EPA Grants Biomass a Final Reprieve From CO2 Rules

The New York Times
By GABRIEL NELSON of Greenwire
Published: July 5, 2011

As proposed earlier this year, biomass-burning facilities will be spared from new federal curbs on gases that help cause climate change.

The final plan (pdf) released Friday by U.S. EPA will give biomass a three-year pass while the agency studies the effect of plant emissions on climate change. During that time, industrial plants that burn woody biomass and landfills that release the greenhouse gases from decomposing biomass won't need permits before starting construction and won't need Title V operating permits.

The exemption was proposed in January based on fears that the rules could chill development of what Administrator Lisa Jackson described as "renewable, homegrown power sources" (Greenwire, Jan. 12).

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