest to ``pay back'' the carbon emitted to the atmosphere 
when biomass is burned for energy.
--The appropriate spatial/geographic scale for conducting this 
determination. For example, the question of spatial scale has legal 
complications under the CAA, but may be relevant for some of the 
suggested approaches.

     Comparison with fossil energy. EPA is interested in 
approaches for assessing the impact on the atmosphere of emissions from 
bioenergy relative to emissions from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, 
and gas. What bases or metrics are appropriate for such a comparison?
     Comparison among bioenergy sources. EPA is also interested 
in comments on accounting methods that might be appropriate for 
different types of biological feedstocks and bioenergy sources. What 
bases or metrics are appropriate for such a comparison among sources? 
In other words, are all biological feedstocks (e.g. corn stover, 
logging residues, whole trees) the same, and how do we know?
     Renewable or sustainable feedstocks. Specifically with 
respect to bioenergy sources (especially forest feedstocks), if it is 
appropriate to make a distinction between biomass feedstocks that are 
and are not classified as ``renewable'' or ``sustainable,'' what 
specific indicators would be useful in making such a determination?
     Other biogenic sources of CO2. Other biogenic 
sources of CO2 (i.e., sources not related to energy 
production and consumption) such as landfills, manure management, 
wastewater treatment, livestock respiration, fermentation processes in 
ethanol production, and combustion of biogas not resulting in energy 
production (e.g., flaring of collected landfill gas) may be covered 
under certain provisions of the CAA, and guidance will be needed about 
exactly how to estimate them. How should these ``other'' biogenic 
CO2 emission sources be considered and quantified? In what 
ways are these sources similar to and different from bioenergy sources?
     Additional technical information. EPA is also interested 
in receiving quantitative data and qualitative information relevant to 
biogenic greenhouse gas emissions, including but not limited to the 
following topics:

--Current and projected utilization of biomass feedstocks for energy.
--Economic, technological, and land-management drivers for projected 
changes in biomass utilization rates.
--Current and projected levels of GHG emissions from bioenergy and 
other biogenic sources.
--Economic, technological and land-management drivers for projected 
changes in emissions.
--Current and projected C sequestration rates in lands used to produce 
bioenergy feedstocks.
--Economic, technological and land-management drivers for projected 
changes in sequestration rates.
--The types of processes that generate or are expected to generate 
emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic sources.
--The number of facilities that generate or are expected to generate 
such emissions.
--Emission factor information, particularly for the biogenic 
CO2 source categories of wastewater treatment, livestock 
management, and ethanol fermentation processes.
--Potential impacts on specific industries and particular facilities of 
various methods of accounting for biogenic GHG emissions.
--Potential impacts of GHG emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic 
sources on other resources such as water availability and site nutrient 
quality.
--Potential impacts of GHG emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic 
sources on other air pollutants such as VOCs, other criteria 
pollutants, and particulate matter.

E. What should I consider as I prepare information for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide any technical information or data you used that support 
your views.
    4. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, 
suggestions, and recommendations.
    5. Offer alternatives, if possible, if a particular approach is 
criticized.
    6. Make sure to submit your information by the deadline identified.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket 
identification number in the subject line on the first page of your 
response. It would also be helpful if you provided the name, date, and 
Federal Register citation related to your comments.

F. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI).

    Do not submit information you are claiming as CBI to EPA through 
http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. Information so marked will not be 
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 
2. For CBI information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark 
the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify 
electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that 
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment 
that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that 
does not contain the information

[[Page 41177]]

claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.

    Dated: July 9, 2010.
Gina McCarthy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2010-17266 Filed 7-14-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P