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B.C. introduces forest licensing changes to encourage biomass use |
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A
local news report says that two
changes in forest tenure announced at the 2010 B.C. Natural Resources Forum could significantly change the bioenergy sector in the province.
B.C. Forest Minister Pat Bell said he intends to introduce receiving licenses and
stand-as-a-whole pricing by the end of the year. The goal of the policy
shift is to provide an incentive for forest companies to harvest all
the timber on a cutblock, rather than pile lower-grade materials in
slashpiles and burn it.
Currently lower-value logs, like those killed by the mountain pine
beetle, are left behind because lumber companies — the major tenure
holders — would have to pay the stumpage on the log and count it
against their annual allowable cut, Bell explained.
A receiving license would give bioenergy, wood pellet and other
alternative producers an annual allowable cut allocation which could be
transfered to the tenure holder. That allocation of annual allowable
cut could then be used to harvest lower-value logs to be chipped and
used as feedstock for pulp, pellets, wood ethanol, bioenergy production
or other uses.
Details of how receiving licenses will be distributed, who will be
eligible, what costs are associated, etc. are currently being worked on
by ministry staff, Bell said.
More details at http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/81348727.html
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