PFPI-BiomassIsTheNewCoal-April-2-2014

to require such testing, otherwise it is not federally enforceable, and is thus invalid. For limits tobe truly enforceable, there should be ongoing monitoring with results revealed in real time, so thatstates and citizens can know when and if a facility is violating its permit.Loophole 7: EPA rules blur the line between biomass facilities and incineratorsEPA’s rules allow materials that are just as contaminated as coal – and in some cases, morecontaminated, as in the case of phthalate-containing “fuel cubes” – to be burned in biomass plants as“non-hazardous secondary materials,” instead of waste incinerators, where emissions are moretightly regulated. EPA is proposing to grant a blanket designation as non-hazardous forconstruction and demolition waste wood, which contains heavy metals like arsenic, lead, andmercury, and emits carcinogens like benzene, formaldehyde, and dioxins when burned.The fix: EPA needs to put people first – not the bioenergy industry, which has an inexhaustibleappetite for contaminated fuels, particularly materials they are paid to dispose of by burning. TheEPA should ensure that it does not create a loophole for unregulated waste incineration and that itprotects public health by ensuring that all waste burners – including those that label themselvesbiomass units – meet the protective standards that Congress enacted for waste burning.All around the country, communities are being faced with large biomass plants that are promoted as“clean and green” renewable energy. When people find out how much pollution these facilitiesemit, however, and the special treatment the bioenergy industry receives, they wonder why theirscarce renewable energy dollars are supporting an industry that can, literally, kill people with itsemissions. The data from the 88 permits we reviewed tells the story – again and again, biomassplants are allowed to emit more criteria pollutants and hazardous air pollutants, as well asgreenhouse gases, than fossil fueled plants or even waste burners. The majority of the biomassplants currently being built will burn some kind of waste materials, and it is increasingly difficultfor communities to protect themselves from toxic air pollution in light of the rollback on regulationat EPA now underway. It is time to take a clear-eyed look at what this bioenergy industry actuallyrepresents – the liquidation of pollution-emitting and often toxic materials into the atmosphere,where they are dispersed into the environment and the air we breathe. Across the board, it is timefor states and the federal government to stop promoting and supporting biomass power as “clean”energy, and recognize its real impacts.69