RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 275 (HB 708) 2022 Regular Session McFarland
New law provides that the legislature finds and declares that energy produced from forest
products' manufacturing bioenergy feedstocks and energy produced from agricultural
harvesting, including bagasse produced from sugarcane, are considered renewable and carbon
neutral. When paired with carbon capture technologies, such energies may be considered
carbon negative.
New law defines "biomass" as any forest products' manufacturing bioenergy feedstocks
including but not limited to the following:
(1)Forest products' manufacturing residuals, including but not limited to spent pulping
liquors, pulping by-products, woody manufacturing residuals, paper recycling
residuals, wastewater and process water treatment plant residuals, and anaerobic
digester biogas.
(2)Harvest residues, including trees or portions of harvested trees that are too small or
of too poor quality to be utilized for wood products or paper products.
(3)Downed wood from extreme weather events and natural disasters, nonhazardous
landscape or right-of-way trimmings and municipal trimmings, and plant material
removed for purposes of invasive or noxious plant species control, and biowaste,
including landfill gas.
(4)Forest biomass derived from residues created as a by-product of timber harvesting,
including but not limited to low-value wood, treetops, and tree limbs.
(5)Forest management activities conducted for stand improvement or to increase yield,
ecological restoration, or to maintain or enhance forest health including but not
limited to hazardous fuels reduction.
(6)Biomass materials recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
as fuels under federal law (40 CFR Part 241.4).
(7)Other used wood products, such as crates or pallets.
New law defines "sugarcane bagasse biomass" or "bagasse biomass" as the solid waste that
remains after the extraction of sugarcane liquid from the stalks and includes but is not limited
to the following:
(1)Biomass from factory bagasse obtained from industrial extracting processing and
which contains only trace amounts of sugarcane liquid.
(2)Biomass from pressed cane stalks or farm bagasse obtained from on-farm or small
factory extraction and which contains a higher amount of sugarcane liquid.
(3)Dewatered pulp derived from bagasse and recognized by the EPA as fuels under
federal law (40 CFR Part 241.4).
New law defines "bioenergy with carbon capture and storage" as the process of capturing and
permanently storing carbon dioxide from biomass energy generation.
Effective August 1, 2022.
(Adds R.S. 51:3061(3) and (4) and 3062(6), (7), and (8))