Ag Groups Ask Congress to Address GHG Emissions from Annual Crops

Agriculture (USDA)Environmental Protection Agency Federal Agency/Executive Branch Federal Regulation Feedstocks Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues Forestry/Wood/Residues/Waste Opinions Policy

May 12, 2020

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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Biogenic CO2 Coalition sent a letter to Capitol Hill on May 11 asking lawmakers to direct the U.S. EPA to promptly publish a rule that states neither agricultural biomass nor woody biomass contribute to excess greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.

“For over 10 years the Biogenic CO2 Coalition, representing farmers and agricultural crop processors, has urged the [EPA] to promulgate a rule clarifying that natural (i.e., biogenic) carbon dioxide from the processing or use of agricultural crops is not harmful pollution because it was captured within the previous year when crops were grown,” the group wrote. “Therefore, biogenic CO2 should not be regulate the same as fossil-fuel emissions under the Clean Air Act. We respectfully request that you seek assurances of a prompt publication of a rule proposing de minimis characterization of biogenic CO2 from annual crops. For years, we have been advised that EPA plans to address this problem.”

The letter references a proposed rule the EPA recently submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. “Astoundingly, we have learned that this draft rule does not address biogenic CO2 from annual crops (one year life cycle), instead only proposing carbon neutrality for emissions from wood biomass (forty year life cycle),” the coalition wrote. “Recently, a senior EPA official admitted to our coalition chair that EPA has no meaningful plan to address biogenic CO2 from annual crops.”

The letter notes that the EPA lacks the scientific evidence necessary to regulate biogenic CO2 as a harmful pollutant, that the agency is the only national regulatory authority in the world to regulate biogenic CO2 on the same basis as fossil fuel-base emissions, that EPA’s own GHG inventory recognizes annual crops as a carbon sink, and that the regulatory burden associated with the EPA’s biogenic CO2 policy is thwarting development of the bioeconomy and creating a market advantage that favors foreign competitors.

While the coalition says said it supports EPA’s effort to clarify the regulatory status of wood biomass, it objects to EPA’s failure to address biogenic emissions from agricultural feedstocks. “When regulating emissions under the Clean Air Act, EPA should acknowledge the science of carbon cycles and regulate only emissions that actually add excess greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In the case of agricultural crops, carbon emitted in the processing of corn, cotton, soybean or other oilseeds was captured only the year before and is immediately captured again during the next year’s planting,” the coalition wrote. “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 notes that America’s bioeconomy currently contributes $393 billion in economic activity, provides 4.3 million American jobs, and is the leading source of domestic renewable energy in the U.S.

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A full copy of the letter can be downloaded from the CRA website. READ MORE

EPA delivers proposed rule on biogenic emissions to OMB (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

BIOGENIC CO2 COALITION URGES CONGRESS TO WEIGH-IN ON EXPECTED EPA RULEMAKING THAT WILL HARM U.S. AGRICULTURE & BIOECONOMY JOB GROWTH (Corn Refiners Association)

Wheeler discusses RFS waivers, SREs during Senate hearing (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

EPA urged to address treatment of biogenic emissions from crops (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

July Letter urges EPA to address carbon neutrality of crops (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Biogenic CO2 Coalition launches digital ad campaign (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Biogenic CO@ Coalition)

EPA Biomass Carbon Rule Delayed Over Potential Ties To RFS, ACE (Inside EPA)

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: Also during the hearing, several senators questioned Wheeler on rulemaking being developed by the agency that will classify certain kinds of biomass as carbon neutral. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., asked Wheeler what the timeline is for a final rule related to forest biomass. Wheeler said a proposed rule is currently going through the interagency review process. “We hope to publish the rule in June,” he said.

Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., asked Wheeler if the EPA plans to develop a similar rule for crop biomass. “We are looking at that in a three phase process,” Wheeler said, noting that the first phase of that process focuses on wood biomass due to language included in in recent appropriations bills. Crop biomass, he said, will be addressed in either the second or third phase, with that work currently expected to be rolled out during the next year and a half.

A full video recording of the hearing can be viewed on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works website. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The Biogenic CO2 Coalition sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on June 9 urging the agency to seek public comments on the regulatory treatment of biogenic CO2 from annual agriculture crops.

The letter references a proposed rule currently under White House Office of Management and Budget review that would classify wood biomass as carbon neutral. “Doing so would be a positive first step towards acknowledging that biogenic emissions are not a net source of greenhouse gas emissions,” the coalition wrote. “But that proposed rule would miss an opportunity to provide the same clarification for an additional category of feedstocks that is just as carbon neutral: annual agricultural crops.”

In the letter, the Biogenic CO2 Coalition said that the bioeconomy is an important, growing source of jobs and economic development in in rural America, but stressed that some “unsound regulatory roadblocks” are holding the sector back. “One such roadblock is EPA’s failure to make clear that processing agricultural crops makes no more than a de minimus contribution to carbon emissions, which results in costly regulatory and permitting requirements that discourage investment,” the coalition continued.

“The science is clear that, like woody biomass, annual agricultural crops are not a net source of carbon emissions,” the coalition wrote. “Indeed, the main relevant difference between woody biomass and annual agricultural crops is that annual crops grow to maturity in a single year—carbon emitted from processing of annual agricultural crops is therefore replaced rapidly when the next year’s crops are grown. The Department of Agriculture, the IPCC, and various researchers have each recognized that the carbon sequestered by growing agricultural crops cancels out or even outweighs the carbon emitted when those crops are processed. And EPA has recognized the same in other regulatory programs that rely on the GREET model.”

The letter urges EPA to seek comment in the pending proposed rule on the carbon neutrality of annual crops and on whether facilities that process these annual crops should be exempt from implementing BACT and other requirements of the PSD and Title V programs for the greenhouse gases emitted from the processing of annual crops. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine/Biogenic CO2 Coalition: The Biogenic CO2 Coalition today announced the release of a new video and digital ad campaign asking why the U.S. EPA is the only environmental agency in the world to treat carbon emissions from common agricultural crops the exact same as those from fossil fuels. The video further urges the EPA to follow sound science and to take long overdue steps to revitalize America’s rural economy.

Click Here To Watch

“A single policy change could increase access to innovative plant-based products that are better for our environment and revitalize a depressed rural economy. It’s time for EPA to follow sound science and look toward the future by emphasizing the importance of renewable and sustainable products,” the new Coalition ad says.

The EPA is soon expected to request public comment on whether to continue to regulate CO2 emissions from agricultural crops on the same basis as fossil fuels. As outlined in a recent letter to Congress signed by more than 20 leading scientists, it is imperative that EPA act swiftly to adopt a rule that recognizes the de minimis character of biogenic carbon emissions from annual agricultural crops.

Public support for such a rulemaking has mounted in recent months, as the Coalition announced earlier this week that constituents from key Midwest states have sent more than 10,000 letters to their representatives in Congress urging them to weigh in with EPA on this critical issue.

Recently, the Biogenic CO2 Coalition commended the efforts of Members of Congress including Reps. Rodney Davis, R-Ill.; Collin Peterson, D-Minn.; Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa; and Roger Marshall, R-Kan. In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, these lawmakers urged the EPA to act swiftly to provide regulatory clarity on biogenic CO2 from annual farm crops. Additionally, this letter also called on the EPA to include language in the upcoming woody biomass rule which would solicit public comment on biogenic CO2 from annual farm crops. This would open a window of opportunity for the EPA to provide regulatory relief to our country’s rural communities.

As noted in the letter, the U.S. bioeconomy currently supports 4.6 million jobs and is poised to support even more once this issue is addressed. Farmers, processors, and manufacturers are likely to make significant investments into new technology, rural development, and infrastructure once the EPA recognizes the de minimis nature of natural carbon emissions from farm crops. This letter is yet another example of the growing support for a reform of biogenic CO2 regulation for annual farm crops.

18 Senators from both political parties also sent a bipartisan letter to the EPA last year calling on the agency to provide clarity on the regulatory treatment of biogenic carbon emissions produced from feedstocks such as corn and soybeans. This letter echoed earlier calls by five Governors who wrote their own letter to the EPA urging action on this issue as well. READ MORE

Excerpt from Inside EPA: EPA’s long-pending proposal to declare woody biomass carbon neutral for stationary source permits under the Clean Air Act is facing delays, with sources suggesting Trump administration officials are concerned that the plan could create a precedent that might affect the agency’s power plant greenhouse gas rules or its biofuels policies. The extended biomass plan delay comes after EPA scrambled to release a series of major final rules -- most prominently a rollback to vehicle GHG limits and a narrow definition ... READ MORE