Comment Log Display

RE: California Farm Bureau's Comments Relating to the Proposed Low
Carbon Fuel Standard Amendments

Dear Chair Randolph,
We appreciate this opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed
amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. 
California Farm Bureau (CAFB) is an innovative, service-based
organization dedicated to being the foremost advocate, protecting
the future and quality of life for all California farmers and
ranchers. CAFB protects California's diverse farming and ranching
legacy and enables the whole agriculture community to thrive. With
over 29,000 members, CAFB is California's largest agricultural
association. 

California family farmers are community members and are committed
to the health and wellbeing of their neighbors. Unlike other
economic sectors, the products California's farmers produce are
used and needed by all Californians.  We take great exception to
much of the anti-farming, and anti-science rhetoric being offered
up at the workshop by representatives of the AB 32 Environmental
Justice Advisory Committee and some public comments which are
clearly attacks on the agriculture community.

Section 95481
CAFB supports the need to protect our forests. As such, we support
language that defines forest biomass waste. However, the language
that CARB has inserted in Section 95481 critically leaves out many
or even most wildfire mitigation and forest restoration projects in
California. That is because wildfire mitigation, forest
restoration, and fuel removal to address bark beetle or other
forest health issues generally includes some amount of merchantable
residues.  In addition, all forest biomass waste can be converted
to wood pellets or biochar, which are "wood products," so the
exclusion of biomass that can be converted into other wood products
effectively excludes all forest biomass waste. Biochar is
recognized and defined as an Auxiliary Soil and Plant Substance by
the California Department of Food and Agriculture with benefits as
a soil amendment. Biochar is primarily composed of carbon and can
be used as a long-term carbon storage sink in soils. It contributes
directly to carbon sequestration and efforts to mitigate climate
change".
To ensure that LCFS eligible forest biomass waste is
environmentally sustainable and protects forest health, CAFB
recommends the following edits to the definition: 

"Forest Biomass Waste" means residues that are 1) removed for
wildfire mitigation, forest restoration projects, or the protection
of public safety, or 2) small-diameter, non-merchantable residues,
limited to forest understory vegetation, ladder fuels, limbs,
branches, and logs that do not meet regional minimum marketable
standards for processing into wood products."
These changes will also make the definition of forest biomass waste
consistent with the requirements of Section 95488.8(g)(1)(A)(3)
which references wildfire mitigation, the need for defensible space
(which often requires clearcutting), forest restoration, and
threats to public safety or infrastructure.

Section 95482
Rather than outright eliminate credit generation for hydrogen
produced using fossil gas as a feedstock, CARB would be better
suited to incentivize non-fossil gas hydrogen at a higher level. We
currently need all the hydrogen we can produce. Eliminating credits
entirely from hydrogen from fossil gas does nothing to encourage
and develop a hydrogen market. 
Further, CAFB recommends that CARB not place a cap on crop-based
fuels. We ought to be encouraging more native and homegrown fuel
sources than limiting ourselves on a fuel source that we know is
better and cleaner than diesel.
If CARB must place a cap on biofuels, we recommend the cap be based
on science and available data and not just an arbitrary number. 
CARB's own research shows a negative impact by placing a cap on
crop-based fuels. By doing this, we continue to send the signal
that LCFS is a bridge fuel, while removing diesel from the system.


Section 95488.9(g)
CAFB is very concerned that section 95488.9(g), which was
originally written to ensure the sustainability of crop-based
fuels, has been expanded to cover all waste biomass and the
sustainability certification requirements. CAFB supports efforts to
reduce deforestation, however the requirements in this section are
entirely inappropriate for agricultural or forest residues where
the feedstock is a waste product, and the fuels producer has no
control over the crop growing practices.  Applying the same
standards to agricultural or forest residues as to purpose grown
crops does not make sense and will effectively close the door to
fuels that could be produced from agricultural and forest
residues.


Section 95490(a)
CAFB supports the use of CCSU to drive down carbon intensities and
generate carbon negative emissions where possible.  The proposed
amendments, however, limit sequestration to geologic storage and
limit the use of captured carbon to fuels production.  These
restrictions exclude the use of biochar, which can be a co-product
of hydrogen, electricity or biofuels production from waste biomass.
 Biochar can be used for carbon sequestration in soil or to reduce
emissions from cows, livestock manure and compost.  Biochar can
also be used in the production of concrete, pavement, tires, ink
and other products.  And biochar can replace charcoal for water
filtration and purification.  These are all beneficial uses that
either sequester carbon or displace fossil fuel and higher emitting
alternatives.  Excluding the use of biochar will harm the economics
and viability of forest waste and agricultural waste to fuel
projects and contradicts the recommendations in the 2022 Climate
Change Scoping Plan to increase the use of bioenergy with CCS
(BECCS).

CAFB urges CARB to revise the definition of CCS in section 95490(a)
as follows: 

(a)(1) Alternative fuel producers, petroleum refineries, and oil
producers that capture CO2 on-site, including at the location of
the production of hydrogen used as an intermediate input, and
geologically sequester CO2 geologically or in the form of biochar,
either on-site or off-site.

CAFB urges CARB to revise the definition of CCS on page 8 as
follows:

"Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project" means either 1) a
project that captures CO2 by an eligible entity specified in
section 95490(a) of this sub article, transports the captured CO2
to an injection site, and injects and permanently sequesters the
captured CO2 pursuant to the Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Protocol and as specified by section 95490 of this sub article, or
2) a project that captures carbon in the form of biochar during the
conversion of waste biomass to fuels and that biochar is used in a
manner that sequesters the carbon.

These changes will allow for the use of biochar to sequester or use
carbon that is captured during gasification or pyrolysis of waste
biomass.



Sincerely,

Steven Fenaroli
Political Affairs Director, California Farm Bureau