EPA is proposing - Petroleum Equipment Institute

Approximately 35% by weight of MSW is paper wastes, and another 6% byweight from wood wastes. Combined with food and yard wastes, more than 60% byweight of MSW is biomass that could be used to make ethanol and other renewablefuels. 5 The volume of ethanol associated with MSW as a feedstock is described in moredetail in Section 1.1 of the Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis (DRIA).Our discussions with stakeholders indicates that a potential concern withinterpreting the definition of renewable biomass to include MSW containing yard and/orfood waste is that this approach may cause some decrease in the amount of paper that isseparated from the MSW waste stream and recycled into paper products. We believe,however, that current waste handling practices and current and anticipated marketconditions would continue to provide a strong incentive for paper separation andrecycling. A narrow reading of the statute to exclude MSW-derived renewable fuelwould directionally reduce the options available for meeting the goal of EISA to reduceour dependence on foreign sources of energy.By including MSW containing yard and/or food waste in the definition ofrenewable biomass we could also allow renewable fuel to be produced in part fromcertain plastics in the MSW waste stream. We believe this could be appropriate giventhat plastics that would otherwise be destined for landfills can be used for fuel and energyproduction. We recognize that the definition of renewable biomass generally includesonly materials of a non fossil-fuel origin, and ask that commenters consider this issue intheir comments on whether: 1) MSW containing yard and food waste should qualify asrenewable biomass, 2) if non-fossil portions of MSW should be included in thedefinition of renewable biomass, and 3) if non-fossil portions of MSW should not beincluded, whether the approach discussed in Section III.D.4 can provide an appropriatemeans for excluding the non-fossil portions.Although we are proposing to exclude MSW from the definition of “renewable biomass”for the proposed rule, our analysis of renewable fuel volume (discussed in Section V)assumes that MSW is included for purposes of the quantifying the potential futurevolume of renewable fuel. EPA intends to resolve this matter in the final rule, and wesolicit comment on the approach that we should take.b. Advanced Biofuel“Advanced Biofuel” is a renewable fuel other than ethanol derived from cornstarch and which must also achieve a lifecycle GHG emission displacement of 50%,compared to the gasoline or diesel fuel it displaces. As such, advanced biofuel would beassigned a D code of 3 as shown in Table III.A-1.5 Construction and demolition (C&D) wastes are not typically considered as elements of MSW. Becausethey are significant feedstocks for the production of ethanol, we include such wastes in our economicanalysis (Section V). Therefore, for all practical purposes, the discussion here as it pertains to whetherMSW should be included in the definition of “renewable biomass” also applies to C&D wastes.49