There are few federal or state safeguards against the introduction of an invasive species as a biofuel crop, say researchers at the University of Illinois in two newly published papers. In response, the group developed a list of 49 low-risk crops that growers could choose and a model set of definitions and provisions for regulators. Only four states – Florida, Mississippi, Oregon and Maryland – have laws on cultivation of bioenergy crops and that include language on invasive species, said Lauren Quinn, an invasive place ecologist at U-Illinois. When it considers crops for bioenergy use, EPA does not formally consider if the crop would become invasive, said Quinn.
EPA has approved two known invaders, giant reed and napier grass, says U-I agricultural law professor Bryan Endress. The so-called white list of low-risk crops was developed using an existing 49-question risk assessment protocol. Even then, the crops should be grown only in native areas. As an example, a switchgrass variety, Panicum virgatum, is low-risk except in California, Oregon and Washington state.
“Resolving regulatory uncertainty: Legislative language for potentially invasive bioenergy feedstocks” was published in the journal GCB Bioenergy and is available here. An abstract of “Bioenergy feedstocks at low risk for invasion in the United States: A ‘white list’ approach,” published in Bioenergy Research, is available here.