P.E.I.'s new forestry commission lists 5 ways to modernize how wood becomes energy

P.E.I.'s six-month-old forestry commission has released its recommendations on the province's biomass sector, which turns plant material including waste wood and wood chips into energy.

The 13-member commission chaired by Jean-Paul Arsenault was appointed by Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Steven Myers in late January. The goal was to help with developing a forest recovery plan and a new forest policy for the province, 16 years after the policy was last updated.

The commission began its work in February, weeks after P.E.I.'s auditor general released his own report saying the province was not following its own forest management policy, as it doesn't track information on growth, yield and forest use, as required by law.

Auditor General Darren Noonan said in his report the province didn't complete post-harvest audits to ensure biomass for heating public buildings was harvested "in a sustainable manner."

But the commission said the Environment Department couldn't perform those audits — partially because it doesn't have the staff resources or information required to do so.

Inconsistent contracts

Among other things, the commission found the firms that supply the province with biomass heat aren't providing all the required information as stated in their contracts. 

Some of the 18 contracts signed by the Department of Transportation ask firms to disclose how much fuel is required and what forest it will be sourced from, among other information, a year in advance. But the commission said none of the suppliers respected that requirement, with the companies claiming "it would be impossible to comply."

Similarly, the commission said not all suppliers required to provide information after completing a harvest are submitting it. 

Non-compliance means the suppliers are subject to a $2,000 fine for each harvested hectare, but the commission said the Transportation Department has imposed no penalties. 

Only five out of 18 contracts the province has signed with biomass heat providers require post-harvest audits with the Environment Department.

More clarity needed

The commission said terms like "sustainability"and "sustainable harvest" are not defined in any provincial legislation or in the contracts, and that the department's obligation is "unachievable" without any clear definitions.

The commission offered five recommendations:

• That all biomass supply contracts for the 44 provincially owned buildings should be renegotiated to provide more clarity.
• That there is a clearer definition of biomass in those revised contracts.
• That for future projects, there's a comprehensive review of the environmental impact of biomass harvesting on the long-term wood supply, including an assessment of the carbon emissions from moving the product from harvest sites to the plant.
• That the government more clearly define the role of public forests as a potential source of biomass for provincially owned buildings.
• That it determines how the forest biomass sector can contribute to the province's "Path to Net Zero" by 2040. 

Five of the 18 contracts require that at least 80 per cent of biomass must be harvested from property under a forest management plan.

Most forested land ruled out as source

But the commission said that since only a quarter of private forest land is registered under the province's Forest Enhancement Program, that effectively rules out 75 per cent of available forest as a source.

It said some of that biomass can be sourced from the 33,000 hectares of forested land managed by the Environment Department "providing it can be done in a sustainable manner and in accordance with an approved forest management plan."

"We'll definitely be working towards implementing these five new recommendations that we have," Myers told CBC News on Thursday. 

Of the commission, he said: "They've been doing fabulous work to help modernize our forest policy on P.E.I."