IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 453

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

amendments thereto.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 3, 2000

Mr. SENSENBRENNER submitted the following resolution; which was

considered under suspension of the rules and agreed to

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 the enactment of

23 this 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 the enactment of this Act and

14 not less frequently than every 120 days thereafter

15 to—

16 (A) review the progress of the program

17 under paragraph (1); and

18 (B) make recommendations on future ac19 tivities to occur subsequent to the meeting.

20 (b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE21 MENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS,

22 AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.—

23 (1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—In car24 rying out the program of methane hydrate research

25 and development authorized by this section, the Sec-
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1 retary may award grants or contracts to, or enter

2 into cooperative agreements with, institutions of

3 higher education and industrial enterprises to—

4 (A) conduct basic and applied research to

5 identify, explore, assess, and develop methane

6 hydrate as a source of energy;

7 (B) assist in developing technologies re8 quired for efficient and environmentally sound

9 development of methane hydrate resources;

10 (C) undertake research programs to pro11 vide safe means of transport and storage of

12 methane produced from methane hydrates;

13 (D) promote education and training in

14 methane hydrate resource research and re15 source development;

16 (E) conduct basic and applied research to

17 assess and mitigate the environmental impacts

18 of hydrate degassing (including both natural

19 degassing and degassing associated with com20 mercial development);

21 (F) develop technologies to reduce the

22 risks of drilling through methane hydrates; and

23 (G) conduct exploratory drilling in support

24 of the activities authorized by this paragraph.
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1 (2) COMPETITIVE MERIT-BASED REVIEW.—

2 Funds made available under paragraph (1) shall be

3 made available based on a competitive merit-based

4 process.

5 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall establish

6 an advisory panel consisting of experts from industrial en7 terprises, institutions of higher education, and Federal

8 agencies to—

9 (1) advise the Secretary on potential applica10 tions of methane hydrate;

11 (2) assist in developing recommendations and

12 priorities for the methane hydrate research and de13 velopment program carried out under subsection

14 (a)(1); and

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

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

17 panel considers advisable, submit to Congress a re18 port on the anticipated impact on global climate

19 change from—

20 (A) methane hydrate formation;

21 (B) methane hydrate degassing (including

22 natural degassing and degassing associated with

23 commercial development); and

24 (C) the consumption of natural gas pro25 duced from methane hydrates.
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1 Not more than 25 percent of the individuals serving on

2 the advisory panel shall be Federal employees.

3 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

4 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more

5 than 5 percent of the amount made available to

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

7 by the Secretary for expenses associated with the ad8 ministration of the program carried out under sub9 section (a)(1).

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

11 made available to carry out this section may be used

12 for the construction of a new building or the acquisi13 tion, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an exist14 ing building (including site grading and improve15 ment and architect fees).

16 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In car17 rying out subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall—

18 (1) facilitate and develop partnerships among

19 government, industrial enterprises, and institutions

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

21 explore methane hydrate resources;

22 (2) undertake programs to develop basic infor23 mation necessary for promoting long-term interest in

24 methane hydrate resources as an energy source;
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1 (3) ensure that the data and information devel2 oped through the program are accessible and widely

3 disseminated as needed and appropriate;

4 (4) promote cooperation among agencies that

5 are developing technologies that may hold promise

6 for methane hydrate resource development; and

7 (5) report annually to Congress on accomplish8 ments under this section.

9 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE MINING AND MINERALS POL10 ICY ACT OF 1970.

11 Section 201 of the Mining and Minerals Policy Act

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

13 (1) in paragraph (6)—

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

15 ‘‘and’’ at the end;

16 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as

17 subparagraph (H); and

18 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (F)

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(G) for purposes of this section and sec21 tions 202 through 205 only, methane hydrate;

22 and’’;

23 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para24 graph (8); and
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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol2 lowing:

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

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

5 form of a methane-water ice-like crystalline ma6 terial and is stable and occurs naturally in

7 deep-ocean and permafrost areas; and

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

9 association with deep-ocean and permafrost de10 posits of methane hydrate.’’.

11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary of Energy to carry out this Act—

14 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

15 (2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2002;

16 (3) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

17 (4) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

18 (5) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

19 Amounts authorized under this section shall remain avail20 able until expended.

21 SEC. 6. SUNSET.

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

23 the end of fiscal year 2005.
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1 SEC. 7. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY.

2 The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the

3 National Research Council for such council to conduct a

4 study of the progress made under the methane hydrate

5 research and development program implemented pursuant

6 to this Act, and to make recommendations for future

7 methane hydrate research and development needs. The

8 Secretary shall transmit to the Congress, not later than

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

10 recommendations of the National Research Council under

11 this section.

12 SEC. 8. REPORTS AND STUDIES.

13 The Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Com14 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives copies

15 of any report or study that the Department of Energy pre16 pares at the direction of any committee of the Congress.

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