Title: A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to modify the definition of "renewable biomass" under the renewable fuel program.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill revises the renewable fuel program to allow the use of additional types of biomass materials in making renewable fuel. Specifically, the bill allows renewable fuel to be made from (1) secondary, residual materials generated from forest products manufacturing (e.g., sawdust or wood chips); or (2) certain biomass materials obtained from federal land.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1614 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1614

  To amend the Clean Air Act to modify the definition of ``renewable 
              biomass'' under the renewable fuel program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2019

 Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. King, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Merkley, 
 and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
     and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Clean Air Act to modify the definition of ``renewable 
              biomass'' under the renewable fuel program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF RENEWABLE BIOMASS UNDER RENEWABLE FUEL 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 211(o)(1)(I) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)(I)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clauses (iii) through (vii) as clauses 
        (v) through (ix), respectively; and
            (2) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) Trees and tree residue from non-
                        Federal land, including land belonging to an 
                        Indian tribe or an Indian individual that is 
                        held in trust by the United States or subject 
                        to a restriction against alienation imposed by 
                        the United States.
                            ``(iii) Any secondary, residual materials 
                        generated from forest products manufacturing, 
                        including, but not limited to, sawdust, wood 
                        chips, shavings, bark, sanderdust, and 
                        trimmings, regardless of whether the source of 
                        primary materials is derived from Federal or 
                        non-Federal land.
                            ``(iv) Biomass materials obtained from 
                        Federal land that--
                                    ``(I) are not harvested from old 
                                growth stands, unless the old growth 
                                stand is part of a science-based 
                                ecological restoration project 
                                authorized by the Secretary of 
                                Agriculture or the Secretary of the 
                                Interior, as applicable, that meets 
                                applicable protection and old growth 
                                enhancement objectives, as determined 
                                by the applicable Secretary;
                                    ``(II) are slash, precommercial 
                                thinnings, or derived from ecological 
                                restoration activities;
                                    ``(III) are harvested in a manner 
                                consistent with applicable Federal laws 
                                (including regulations) and land 
                                management plans; and
                                    ``(IV) are derived within--
                                            ``(aa) the wildland-urban 
                                        interface (as defined in 
                                        section 101 of the Healthy 
                                        Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
                                        (16 U.S.C. 6511)) from acreage 
                                        included within a community 
                                        wildfire protection plan (as so 
                                        defined);
                                            ``(bb) a priority area on 
                                        Federal land, as identified by 
                                        the Secretary of Agriculture or 
                                        the Secretary of the Interior, 
                                        as applicable, in need of--

                                                    ``(AA) ecological 
                                                restoration;

                                                    ``(BB) an 
                                                authorized hazardous 
                                                fuels reduction project 
                                                under section 102 of 
                                                the Healthy Forests 
                                                Restoration Act of 2003 
                                                (16 U.S.C. 6512); or

                                                    ``(CC) a project 
                                                carried out under 
                                                section 602(d) of that 
                                                Act (16 U.S.C. 
                                                6591a(d)); or

                                            ``(cc) an area identified 
                                        as a priority area for wildfire 
                                        threat in a State-wide 
                                        assessment and State-wide 
                                        strategy developed in 
                                        accordance with section 2A of 
                                        the Cooperative Forestry 
                                        Assistance Act of 1978 (16 
                                        U.S.C. 2101a).''.
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