WECHAR Bill proposes biochar development

On Thursday, September 24, 2009, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, and four cosponsors (Senators Max Baucus and John Tester of Montana, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico), introduced the “Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009.” The bill establishes a loan guarantee program to develop biochar technology, initiates a program of biochar landscape restoration projects on public land, and authorizes a competitive grant program to fund research on biochar characteristics, impacts and economics.

In the face of climate change, drought is an ever growing problem in the Western US, exacerbated by water-sucking weeds like tamarisk (salt cedar), which can consume 200 gallons of water a day, per plant. These invasive weeds, along with other excess biomass in the form of beetle-killed trees, forests with dangerous fuel loading, and dense pinyon-juniper thickets that have invaded native sagebrush ecosystems, are ideal feedstocks for biochar.

Here is a summary of the bill via biochar international

Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009

Section-by-Section

Sec. 1. Short Title. Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act of 2009.

Sec. 2.  Findings.

Sec.3.  Definitions.

Sec. 4. Resource Assessment.
Directs the U.S. Geological Survey to assess the amount of feedstock in the form of invasive weeds and hazardous fuels on the public lands, the amount of carbon and biochar production potential in that feedstock, and the potential for water savings if it were removed.

Sec. 5. Technology Research.

• Directs the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to develop loan guarantee programs for development of mobile and fixed but temporary biochar production technology that can be deployed in remote locations and use excess biomass as feedstock.
• Identifies that production units produced under these guarantee programs need to be primarily tasked to work with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Forest Service on invasive tamarisk in the Mojave Desert, pinyon-juniper buildup in the Great Basin, and bark beetle-killed trees in the Intermountain West.
• Provides criteria for loan guarantee programs to ensure appropriate use and protection of funds and likelihood of success of the ventures accessing the program.

Sec. 6. Existing Technology.

• Directs the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to develop loan guarantee programs for construction or acquisition of existing biochar production technology that can be put directly into use.
• Identifies that production units produced under these guarantee programs need to be primarily tasked to work with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Forest Service on invasive tamarisk in the Mojave Desert, pinyon-juniper buildup in the Great Basin, and bark beetle-killed trees in the Intermountain West.
• Provides criteria for loan guarantee programs to ensure appropriate use and protection of funds and likelihood of success of the ventures accessing the program.

Sec. 7. Deployment.

• Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to develop 3-year programs for use of the technology developed in section 5, and identifies that initial programs shall be carried out by the Bureau of Land Management using Great Basin excess pinyon-juniper, by the National Park Service using Mojave Desert tamarisk, and by the Forest Service using Intermountain West bark beetle-killed trees.
• Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to develop plans for use of the technology developed in section 5, and identifies that these shall use Great Basin excess pinyon-juniper, Mojave Desert tamarisk, and Intermountain West bark beetle-killed trees.

Sec. 8. Application and Market Research.

• Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement competitive grants programs to develop markets for biochar and bioenergy, analyze the production costs versus the economic benefits of biochar production, potential performance of biochar production in carbon sequestration programs, and compares biochar production with other biofuel production systems.
• Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement competitive grants programs to perform full environmental review of biochar production and use, including water savings, environmental benefits of biochar use in agricultural settings, and any potential adverse environmental impacts.
• Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement competitive grants programs to research and analyze potential uses for biochar in landscape restoration in different ecosystems and soil types.

Sec. 9. Authorization of Appropriations.
Authorizes the appropriation of such funds as are necessary to carry out sections 4 through 8.