Advocacy

SWANA Submits Comments on Renewable Fuel Standard Proposal

SWANA submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) “set” rule that includes renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The proposed rule also expands the program to include certain types of renewable electricity used by light-duty electric vehicles.

SWANA joined the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), American Public Gas Association, Energy Vision, and The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas in submitting detailed comments on the RFS rule as a whole. SWANA has participated in a joint letter with this same group in response to previous RFS proposals.

A separate comment letter was also submitted by SWANA and NWRA to address issues particular to the landfill sector. SWANA also submitted comments that were developed by the Waste Conversion & Energy Recovery Technical Division as well.

The RFS rule requires refiners or importers of gasoline and diesel fuel to achieve their renewable volume obligations by including renewable fuels into petroleum-based fuels or by obtaining credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). Renewable fuel types include biomass-based diesel, cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel.

The major change proposed in the RFS rule is an expansion of the program to allow for the generation of electric renewable identification numbers (eRINs) from eligible sources of biomass-based electricity used by light-duty electric vehicles. One result of this change is that various waste conversion technologies would be eligible to participate in the RFS program for the first time.

New Funding Opportunity for Landfill Methane Projects in Canada

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has announced a new funding opportunity to support emerging and innovative technologies for optimizing methane mitigation at landfills. The funds can be used to support pilot scale implementation of emerging monitoring and automation systems at Canadian municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills including:

• Drone-based methane measurement systems that can readily identify methane hotspots and leaks, and/or quantify total site emissions
• Continuous methane monitoring systems that generate real-time continuous methane emissions data and identify leaks
• Automated wellfield tuning systems that can be added to existing landfill gas (LFG) collection systems to maximize collection efficiency
• Other monitoring technologies that will assist in measuring methane emissions from landfills, identifying emissions sources or leaks, or improving LFG collection efficiency

By facilitating the installation and testing of these systems at existing open and closed Canadian landfills, the program will provide information on the systems’ technical and economic effectiveness in the Canadian context. The results of the pilot tests will be used to evaluate the performance of these systems, identify benefits and barriers to their adoption, provide relevant local examples of the technology implementation to interested landfill operators, and, if appropriate, promote further use of the systems in order to ultimately contribute to the implementation of the Government of Canada’s methane reduction commitments.

Projects are eligible for funding up to a maximum of $200,000 per project (for its duration). Projects must be completed by March 31, 2025. A total of $750,000 in funding is available between April 2023 and March 31, 2025.

The application deadline for initial allocation of funding is April 14, 2023. Applications can be submitted after this date if the process remains open. Note that regardless of when the application is submitted and approved, the project must be completed by March 31, 2025.

More details on the program, including eligibility requirements, expected results and how to apply can be found at the funding opportunity page.

ECCC LFG Management & Methane Reduction Questionnaire

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has created a short questionnaire on the technical approaches for LFG management and methane reduction that are currently in use or under consideration at Canadian landfills. The objectives of this questionnaire are to:

• data that will inform the development of new federal regulations (updated information on existing and planned LFG management approaches will be helpful to refine decisions and assess the impact of specific requirements under the regulations.)
• Identify how ECCC can support landfill owners in evaluating and implementing new projects to manage LFG and reduce methane emissions.

The initial sections of the questionnaire are geared toward landfill owners and operators, but ECCC welcomes the input of consultants and other subject matter experts in the final section. If you do not own or operate a landfill, please skip to Section 5 of the survey. Interested parties can complete the questionnaire here.

FTC Extends Comment Deadline for “Green Guides” Review

The US Federal Trade Commission is extending the deadline for public comment on the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, better known as the “Green Guides” until April 24, 2023. Comments were originally due by February 21.

The FTC is seeking comment on a variety of environmental marketing claims, including those related to the terms “compostable,” “degradable,” “recyclable,” and “recycled content.” The Green Guides will influence how they are used on packaging and in marketing across the United States.

The SWANA Sustainable Materials Management Technical Division Advocacy Committee is leading development of the Association’s comments in conjunction with the SWANA Core Advocacy Group.