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Forests:
Biomass logging bill

Our Position: oppose
Bill Number: SB 1072
Sponsor: Senator Ben Nelson (R-Pendleton)
Legislative Session: 2005

Status

This bill promotes the controversial use of 'biomass' from logging projects on federal land as both a restoration tool and electricity generation mechanism. It also directs the Oregon Department of Forestry to participate in federal forest project planning and land management.

SB 1072 was - with very short notice - scheduled to receive its first public hearing on June 27 in the Rules Commitee, with just a few weeks left in the legislative calendar and little time time discuss its ramifications. Some conservation groups have been working to add sidebars to protect old growth forests and roadless areas, and to prevent the burning of toxic material such as 'black liquor' and creosote, but it is unclear what an amended version of this bill will look like before the Senate is asked to vote on it. 

The Senate is where this bill will be stopped, move forward or be significantly amended to reduce its potential damage.

Action Needed

More information

Please contact Ivan Maluski, Oregon Chapter Sierra Club

503-238-0442, x304

ivan.maluski@sierraclub.org

Background

Under the guise of fire prevention and restoration, SB 1072 would promote the use of forest biomass, a currently unprofitable by-product of destructive logging operations, for electricity production. SB 1072 also directs the State Forester and Oregon Department of Forestry to increase state participation in federal forest management, failing to recognize the important role federal lands play in the production of drinking water and fish and wildlife habitat, not just for timber production.

SB 1072 spells out that the “Policy of the State” of Oregon is to support efforts to build and place in service biomass fueled electrical power generation plants that utilize biomass collected from forests or derived from other sources, such as agriculture or municipal waste. Biomass electricity generation is an unproven new industry, currently asking for federal and state subsidies throughout Oregon and the West. Setting state policy on this issue without a solid scientific understanding or pie-in-the-sky economic predictions is simply not sensible governing.

SB 1072 also establishes a policy of active communication with the federal government regarding utilization of forest biomass from federal lands, and promotes public understanding (ie. mounts a public relations campaign) regarding the quantity and quality of biomass available on federal lands and perceived benefits from its removal. This includes the promotion of the largely speculative notion that biomass utilization can assist in reducing fire risk and enhance forest health and that biomass utilization is an effective tool for restoration of forests and for economic development in rural communities.

Currently, the production of biomass fueled electricity from cutting forests, as well as from burning agricultural and municipal waste, is very controversial and economically and ecologically unproven.

Further, SB 1072 requires the Oregon Board of Forestry to direct the State Forester to enter into stewardship contract agreements with federal agencies to carry out forest management activities on federal lands, which could include logging projects under various guises. SB 1072 also directs the historically and currently pro-timber Board of Forestry to provide guidelines to the Oregon Department of Forestry regarding the state's goals and objectives for the management of federal lands.

This is a concern due to the Board and Department of Forestry's ongoing bias in favor of the timber industry and because there are other state agencies that may be able to better provide input regarding the protection of drinking water, as well as the fish, wildlife and recreational values Oregonians have a strong interest in on their federal lands. 

SB 1072 promotes a misguided 'market based' approach to federal land management and contains many assumptions about the unproven economic and ecological benefits of forest biomass electricity generation and no acknowledgement of the risks.