CHAPTER 3

Integrated Forest Biorefineries Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks MARCIAPATTON-MALLORY1 KENNETHE SKOG2

AND VIRGINIA H DALE3

1USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station 400 N 34th

Street Suite 201 Seattle WA 98103 USA 2USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory One Gifford Pinchot Drive Madison WI 53726 USA 3Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Bethel Valley Road Building 1505 Room 200 Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA Email mpattonmalloryfsfedus Tel (206) 732-7846

31 Introduction The concept of sustainability fundamentally considers three dimensions eco-nomic social and environmental All three dimensions must be considered when discussing sustainability of specific biorefineries Sustainability allows for levels of current use that do not compromise the capability to meet future needs When considering sustainability over a region it is important to address the effect of multiple biorefineries electric power plants that use wood and traditional wood products production facilities Forest bioenergy feedstocks for biofuels and biopower are potentially identical and thus sustainability considerations discussed here apply to biofuels and biopower in addition to production of traditional forest products Biorefineries and biomass power

RSC Green Chemistry No 18 Integrated Forest Biorefineries Edited by Lew Christopher copy The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013 Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry wwwrscorg

80

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 81 plants will tend to initially be sited where there is low cost biomass and shorter hauling distances This will favor locations where there are higher density forests and low-cost logging and mill residues from current forest products production1 As residues are used plants will tend to be sited where pulpwood is available and competition is lowest

For the purposes of this chapter we use the term ldquobiorefineryrdquo to include all types of integrated biorefineries Integrated biorefineries are similar to con-ventional refineries in that they produce a range of products to optimize both the use of the feedstock and production economics Although most of the discussion will focus on practices and landscapes within the United States some consideration is needed of wood used for energy and products in other countries because their level of use can influence our domestic use via global markets and changes in wood imports and exports

Integrated biorefineries are expected to be large industrial facilities that produce 50-100 million gallons of biofuels per year2 Using an estimate of 70 gallons of biofuels per oven dry ton of forest biomass feedstock this translates to using 0714-1430 millon oven dry tons of forest biomass feedstock per year which is about the amount used by a conventional sized pulp mill in the US

Depending on the type of integrated biorefinery and other coproducts (including energy) the feedstock demand could be higher Furthermore new biorefineries are more likely to be sited where there is currently a sufficient infrastructure in place that has historically or currently produces other forest products such as lumber pulp wood fuel pellets and wood composite pro-ducts that may be complementary or compete for forest-based wood resources Other biorefineries plan to add biofuels production to existing facilities such as pulp mills where the biofuel and traditional pulp products will both be pro-duced from the Same feedstocks3

32 Background The forest products industry in the United States has evolved with voluntary sustainability standards and best management practices (BMPs) State pro-grams vary from voluntary BMPs to mandatory practices prescribed by sta-tute4 A working definition of sustainable forestry is

ldquoThe practice of meeting the forest resource needs and values of the present without compromising the similar capability of future genera-tions It involves practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates reforestation managing growing nurturing and harvesting trees for useful products with conservation of soil air and water quality wildlife and fish habitat and aestheticsrdquorsquo

In addition to the guidelines for sustainable forestry biorefineries are also expected to contribute to renewable energy goals linked with energy security environmental improvement rural wealth and climate change mitigation

82 Chapter 3

goals Sustainability guidelines for using agricultural or forest feedstocks for energy have been proposed by various groups Examples of topics areas cov-eredinclude

bull feedstock type (thinnings harvesting residues purpose-grown trees pulp wood etc) and management

bull land use (type of land used to produce woody feedstocks and associated changes in land use such as conversion from naturally regenerating forests to plantations or from farms to forests public vs private land ownership)

bull harvest collection and processing of feedstock bull transport of feedstock fuel and location of refinery bull fuel type conversion process and blending bull coproducts (heat power traditional forest products biobased chemicals

etc) bull net energy and energy efficiency (improvements over gasoline or diesel

energy used to produce the biofuels as compared to biofuel energy content)

bull relation to existing forest industry (location size competition or integrated)

bull social (participation by landowners risk management incentives human health)

bull economic (feedstock competition transport storage efficiency risk uncertainty etc)

Detailed discussions of sustainability for bioenergy as a system show how the economic social and environmental dimensions of sustainability axe inter-connected6 Economic aspects include coping with limited land resources existing and emerging feedstocks technical advances and different feedstocks having different biological characteristics resource requirements and costs of production and transport- Social aspects include following applicable laws and international treaties using open and transparent participatory processes that actively engage relevant stakeholders and establish rights and obligations ensuring decent wages and working conditions and the safety of workers and acknowledging worker rights to organize and collectively bargain Major aspects of environmental sustainability for bioenergy systems are shown in Figure 31 and discussed by McBride and others who identified 19 measurable indicators for soil quality water quality and quantity greenhouse gases bio-diversity air quality and productivity6 These indicators were selected to be both measureable and useful to decision makers in characterizing and assessing sustainable bioenergy

33 US Sustainability Frameworks and Policy A comparison of existing US forest certification schemes that provide man-agement guidelines for sustainability in the forestry sector was compiled by

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 83

Figure 31 Aspects of environmental sustainability

Rickenback with the Sustainable Forestry Partnership at Oregon State Uni-versity7 The general features of the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and American Tree Farm (ATF) Green Tag Forestry and International Organization for Standards (ISO) are described along with the management and ecology focal areas operational considera-tions and social and economic factors In general these programs are volun-tary third-party certification systems that forest landowners or managers use to identify forestland that is managed to meet agreed-upon standards and sometimes to label products that originate from these forests8 Certification is a market-based nonregulatory forest conservation tool designed to recognize and promote environmentally responsible forestry and sustainability of forest resources9

States with significant forestry activities have adopted Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure water quality However BMPs were not intended to directly address practices such as increased removal of logging residues To address biomass removal levels more specifically a number of states have developed voluntary state harvesting or retention guidelines that indicate the extent to which biomass may be removed from harvest sites for biofuels or biopower States that currently have adopted harvesting andor retention guidelines include Maine New Hampshire Vermont New York Rhode Island Connecticut Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Penn-sylvania Maryland Wisconsin and California

84 Chapter 3

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) contains a restric-tive definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo as a way to address some of the sus-tainability concerns that bad been raised in developing the Renewable Fuels Standard 2 (RFS2) however this definition raised other concerns regarding its impact on public land management and private forest economics10 The RFS2 mandates US production of biofuels with a goal of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022 Of this total 16 billion gallons are to be made from cellulosic feedstock The definition of ldquoadvanced biofuelsrdquo includes thresholds for reductions in greenhouse-gas emission profiles as compared to gasoline with advanced biofuels required to meet a 60 per cent reduction in GHG emissions as compared to gasoline Woody biomass feedstocks that can be counted toward the cellulosic ethanol portion of the RFS2 under EISA 2007 only include forest residues from state and private forest plantations or woody energy crops harvested from land that was inactively managed tree plantations in 2007 This definition is designed to discourage land clearing for bioenergy feedstock production However the detailed biomass definition in EISA 2007 excludes all federal forests and private lands not managed as a tree plantation in 2007 It thereby restricts the use of a market that could facilitate thinning or residue removal and thus could reduce the high fire risk of many federal forests due to overstocked stands and other forest health concerns11 Table 31 sum-marizes the restrictions on feedstocks from forest biomass as the law is cur-rently written and contrasts the EISA 2007 definition with the broader definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo included in the Food Conservation and Energy Act of (2008)12 The Farm Bill also has programs that support increased production of biofuels Tracking the current status of biomass definitions in various laws is critical because producing biofuels from qualified feedstocks that meet the ldquorenewable biomassrdquo definition in the EISA 2007 allows biofuels producers to receive the $101gallon tax incentive payment

State Forestry agencies and the US Forest Service provide guidelines for private family forest landowners that include sustainable forestry principles13

These agencies also develop Stewardship Plans for private forest landowners to apply these principles and achieve landowner objectives Having a Stewardship Plan or Certification may become a requirement for qualifying under some federal incentives and payments for producing biofuels feedstocks

A group called the Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSPB) is developing a voluntary certification system for bioenergy feedstocks14

Table 32 contrasts the CSBP certification system with existing voluntary forestry certification systems and state forestry stewardship guidelines131516

A new challenge for CSBP and other goups trying to develop standards for certification is determining appropriate ways to assess greenhouse-gas emissions

An example of local efforts to address sustainability of forest biomass feedstocks is the city of Gainesville Florida They developed a Forest Stew-ardship Incentive Plan to help assure ldquothat the manner in which biomass was procured (for biopower) would not only minimize any environmental harm but transform the forestry industry to improve biodiversity in the region and assure sustainable supplies of renewable biomass energyrdquo17

Tabl

e 3

1 D

iffer

ent

ldquoRen

ewab

le

Bio

mas

srdquo

defin

ition

s in

th

e EI

SA

Ren

ewab

le

Fuel

s St

anda

rd

and

Farm

B

ill

Ener

gy I

ndep

ende

nce

and

Secu

rity

Act

of

2007

Fo

od

Con

serv

atio

n a

nd E

nerg

y Ac

t of

200

8

Ren

ewab

le b

iom

ass

mea

ns e

ach

of t

he f

ollo

win

g (in

clud

ing

any

inci

dent

al

de m

inim

is c

onta

min

ants

tha

t ar

e im

prac

tical

to

rem

ove

and

are

rela

ted

to c

usto

mar

y fe

edst

ock

prod

uctio

n an

d tra

nspo

rt)

(1)

Plan

ted

crop

s an

d cr

op r

esid

ue h

arve

sted

from

exi

stin

g ag

ricu

ltura

l lan

d cl

eare

d or

cul

tivat

ed p

rior

to D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

and

that

was

non

fore

sted

and

eith

er a

ctiv

ely

man

aged

or

fallo

w o

n D

ecem

ber

19 2

007

(2)

Plan

ted

tree

s and

tree

resi

due

from

a tr

ee p

lant

atio

n lo

cate

d on

non

fede

ral l

and

(incl

udin

g la

nd b

elon

ging

to a

n In

dian

tr

ibe

or a

n In

dian

indi

vidu

al th

at is

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

US

or

subj

ecte

d to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

US

) th

at w

as c

lear

ed a

t any

tim

e pr

ior

to D

ecem

ber

19

2007

and

act

ivel

y m

anag

ed o

n D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

(3

) An

imal

was

te m

ater

ial a

nd a

nim

al b

ypro

duct

s

(4)

Slas

h an

d pr

ecom

mer

cial

thi

nnin

gs f

rom

non

fede

ral

fore

stla

nd (

incl

udin

g fo

rest

land

bel

ongi

ng t

o an

Ind

ian

trib

e or

an

Indi

an in

divi

dual

tha

t are

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es o

r su

bjec

t to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es)

that

is

not

ecol

ogic

ally

se

nsiti

ve f

ores

tland

(5)

Biom

ass (

orga

nic

mat

ter t

hat i

s ava

ilabl

e on

a re

new

able

or

recu

rrin

g ba

sis)

obt

aine

d fr

om t

he i

mm

edia

te v

icin

ity o

f bu

ildin

gs a

nd o

ther

are

as r

egul

arly

occ

upie

d by

peo

ple

or

of p

ublic

infr

astr

uctu

re i

n an

are

a at

ris

k of

wild

fire

REN

EWA

BLE

BIO

MA

SS-

The

term

lsquore

new

able

bio

mas

srsquo m

eans

( A)

mat

eria

ls p

reco

mm

erci

al t

hinn

ings

or

rem

oved

exo

tic s

peci

es

that-

(i) a

re b

ypro

duct

s of

pre

vent

ive

trea

tmen

ts (

such

as

tree

s w

ood

bru

sh

thin

ning

s ch

ips

and

slas

h)

that

are

re

mov

ed-

(I)

to r

educ

e ha

zard

ous f

uels

(I

I)

to r

educ

e or

con

tain

dise

ase

or i

nsec

t in

fest

atio

n o

r (I

II)

to r

esto

re e

cosy

stem

hea

lth

(ii)

wou

ld n

ot o

ther

wis

e be

use

d fo

r hig

her -

valu

e pr

oduc

ts a

nd

(iii)

are

harv

este

d fr

om

Nat

iona

l Fo

rest

Sy

stem

la

nd

or

publ

ic l

ands

(as

def

ined

in

Sect

ion

103

of th

e Fe

dera

l La

nd P

olic

y an

d M

anag

emen

t A

ct o

f 19

76 (

43 U

SC

17

02))

in

ac

cord

ance

w

ith-

(I)

Fede

ral a

nd S

tate

law

(I

I)

appl

icab

le l

and

man

agem

ent

plan

s a

nd

(III

) th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r ol

d-gr

owth

mai

nten

ance

re

stor

atio

n a

nd m

anag

emen

t di

rect

ion

of p

ara -

grap

hs (

2)

(3)

and

(4)

of su

bsec

tion

(e)

of s

ectio

n 10

2 of

the

Hea

lthy

Fore

sts

Rest

orat

ion

Act

of 2

003

(16

US

C

6512

) an

d th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r la

rge-

tree

ret

entio

n of

subs

ectio

n (f)

of t

hat

sect

ion

or

82 Chapter 3

goals Sustainability guidelines for using agricultural or forest feedstocks for energy have been proposed by various groups Examples of topics areas cov-eredinclude

bull feedstock type (thinnings harvesting residues purpose-grown trees pulp wood etc) and management

bull land use (type of land used to produce woody feedstocks and associated changes in land use such as conversion from naturally regenerating forests to plantations or from farms to forests public vs private land ownership)

bull harvest collection and processing of feedstock bull transport of feedstock fuel and location of refinery bull fuel type conversion process and blending bull coproducts (heat power traditional forest products biobased chemicals

etc) bull net energy and energy efficiency (improvements over gasoline or diesel

energy used to produce the biofuels as compared to biofuel energy content)

bull relation to existing forest industry (location size competition or integrated)

bull social (participation by landowners risk management incentives human health)

bull economic (feedstock competition transport storage efficiency risk uncertainty etc)

Detailed discussions of sustainability for bioenergy as a system show how the economic social and environmental dimensions of sustainability axe inter-connected6 Economic aspects include coping with limited land resources existing and emerging feedstocks technical advances and different feedstocks having different biological characteristics resource requirements and costs of production and transport- Social aspects include following applicable laws and international treaties using open and transparent participatory processes that actively engage relevant stakeholders and establish rights and obligations ensuring decent wages and working conditions and the safety of workers and acknowledging worker rights to organize and collectively bargain Major aspects of environmental sustainability for bioenergy systems are shown in Figure 31 and discussed by McBride and others who identified 19 measurable indicators for soil quality water quality and quantity greenhouse gases bio-diversity air quality and productivity6 These indicators were selected to be both measureable and useful to decision makers in characterizing and assessing sustainable bioenergy

33 US Sustainability Frameworks and Policy A comparison of existing US forest certification schemes that provide man-agement guidelines for sustainability in the forestry sector was compiled by

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 83

Figure 31 Aspects of environmental sustainability

Rickenback with the Sustainable Forestry Partnership at Oregon State Uni-versity7 The general features of the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and American Tree Farm (ATF) Green Tag Forestry and International Organization for Standards (ISO) are described along with the management and ecology focal areas operational considera-tions and social and economic factors In general these programs are volun-tary third-party certification systems that forest landowners or managers use to identify forestland that is managed to meet agreed-upon standards and sometimes to label products that originate from these forests8 Certification is a market-based nonregulatory forest conservation tool designed to recognize and promote environmentally responsible forestry and sustainability of forest resources9

States with significant forestry activities have adopted Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure water quality However BMPs were not intended to directly address practices such as increased removal of logging residues To address biomass removal levels more specifically a number of states have developed voluntary state harvesting or retention guidelines that indicate the extent to which biomass may be removed from harvest sites for biofuels or biopower States that currently have adopted harvesting andor retention guidelines include Maine New Hampshire Vermont New York Rhode Island Connecticut Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Penn-sylvania Maryland Wisconsin and California

84 Chapter 3

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) contains a restric-tive definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo as a way to address some of the sus-tainability concerns that bad been raised in developing the Renewable Fuels Standard 2 (RFS2) however this definition raised other concerns regarding its impact on public land management and private forest economics10 The RFS2 mandates US production of biofuels with a goal of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022 Of this total 16 billion gallons are to be made from cellulosic feedstock The definition of ldquoadvanced biofuelsrdquo includes thresholds for reductions in greenhouse-gas emission profiles as compared to gasoline with advanced biofuels required to meet a 60 per cent reduction in GHG emissions as compared to gasoline Woody biomass feedstocks that can be counted toward the cellulosic ethanol portion of the RFS2 under EISA 2007 only include forest residues from state and private forest plantations or woody energy crops harvested from land that was inactively managed tree plantations in 2007 This definition is designed to discourage land clearing for bioenergy feedstock production However the detailed biomass definition in EISA 2007 excludes all federal forests and private lands not managed as a tree plantation in 2007 It thereby restricts the use of a market that could facilitate thinning or residue removal and thus could reduce the high fire risk of many federal forests due to overstocked stands and other forest health concerns11 Table 31 sum-marizes the restrictions on feedstocks from forest biomass as the law is cur-rently written and contrasts the EISA 2007 definition with the broader definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo included in the Food Conservation and Energy Act of (2008)12 The Farm Bill also has programs that support increased production of biofuels Tracking the current status of biomass definitions in various laws is critical because producing biofuels from qualified feedstocks that meet the ldquorenewable biomassrdquo definition in the EISA 2007 allows biofuels producers to receive the $101gallon tax incentive payment

State Forestry agencies and the US Forest Service provide guidelines for private family forest landowners that include sustainable forestry principles13

These agencies also develop Stewardship Plans for private forest landowners to apply these principles and achieve landowner objectives Having a Stewardship Plan or Certification may become a requirement for qualifying under some federal incentives and payments for producing biofuels feedstocks

A group called the Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSPB) is developing a voluntary certification system for bioenergy feedstocks14

Table 32 contrasts the CSBP certification system with existing voluntary forestry certification systems and state forestry stewardship guidelines131516

A new challenge for CSBP and other goups trying to develop standards for certification is determining appropriate ways to assess greenhouse-gas emissions

An example of local efforts to address sustainability of forest biomass feedstocks is the city of Gainesville Florida They developed a Forest Stew-ardship Incentive Plan to help assure ldquothat the manner in which biomass was procured (for biopower) would not only minimize any environmental harm but transform the forestry industry to improve biodiversity in the region and assure sustainable supplies of renewable biomass energyrdquo17

Tabl

e 3

1 D

iffer

ent

ldquoRen

ewab

le

Bio

mas

srdquo

defin

ition

s in

th

e EI

SA

Ren

ewab

le

Fuel

s St

anda

rd

and

Farm

B

ill

Ener

gy I

ndep

ende

nce

and

Secu

rity

Act

of

2007

Fo

od

Con

serv

atio

n a

nd E

nerg

y Ac

t of

200

8

Ren

ewab

le b

iom

ass

mea

ns e

ach

of t

he f

ollo

win

g (in

clud

ing

any

inci

dent

al

de m

inim

is c

onta

min

ants

tha

t ar

e im

prac

tical

to

rem

ove

and

are

rela

ted

to c

usto

mar

y fe

edst

ock

prod

uctio

n an

d tra

nspo

rt)

(1)

Plan

ted

crop

s an

d cr

op r

esid

ue h

arve

sted

from

exi

stin

g ag

ricu

ltura

l lan

d cl

eare

d or

cul

tivat

ed p

rior

to D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

and

that

was

non

fore

sted

and

eith

er a

ctiv

ely

man

aged

or

fallo

w o

n D

ecem

ber

19 2

007

(2)

Plan

ted

tree

s and

tree

resi

due

from

a tr

ee p

lant

atio

n lo

cate

d on

non

fede

ral l

and

(incl

udin

g la

nd b

elon

ging

to a

n In

dian

tr

ibe

or a

n In

dian

indi

vidu

al th

at is

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

US

or

subj

ecte

d to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

US

) th

at w

as c

lear

ed a

t any

tim

e pr

ior

to D

ecem

ber

19

2007

and

act

ivel

y m

anag

ed o

n D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

(3

) An

imal

was

te m

ater

ial a

nd a

nim

al b

ypro

duct

s

(4)

Slas

h an

d pr

ecom

mer

cial

thi

nnin

gs f

rom

non

fede

ral

fore

stla

nd (

incl

udin

g fo

rest

land

bel

ongi

ng t

o an

Ind

ian

trib

e or

an

Indi

an in

divi

dual

tha

t are

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es o

r su

bjec

t to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es)

that

is

not

ecol

ogic

ally

se

nsiti

ve f

ores

tland

(5)

Biom

ass (

orga

nic

mat

ter t

hat i

s ava

ilabl

e on

a re

new

able

or

recu

rrin

g ba

sis)

obt

aine

d fr

om t

he i

mm

edia

te v

icin

ity o

f bu

ildin

gs a

nd o

ther

are

as r

egul

arly

occ

upie

d by

peo

ple

or

of p

ublic

infr

astr

uctu

re i

n an

are

a at

ris

k of

wild

fire

REN

EWA

BLE

BIO

MA

SS-

The

term

lsquore

new

able

bio

mas

srsquo m

eans

( A)

mat

eria

ls p

reco

mm

erci

al t

hinn

ings

or

rem

oved

exo

tic s

peci

es

that-

(i) a

re b

ypro

duct

s of

pre

vent

ive

trea

tmen

ts (

such

as

tree

s w

ood

bru

sh

thin

ning

s ch

ips

and

slas

h)

that

are

re

mov

ed-

(I)

to r

educ

e ha

zard

ous f

uels

(I

I)

to r

educ

e or

con

tain

dise

ase

or i

nsec

t in

fest

atio

n o

r (I

II)

to r

esto

re e

cosy

stem

hea

lth

(ii)

wou

ld n

ot o

ther

wis

e be

use

d fo

r hig

her -

valu

e pr

oduc

ts a

nd

(iii)

are

harv

este

d fr

om

Nat

iona

l Fo

rest

Sy

stem

la

nd

or

publ

ic l

ands

(as

def

ined

in

Sect

ion

103

of th

e Fe

dera

l La

nd P

olic

y an

d M

anag

emen

t A

ct o

f 19

76 (

43 U

SC

17

02))

in

ac

cord

ance

w

ith-

(I)

Fede

ral a

nd S

tate

law

(I

I)

appl

icab

le l

and

man

agem

ent

plan

s a

nd

(III

) th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r ol

d-gr

owth

mai

nten

ance

re

stor

atio

n a

nd m

anag

emen

t di

rect

ion

of p

ara -

grap

hs (

2)

(3)

and

(4)

of su

bsec

tion

(e)

of s

ectio

n 10

2 of

the

Hea

lthy

Fore

sts

Rest

orat

ion

Act

of 2

003

(16

US

C

6512

) an

d th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r la

rge-

tree

ret

entio

n of

subs

ectio

n (f)

of t

hat

sect

ion

or

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 83

Figure 31 Aspects of environmental sustainability

Rickenback with the Sustainable Forestry Partnership at Oregon State Uni-versity7 The general features of the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and American Tree Farm (ATF) Green Tag Forestry and International Organization for Standards (ISO) are described along with the management and ecology focal areas operational considera-tions and social and economic factors In general these programs are volun-tary third-party certification systems that forest landowners or managers use to identify forestland that is managed to meet agreed-upon standards and sometimes to label products that originate from these forests8 Certification is a market-based nonregulatory forest conservation tool designed to recognize and promote environmentally responsible forestry and sustainability of forest resources9

States with significant forestry activities have adopted Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure water quality However BMPs were not intended to directly address practices such as increased removal of logging residues To address biomass removal levels more specifically a number of states have developed voluntary state harvesting or retention guidelines that indicate the extent to which biomass may be removed from harvest sites for biofuels or biopower States that currently have adopted harvesting andor retention guidelines include Maine New Hampshire Vermont New York Rhode Island Connecticut Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Penn-sylvania Maryland Wisconsin and California

84 Chapter 3

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) contains a restric-tive definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo as a way to address some of the sus-tainability concerns that bad been raised in developing the Renewable Fuels Standard 2 (RFS2) however this definition raised other concerns regarding its impact on public land management and private forest economics10 The RFS2 mandates US production of biofuels with a goal of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022 Of this total 16 billion gallons are to be made from cellulosic feedstock The definition of ldquoadvanced biofuelsrdquo includes thresholds for reductions in greenhouse-gas emission profiles as compared to gasoline with advanced biofuels required to meet a 60 per cent reduction in GHG emissions as compared to gasoline Woody biomass feedstocks that can be counted toward the cellulosic ethanol portion of the RFS2 under EISA 2007 only include forest residues from state and private forest plantations or woody energy crops harvested from land that was inactively managed tree plantations in 2007 This definition is designed to discourage land clearing for bioenergy feedstock production However the detailed biomass definition in EISA 2007 excludes all federal forests and private lands not managed as a tree plantation in 2007 It thereby restricts the use of a market that could facilitate thinning or residue removal and thus could reduce the high fire risk of many federal forests due to overstocked stands and other forest health concerns11 Table 31 sum-marizes the restrictions on feedstocks from forest biomass as the law is cur-rently written and contrasts the EISA 2007 definition with the broader definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo included in the Food Conservation and Energy Act of (2008)12 The Farm Bill also has programs that support increased production of biofuels Tracking the current status of biomass definitions in various laws is critical because producing biofuels from qualified feedstocks that meet the ldquorenewable biomassrdquo definition in the EISA 2007 allows biofuels producers to receive the $101gallon tax incentive payment

State Forestry agencies and the US Forest Service provide guidelines for private family forest landowners that include sustainable forestry principles13

These agencies also develop Stewardship Plans for private forest landowners to apply these principles and achieve landowner objectives Having a Stewardship Plan or Certification may become a requirement for qualifying under some federal incentives and payments for producing biofuels feedstocks

A group called the Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSPB) is developing a voluntary certification system for bioenergy feedstocks14

Table 32 contrasts the CSBP certification system with existing voluntary forestry certification systems and state forestry stewardship guidelines131516

A new challenge for CSBP and other goups trying to develop standards for certification is determining appropriate ways to assess greenhouse-gas emissions

An example of local efforts to address sustainability of forest biomass feedstocks is the city of Gainesville Florida They developed a Forest Stew-ardship Incentive Plan to help assure ldquothat the manner in which biomass was procured (for biopower) would not only minimize any environmental harm but transform the forestry industry to improve biodiversity in the region and assure sustainable supplies of renewable biomass energyrdquo17

Tabl

e 3

1 D

iffer

ent

ldquoRen

ewab

le

Bio

mas

srdquo

defin

ition

s in

th

e EI

SA

Ren

ewab

le

Fuel

s St

anda

rd

and

Farm

B

ill

Ener

gy I

ndep

ende

nce

and

Secu

rity

Act

of

2007

Fo

od

Con

serv

atio

n a

nd E

nerg

y Ac

t of

200

8

Ren

ewab

le b

iom

ass

mea

ns e

ach

of t

he f

ollo

win

g (in

clud

ing

any

inci

dent

al

de m

inim

is c

onta

min

ants

tha

t ar

e im

prac

tical

to

rem

ove

and

are

rela

ted

to c

usto

mar

y fe

edst

ock

prod

uctio

n an

d tra

nspo

rt)

(1)

Plan

ted

crop

s an

d cr

op r

esid

ue h

arve

sted

from

exi

stin

g ag

ricu

ltura

l lan

d cl

eare

d or

cul

tivat

ed p

rior

to D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

and

that

was

non

fore

sted

and

eith

er a

ctiv

ely

man

aged

or

fallo

w o

n D

ecem

ber

19 2

007

(2)

Plan

ted

tree

s and

tree

resi

due

from

a tr

ee p

lant

atio

n lo

cate

d on

non

fede

ral l

and

(incl

udin

g la

nd b

elon

ging

to a

n In

dian

tr

ibe

or a

n In

dian

indi

vidu

al th

at is

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

US

or

subj

ecte

d to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

US

) th

at w

as c

lear

ed a

t any

tim

e pr

ior

to D

ecem

ber

19

2007

and

act

ivel

y m

anag

ed o

n D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

(3

) An

imal

was

te m

ater

ial a

nd a

nim

al b

ypro

duct

s

(4)

Slas

h an

d pr

ecom

mer

cial

thi

nnin

gs f

rom

non

fede

ral

fore

stla

nd (

incl

udin

g fo

rest

land

bel

ongi

ng t

o an

Ind

ian

trib

e or

an

Indi

an in

divi

dual

tha

t are

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es o

r su

bjec

t to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es)

that

is

not

ecol

ogic

ally

se

nsiti

ve f

ores

tland

(5)

Biom

ass (

orga

nic

mat

ter t

hat i

s ava

ilabl

e on

a re

new

able

or

recu

rrin

g ba

sis)

obt

aine

d fr

om t

he i

mm

edia

te v

icin

ity o

f bu

ildin

gs a

nd o

ther

are

as r

egul

arly

occ

upie

d by

peo

ple

or

of p

ublic

infr

astr

uctu

re i

n an

are

a at

ris

k of

wild

fire

REN

EWA

BLE

BIO

MA

SS-

The

term

lsquore

new

able

bio

mas

srsquo m

eans

( A)

mat

eria

ls p

reco

mm

erci

al t

hinn

ings

or

rem

oved

exo

tic s

peci

es

that-

(i) a

re b

ypro

duct

s of

pre

vent

ive

trea

tmen

ts (

such

as

tree

s w

ood

bru

sh

thin

ning

s ch

ips

and

slas

h)

that

are

re

mov

ed-

(I)

to r

educ

e ha

zard

ous f

uels

(I

I)

to r

educ

e or

con

tain

dise

ase

or i

nsec

t in

fest

atio

n o

r (I

II)

to r

esto

re e

cosy

stem

hea

lth

(ii)

wou

ld n

ot o

ther

wis

e be

use

d fo

r hig

her -

valu

e pr

oduc

ts a

nd

(iii)

are

harv

este

d fr

om

Nat

iona

l Fo

rest

Sy

stem

la

nd

or

publ

ic l

ands

(as

def

ined

in

Sect

ion

103

of th

e Fe

dera

l La

nd P

olic

y an

d M

anag

emen

t A

ct o

f 19

76 (

43 U

SC

17

02))

in

ac

cord

ance

w

ith-

(I)

Fede

ral a

nd S

tate

law

(I

I)

appl

icab

le l

and

man

agem

ent

plan

s a

nd

(III

) th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r ol

d-gr

owth

mai

nten

ance

re

stor

atio

n a

nd m

anag

emen

t di

rect

ion

of p

ara -

grap

hs (

2)

(3)

and

(4)

of su

bsec

tion

(e)

of s

ectio

n 10

2 of

the

Hea

lthy

Fore

sts

Rest

orat

ion

Act

of 2

003

(16

US

C

6512

) an

d th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r la

rge-

tree

ret

entio

n of

subs

ectio

n (f)

of t

hat

sect

ion

or

84 Chapter 3

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) contains a restric-tive definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo as a way to address some of the sus-tainability concerns that bad been raised in developing the Renewable Fuels Standard 2 (RFS2) however this definition raised other concerns regarding its impact on public land management and private forest economics10 The RFS2 mandates US production of biofuels with a goal of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022 Of this total 16 billion gallons are to be made from cellulosic feedstock The definition of ldquoadvanced biofuelsrdquo includes thresholds for reductions in greenhouse-gas emission profiles as compared to gasoline with advanced biofuels required to meet a 60 per cent reduction in GHG emissions as compared to gasoline Woody biomass feedstocks that can be counted toward the cellulosic ethanol portion of the RFS2 under EISA 2007 only include forest residues from state and private forest plantations or woody energy crops harvested from land that was inactively managed tree plantations in 2007 This definition is designed to discourage land clearing for bioenergy feedstock production However the detailed biomass definition in EISA 2007 excludes all federal forests and private lands not managed as a tree plantation in 2007 It thereby restricts the use of a market that could facilitate thinning or residue removal and thus could reduce the high fire risk of many federal forests due to overstocked stands and other forest health concerns11 Table 31 sum-marizes the restrictions on feedstocks from forest biomass as the law is cur-rently written and contrasts the EISA 2007 definition with the broader definition of ldquorenewable biomassrdquo included in the Food Conservation and Energy Act of (2008)12 The Farm Bill also has programs that support increased production of biofuels Tracking the current status of biomass definitions in various laws is critical because producing biofuels from qualified feedstocks that meet the ldquorenewable biomassrdquo definition in the EISA 2007 allows biofuels producers to receive the $101gallon tax incentive payment

State Forestry agencies and the US Forest Service provide guidelines for private family forest landowners that include sustainable forestry principles13

These agencies also develop Stewardship Plans for private forest landowners to apply these principles and achieve landowner objectives Having a Stewardship Plan or Certification may become a requirement for qualifying under some federal incentives and payments for producing biofuels feedstocks

A group called the Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSPB) is developing a voluntary certification system for bioenergy feedstocks14

Table 32 contrasts the CSBP certification system with existing voluntary forestry certification systems and state forestry stewardship guidelines131516

A new challenge for CSBP and other goups trying to develop standards for certification is determining appropriate ways to assess greenhouse-gas emissions

An example of local efforts to address sustainability of forest biomass feedstocks is the city of Gainesville Florida They developed a Forest Stew-ardship Incentive Plan to help assure ldquothat the manner in which biomass was procured (for biopower) would not only minimize any environmental harm but transform the forestry industry to improve biodiversity in the region and assure sustainable supplies of renewable biomass energyrdquo17

Tabl

e 3

1 D

iffer

ent

ldquoRen

ewab

le

Bio

mas

srdquo

defin

ition

s in

th

e EI

SA

Ren

ewab

le

Fuel

s St

anda

rd

and

Farm

B

ill

Ener

gy I

ndep

ende

nce

and

Secu

rity

Act

of

2007

Fo

od

Con

serv

atio

n a

nd E

nerg

y Ac

t of

200

8

Ren

ewab

le b

iom

ass

mea

ns e

ach

of t

he f

ollo

win

g (in

clud

ing

any

inci

dent

al

de m

inim

is c

onta

min

ants

tha

t ar

e im

prac

tical

to

rem

ove

and

are

rela

ted

to c

usto

mar

y fe

edst

ock

prod

uctio

n an

d tra

nspo

rt)

(1)

Plan

ted

crop

s an

d cr

op r

esid

ue h

arve

sted

from

exi

stin

g ag

ricu

ltura

l lan

d cl

eare

d or

cul

tivat

ed p

rior

to D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

and

that

was

non

fore

sted

and

eith

er a

ctiv

ely

man

aged

or

fallo

w o

n D

ecem

ber

19 2

007

(2)

Plan

ted

tree

s and

tree

resi

due

from

a tr

ee p

lant

atio

n lo

cate

d on

non

fede

ral l

and

(incl

udin

g la

nd b

elon

ging

to a

n In

dian

tr

ibe

or a

n In

dian

indi

vidu

al th

at is

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

US

or

subj

ecte

d to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

US

) th

at w

as c

lear

ed a

t any

tim

e pr

ior

to D

ecem

ber

19

2007

and

act

ivel

y m

anag

ed o

n D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

(3

) An

imal

was

te m

ater

ial a

nd a

nim

al b

ypro

duct

s

(4)

Slas

h an

d pr

ecom

mer

cial

thi

nnin

gs f

rom

non

fede

ral

fore

stla

nd (

incl

udin

g fo

rest

land

bel

ongi

ng t

o an

Ind

ian

trib

e or

an

Indi

an in

divi

dual

tha

t are

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es o

r su

bjec

t to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es)

that

is

not

ecol

ogic

ally

se

nsiti

ve f

ores

tland

(5)

Biom

ass (

orga

nic

mat

ter t

hat i

s ava

ilabl

e on

a re

new

able

or

recu

rrin

g ba

sis)

obt

aine

d fr

om t

he i

mm

edia

te v

icin

ity o

f bu

ildin

gs a

nd o

ther

are

as r

egul

arly

occ

upie

d by

peo

ple

or

of p

ublic

infr

astr

uctu

re i

n an

are

a at

ris

k of

wild

fire

REN

EWA

BLE

BIO

MA

SS-

The

term

lsquore

new

able

bio

mas

srsquo m

eans

( A)

mat

eria

ls p

reco

mm

erci

al t

hinn

ings

or

rem

oved

exo

tic s

peci

es

that-

(i) a

re b

ypro

duct

s of

pre

vent

ive

trea

tmen

ts (

such

as

tree

s w

ood

bru

sh

thin

ning

s ch

ips

and

slas

h)

that

are

re

mov

ed-

(I)

to r

educ

e ha

zard

ous f

uels

(I

I)

to r

educ

e or

con

tain

dise

ase

or i

nsec

t in

fest

atio

n o

r (I

II)

to r

esto

re e

cosy

stem

hea

lth

(ii)

wou

ld n

ot o

ther

wis

e be

use

d fo

r hig

her -

valu

e pr

oduc

ts a

nd

(iii)

are

harv

este

d fr

om

Nat

iona

l Fo

rest

Sy

stem

la

nd

or

publ

ic l

ands

(as

def

ined

in

Sect

ion

103

of th

e Fe

dera

l La

nd P

olic

y an

d M

anag

emen

t A

ct o

f 19

76 (

43 U

SC

17

02))

in

ac

cord

ance

w

ith-

(I)

Fede

ral a

nd S

tate

law

(I

I)

appl

icab

le l

and

man

agem

ent

plan

s a

nd

(III

) th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r ol

d-gr

owth

mai

nten

ance

re

stor

atio

n a

nd m

anag

emen

t di

rect

ion

of p

ara -

grap

hs (

2)

(3)

and

(4)

of su

bsec

tion

(e)

of s

ectio

n 10

2 of

the

Hea

lthy

Fore

sts

Rest

orat

ion

Act

of 2

003

(16

US

C

6512

) an

d th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r la

rge-

tree

ret

entio

n of

subs

ectio

n (f)

of t

hat

sect

ion

or

Tabl

e 3

1 D

iffer

ent

ldquoRen

ewab

le

Bio

mas

srdquo

defin

ition

s in

th

e EI

SA

Ren

ewab

le

Fuel

s St

anda

rd

and

Farm

B

ill

Ener

gy I

ndep

ende

nce

and

Secu

rity

Act

of

2007

Fo

od

Con

serv

atio

n a

nd E

nerg

y Ac

t of

200

8

Ren

ewab

le b

iom

ass

mea

ns e

ach

of t

he f

ollo

win

g (in

clud

ing

any

inci

dent

al

de m

inim

is c

onta

min

ants

tha

t ar

e im

prac

tical

to

rem

ove

and

are

rela

ted

to c

usto

mar

y fe

edst

ock

prod

uctio

n an

d tra

nspo

rt)

(1)

Plan

ted

crop

s an

d cr

op r

esid

ue h

arve

sted

from

exi

stin

g ag

ricu

ltura

l lan

d cl

eare

d or

cul

tivat

ed p

rior

to D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

and

that

was

non

fore

sted

and

eith

er a

ctiv

ely

man

aged

or

fallo

w o

n D

ecem

ber

19 2

007

(2)

Plan

ted

tree

s and

tree

resi

due

from

a tr

ee p

lant

atio

n lo

cate

d on

non

fede

ral l

and

(incl

udin

g la

nd b

elon

ging

to a

n In

dian

tr

ibe

or a

n In

dian

indi

vidu

al th

at is

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

US

or

subj

ecte

d to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

US

) th

at w

as c

lear

ed a

t any

tim

e pr

ior

to D

ecem

ber

19

2007

and

act

ivel

y m

anag

ed o

n D

ecam

ber

19 2

007

(3

) An

imal

was

te m

ater

ial a

nd a

nim

al b

ypro

duct

s

(4)

Slas

h an

d pr

ecom

mer

cial

thi

nnin

gs f

rom

non

fede

ral

fore

stla

nd (

incl

udin

g fo

rest

land

bel

ongi

ng t

o an

Ind

ian

trib

e or

an

Indi

an in

divi

dual

tha

t are

hel

d in

trus

t by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es o

r su

bjec

t to

a re

stri

ctio

n ag

ains

t alie

natio

n im

pose

d by

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es)

that

is

not

ecol

ogic

ally

se

nsiti

ve f

ores

tland

(5)

Biom

ass (

orga

nic

mat

ter t

hat i

s ava

ilabl

e on

a re

new

able

or

recu

rrin

g ba

sis)

obt

aine

d fr

om t

he i

mm

edia

te v

icin

ity o

f bu

ildin

gs a

nd o

ther

are

as r

egul

arly

occ

upie

d by

peo

ple

or

of p

ublic

infr

astr

uctu

re i

n an

are

a at

ris

k of

wild

fire

REN

EWA

BLE

BIO

MA

SS-

The

term

lsquore

new

able

bio

mas

srsquo m

eans

( A)

mat

eria

ls p

reco

mm

erci

al t

hinn

ings

or

rem

oved

exo

tic s

peci

es

that-

(i) a

re b

ypro

duct

s of

pre

vent

ive

trea

tmen

ts (

such

as

tree

s w

ood

bru

sh

thin

ning

s ch

ips

and

slas

h)

that

are

re

mov

ed-

(I)

to r

educ

e ha

zard

ous f

uels

(I

I)

to r

educ

e or

con

tain

dise

ase

or i

nsec

t in

fest

atio

n o

r (I

II)

to r

esto

re e

cosy

stem

hea

lth

(ii)

wou

ld n

ot o

ther

wis

e be

use

d fo

r hig

her -

valu

e pr

oduc

ts a

nd

(iii)

are

harv

este

d fr

om

Nat

iona

l Fo

rest

Sy

stem

la

nd

or

publ

ic l

ands

(as

def

ined

in

Sect

ion

103

of th

e Fe

dera

l La

nd P

olic

y an

d M

anag

emen

t A

ct o

f 19

76 (

43 U

SC

17

02))

in

ac

cord

ance

w

ith-

(I)

Fede

ral a

nd S

tate

law

(I

I)

appl

icab

le l

and

man

agem

ent

plan

s a

nd

(III

) th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r ol

d-gr

owth

mai

nten

ance

re

stor

atio

n a

nd m

anag

emen

t di

rect

ion

of p

ara -

grap

hs (

2)

(3)

and

(4)

of su

bsec

tion

(e)

of s

ectio

n 10

2 of

the

Hea

lthy

Fore

sts

Rest

orat

ion

Act

of 2

003

(16

US

C

6512

) an

d th

e re

quir

emen

ts fo

r la

rge-

tree

ret

entio

n of

subs

ectio

n (f)

of t

hat

sect

ion

or

jgodfrey

Typewritten Text

86 Chapter 3

Tabl

e 3

2 C

ompa

rison

of

vario

us s

usta

inab

le f

ores

try c

ertif

icat

ion

syst

ems

used

in

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es

Sust

aina

ble

Fore

stry

N

atio

nal

Asso

ciat

ion

of

Sust

aina

bilit

y C

ounc

il on

Sus

tain

able

In

itiat

ive

(SFI

) Fo

rest

Ste

war

dshi

p C

ounc

il St

ate

Fore

ster

s St

ewar

dshi

p Pr

inci

ple

or C

rite

ria

Biom

ass

Prod

uctio

n (d

raft)

C

ertif

icat

ion

(FSC

) C

ertif

icat

ion

Prin

cipl

es

SoilP

rodu

ctiv

ity-

31

Soil

2 F

ores

t Pro

duct

ivity

and

Pr

incip

le 6

En

viro

nmen

tal

Prin

cipl

e 2

Mai

ntai

n an

d Fo

rest

Pro

duct

ivity

Th

is p

rinci

ple

reco

gniz

es

Hea

lth

Impa

ct

impr

ove

prod

uctiv

e an

d H

ealth

th

at s

oil

stab

ility

is

vita

l To

pro

vide

for

Fo

rest

m

anag

emen

t sh

all

capa

city

an

d th

at s

oil

ferti

lity

and

rege

nera

tion

afte

r ha

rves

t co

nser

ve

biol

ogic

al

Prin

cipl

e 4

Pro

tect

soi

l an

d or

gani

c m

atte

r ar

e cr

itica

l an

d m

aint

ain

the

dive

rsity

and

its

ass

ocia

ted

wat

er

reso

urce

s to

the

sus

tain

able

pr

oduc

tive

capa

city

of

the

valu

es

wat

er r

esou

rces

Pr

inci

ple

3 M

aint

ain

and

prod

uctio

n of

foo

d

feed

fo

rest

lan

d ba

se

and

to

soils

an

d un

ique

and

im

prov

e th

e he

alth

and

fib

er

and

fuel

pr

otec

t an

d m

aint

ain

long

-fr

agile

eco

syst

ems

and

vigo

r of

the

for

est

and

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s te

rm f

ores

t an

d so

il la

ndsc

apes

an

d b

y so

its

lan

dsca

pew

ater

shed

pr

oduc

tion

shal

l m

aint

ain

prod

uctiv

ity

In

addi

tion

do

ing

mai

ntai

n th

e or

im

prov

e so

il qu

ality

by

to p

rote

ct f

ores

ts f

rom

ec

olog

ical

fun

ctio

ns a

nd

min

imiz

ing

eros

ion

ec

onom

ical

ly o

r en

vir -

the

inte

grity

of

the

fore

st

enha

ncin

g ca

rbon

on

men

tally

un

desi

rabl

e se

ques

tratio

n

and

leve

ls o

f wild

fire

pes

ts

prom

otin

g he

alth

y di

seas

es

inva

sive

exo

tic

biol

ogic

al s

yste

ms

and

plan

ts a

nd a

nim

als

and

chem

ical

and

phy

sica

l ot

her

dam

agin

g ag

ents

pr

oper

ties

and

thus

mai

ntai

n an

d im

prov

e lo

ng-te

rm f

ores

t he

alth

and

pro

duct

ivity

B

iolo

gica

l Div

ersi

ty

32

Bio

logi

cal D

iver

sity

4

Pro

tect

ion

of B

iolo

gica

l Pr

incip

le 6

En

viro

nmen

tal

Prin

cipl

e 1

Con

tribu

te t

o Th

e co

nser

vatio

n of

bio

-D

iver

sity

Im

pact

th

e co

nser

vatio

n ar

id b

io-

logi

cal

dive

rsity

is

a cr

i-To

man

age

fore

sts

in w

ays

Fore

st

man

agem

ent

shal

l lo

gica

l di

vers

ity o

f th

e

tical

co

mpo

nent

of

th

at p

rote

ct

and

prom

ote

cons

erve

bio

logi

cal

dive

r-fo

rest

and

the

sur

roun

ding

su

stai

nabi

lility

at

the

field

bi

olog

ical

div

ersi

ty

sity

and

its

ass

ocia

ted

land

scap

e

stan

d le

vel a

s w

ell a

s at

the

incl

udin

g an

imal

and

va

lues

w

ater

res

ourc

es

land

scap

e le

vel

This

prin

-pl

ant

spec

ies

wild

life

soils

an

d un

ique

and

fra

- ci

ple

artic

ulat

es t

he

habi

tats

an

d ec

olog

ical

or

gile

eco

syst

ems

and

land

- ex

pect

atio

n th

at g

row

ers

natu

ral

com

mun

ity

type

s sc

apes

an

d b

y so

doi

ng

will

dep

loy

man

agem

ent

mai

ntai

n th

e ec

olog

ical

Tabl

e 3

2 C

ompa

rison

of

vario

us s

usta

inab

le f

ores

try c

ertif

icat

ion

syst

ems

used

in

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es

Sust

aina

ble

Fore

stry

N

atio

nal

Asso

ciat

ion

of

Sust

aina

bilit

y C

ounc

il on

Sus

tain

able

In

itiat

ive

(SFI

) Fo

rest

Ste

war

dshi

p C

ounc

il St

ate

Fore

ster

s St

ewar

dshi

p Pr

inci

ple

or C

rite

ria

Biom

ass

Prod

uctio

n (d

raft)

C

ertif

icat

ion

(FSC

) C

ertif

icat

ion

Prin

cipl

es

SoilP

rodu

ctiv

ity-

31

Soil

2 F

ores

t Pro

duct

ivity

and

Pr

incip

le 6

En

viro

nmen

tal

Prin

cipl

e 2

Mai

ntai

n an

d Fo

rest

Pro

duct

ivity

Th

is p

rinci

ple

reco

gniz

es

Hea

lth

Impa

ct

impr

ove

prod

uctiv

e an

d H

ealth

th

at s

oil

stab

ility

is

vita

l To

pro

vide

for

Fo

rest

m

anag

emen

t sh

all

capa

city

an

d th

at s

oil

ferti

lity

and

rege

nera

tion

afte

r ha

rves

t co

nser

ve

biol

ogic

al

Prin

cipl

e 4

Pro

tect

soi

l an

d or

gani

c m

atte

r ar

e cr

itica

l an

d m

aint

ain

the

dive

rsity

and

its

ass

ocia

ted

wat

er

reso

urce

s to

the

sus

tain

able

pr

oduc

tive

capa

city

of

the

valu

es

wat

er r

esou

rces

Pr

inci

ple

3 M

aint

ain

and

prod

uctio

n of

foo

d

feed

fo

rest

lan

d ba

se

and

to

soils

an

d un

ique

and

im

prov

e th

e he

alth

and

fib

er

and

fuel

pr

otec

t an

d m

aint

ain

long

-fr

agile

eco

syst

ems

and

vigo

r of

the

for

est

and

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s te

rm f

ores

t an

d so

il la

ndsc

apes

an

d b

y so

its

lan

dsca

pew

ater

shed

pr

oduc

tion

shal

l m

aint

ain

prod

uctiv

ity

In

addi

tion

do

ing

mai

ntai

n th

e or

im

prov

e so

il qu

ality

by

to p

rote

ct f

ores

ts f

rom

ec

olog

ical

fun

ctio

ns a

nd

min

imiz

ing

eros

ion

ec

onom

ical

ly o

r en

vir -

the

inte

grity

of

the

fore

st

enha

ncin

g ca

rbon

on

men

tally

un

desi

rabl

e se

ques

tratio

n

and

leve

ls o

f wild

fire

pes

ts

prom

otin

g he

alth

y di

seas

es

inva

sive

exo

tic

biol

ogic

al s

yste

ms

and

plan

ts a

nd a

nim

als

and

chem

ical

and

phy

sica

l ot

her

dam

agin

g ag

ents

pr

oper

ties

and

thus

mai

ntai

n an

d im

prov

e lo

ng-te

rm f

ores

t he

alth

and

pro

duct

ivity

B

iolo

gica

l Div

ersi

ty

32

Bio

logi

cal D

iver

sity

4

Pro

tect

ion

of B

iolo

gica

l Pr

incip

le 6

En

viro

nmen

tal

Prin

cipl

e 1

Con

tribu

te t

o Th

e co

nser

vatio

n of

bio

-D

iver

sity

Im

pact

th

e co

nser

vatio

n ar

id b

io-

logi

cal

dive

rsity

is

a cr

i-To

man

age

fore

sts

in w

ays

Fore

st

man

agem

ent

shal

l lo

gica

l di

vers

ity o

f th

e

tical

co

mpo

nent

of

th

at p

rote

ct

and

prom

ote

cons

erve

bio

logi

cal

dive

r-fo

rest

and

the

sur

roun

ding

su

stai

nabi

lility

at

the

field

bi

olog

ical

div

ersi

ty

sity

and

its

ass

ocia

ted

land

scap

e

stan

d le

vel a

s w

ell a

s at

the

incl

udin

g an

imal

and

va

lues

w

ater

res

ourc

es

land

scap

e le

vel

This

prin

-pl

ant

spec

ies

wild

life

soils

an

d un

ique

and

fra

- ci

ple

artic

ulat

es t

he

habi

tats

an

d ec

olog

ical

or

gile

eco

syst

ems

and

land

- ex

pect

atio

n th

at g

row

ers

natu

ral

com

mun

ity

type

s sc

apes

an

d b

y so

doi

ng

will

dep

loy

man

agem

ent

mai

ntai

n th

e ec

olog

ical

Tab

le

32

(Con

tinue

d )

Sust

aina

ble

Fore

stry

N

atio

nal

Asso

ciat

ion

of

Sust

aina

bilit

y C

ounc

il on

Sus

tain

able

In

itiat

ive

(SFI

) Fo

rest

Ste

war

dshi

p C

ounc

il St

ate

Fore

ster

s St

ewar

dshi

p Pr

inci

ple

or C

rite

ria

Biom

ass

Prod

uctio

n (d

raft)

C

ertif

icat

ion

(FSC

) C

ertif

icat

ion

Prin

cipl

es

syst

ems

in t

heir

oper

atio

ns

that

mai

ntai

n or

enh

ance

bi

odiv

ersi

ty

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s pr

oduc

tion

shal

l co

n-

tribu

te t

o th

e co

nser

vatio

n

or e

nhan

cem

ent

of

biol

ogic

al d

iver

sity

in

pa

rticu

lar

nativ

e pl

ants

an

d w

ildlif

e

func

tions

and

the

int

egrit

y of

the

for

est

Prin

ciple

9 M

aint

enan

ce O

f H

igh

Con

serv

atio

n V

alue

Fo

rest

s M

anag

emen

t ac

tiviti

es

in

high

co

nser

vatio

n va

lue

fore

sts

shal

l m

aint

ain

or

enha

nce

the

attri

bute

s th

at

defin

e su

ch f

ores

ts

Dec

i -si

ons

rega

rdin

g hi

gh c

on-

serv

atio

n va

lue

fore

sts

shal

l al

way

s be

con

side

red

in t

he c

onte

xt o

f a

pre-

caut

iona

ry

appr

oach

W

ater

3

3 W

ater

3

Pro

tect

ion

of W

ater

Pr

incip

le 6

En

viro

nmen

tal

This

prin

cipl

e re

cogn

izes

th

e vu

lner

abili

ty o

f bo

th

the

avai

labl

e w

ater

sup

ply

and

the

qual

ity o

f av

ail-

able

wat

er

Bio

mas

s pr

o-du

ctio

n sh

ould

no

t co

ntrib

ute

to t

he d

eple

tion

of g

roun

d or

sur

face

wat

er

supp

lies

Whe

n irr

igat

ion

is n

eces

sary

th

e m

ost

effi-

cien

t irr

igat

ion

tech

nolo

gy

appr

opria

te t

o th

e ci

r-cu

mst

ance

sho

uld

be u

sed

Res

ourc

es

Impa

ct

To p

rote

ct w

ater

bod

ies

Fore

st

man

agem

ent

shal

l an

d ri

pari

an z

ones

an

d to

co

nser

ve b

iolo

gica

l di

ver -

conf

orm

with

bes

t m

an-

sity

and

its

ass

ocia

ted

agem

ent p

ract

ices

to

pro-

valu

es

wat

er r

esou

rces

te

ct w

ater

qua

lity

so

ils

and

uniq

ue a

nd f

ra-

gile

eco

syst

em a

nd l

and-

scap

es

and

by

so d

oing

m

aint

ain

the

ecol

ogic

al

func

tions

and

the

int

egrit

y of

the

for

est

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s pr

oduc

tion

shal

l m

aint

ain

or i

mpr

ove

the

qual

ity a

nd

quan

tity

of s

urfa

ce w

ater

gr

ound

wat

er

and

aqua

tic

ecos

yste

rns

Clim

ate

Cha

nge

34

Clim

ate

Cha

nge

One

fun

dam

enta

l ob

jec -

tive

of b

iom

ass-

base

d bi

oene

rgy

syst

ems

is t

o m

itiga

te

GH

G e

mis

sion

s pr

ovid

ing

a lo

wca

rbon

en

ergy

alte

rnat

ive

to f

ossi

l fu

els

This

prin

cipl

e em

brac

es f

ull

lifec

ycle

as

sess

men

t (L

CA

) as

the

pr

imar

y to

ol f

or e

nsur

ing

subs

tant

ive

redu

ctio

n in

G

HG

em

issi

ons

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s pr

oduc

tion

shal

l re

duce

G

HG

em

issi

ons

as c

om-

pare

d to

fos

sil

fuel

s Em

issi

ons

shal

l be

est

i-m

ated

via

a c

onsi

sten

t ap

proa

ch t

o lif

ecyc

le

asse

ssm

ent

Soci

al a

nd E

cono

mic

3

5 So

cioe

cono

mic

Wel

l-Be

ing

CSB

P em

brac

es a

tri-

parti

te v

isio

n of

sus

tain

-ab

ility

fo

cusi

ng o

n pr

actic

es

and

prod

ucts

th

at

are

envi

ronm

enta

lly

soci

ally

and

eco

nom

ical

lyso

und

Th

is p

rinci

ple

6 P

rote

ctio

n of

Spe

cial

Site

s To

man

age

fore

sts

and

land

s of

spe

cial

sig

- ni

fican

ce (

ecol

ogic

ally

ge

olog

ical

ly o

r cu

ltura

lly

impo

rtan

t ) i

n a

man

ner

that

pro

tect

s th

eir

inte

grity

an

d ta

kes

into

acc

ount

th

eir

Prin

ciplc

3

Indi

geno

us

Peop

les

Righ

ts Th

e le

gal

and

cust

omar

y rig

hts

of i

ndig

enou

s pe

o -

ples

to

own

use

and

m

anag

e th

eir

land

s te

rrito

ries

and

reso

urce

s sh

all

be r

ecog

nize

d an

d

Prin

cipl

e 5

Pur

sue

carb

on-

frie

ndly

m

anag

emen

t an

d pr

omot

e bi

omas

s as

a

rene

wab

le e

nerg

y so

urce

Prin

cipl

e 6

Con

side

r so

cioe

cono

mic

be

nefit

s

Tab

le

32

(Con

tinue

d )

Sust

aina

ble

Fore

stry

N

atio

nal

Asso

ciat

ion

of

Sust

aina

bilit

y C

ounc

il on

Sus

tain

able

Initi

ativ

e (S

FI)

Fore

st S

tew

ards

hip

Cou

ncil

Stat

e Fo

rest

ers

Stew

ards

hip

Prin

cipl

e or

Cri

teri

a Bi

omas

s Pr

oduc

tion

(dra

ft)

Cer

tific

atio

n (F

SC)

Cer

tific

atio

n Pr

inci

ples

spea

ks t

o th

e ne

ed f

or

7 R

espo

nsib

le F

iber

Pr

inci

ple

4 C

omm

unity

su

stai

nabl

e di

strib

utio

n of

So

urci

ng P

ract

ices

in

Rel

atio

ns A

nd W

orke

rs

soci

oeco

nom

ic b

enef

it to

N

orth

Am

eric

a R

ight

s th

e va

rious

par

ticip

ants

in

To u

se a

nd p

rom

ote

Fore

st

man

agem

ent

biom

ass

and

bioe

nerg

y am

ong

othe

r fo

rest

lan

d-op

erat

ions

sh

all

mai

ntai

n pr

oduc

tion

syst

ems

A

owne

rs s

usta

inab

le f

ores

try

or e

nhan

ce t

he l

ong-

term

su

stai

nabl

e co

mm

erci

al

prac

tices

tha

t ar

e bo

th

soci

al a

nd e

cono

mic

wel

l m

odel

ben

efits

fro

m t

he

scie

ntifi

cally

cre

dibl

e an

d be

ing

of f

ores

t w

orke

rs

supp

ort

of w

ealth

cre

atio

n ec

onom

ical

ly

envi

r -an

d lo

cal

com

mun

ities

in

loc

al c

omm

uniti

es

onm

enta

lly a

nd s

ocia

lly

PRlN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s re

spon

sibl

e

prod

uctio

n sh

all

take

pl

ace

with

in a

fra

mew

ork

that

sus

tain

ably

dis

-tri

bute

s ov

eral

l so

cio-

econ

omic

op

portu

nity

fo

r an

d am

ong

all

stak

e-ho

lder

s (in

clud

ing

land

ow

ners

fa

rm w

orke

rs

supp

liers

bi

oref

iner

s an

d lo

cal

com

mun

ity)

and

ensu

res

com

plia

nce

with

la

bor

law

s an

d hu

man

rig

hts

Lega

lity

36

Lega

lity

8 A

void

ance

of C

on-

Prin

cipl

e 1

Com

plia

nce

Com

plia

nce

with

all

lega

l tr

over

sial S

ourc

es I

nclu

d-W

ith L

aws

And

FSC

re

quire

men

ts b

y a

grow

er

ing

Illeg

al L

oggi

ng i

n Pr

inci

ples

is

a m

inim

um e

xpec

tatio

n O

ffsho

re F

iber

Sou

rcin

g Fo

rest

m

anag

emen

t sh

all

for

the

stan

dard

To

avo

id w

ood

fiber

fro

m

resp

ect

all

appl

icab

le l

aws

Prin

cipl

e 7

Com

ply

with

la

ws

rule

s an

d gu

idel

ines

Tran

spar

ency

Pub

lic

Invo

lvem

ent

Use

of B

est A

vaila

ble

Scie

nce C

ontin

uous

Im

prov

emen

t Tr

aini

ng a

nd

Edu

catio

n

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s pr

oduc

tion

shal

l co

mpl

y w

ith a

pplic

able

fed

eral

pr

ovin

cial

st

ate

and

loc

al

law

s or

dina

nces

an

d re

gula

tions

37

Tran

spar

ency

Th

e in

tera

ctio

ns o

f a

par -

ticip

ant

with

st

akeh

olde

rs

mus

t be

con

duct

ed i

n a

trans

pare

nt

man

ner

whi

le

prot

ectin

g co

mm

erci

ally

se

nsiti

ve i

nfor

mat

ion

and

mai

ntai

ning

in

telle

ctua

l pr

oper

ty

PRIN

CIP

LE

Prod

uctio

n of

cer

tifie

d bi

omas

s sh

all

be

trans

pare

nt

38

Cont

inuo

us I

mpr

ovem

ent

CSB

P is

com

mitt

ed t

o a

proc

ess

of c

ontin

ued

asse

ssm

ent

of t

he u

sefu

l -ne

ss o

f th

e st

anda

rdrsquos

pr

actic

es t

o en

surin

g th

e

illeg

ally

log

ged

fore

sts

whe

n pr

ocur

ing

fiber

out

-si

de o

f N

orth

Am

eric

a

and

to a

void

sou

rcin

g fib

er

from

cou

ntri

es w

ithou

t ef

fect

ive

soci

al la

ws

9 L

egal

Com

plia

nce

To c

ompl

y w

ith a

pplic

able

fe

dera

l pr

ovin

cial

st

ate

an

d lo

cal

fore

stry

and

re

late

d en

viro

nmen

tal

law

s st

atut

es

and

regu

latio

ns

12 P

ublic

Invo

lvem

ent

To b

road

en t

he p

ract

ice

of

sust

aina

ble

fore

stry

on

publ

ic la

nds

thro

ugh

com

-m

unity

in

volv

emen

t 13

Tra

nspa

renc

y To

bro

aden

the

und

er-

stan

ding

of

fore

st c

ertif

i-ca

tion

to t

he S

FI 2

010-

2014

Sta

ndar

d by

doc

-um

entin

g ce

rtific

atio

n au

dits

and

mak

ing

the

findi

ngs

publ

icly

ava

ilabl

e

10 R

esea

rch

To s

uppo

rt ad

vanc

es i

n su

stai

nabl

e fo

rest

man

-ag

emen

t th

roug

h fo

rest

ry

rese

arch

sc

ienc

e at

id

tech

nolo

gy

of t

he c

ount

ry i

n w

hich

th

ey o

ccur

an

d in

tern

a-tio

nal

treat

ies

and

agre

e-m

ents

to

whi

ch t

he

coun

try i

s a

sign

ator

y a

nd

com

ply

with

all

FSC

Pr

inci

ples

and

C

riter

ia

Prin

cipl

e 2

Ten

ure

And

Use

R

ight

s A

nd R

espo

nsib

ilitie

s Lo

ng-te

rm

tenu

re a

nd u

se

right

s to

the

lan

d an

d fo

rest

res

ourc

es s

hall

be

clea

rly d

efin

ed

docu

-m

ente

d an

d le

gally

es

tabl

ishe

d

Prin

cipl

e 8 M

onito

ring

And

A

sses

smen

t M

onito

ring

shal

l be

con

-du

cted

ap

prop

riate

to

the

scal

e ar

id i

nten

sity

of

for-

est

man

agem

ent

to a

sses

s

Tabl

e 32

(C

ontin

ued)

Su

stai

nabl

e Fo

rest

ry

com

prom

isin

g th

e ab

ility

of

fut

ure

gene

ratio

ns t

o m

eet

thei

r ow

n ne

eds

by

prac

ticin

g a

land

ste

war

d-sh

ip e

thic

tha

t in

tegr

ates

re

fore

stat

ion

and

the

Nat

iona

l As

soci

atio

n of

Su

stai

nabi

lity

Cou

ncil

on Su

stai

nabl

e In

itiat

ive

(SFI

) Fo

rest

Ste

war

dshi

p C

ounc

il St

ate

Fore

ster

s St

ewar

dshi

p Pr

inci

ple

or C

rite

ria

Biom

ass

Prod

uctio

n (d

raft)

C

ertif

icat

ion

(FSC

) C

ertif

icat

ion

Prin

cipl

es

desi

red

sust

aina

bilit

y ou

t -11

Tra

inin

g an

d E

duca

tion

the

cond

ition

of

the

fore

st

com

es

The

stan

dard

will

To

im

prov

e th

e pr

actic

e of

yi

elds

of

fore

st p

rodu

cts

be u

pdat

ed p

erio

dica

lly

sust

aina

ble

fore

stry

ch

ain

of c

usto

dy

man

-in

corp

orat

ing

scie

ntifi

c th

roug

h tra

inin

g an

d ed

u -ag

emen

t ac

tiviti

es a

rid

resu

lts t

hat

reve

al b

ette

r ca

tion

prog

ram

s th

eir

soci

al a

nd e

nviro

n-pr

actic

es t

hat

are

com

-14

Co

ntin

ual

Impr

ovem

ent

men

tal

impa

cts

mer

cial

ly v

iabl

e G

row

ers

To

cont

inua

lly

impr

ove

are

also

exp

ecte

d to

con

-th

e pr

actic

e of

for

est

tinuo

usly

im

prov

e pe

rfor

-m

anag

emen

t an

d to

m

ance

as

guid

ed b

y m

onito

r m

easu

re

and

annu

al c

ertif

icat

ion

audi

ts

repo

rt pe

rfor

man

ce

in

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s ac

hiev

ing

the

com

mitm

ent

prod

uctio

n pr

actic

es

and

to s

usta

inab

le f

ores

try

outc

onie

s sh

all

con -

tinuo

usly

im

prov

e ba

sed

on t

he b

est

avai

labl

e sc

ienc

e

Mul

tiple

Use

3

9 In

tegr

ated

Re

sour

ce

1 S

usta

inab

le F

ores

try

Prin

cipl

e 5

Ben

efits

Fro

m

Prin

cipl

e 3

Mai

ntai

n an

d In

tegr

ated

Res

ourc

e M

anag

emen

t Pl

anni

ng

To p

ract

ice

sust

aina

ble

The

Fore

st

impr

ove

the

heal

th a

nd

Plan

ning

Sus

tain

ed

The

prep

arat

ion

of a

nd

fore

stry

to

mee

t th

e ne

eds

Fore

st

man

agem

ent

vigo

r of

the

for

est

and

its

Yie

ld

adhe

renc

e to

a c

ompl

ete

of t

he p

rese

nt w

ithou

t op

erat

ions

sh

all

enco

urag

e la

ndsc

ape

wat

ersh

ed

man

agem

ent

plan

is

con -

side

red

esse

ntia

l to

ens

ure

that

a g

row

er c

an d

eliv

er

on t

he m

ultip

le r

equi

re-

men

ts

for

sust

aina

ble

prod

uctio

n

the

effic

ient

use

of

the

fore

strsquos

m

ultip

le p

rodu

cts

and

serv

ices

to

ensu

re

econ

omic

via

bilit

y an

d a

wid

e ra

nge

of e

nviro

n-m

enta

l an

d so

cial

ben

efits

PRIN

CIP

LE

Bio

mas

s pr

oduc

tion

shal

l be

bas

ed

on a

n in

tegr

ated

res

ourc

e m

anag

emen

t pl

an

that

sh

all

be c

ompl

eted

m

on-

itore

d an

d up

date

d to

ad

dres

s ob

ject

ives

of

the

CSB

P st

anda

rd

appr

o-pr

iate

lo

the

scal

e an

d in

tens

ify o

f th

e op

erat

ion

man

agin

g g

row

ing

nur

-tu

ring

and

harv

estin

g of

tre

es f

or u

sefu

l pr

oduc

ts

and

ecos

yste

m s

ervi

ces

such

as

the

cons

erva

tion

of

soil

air

and

wat

er q

ualit

y

carb

on

biol

ogic

al d

iver

-si

ty

wild

life

and

aqua

tic

habi

tats

re

crea

tion

and

ae

sthe

tics

5 A

esth

etic

s an

d R

ecre

atio

n To

man

age

the

visu

al

impa

cts

of f

ores

t op

era-

tions

an

d to

pro

vide

re

crea

tiona

l op

portu

nitie

s fo

r th

e pu

blic

Prin

ciple

7

Man

agem

ent

Plan

A

m

anag

emen

t pl

an

appr

opria

te t

o th

e sc

ale

and

inte

nsity

of

the

oper

atio

ns s

hall

be w

rit-

ten

im

plem

ente

d

and

kept

up

tu d

ate

The

lon

g-te

rm o

bjec

tives

of

man

-ag

emen

t an

d th

e m

eans

of

achi

evin

g th

em

shal

l be

cl

early

sta

ted

Pr

inci

ple

10

Plan

tatio

ns

Plan

tatio

ns s

hall

be p

lan-

ned

and

man

aged

in

acco

rdan

ce w

ith P

rinci

ples

an

d C

riter

ia 1

-9 a

nd

Prin

cipl

e 10

and

its

Cri-

teria

W

hile

pl

anta

tions

ca

n pr

ovid

e an

arr

ay o

f so

cial

and

eco

nom

ic b

en-

efits

an

d ca

n co

ntrib

ute

to

satis

fyin

g th

e w

orld

s ne

eds

for

fore

st p

rodu

cts

they

sh

ould

com

plem

ent

the

man

agem

ent

of

redu

ce p

ress

ures

on

and

pr

omot

e th

e re

stor

atio

n an

d co

nser

vatio

n of

nat

-ur

al f

ores

ts

94 Chapter 3

34 International Sustainability Frameworks and Policy

Biorefineries operating in the US may be producing biofuels that are traded in international markets This will require an understanding of international standards and certification schemes for sustainable biofuels production The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has released ldquoPrinciples amp Criteria for Sustainable Biofiels Productionrdquo as a basis for stakeholder discussion around requirements for sustainable biofuels18 Their intent is to implement the standards through certification systems for biofuels operations throughout the world issuing certificates to recognize operations that meet their criteria

Recently the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) released their sustain-ability indicators for bioenergy aiming to help countries assess and develop sustainable production and use of bioenergy19 The 24 indicators are divided into Environmental Social and Economic Pillars

The European Union recently released the ldquoEU Renewable Energy Direc-tiverdquo that established a certification scheme for biofuels that include rising targets over time for greenhouse-gas saving over gasoline and diesel and rig-orous external auditing throughout the supply chain20 The focus to date has primariIy been on agricultural rather than forest-based feedstocks

35 Sustainability Topics to Watch The policy discussion around accounting for indirect land-use changes asso-ciated with biofuels production and their potential greenhouse gas effects has been a major point of public debate in the US and internationally This con-cept is based on the premise that use of land to grow bioenergy feedstocks in one location results in other farmers responding to market signals (higher commodity prices) and producing the displaced crop which can cause green-house emissions depending on prior land use Currently global economic models (such as FAPRI) are used to estimate this effect by examining land-use change worldwide with more ethanol production in various countries but those models do not have general land-use change in them21 The FASOM model for the US does have the ability to consider tree planting on agricultural land for either biofuels feedstocks or timber production22 Furthermore various dis-ciplines explain land changes via distinct theories and have different spatial resolutions and interpretations of indirect land-use change and its implications There is some discussion of this topic in the development of the US Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) Summary and Analysis of Comments and a significant part of the EU standardrsquos protocol23 The extent to which biofuel production induces indirect land-use change and the associated quantity of greenhouse-gas emission is not resolved

A second topic relates to assessing the lifecycle emissions associated with biofuels where it is often assumed that emissions from wood biomass are carbon neutral This assumption is being examined by the US EPA in

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 95

development of guidelines to restrict greenhouse-gas emissions from certain stationary sources such as electric power plants The uncertainty about the carbon-offset benefits of wood biomass burning for energy was considered in a draft rule released by EPA that identifies stationary GHG emissions sources that need to have permits to emit GHGs24 US EPA requested information on the issue of wood biomass carbon neutrality and as a result of those responses has suspended for three years any rule requiring such biomass emissions to be limited in the same way as fossil emissions (Environmental Protection Agency 2011) Research is needed to clarify the carbon-offset benefits of using wood for energy and how scale of the analysis in both time and space influences the outcome It seems likely that findings about the GHG offset benefits of using wood for electric power could influence how GHG offset benefits are estimated for wood-based biofuels

The definition of renewable biomass and what qualifies for various bio-fuels incentives is also likely to be a contentious point of debate as various federal and state incentives are adopted and revised Current definitions are summarized in a recent Congressional Research Service report (Table 31)25

Acknowledgements A portion of this research was supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) under the Office of the Biomass Program Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by the UT-Battelle LLC for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 Additional support was provided by the USDA Forest Service Matt Langholtz Marilyn Buford and Frederick Deneke provided useful comments in reviews of an earlier draft of the manuscript

References 1 K E Skog R Rummer B Jenkins N Parker P Tittman Q Hart R

Nelson E Gray A Schmidt M Patton-Mallory and G Gordon 2009 A strategic assessment of biofuels development in the Western States In W McWilliams G Moisen R Czaplewski comps Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Symposium 2008 October 21-23 2008 Park City UT Proc RMRS-P-56CD Fort Collins CO USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 13 p httpwwwtreesearchfsfeduspubs 33372

2 Western Governors Association 2008 Strategic Assessment of Bioenergy Development in the West Bioenergy conversion technology characteristics Report by the Antares Group Inc September 1 2008 Western Governors Association Denver CO httpwwwwestgovorgcomponentjoomdoc doc_download214-wga-bioenergy-assessment-conversion-tech

3 D Dodgeon 2010 Pulp mills as modern biorefineries Positioned for fiber fuels and chemicals Outlook North America 2010 Paper 360 8-11

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 95

development of guidelines to restrict greenhouse-gas emissions from certain stationary sources such as electric power plants The uncertainty about the carbon-offset benefits of wood biomass burning for energy was considered in a draft rule released by EPA that identifies stationary GHG emissions sources that need to have permits to emit GHGs24 US EPA requested information on the issue of wood biomass carbon neutrality and as a result of those responses has suspended for three years any rule requiring such biomass emissions to be limited in the same way as fossil emissions (Environmental Protection Agency 2011) Research is needed to clarify the carbon-offset benefits of using wood for energy and how scale of the analysis in both time and space influences the outcome It seems likely that findings about the GHG offset benefits of using wood for electric power could influence how GHG offset benefits are estimated for wood-based biofuels

The definition of renewable biomass and what qualifies for various bio-fuels incentives is also likely to be a contentious point of debate as various federal and state incentives are adopted and revised Current definitions are summarized in a recent Congressional Research Service report (Table 31)25

Acknowledgements A portion of this research was supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) under the Office of the Biomass Program Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by the UT-Battelle LLC for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 Additional support was provided by the USDA Forest Service Matt Langholtz Marilyn Buford and Frederick Deneke provided useful comments in reviews of an earlier draft of the manuscript

References 1 K E Skog R Rummer B Jenkins N Parker P Tittman Q Hart R

Nelson E Gray A Schmidt M Patton-Mallory and G Gordon 2009 A strategic assessment of biofuels development in the Western States In W McWilliams G Moisen R Czaplewski comps Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Symposium 2008 October 21-23 2008 Park City UT Proc RMRS-P-56CD Fort Collins CO USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 13 p httpwwwtreesearchfsfeduspubs 33372

2 Western Governors Association 2008 Strategic Assessment of Bioenergy Development in the West Bioenergy conversion technology characteristics Report by the Antares Group Inc September 1 2008 Western Governors Association Denver CO httpwwwwestgovorgcomponentjoomdoc doc_download214-wga-bioenergy-assessment-conversion-tech

3 D Dodgeon 2010 Pulp mills as modern biorefineries Positioned for fiber fuels and chemicals Outlook North America 2010 Paper 360 8-11

96 Chapter 3

4 A M Evans R T Pershel and B K Kittler 2010 Revised assessment of biomass harvesting and retention guidelines Forest Guild Sante Fe NM 33 p

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Society of American Foresters The Dictionary of Forestry J Helms ed Bethesda MD 1998210 p A McBride V H Dale L Baskaran M Downing L Eaton R A Efroymson C Garten K L Kline H Jager P Mulholland E Parish P Schweizer and J Storey Indicators to support enviromental sustain- ability of bioenergy systems Ecological Indicators 2011 11(5) 1277-1289 M Rickenback Comparison of Forest Certification Schemes of Interest to USA Forest Owners Sustainable Forestry Partnership at Oregon State University 1999 (httpsfpcaspsuedupdfsCertification_matrixpdf) Oregon State University Extension Forest Certification in North America 2006 EC 1518 Pinchot Institute for Conservation Certification Definition and Back- ground 2011 httpwwwpinchotorgproject59 EISA 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 httpenergy senategovpublic_filesgetdoclpdf D R Becker D Larson and E C Lowell Financial considerations of policy options to enhance biomass utilization for reducing wildfire hazards Forest Policy and Economics 2009 11(8) 628-635 Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 httpwwwusdagov documentsBill_6124pdf Forest Stewardship Council Principles and Criteria for Forest Steward- ship Washington DC 1996 10p httpwwwfscusorgimagesdocuments FSC_Principles_Criteriapdf Council on Sustainable Biomass Production 2009 October 2009 http wwwcsbporgfilessurveyCSBP_Draft_Standardpdf Sustainable Forestry Initiative 2010 Sustainable Forestry Initiative 2010- 1014 Standard 15p httpwwwsfiprogramorgfilespdfSection2_sfi_ requirements_2010-2014pdf National Association of State Foresters Stewardship handbook for family forest owners NASF Washington DC 2009 28p httpsfpcaspsuedu pdfsNASFStwdshphandbookpdf City of Gainesville Stewardship Incentive Plan for Biomass Fuel Pro- curement City of Gainesville Regional Utility Committee and the Ad Hoc Sustainable Biomass Procurement Committee April 2009 128p Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels Principles amp Criteria for Sustainable Biofuels Production RSB-STD-01-001 version 10 2009 httpwww csbporg Global Bioenergy Partnership 2011 GBEP Sustainability Indicators May 2011 httpwwwglobalbioenergyorgnews0detailennews79357icode

20 European Union EU Renewable Energy Directive 20 10 httpeceuropa euenergyrenewablesbiofuelssustainability-criteria-enhtm

21 3 F Fabiosa J C Beghin F Dong A Eliobeid S Tokgoz and T-H Yu Land allocation effects of the global ethanol surge predictions

Sustainability Considerations for Forest Biomass Feedstocks 97

from the international FAPRI model Land Economics 2010 86(4) 687-706

22 D M Adams R J Alig J M Callaway B A McCarl and S W Winnett The forest and agriculture sector optimization model (FASOM) model structure and policy implications Res Pap PNW-RP-495 Port-land OR US Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station 1996 60p

23 Environmental Protection Agency Renewable Fuels Standard Program (RFS2) Summary and analysis of comments 2010 httpwwwepagov omsrenewablefuels420r10003pdf

24 Environmental Protection Agency Deferral for CO2 Emissions From Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources Under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Programs Proposed Rule Federal Reg-ister Vol 76 (54) March 21 2011

25 K Bracmort and R W Gorte Comparison of definitions in legislation Congressional Research Service CRS7-5700 R40529 2010 30 p

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