[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8618 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8618

To require the Environmental Protection Agency to assess the lifecycle 
greenhouse gas emissions associated with forest biomass combustion for 
electricity when developing relevant rules and regulations and to carry 
  out a study on the impacts of the forest biomass industry, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2024

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself and Mrs. Foushee) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Environmental Protection Agency to assess the lifecycle 
greenhouse gas emissions associated with forest biomass combustion for 
electricity when developing relevant rules and regulations and to carry 
  out a study on the impacts of the forest biomass industry, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Forest biomass.--
                    (A) In general.--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.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``forest biomass'' does 
                not include--
                            (i) paper that is commonly recycled; or
                            (ii) unsegregated solid waste.
            (3) Impacted community.--The term ``impacted community'' 
        means a population living in close proximity to a source of 
        pollution.
            (4) Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.--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)).
            (5) Science advisory board.--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)).

SEC. 3. LIFECYCLE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ASSESSMENT.

    (a) In General.--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.
    (b) Requirement.--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.

SEC. 4. EVALUATING OTHER IMPACTS OF THE FOREST BIOMASS INDUSTRY.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--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.
            (2) Inclusion.--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.
    (b) Report.--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.
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