Forest Biomass Emissions Act of 2024

This Act may be cited as the Forest Biomass Emissions Act of 2024.

In this Act:

The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The term forest biomass means—

(i) trees grown for energy production;

(ii) wood waste and wood residues generated from sawmill operations;

(iii) low-grade wood generated from timber harvest;

(iv) forest thinnings;

(v) timber harvest slash and residues; and

(vi) forest-derived waste generated from pulp and paper industrial operations.

The term forest biomass does not include—

(i) paper that is commonly recycled; or

(ii) unsegregated solid waste.

The term impacted community means a population living in close proximity to a source of pollution.

The term lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions has the meaning given the term in section 211(o)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)).

The term Science Advisory Board means the Science Advisory Board established under section 8(a) of the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 4365(a)).

When promulgating any relevant rules and regulations, the Administrator shall assess and take into account the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of electricity from forest biomass.

In conducting the assessment under subsection (a), the Administrator shall account for the full impact on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of forest biomass used to generate electricity.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture, carry out a study to identify and assess the impacts of forest biomass electricity production on impacted communities located close to facilities that produce wood pellets from forest biomass, forest biomass power facilities, and active forest biomass harvesting areas.

In carrying out the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall—

(A) evaluate—

(i) the sources of, exposures to, and impacts of noise, dust, and air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), including criteria air pollutants and hazardous air pollutants, that originate directly from forest biomass pellet mills and processing operations on the premises of facilities described in paragraph (1); and

(ii) other upstream impacts from outside of the premises of those facilities, such as harvesting and trucking; and

(B) collect data, including data on cumulative impacts, on impacted communities within the geographic areas impacted by upstream and downstream emissions from facilities described in paragraph (1), including—

(i) air quality measurements from those industrial sites and within those impacted communities;

(ii) the race and socioeconomic status of individuals within those impacted communities; and

(iii) with respect to forest biomass pellet mills, data on compliance with applicable statutes and any penalties applied for violations of those statutes.

Not later than 60 days after the date on which the study carried out under subsection (a)(1) is completed, the Administrator shall—

(1) submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing the results of the study; and

(2) submit the report under paragraph (1) to the Science Advisory Board to further inform the study of forest biomass associated with electricity generation.