[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 87 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 21531-21532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10861]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 21531]]
Memorandum of May 5, 2009
Biofuels And Rural Economic Development
Memorandum for the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Energy, [and] the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency
In the Nation's ongoing efforts to achieve energy
independence, biomass and biofuels promise to play a
key role by providing the Nation with homegrown
sustainable energy options and energizing our economy
with new industries and jobs. While producing clean
renewable fuels locally is a powerful engine of
economic growth, they must be developed and used in a
way that limits environmental impact. Today, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, as required by the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, to set
new national renewable fuel standards and implement
those standards. The public will have an opportunity to
provide input on this proposal through a 60-day comment
period, and the EPA is conducting peer reviews on key
aspects of the environmental impact assessments within
the proposal.
In order to shepherd our Nation's development of this
important industry and to coordinate interagency
policy, I hereby establish a Biofuels Interagency
Working Group (Working Group), to be co-chaired by the
Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy and the
Administrator of the EPA. This Working Group will
coordinate with the National Science and Technology
Council's Biomass Research and Development Board in
undertaking its work. The responsibilities of the
Working Group shall include:
(a) Developing the Nation's first comprehensive
biofuel market development program, which shall use
existing authorities and identify new policies to
support the development of next-generation biofuels,
increase flexible fuel vehicle use, and assist in
retail marketing efforts;
(b) Coordinating infrastructure policies affecting
the supply, secure transport, and distribution of
biofuels; and
(c) Identifying new policy options to promote the
environmental sustainability of biofuels feedstock
production, taking into consideration land use, habitat
conservation, crop management practices, water
efficiency and water quality, as well as lifecycle
assessments of greenhouse gas emissions.
Alongside the Working Group's efforts, the Secretary of
Agriculture may pursue other important biofuel
development efforts. The Rural Development Act of 1972
and the Rural Development Policy Act of 1980 direct the
Secretary of Agriculture to develop, in coordination
with State and local governments, a nationwide rural
development program to assure rural America's health
and prosperity. In keeping with that mandate, and
recognizing the key role rural America will play in the
development of biofuel technology and development, I
request that the Secretary of Agriculture take the
following steps, to the extent permitted by law:
(a) Immediately begin restructuring existing
investments in renewable fuels as needed to preserve
industry employment; and
(b) Develop a comprehensive approach to
accelerating the investment in and production of
American biofuels and reducing our dependence on fossil
fuels by providing, within 30 days, under the
authorities made available in the Food, Conservation,
and Energy Act of 2008:
[[Page 21532]]
(i) Loan guarantees for the development, construction, and retrofitting of
commercial-scale biorefineries and grants to help pay for the development
and construction costs of demonstration-scale biorefineries;
(ii) Expedited funding to encourage biorefineries to replace the use of
fossil fuels in plant operations by installing new biomass energy systems
or producing new energy from renewable biomass;
(iii) Expedited funding to biofuels producers to encourage production of
next-generation biofuels from cellulosic biomass and other feedstocks;
(iv) Expansion of the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Program, which has been renamed the Rural Energy for America
Program, to include hydroelectric source technologies, energy audits, and
higher loan guarantee limits; and
(v) Guidance and support for collection, harvest, storage, and
transportation assistance for eligible materials for use in biomass
conversion facilities.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and
directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, May 5, 2009
[FR Doc. E9-10861
Filed 5-6-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3410-10-P