IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 424

Providing for the consideration of the bill H.R. 1753 and the Senate

amendments thereto.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 29, 2000

Mr. SENSENBRENNER submitted the following resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on Rules

RESOLUTION

Providing for the consideration of the bill H.R. 1753 and

the Senate amendments thereto.

1 Resolved, That, upon the adoption of this resolution,

2 the House shall be considered to have taken from the

3 Speaker’s table the bill H.R. 1753 together with the Sen4 ate amendments thereto, and to have (1) concurred in the

5 amendment of the Senate to the title, and (2) concurred

6 in the amendment of the Senate to the text with an

7 amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to

8 be inserted by the Senate amendment, insert the following:
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Hydrate Re3 search and Development Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’ means a

7 procurement contract within the meaning of section

8 6303 of title 31, United States Code.

9 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘co10 operative agreement’’ means a cooperative agree11 ment within the meaning of section 6305 of title 31,

12 United States Code.

13 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

14 the Director of the National Science Foundation.

15 (4) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ means a grant

16 awarded under a grant agreement, within the mean17 ing of section 6304 of title 31, United States Code.

18 (5) INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘‘in19 dustrial enterprise’’ means a private, nongovern20 mental enterprise that has an expertise or capability

21 that relates to methane hydrate research and devel22 opment.

23 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

24 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means an in25 stitution of higher education, within the meaning of
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1 section 102(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

2 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)).

3 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

4 the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assist5 ant Secretary for Fossil Energy.

6 (8) SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.—The term

7 ‘‘Secretary of Commerce’’ means the Secretary of

8 Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the

9 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

10 (9) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The term ‘‘Sec11 retary of Defense’’ means the Secretary of Defense,

12 acting through the Secretary of the Navy.

13 (10) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—The term

14 ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’ means the Secretary of

15 the Interior, acting through the Director of the

16 United States Geological Survey and the Director of

17 the Minerals Management Service.

18 SEC. 3. METHANE HYDRATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT PROGRAM.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—

21 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later

22 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this

23 Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec24 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the

25 Secretary of the Interior, and the Director, shall
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1 commence a program of methane hydrate research

2 and development in accordance with this section.

3 (2) DESIGNATIONS.—The Secretary, the Sec4 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the

5 Secretary of the Interior, and the Director shall des6 ignate individuals to carry out this section.

7 (3) COORDINATION.—The individual designated

8 by the Secretary shall coordinate all activities within

9 the Department of Energy relating to methane hy10 drate research and development.

11 (4) MEETINGS.—The individuals designated

12 under paragraph (2) shall meet not later than 270

13 days after the date of enactment of this Act and not

14 less frequently than every 120 days thereafter to—

15 (A) review the progress of the program

16 under paragraph (1); and

17 (B) make recommendations on future ac18 tivities to occur subsequent to the meeting.

19 (b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE20 MENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS,

21 AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.—

22 (1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—In car23 rying out the program of methane hydrate research

24 and development authorized by this section, the Sec25 retary may award grants or contracts to, or enter
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1 into cooperative agreements with, institutions of

2 higher education and industrial enterprises to—

3 (A) conduct basic and applied research to

4 identify, explore, assess, and develop methane

5 hydrate as a source of energy;

6 (B) assist in developing technologies re7 quired for efficient and environmentally sound

8 development of methane hydrate resources;

9 (C) undertake research programs to pro10 vide safe means of transport and storage of

11 methane produced from methane hydrates;

12 (D) promote education and training in

13 methane hydrate resource research and re14 source development;

15 (E) conduct basic and applied research to

16 assess and mitigate the environmental impacts

17 of hydrate degassing (including both natural

18 degassing and degassing associated with com19 mercial development);

20 (F) develop technologies to reduce the

21 risks of drilling through methane hydrates; and

22 (G) conduct exploratory drilling in support

23 of the activities authorized by this paragraph.

24 (2) COMPETITIVE MERIT-BASED REVIEW.—

25 Funds made available under paragraph (1) shall be
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1 made available based on a competitive merit-based

2 process.

3 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall establish

4 an advisory panel consisting of experts from industrial en5 terprises, institutions of higher education, and Federal

6 agencies to—

7 (1) advise the Secretary on potential applica8 tions of methane hydrate;

9 (2) assist in developing recommendations and

10 priorities for the methane hydrate research and de11 velopment program carried out under subsection

12 (a)(1); and

13 (3) not later than 2 years after the date of en14 actment of this Act, and at such later dates as the

15 panel considers advisable, submit to Congress a re16 port on the anticipated impact on global climate

17 change from—

18 (A) methane hydrate formation;

19 (B) methane hydrate degassing (including

20 natural degassing and degassing associated with

21 commercial development); and

22 (C) the consumption of natural gas pro23 duced from methane hydrates.

24 Not more than twenty-five percent of the individuals serv25 ing on the advisory panel shall be Federal employees.
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1 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

2 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more

3 than 5 percent of the amount made available to

4 carry out this section for a fiscal year may be used

5 by the Secretary for expenses associated with the ad6 ministration of the program carried out under sub7 section (a)(1).

8 (2) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the funds

9 made available to carry out this section may be used

10 for the construction of a new building or the acquisi11 tion, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an exist12 ing building (including site grading and improve13 ment and architect fees).

14 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In car15 rying out subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall—

16 (1) facilitate and develop partnerships among

17 government, industrial enterprises, and institutions

18 of higher education to research, identify, assess, and

19 explore methane hydrate resources;

20 (2) undertake programs to develop basic infor21 mation necessary for promoting long-term interest in

22 methane hydrate resources as an energy source;

23 (3) ensure that the data and information devel24 oped through the program are accessible and widely

25 disseminated as needed and appropriate;
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1 (4) promote cooperation among agencies that

2 are developing technologies that may hold promise

3 for methane hydrate resource development; and

4 (5) report annually to Congress on accomplish5 ments under this section.

6 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE MINING AND MINERALS POL7 ICY ACT OF 1970.

8 Section 201 of the Mining and Minerals Policy Act

9 of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1901) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (6)—

11 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end;

13 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as

14 subparagraph (H); and

15 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (F)

16 the following:

17 ‘‘(G) for purposes of this section and sec18 tions 202 through 205 only, methane hydrate;

19 and’’;

20 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para21 graph (8); and

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol23 lowing:

24 ‘‘(7) The term ‘methane hydrate’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) a methane clathrate that is in the

2 form of a methane-water ice-like crystalline ma3 terial and is stable and occurs naturally in

4 deep-ocean and permafrost areas; and

5 ‘‘(B) other natural gas hydrates found in

6 association with deep-ocean and permafrost de7 posits of methane hydrate.’’.

8 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary of Energy to carry out this Act—

11 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

12 (2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2002;

13 (3) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

14 (4) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

15 (5) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

16 Amounts authorized under this section shall remain avail17 able until expended.

18 SEC. 6. SUNSET.

19 Section 3 of this Act shall cease to be effective after

20 the end of fiscal year 2005.

21 SEC. 7. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY.

22 The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the

23 National Research Council for such council to conduct a

24 study of the progress made under the methane hydrate

25 research and development program implemented pursuant
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1 to this Act, and to make recommendations for future

2 methane hydrate research and development needs. The

3 Secretary shall transmit to the Congress, not later than

4 September 30, 2004, a report containing the findings and

5 recommendations of the National Research Council under

6 this section.

7 SEC. 8. REPORTS AND STUDIES.

8 The Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Com9 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives copies

10 of any report or study that the Department of Energy pre11 pares at the direction of any committee of the Congress.

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