H. Res. 453

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

April 3, 2000.

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

House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker’s

table the bill H.R. 1753 together with the Senate amendments thereto, and to have: (1) concurred in the amendment

of the Senate to the title; and (2) concurred in the amendment of the Senate to the text with an amendment as follows:

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate

amendment, insert the following:

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 agree-
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1 ment within the meaning of section 6305 of title 31,

2 United States Code.

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

4 the Director of the National Science Foundation.

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

6 awarded under a grant agreement, within the mean7 ing of section 6304 of title 31, United States Code.

8 (5) INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘‘in9 dustrial enterprise’’ means a private, nongovern10 mental enterprise that has an expertise or capability

11 that relates to methane hydrate research and devel12 opment.

13 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

14 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means an in15 stitution of higher education, within the meaning of

16 section 102(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

17 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)).

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

19 the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assist20 ant Secretary for Fossil Energy.

21 (8) SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.—The term

22 ‘‘Secretary of Commerce’’ means the Secretary of

23 Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the

24 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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1 (9) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The term ‘‘Sec2 retary of Defense’’ means the Secretary of Defense,

3 acting through the Secretary of the Navy.

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

5 ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’ means the Secretary of

6 the Interior, acting through the Director of the

7 United States Geological Survey and the Director of

8 the Minerals Management Service.

9 SEC. 3. METHANE HYDRATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP10 MENT PROGRAM.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—

12 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later

13 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of

14 this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec15 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the

16 Secretary of the Interior, and the Director, shall

17 commence a program of methane hydrate research

18 and development in accordance with this section.

19 (2) DESIGNATIONS.—The Secretary, the Sec20 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the

21 Secretary of the Interior, and the Director shall des22 ignate individuals to carry out this section.

23 (3) COORDINATION.—The individual designated

24 by the Secretary shall coordinate all activities within
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1 the Department of Energy relating to methane hy2 drate research and development.

3 (4) MEETINGS.—The individuals designated

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

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and

6 not less frequently than every 120 days thereafter

7 to—

8 (A) review the progress of the program

9 under paragraph (1); and

10 (B) make recommendations on future ac11 tivities to occur subsequent to the meeting.

12 (b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE13 MENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS,

14 AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.—

15 (1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—In car16 rying out the program of methane hydrate research

17 and development authorized by this section, the Sec18 retary may award grants or contracts to, or enter

19 into cooperative agreements with, institutions of

20 higher education and industrial enterprises to—

21 (A) conduct basic and applied research to

22 identify, explore, assess, and develop methane

23 hydrate as a source of energy;
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1 (B) assist in developing technologies re2 quired for efficient and environmentally sound

3 development of methane hydrate resources;

4 (C) undertake research programs to pro5 vide safe means of transport and storage of

6 methane produced from methane hydrates;

7 (D) promote education and training in

8 methane hydrate resource research and re9 source development;

10 (E) conduct basic and applied research to

11 assess and mitigate the environmental impacts

12 of hydrate degassing (including both natural

13 degassing and degassing associated with com14 mercial development);

15 (F) develop technologies to reduce the

16 risks of drilling through methane hydrates; and

17 (G) conduct exploratory drilling in support

18 of the activities authorized by this paragraph.

19 (2) COMPETITIVE MERIT-BASED REVIEW.—

20 Funds made available under paragraph (1) shall be

21 made available based on a competitive merit-based

22 process.

23 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall establish

24 an advisory panel consisting of experts from industrial en-
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1 terprises, institutions of higher education, and Federal

2 agencies to—

3 (1) advise the Secretary on potential applica4 tions of methane hydrate;

5 (2) assist in developing recommendations and

6 priorities for the methane hydrate research and de7 velopment program carried out under subsection

8 (a)(1); and

9 (3) not later than 2 years after the date of the

10 enactment of this Act, and at such later dates as the

11 panel considers advisable, submit to Congress a re12 port on the anticipated impact on global climate

13 change from—

14 (A) methane hydrate formation;

15 (B) methane hydrate degassing (including

16 natural degassing and degassing associated with

17 commercial development); and

18 (C) the consumption of natural gas pro19 duced from methane hydrates.

20 Not more than 25 percent of the individuals serving on

21 the advisory panel shall be Federal employees.

22 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

23 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more

24 than 5 percent of the amount made available to

25 carry out this section for a fiscal year may be used
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1 by the Secretary for expenses associated with the ad2 ministration of the program carried out under sub3 section (a)(1).

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

5 made available to carry out this section may be used

6 for the construction of a new building or the acquisi7 tion, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an exist8 ing building (including site grading and improve9 ment and architect fees).

10 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In car11 rying out subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall—

12 (1) facilitate and develop partnerships among

13 government, industrial enterprises, and institutions

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

15 explore methane hydrate resources;

16 (2) undertake programs to develop basic infor17 mation necessary for promoting long-term interest in

18 methane hydrate resources as an energy source;

19 (3) ensure that the data and information devel20 oped through the program are accessible and widely

21 disseminated as needed and appropriate;

22 (4) promote cooperation among agencies that

23 are developing technologies that may hold promise

24 for methane hydrate resource development; and
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1 (5) report annually to Congress on accomplish2 ments under this section.

3 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE MINING AND MINERALS POL4 ICY ACT OF 1970.

5 Section 201 of the Mining and Minerals Policy Act

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

7 (1) in paragraph (6)—

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

9 ‘‘and’’ at the end;

10 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as

11 subparagraph (H); and

12 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (F)

13 the following:

14 ‘‘(G) for purposes of this section and sec15 tions 202 through 205 only, methane hydrate;

16 and’’;

17 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para18 graph (8); and

19 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(7) The term ‘methane hydrate’ means—

22 ‘‘(A) a methane clathrate that is in the

23 form of a methane-water ice-like crystalline ma24 terial and is stable and occurs naturally in

25 deep-ocean and permafrost areas; and
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1 ‘‘(B) other natural gas hydrates found in

2 association with deep-ocean and permafrost de3 posits of methane hydrate.’’.

4 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary of Energy to carry out this Act—

7 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

8 (2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2002;

9 (3) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

10 (4) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

11 (5) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

12 Amounts authorized under this section shall remain avail13 able until expended.

14 SEC. 6. SUNSET.

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

16 the end of fiscal year 2005.

17 SEC. 7. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY.

18 The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the

19 National Research Council for such council to conduct a

20 study of the progress made under the methane hydrate

21 research and development program implemented pursuant

22 to this Act, and to make recommendations for future

23 methane hydrate research and development needs. The

24 Secretary shall transmit to the Congress, not later than

25 September 30, 2004, a report containing the findings and
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1 recommendations of the National Research Council under

2 this section.

3 SEC. 8. REPORTS AND STUDIES.

4 The Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Com5 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives copies

6 of any report or study that the Department of Energy pre7 pares at the direction of any committee of the Congress.

Attest:

Clerk.