[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 87 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 21531-21532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10861]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 21531]]


                Memorandum of May 5, 2009

                
 Biofuels And Rural Economic Development

                Memorandum for the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
                Secretary of Energy, [and] the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency

                In the Nation's ongoing efforts to achieve energy 
                independence, biomass and biofuels promise to play a 
                key role by providing the Nation with homegrown 
                sustainable energy options and energizing our economy 
                with new industries and jobs. While producing clean 
                renewable fuels locally is a powerful engine of 
                economic growth, they must be developed and used in a 
                way that limits environmental impact. Today, the 
                Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a 
                Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, as required by the 
                Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, to set 
                new national renewable fuel standards and implement 
                those standards. The public will have an opportunity to 
                provide input on this proposal through a 60-day comment 
                period, and the EPA is conducting peer reviews on key 
                aspects of the environmental impact assessments within 
                the proposal.

                In order to shepherd our Nation's development of this 
                important industry and to coordinate interagency 
                policy, I hereby establish a Biofuels Interagency 
                Working Group (Working Group), to be co-chaired by the 
                Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy and the 
                Administrator of the EPA. This Working Group will 
                coordinate with the National Science and Technology 
                Council's Biomass Research and Development Board in 
                undertaking its work. The responsibilities of the 
                Working Group shall include:

                    (a) Developing the Nation's first comprehensive 
                biofuel market development program, which shall use 
                existing authorities and identify new policies to 
                support the development of next-generation biofuels, 
                increase flexible fuel vehicle use, and assist in 
                retail marketing efforts;
                    (b) Coordinating infrastructure policies affecting 
                the supply, secure transport, and distribution of 
                biofuels; and
                    (c) Identifying new policy options to promote the 
                environmental sustainability of biofuels feedstock 
                production, taking into consideration land use, habitat 
                conservation, crop management practices, water 
                efficiency and water quality, as well as lifecycle 
                assessments of greenhouse gas emissions.

                Alongside the Working Group's efforts, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture may pursue other important biofuel 
                development efforts. The Rural Development Act of 1972 
                and the Rural Development Policy Act of 1980 direct the 
                Secretary of Agriculture to develop, in coordination 
                with State and local governments, a nationwide rural 
                development program to assure rural America's health 
                and prosperity. In keeping with that mandate, and 
                recognizing the key role rural America will play in the 
                development of biofuel technology and development, I 
                request that the Secretary of Agriculture take the 
                following steps, to the extent permitted by law:

                    (a) Immediately begin restructuring existing 
                investments in renewable fuels as needed to preserve 
                industry employment; and
                    (b) Develop a comprehensive approach to 
                accelerating the investment in and production of 
                American biofuels and reducing our dependence on fossil 
                fuels by providing, within 30 days, under the 
                authorities made available in the Food, Conservation, 
                and Energy Act of 2008:

[[Page 21532]]

(i) Loan guarantees for the development, construction, and retrofitting of 
commercial-scale biorefineries and grants to help pay for the development 
and construction costs of demonstration-scale biorefineries;

(ii) Expedited funding to encourage biorefineries to replace the use of 
fossil fuels in plant operations by installing new biomass energy systems 
or producing new energy from renewable biomass;

(iii) Expedited funding to biofuels producers to encourage production of 
next-generation biofuels from cellulosic biomass and other feedstocks;

(iv) Expansion of the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency 
Improvements Program, which has been renamed the Rural Energy for America 
Program, to include hydroelectric source technologies, energy audits, and 
higher loan guarantee limits; and

 (v) Guidance and support for collection, harvest, storage, and 
transportation assistance for eligible materials for use in biomass 
conversion facilities.

                This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.

                The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and 
                directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal 
                Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, May 5, 2009

[FR Doc. E9-10861
Filed 5-6-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3410-10-P