Final Regulation - August 17, 2012

The final regulation follows over two years of evaluation, public input, and careful considerations of how best to utilize woody biomass resources for energy, in a manner which is consistent with the Commonwealth’s commitments to reduce GHG emissions and to protect the broad range of human and ecological services of the forests.

A draft regulation was filed in May 2011, which was the subject of two public hearings, a written public comment period, and comments from the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. 

Based on stakeholder and Committee comments, DOER incorporated a number of changes to the regulation and prepared a proposed final regulation published April 27, 2012.  Accordingly, at the request of the Administration, DOER again offered the regulation for a 30-day public comment period between May 19th and June 18th, 2012, after which the final regulation was prepared and filed for promulgation. 

Over the next weeks and months, DOER will provide appropriate outreach and training to the forestry and biomass industries to prepare for compliance with the new regulations.

Final Documents

Disclaimer: official regulation is only available from the Office of the Secretary of State

DOER hosted informational webinar

The Department hosted a webinar on May 16, 2012 on the Proposed Final Regulation. The webinar provided participants with an overview of the revisions to the regulation and will allow time for questions. The webinar may be helpful to those stakeholders considering making written comments to DOER during the official comment period. The webinar recording, presentation and handout are posted below. Answers to questions posed online during the webinar will be posted as soon as possible.

RPS Biomass - Proposed Final Regulation Recording wmv format of RPS Biomass - Proposed Final Reg Recording file size 42MB

RPS Biomass Proposed Final Regulation Slides pdf format of RPS Biomass Proposed Final Regulation Slides file size 2MB

RPS Biomass - Proposed Final Regulation Handout pdf format of RPS Biomass - Proposed Final Regulation Handout .

Proposed Final Regulation - published April 27, 2012

This proposed final regulation follows over two years of evaluation, public input, and careful considerations of how best to utilize our woody biomass resources for energy, in a manner which is consistent with the Commonwealth’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to protect the broad range of human and ecological services of the forests.

A draft regulation was filed in May 2011 and was the subject of two Public Hearings, a written public comment period, and comments from the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy.
Based on stakeholder and Committee comments, DOER has incorporated significant changes to the regulation to prepare this proposed final regulation, as a result of these changes and active stakeholder participation to date, DOER is putting this regulation out for a 30-day public comment period, after which a final regulation will be prepared and filed for promulgation.  As part of this regulation package, DOER has amended its two proposed biomass specific Guidelines - the Overall Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Analysis Guideline and the Eligible Fuel and Certificate Guideline.  

Review Documents

DOER provides for review the following summary documents along with the Proposed Final Regulation and Guidelines.

    Disclaimer: official regulation is only available from the Office of the Secretary of State

Report of the Joint Committee to DOER pdf format of Report of the Joint Committee to DOER (June 10, 2011)

The Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy provided a report to DOER, commenting on the RPS biomass draft regulation.

RPS Biomass Draft Regulation (May 3, 2011)

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) filed its draft regulation with the Clerk of the House on May 3, 2011, under the requirements of G.L.C. 25A s12. This regulation was referred to the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy for its 30-day review. After the review, the Committee provided comments on the regulation to DOER.

In preparing the draft regulation, DOER considered the many comments on the proposed draft regulation received at the two Public Hearings and through the written comment process (see below). We are grateful for this input. The documents provided to the Legislature in this filing are available below.

Draft Proposed Regulation pdf format of 225 CMR 14.00 091710 to SoS.PDF (2010)

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER released a draft proposed regulation in 2010 to establish criteria that woody biomass facilities must meet under the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS). This proposed regulation was a result of careful consideration of the Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy Study, subsequent public comments on that study and public comments generally on biomass policy.

DOER held two public hearings on October 15, 2010, in Pittsfield and Gardner, and accepted public comments on the proposed regulations through Thursday October 21, 2010. The public comments are available here.

DOER reviewed the comments in advance of filing the draft regulations with the Legislature.

This information is provided by the Department of Energy Resources.