Woody Biomass Emissions Sutdy Available.

Greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions of alternatives for woody biomass residues.

The forests of the Pacific Northwest have historically fueled the economy of the region. Yet there has been no data on the impacts of using the woody forest materials left after harvest as fuel. Until now.

Using a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) managed an in-depth analysis of air pollutant emissions of options for using or disposing of woody debris generated in conjunction with forest management and land clearing operations in the Pacific Northwest. The results of that study are now available.

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  In early May, WORC members received an email about a new website that would not only allow them easy access to information about members of the organization and the ability to sign up for WORC events online, but essentially create an online community for the membership. So how does the website connect the WORC membership?

     In the scramble to gain a foothold in Washington's emerging bioenergy industry, competitors include corporate giants and entrepreneurs with big plans but without deep pockets. Marc Rappaport of Olympia fits into the latter category.

     He's in a field with the likes of Longview Fibre, Nippon Paper Industries and Adage, a joint venture of two companies, one of them listed on the Fortune 500. They and others have ambitions to make electricity or fuel from sawdust, bark, chips, wood scraps, pulp liquor, construction debris, manure or other organic matter that fits under the all-encompassing label of "biomass."

    Despite the attention and support biomass is getting, though, developing the power source faces formidable economic and environmental challenges. Power forecasters project it will play a small

role in meeting the region's energy needs over the next decade or two.

     More than 40 wood-fed power plants, mostly at sawmills and paper mills where wood waste accumulates, already dot the Northwest. Some are decades old. But the region gets only 2.4 percent of its electricity from biomass, a percentage point lower than coal or nuclear.

     State and federal lawmakers appear keen to change that, passing laws and appropriating money to advance bioenergy.

The how-to manual, "Guidelines and Resources for Implementing Soil Quality and Depth BMP T5.13 (in WDOE Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington)" has just been updated! This guide was developed in 2002 under funding by Snohomish County by a team led by Howard Stenn of Stenn Design. It was used for WORC's 2003 "Soil Strategies for Stormwater Management" series of workshops around Western Washington, funded by the Puget Sound Action Team, and has been used at trainings and conferences around Washington and the U.S. and Canada ever since. Now, with funding from Seattle Public Utilities, it has been updated to be consistent with the Department of Ecology's 2005 Stormwater Manual.  The new version can be downloaded at www.SoilsforSalmon.org