I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5435 

To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of the United States 

Forest Service to meet certain targets for the reduction of the emission 

of greenhouse gases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2019 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. 

SABLAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. MCEACHIN, and Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of 

the United States Forest Service to meet certain targets 

for the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act 

6 of 2019’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is the following: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Public lands energy and climate policy. 

Sec. 3. Public lands greenhouse gas reduction targets and requirements. 

Sec. 4. Online publication of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Sec. 5. Public lands greenhouse gas reduction strategic plan. 

Sec. 6. Revenues for transition assistance. 

Sec. 7. Economic revitalization for fossil fuel dependent communities. 

Sec. 8. Office of Climate Change Mitigation and Planning. 

Sec. 9. Definitions. 

3 SEC. 2. PUBLIC LANDS ENERGY AND CLIMATE POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States that— 

5 (1) the United States should aggressively re6 duce greenhouse gas emissions from United States 

7 public lands and oceans and strive to achieve net8 zero emissions as soon as possible; 

9 (2) public lands should be managed to reduce 

10 greenhouse gas emissions and co-pollutant emissions 

11 and to respond to unavoidable impacts of climate 

12 change through increased resilience of ecosystems 

13 and wildlife habitats in accordance with the prin14 ciples of multiple use and sustained yield; 

15 (3) the protection of ocean ecosystems is vital 

16 to promoting ocean health and increasing resilience 

17 to climate change, and conservation of United States 

18 marine resources is one of the best ways to remove 

19 carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; 

20 (4) energy development decisions on public 

21 lands and oceans should be guided by the goals of— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (A) protecting human well-being, biodiver2 sity, and the environment; 

3 (B) avoiding the most harmful impacts of 

4 climate change; and 

5 (C) promoting a rapid, sustainable, just, 

6 and equitable transition to a clean energy econ7 omy; and 

8 (5) environmental justice communities are more 

9 vulnerable to the effects of emissions from public 

10 lands and oceans and often have the least resources 

11 to respond; thus, they should be meaningfully en12 gaged in government decision making as our Nation 

13 reduces emissions from public lands and oceans and 

14 builds its climate resilience against the effects of 

15 those emissions. 

16 SEC. 3. PUBLIC LANDS GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION TAR17 GETS AND REQUIREMENTS. 

18 (a) FOSSIL FUEL LEASING PAUSE.—Notwith19 standing other mineral leasing laws, the Secretary shall 

20 not hold new lease sales for coal, oil, or gas for one year 

21 after enactment of this Act, and until the Secretary— 

22 (1) certifies, in accordance with all applicable 

23 laws, that additional fossil fuel leasing on public 

24 lands is not inconsistent with achieving net-zero 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5435 IH

1 greenhouse gas emissions from public lands by 2040; 

2 and 

3 (2) releases the first Public Lands Greenhouse 

4 Gas Reduction Strategic Plan as required under sec5 tion 5. 

6 (b) EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS.—The Secretary 

7 and the Chief shall reduce net emissions associated with 

8 the extraction and end-use combustion of fossil fuels pro9 duced from public lands in the United States to meet the 

10 following targets: 

11 (1) A reduction of net emissions of not less 

12 than 35 percent of the baseline identified in sub13 section (c) by January 1, 2025. 

14 (2) A reduction of net emissions of not less 

15 than 60 percent of the baseline identified in sub16 section (c) by January 1, 2030. 

17 (3) A reduction of net emissions of not less 

18 than 80 percent of the baseline identified in sub19 section (c) by January 1, 2035. 

20 (4) Net-zero emissions by January 1, 2040. 

21 (c) BASELINE INVENTORY OF PUBLIC LANDS

22 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SINKS.—The Sec23 retary and the Chief shall use the 2014 estimate of green24 house gas emissions and sinks as identified by the United 

25 States Geological Survey in Scientific Investigations ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5435.IH H5435

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5435 IH

1 port 2018–5131, ‘‘Federal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emis2 sions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates 

3 for 2005–14’’, published on November 23, 2018, as the 

4 baseline when acting to meet the targets established in 

5 subsection (b). 

6 (d) STUDY EXAMINING AVOIDED GREENHOUSE GAS

7 EMISSIONS AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 shall make appropriate arrangements with the Na11 tional Academies under which the National Acad12 emies shall conduct a study that examines how the 

13 executive branch, including the Department of the 

14 Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the United 

15 States Forest Service, the National Oceanic and At16 mospheric Administration, and the Executive Office 

17 of the President can meet the net emission reduction 

18 targets under subsection (b) by— 

19 (A) reducing total emissions; 

20 (B) deploying renewable energy projects on 

21 public lands; 

22 (C) increasing carbon capture, storage, uti23 lization, and sequestration on public lands 

24 through both nature-based and technological so25 lutions, except the National Academies shall not 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5435 IH

1 consider ocean fertilization or climate engineer2 ing actions that involve increasing carbon stor3 age of ocean ecosystems through technological 

4 means; 

5 (D) increasing carbon storage of federally 

6 managed wetlands, mangroves, tidal marshes, 

7 and seagrass meadows; and 

8 (E) any other technically feasible actions. 

9 (2) DEADLINE.—The National Academies shall 

10 complete such study not later than 18 months after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Following completion 

13 of such study, the National Academies shall provide 

14 recommendations for administrative actions and leg15 islation that can help meet the net emission reduc16 tion targets established under subsection (b). 

17 (e) VERIFICATION.— 

18 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Director of the 

19 United States Geological Survey shall, in consulta20 tion with the National Academies, establish the 

21 methodology for verification of the reduction in net 

22 emissions. 

23 (2) DETERMINATION.—By June 1 of each year 

24 following a target year specified in subsection (b)— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (A) the Director of the United States Geo2 logical Survey shall determine if the Secretary 

3 and the Chief have met the emission reduction 

4 targets identified in subsection (b); and 

5 (B) shall make such determination and 

6 any data supporting such determination avail7 able on the public online dashboard required by 

8 section 5(g). 

9 (f) ENFORCEMENT.— 

10 (1) NO NEW FOSSIL FUEL PERMITS OR LEASE

11 SALES.—If the Director of the United States Geo12 logical Survey determines that net emissions from 

13 public lands have exceeded the targets in the Strat14 egy, the Secretary shall not approve new fossil fuel 

15 permits and shall not hold new fossil fuel lease sales 

16 until a certification and public notice by such Direc17 tor that net emissions are below the target level for 

18 the most recent calendar year. 

19 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall sub20 mit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re21 sources in the Senate and the Committee on Natural 

22 Resources in the House of Representatives a certifi23 cation within 30 days of each statutory deadline for 

24 the required emission reductions. Notice of the cer25 tification shall be published in the Federal Register 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5435 IH

1 on or before the date the certification is due to Con2 gress. 

3 (3) JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT.—Any interested 

4 party can seek judicial review in Federal district 

5 court for failure to complete the required certifi6 cation by the statutory deadline. 

7 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—When taking any action to 

9 meet the emission reduction targets established in 

10 subsection (b), the Secretary and the Chief shall— 

11 (A) prioritize reductions of greenhouse gas 

12 emissions and co-pollutants that will affect an 

13 environmental justice community; and 

14 (B) ensure that such action does not result 

15 in a net increase of co-pollutant emissions or 

16 otherwise have a disparate impact on an envi17 ronmental justice community. 

18 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUS19 TICE COMMUNITIES.—The Secretary, in consultation 

20 with other relevant agencies, shall establish by regu21 lation criteria for identifying environmental justice 

22 communities for the purposes of paragraph (1). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5435 IH

1 SEC. 4. ONLINE PUBLICATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMIS2 SIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make freely 

4 available on a public website, with respect to the previous 

5 year— 

6 (1) information that describes for each fossil 

7 fuel operation that is subject to the mineral leasing 

8 laws or title III or V of the Federal Land Policy and 

9 Management Act of 1976 (30 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), 

10 regardless of size, including production, storage, 

11 gathering, processing, transportation, and handling 

12 operations— 

13 (A) the aggregate amount of each fossil 

14 fuel, by type and by State, produced on Federal 

15 leases; and 

16 (B) for gas reported, the portion and 

17 source of such amount that was released or dis18 posed of by each of venting, flaring, and fugi19 tive release; and 

20 (2) information that describes the amount and 

21 sources of energy, in delivered megawatt hours, pro22 duced from operating solar, wind, and geothermal 

23 projects on public lands under lease for the produc24 tion of renewable energy. 

25 (b) FORMAT.—Information made available under this 

26 section shall be presented in a format that— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (1) translates such amounts and portions into 

2 emissions of metric tons of greenhouse gases ex3 pressed in carbon dioxide equivalent using both the 

4 20-year and 100-year Global Warming Potential5 weighted emission values; 

6 (2) for energy produced from solar, wind, and 

7 geothermal projects, includes an estimate of the net 

8 emissions that would result from production of the 

9 same amount of energy from new fossil fuel-fired fa10 cilities; and 

11 (3) can be downloaded in a machine readable 

12 format. 

13 (c) DATA PUBLICATION FREQUENCY.—The data 

14 made available under this section shall be updated at least 

15 annually. 

16 SEC. 5. PUBLIC LANDS GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION 

17 STRATEGIC PLAN. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH GREENHOUSE GAS

19 REDUCTION STRATEGY.—The Secretary and the Chief, 

20 working with the heads of other Federal agencies as the 

21 Secretary and Chief determine appropriate, shall jointly 

22 develop and publish once every 4 years a Public Lands 

23 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy. Each Strategy shall 

24 include— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (1) actions designed to reduce net emissions to 

2 meet the targets described in section 3(b); and 

3 (2) annual net emission reduction targets for 

4 intervening years. 

5 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—At least 6 months 

6 before the date of publication of the Strategy, the Sec7 retary and the Chief shall jointly publish a draft Strategy 

8 which shall be open for public comment for 60 days. 

9 (c) UPDATES TO GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION

10 STRATEGY.—The Secretary and the Chief may jointly up11 date the Strategy at any time between 4-year periods if 

12 the changes include modifications to the targets described 

13 in section 3(b) that the Secretary and the Chief jointly 

14 determine will result in lower net emissions compared to 

15 the original such targets. 

16 (d) CONSULTATIONS REQUIRED.—In developing the 

17 Strategy, the Secretary and the Chief shall consult with— 

18 (1) the Secretary of Energy with regard to en19 ergy transmission, storage, and distribution infra20 structure in the United States, technology deploy21 ment, and the renewable energy resource potential 

22 on public lands; 

23 (2) the Director of the United States Geological 

24 Survey with regard to the estimated net emissions 

25 associated with the extraction and end-use combusVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5435.IH H5435

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5435 IH

1 tion of fossil fuels produced from public lands, the 

2 source of the emissions, and the carbon sequestra3 tion potential of those lands; 

4 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

5 Protection Agency with regard to— 

6 (A) carbon capture and geologic storage; 

7 and 

8 (B) the implications for and the impacts 

9 on environmental justice communities; and 

10 (4) the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

11 and Atmospheric Administration with regard to 

12 strategies to protect and strengthen the carbon se13 questration potential of ocean and coastal eco14 systems. 

15 (e) INPUT.—In developing the Strategy, the Sec16 retary and the Chief shall solicit the input of— 

17 (1) State and local governments and federally 

18 recognized Indian Tribes; and 

19 (2) scientists and technical experts within the 

20 United States Global Change Research Program and 

21 other government and independent science and pol22 icy experts. 

23 (f) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the Strategy, 

24 the Secretary and the Chief shall consider the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (1) The recommendations proposed by the Na2 tional Academies pursuant to section 3(d). 

3 (2) The relative resiliency of United States 

4 communities, including the proportion of State budg5 ets directly derived from Federal energy revenues, 

6 and if available, any plans to replace such lost rev7 enue, to the phase out of fossil fuels and the varying 

8 abilities of communities to cope with any changes 

9 that would be mandated by this Strategy. 

10 (3) Ways to support workers in the fossil fuel 

11 sector and related industries that rely on the fossil 

12 fuel supply-chain for economic and job security. 

13 (4) The need to stop current, prevent future, 

14 and repair historic oppression of indigenous peoples, 

15 communities of color, migrant communities, 

16 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 

17 communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, 

18 the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, 

19 LGBTQ people, and youth. 

20 (5) How achieving the net emission reduction 

21 targets may help meet other policy priorities and 

22 goals of both the Department of the Interior and 

23 other departments and agencies, including increasing 

24 economic competitiveness, increasing the number of 

25 high-quality jobs in the United States, strengthening 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5435 IH

1 national security, and creating a Nation resilient to 

2 impacts of climate change. 

3 (6) The impacts of climate change on resources 

4 managed by the Department of the Interior and the 

5 Forest Service, including the National Park System, 

6 wildlife habitat, ocean and marine ecosystems, and 

7 water supplies. 

8 (7) The impacts of climate change on recreation 

9 on public lands and the outdoor recreation economy. 

10 (8) Impacts on United States communities 

11 where fossil fuel-fired generating facilities and fossil 

12 fuel processing facilities are located and are likely to 

13 shutdown. 

14 (9) Actions and steps that can be taken to miti15 gate projected unavoidable impacts of climate 

16 change. 

17 (10) How improvements to Federal oil and gas 

18 permitting and leasing procedures may result in a 

19 reduction of net emissions from public lands. 

20 (11) The potential net emission reduction and 

21 climate resilience benefits of reclaiming abandoned 

22 mine land, plugging and properly abandoning or23 phaned wells, and conducting other land reclamation 

24 and natural resource restoration activities. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (12) How the remediation and decommissioning 

2 of Forest Service roads can increase the health and 

3 carbon sequestration potential of ecosystems and in4 crease the resilience of public lands to climate 

5 change. 

6 (13) The co-benefits of natural carbon seques7 tration projects, including increases in shade, green 

8 space, and healthy wetlands, and the importance of 

9 prioritizing these projects in environmental justice 

10 communities. 

11 (g) PUBLICATION OF CONTENTS OF FINAL STRAT12 EGY ON ONLINE DASHBOARD.—The Secretary shall pub13 lish the contents of each final Strategy on an online public 

14 dashboard, which shall include— 

15 (1) the progress made toward meeting the 

16 greenhouse gas reduction targets established in sec17 tion 3; 

18 (2) the annual net emission reduction targets 

19 identified by the Secretary and the Chief under sub20 section (a)(2), and any subsequent updates made to 

21 such annual targets; 

22 (3) the actions the Secretary and the Chief 

23 have taken and intend to take to achieve the net 

24 emission reduction targets; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (4) all public comments received during the 60- 

2 day comment period required by subsection (b); and 

3 (5) responses from the Secretary and the Chief 

4 to all comments from State or Tribal governments 

5 received during such comment period, including an 

6 explanation of why any such recommendations re7 ceived by the Secretary were not implemented. 

8 SEC. 6. REVENUES FOR TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

9 (a) MINERAL LEASING REVENUE.—The Mineral 

10 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) in section 7, by striking ‘‘12 1 11 ⁄2’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘18.75’’; 

13 (2) in section 17— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘12.5’’ each place such 

15 term appears and inserting ‘‘18.75’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘12 1 16 ⁄2’’ each place such 

17 term appears and inserting ‘‘18.75’’; 

(3) in section 31(e), by striking ‘‘162 18 ⁄3’’ each 

19 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘25’’; 

20 (4) in section 17, by striking ‘‘Lease sales shall 

21 be held for each State where eligible lands are avail22 able at least quarterly and more frequently if the 

23 Secretary of the Interior determines such sales are 

24 necessary.’’; and 

25 (5) in section 35— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (A) by striking ‘‘All’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 

2 All’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any funds 

5 collected as a result of the amendments made by 

6 section 6(a) of the American Public Lands and 

7 Waters Climate Solution Act of 2019 shall be dis8 tributed consistent with the manner provided in sec9 tion 6(d) of such Act.’’. 

10 (b) CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES FEES.—There is 

11 established a Conservation of Resources Fee of $4 per 

12 acre per year on producing Federal onshore and offshore 

13 oil and gas leases. 

14 (c) SPECULATIVE LEASING FEE.—There is estab15 lished a Speculative Leasing Fee of $6 per acre per year 

16 for Federal oil and gas nonproducing leases on and off17 shore. 

18 (d) DEPOSIT.— 

19 (1) All funds collected pursuant to subsections 

20 (b) and (c) shall be deposited in the Federal Energy 

21 Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund 

22 established in section 7. 

23 (2) Fifty percent of funds collected as a result 

24 of the amendments made by this section shall be de25 posited in the Federal Energy Transition Economic 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 5435 IH

1 Development Assistance Fund established in section 

2 7. 

3 (3) Fifty percent of funds collected as a result 

4 of the amendments made by this section shall be re5 turned to the States where production occurred. 

6 (e) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The Secretary 

7 shall, by regulation at least once every four years, adjust 

8 each fee created by this section to reflect any change in 

9 the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States city 

10 average) as prepared by the Department of Labor. 

11 SEC. 7. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR FOSSIL FUEL DE12 PENDENT COMMUNITIES. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL ENERGY TRANSI14 TION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND.— 

15 There is established in the Treasury of the United States 

16 a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Federal Energy Transition 

17 Economic Development Assistance Fund’’. Such fund con18 sists of amounts deposited under section 6. 

19 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts de20 posited into the Fund— 

21 (1) 35 percent shall be distributed by the Sec22 retary to States in which extraction of fossil fuels 

23 occurs on public lands, based on a formula reflecting 

24 existing production and extraction in each such 

25 State; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (2) 35 percent shall be distributed by the Sec2 retary to States based on a formula reflecting the 

3 quantity of fossil fuels historically produced and ex4 tracted in each such State on public lands before the 

5 date of enactment of this Act; and 

6 (3) 30 percent shall be allocated to a competi7 tive grant program pursuant to subsection (d). 

8 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds distributed by the 

10 Secretary to States under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

11 subsection (b) may be used for— 

12 (A) environmental remediation of lands 

13 and waters impacted by fossil fuel extraction 

14 and mining; 

15 (B) building partnerships to attract and 

16 invest in the economic future of historically fos17 sil fuel dependent communities; 

18 (C) increasing capacity and other technical 

19 assistance fostering long-term economic growth 

20 and opportunity in historically fossil fuel de21 pendent communities; 

22 (D) guaranteeing pensions and retirement 

23 security and providing a bridge of wage support 

24 until a displaced worker either finds new em25 ployment or reaches retirement; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (E) severance payments for displaced 

2 workers; or 

3 (F) carbon sequestration projects in nat4 ural systems on public lands and private agri5 cultural lands. 

6 (d) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

7 shall establish a competitive grant program to provide 

8 funds to eligible entities for the purposes described in 

9 paragraph (2). 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Local, State, and 

11 Tribal governments, development districts (as such 

12 term is defined in section 382E of the Consolidated 

13 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

14 2009aa–4)), nonprofits, labor unions, and institu15 tions of higher education (as such term is defined in 

16 section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1001)). 

18 (2) ELIGIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

19 may award grants from amounts in the Fund for the 

20 purposes listed in subsection (c) and for— 

21 (A) existing job retraining and apprentice22 ship programs for impacted workers or for pro23 grams designed to promote economic develop24 ment in communities affected by a downturn in 

25 fossil fuel extraction and mining; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (B) developing projects that diversify local 

2 and regional economies, create jobs in new or 

3 existing non-fossil fuel industries, attract new 

4 sources of job-creating investment, and provide 

5 a range of workforce services and skills train6 ing; and 

7 (C) the development and support of a clean 

8 energy— 

9 (i) certificate program at a labor or10 ganization; or 

11 (ii) a major or minor program at an 

12 institution of higher education, as such 

13 term is defined in section 101 of the High14 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 1001). 

16 (3) PRIORITY TO DISPLACED WORKERS.—In 

17 awarding grants under this subsection, the Secretary 

18 shall place a priority on assisting displaced workers 

19 in the fossil fuel mining and extraction industries. 

20 (e) JUST TRANSITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall establish an advisory committee to be 

24 known as the ‘‘Just Transition Advisory Com25 mittee’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (2) CHAIR.—The Director of the Office of Cli2 mate Change Mitigation and Planning, established 

3 in section 8, shall Chair the Advisory Committee. 

4 (3) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall— 

5 (A) advise, assist, and support the Sec6 retary in the management and allocation of 

7 funds available under subsection (b) and in the 

8 establishment and administration of the Com9 petitive Grant Program under subsection (d); 

10 and 

11 (B) develop procedures to ensure that 

12 States and applicants eligible to participate in 

13 the competitive grant program established pur14 suant to subsection (d) are notified of avail15 ability of Federal funds pursuant to this Act. 

16 (4) MEMBERSHIP.—The total membership of 

17 the Advisory Committee shall not exceed 24 mem18 bers and the Advisory Committee shall be composed 

19 of the following members appointed by the Director 

20 of the Office of Climate Change Mitigation and 

21 Planning: 

22 (A) A representative of the Assistant Sec23 retary of Commerce for Economic Development. 

24 (B) A representative of the Secretary of 

25 Labor. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (C) A representative of the Under Sec2 retary for Rural Development. 

3 (D) Two individuals with professional eco4 nomic development or workforce retraining ex5 perience. 

6 (E) An equal number of representatives 

7 from each of the following: 

8 (i) Labor unions. 

9 (ii) Nonprofit environmental organiza10 tions. 

11 (iii) Environmental justice organiza12 tions. 

13 (iv) Fossil fuel transition commu14 nities. 

15 (v) Public interest groups. 

16 (vi) Indian Tribes. 

17 (5) TERMINATION.—The Just Transition Advi18 sory Committee shall not terminate except by an Act 

19 of Congress. 

20 (f) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

21 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 7 

22 percent of the amounts in the Fund may be used for 

23 administrative costs incurred in implementing this 

24 Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (2) LIMITATION ON FUNDS TO A SINGLE ENTI2 TY.—Not more than 5 percent of the amounts in the 

3 Fund may be awarded to a single eligible entity. 

4 (3) CALENDAR YEAR LIMITATION.—At least 15 

5 percent of the amount in the Fund must be spent 

6 in each calendar year. 

7 (g) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

8 shall require each recipient of funds under this section to 

9 meet the prevailing wage requirements under chapter IV 

10 of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of title 40, United 

11 States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon 

12 Act’’), with respect to any laborer or mechanic employed 

13 using such funds, including those employed by contractors 

14 or subcontractors. 

15 (h) USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC16 TURED GOODS.—None of the funds appropriated or other17 wise made available by this Act may be used for a project 

18 for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of 

19 a public building or public work unless all of the iron, 

20 steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are pro21 duced in the United States unless such manufactured good 

22 is not produced in the United States. 

23 (i) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

24 submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Energy 

25 and Natural Resources of the Senate and to the CommitVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5435.IH H5435

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 5435 IH

1 tees on Appropriations and Natural Resources in the 

2 House of Representatives, with the annual budget submis3 sion of the President, a list of projects, including a de4 scription of each project, that received funding under this 

5 section in the previous calendar year. 

6 SEC. 8. OFFICE OF CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND 

7 PLANNING. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF CLIMATE

9 CHANGE MITIGATION AND PLANNING.—The Secretary 

10 shall establish an Office of Climate Change Mitigation and 

11 Planning (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’), 

12 which shall oversee implementation of this Act. The Office 

13 shall be under the direction of the Director of Climate 

14 Change Mitigation and Planning (referred to in this sec15 tion as the ‘‘Director’’) who shall report directly to the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (b) DIRECTOR OF CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

18 AND PLANNING.— 

19 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap20 pointed by the President to administer the provisions 

21 of this Act. 

22 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

23 paid at a rate determined by the Secretary to be ap24 propriate for the position, but not less than the rate 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 5435 IH

1 provided for Level V of the Executive Schedule 

2 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The duties of the Office are to im4 plement this Act and to— 

5 (1) oversee the tracking of all greenhouse gas 

6 emission sources and sinks on public lands; 

7 (2) coordinate across the Federal Government 

8 to ensure the net emission targets are met; and 

9 (3) oversee and manage the distribution of 

10 funds as required by section 7. 

11 (d) STAFF AND CONSULTANTS.— 

12 (1) STAFF.—The Director may employ such 

13 staff as the Director determines appropriate. The 

14 Director may request staff assistance from within 

15 the Department of the Interior and any office or Bu16 reau thereof as the Director deems necessary. 

17 (2) CONTRACTS.—To the extent and in such 

18 amounts as may be provided in advance by appro19 priations Acts, the Director may enter into contracts 

20 and other arrangements with public agencies and 

21 with private persons and organizations for con22 sulting services and make such payments as nec23 essary to carry out the provisions of this section. 

24 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi2 sory Committee’’ means the Just Transition Advi3 sory Committee established by section 7. 

4 (2) CHIEF.—The term ‘‘Chief’’ means the Sec5 retary of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the 

6 United States Forest Service. 

7 (3) CO-POLLUTANT.—The term ‘‘co-pollutant’’ 

8 means air pollutants, as defined by the Environ9 mental Protection Agency, including volatile organic 

10 compounds and hazardous air pollutants that may 

11 be commingled and coemitted with greenhouse gases. 

12 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

13 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 

14 a geographically distinct community with significant 

15 representation of communities of color, low-income 

16 communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities 

17 that experience or are at risk of experiencing signifi18 cantly higher and more adverse human health or en19 vironmental effects. 

20 (5) DISPARATE IMPACT.—The term ‘‘disparate 

21 impact’’ means an impact that, though appearing 

22 neutral, actually has the effect of subjecting persons 

23 to discrimination because of their race, color, or na24 tional origin. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (6) DISPLACED WORKER.—The term ‘‘displaced 

2 worker’’ means an individual who, due to efforts to 

3 reduce net emissions from public lands or as a result 

4 of a downturn in fossil fuel mining, extraction, or 

5 production, has suffered a reduction in employment 

6 or economic opportunities. 

7 (7) FLARING.—The term ‘‘flaring’’ means the 

8 intentional and controlled burning of gas that occurs 

9 in the course of oil and gas or coal operations. 

10 (8) FOSSIL FUEL.—The term ‘‘fossil fuel’’ 

11 means coal, petroleum, natural gas, tar sands, oil 

12 shale, or any derivative of coal, petroleum, or nat13 ural gas. 

14 (9) FOSSIL FUEL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES.— 

15 The term ‘‘fossil fuel transition communities’’ means 

16 communities in which the economic contribution of 

17 fossil fuel mining, extraction, or production-related 

18 activity on public lands has significantly declined or 

19 that have historically relied on fossil fuel mining, ex20 traction, or production-related activity on public 

21 lands for a substantial portion of its economy. 

22 (10) FUGITIVE RELEASE.—The term ‘‘fugitive 

23 release’’ means the unintentional and uncontrolled 

24 release of gas into the atmosphere in the course of 

25 oil and gas or coal operations. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (11) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

2 Federal Energy Transition Economic Development 

3 Assistance Fund. 

4 (12) GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL-WEIGHTED

5 EMISSION.—The term ‘‘Global Warming Potential6 weighted emission’’ means the ratio of the time-inte7 grated radiative forcing from the instantaneous re8 lease of 1 kilogram of a trace substance relative to 

9 that of 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide, measured in 

10 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for each 

11 greenhouse gas according to the most recent, and 

12 any subsequent, decisions by the Intergovernmental 

13 Panel on Climate Change regarding global warming 

14 potentials. 

15 (13) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘‘green16 house gas’’ means— 

17 (A) carbon dioxide; 

18 (B) methane; 

19 (C) nitrous oxide; 

20 (D) hydrofluorocarbons; 

21 (E) perfluorocarbons; 

22 (F) sulfur hexafluoride; or 

23 (G) any other anthropogenically emitted 

24 gas that is determined by the Administrator of 

25 the Environmental Protection Agency, after noVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5435.IH H5435

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 5435 IH

1 tice and comment, to contribute to global warm2 ing to a non-negligible degree. 

3 (14) LGBTQ.—The term ‘‘LGBTQ’’ means 

4 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or 

5 questioning. 

6 (15) MULTIPLE USE.—The term ‘‘multiple use’’ 

7 has the same meaning given such term in section 

8 103 of the Federal Land and Policy Management 

9 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

10 (16) NATIONAL ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Na11 tional Academies’’ means the National Academies of 

12 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 

13 (17) NET BIOME PRODUCTIVITY.—The term 

14 ‘‘net biome productivity’’ means the absolute change 

15 in carbon stored within terrestrial ecosystems on an 

16 annual basis. The net biome productivity is deter17 mined by subtracting terrestrial ecosystem carbon 

18 losses associated with land use and land-use change 

19 and disturbance from the net ecosystem productivity 

20 as described in United States Geological Survey Sci21 entific Investigations Report 2018–5131. 

22 (18) NET EMISSIONS.—The term ‘‘net emis23 sions’’ means the total greenhouse gas emissions as24 sociated with the extraction and end-use combustion 

25 of fossil fuels produced from United States public 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 5435 IH

1 lands in a year as measured by the United States 

2 Geological Survey and reduced in the same year 

3 by— 

4 (A) the total avoided emissions from gen5 eration of renewable energy on public lands as 

6 determined by using the Environmental Protec7 tion Agency’s AVoided Emissions and geneRa8 tion Tool, or a similar Environmental Protec9 tion Agency calculation for the national average 

10 of carbon dioxide equivalent associated with 

11 United States electricity generation as of Janu12 ary 1, 2020; 

13 (B) the net biome productivity of public 

14 lands at the end of each target year; 

15 (C) the total amount of new geologically 

16 sequestered carbon on public lands in each tar17 get year; and 

18 (D) other carbon captured by negative 

19 emissions technologies and sequestered, as de20 termined by the Secretary and Chief in each 

21 target year. 

22 (19) NONPRODUCING LEASE.—The term ‘‘non23 producing lease’’ means any lease where oil or nat24 ural gas is produced for less than 90 days in a cal25 endar year. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 5435 IH

1 (20) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

2 means any land and interest in land owned by the 

3 United States within the several States and adminis4 tered by the Secretary or the Chief, without regard 

5 to how the United States acquired ownership, in6 cluding lands located on the Outer Continental Shelf 

7 but excluding lands held in trust for an Indian or 

8 Indian Tribe. 

9 (21) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

10 means the Secretary of the Interior, unless the con11 text requires otherwise. 

12 (22) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘Strategy’’ means 

13 the Federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy re14 quired to be developed and published under section 

15 3. 

16 (23) SUSTAINED YIELD.—The term ‘‘sustained 

17 yield’’ has the same meaning given such term in sec18 tion 103 of the Federal Land and Policy Manage19 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

20 (24) VENTING.—The term ‘‘venting’’ means the 

21 intentional and controlled release of gas into the at22 mosphere in the course of oil, gas, or coal oper23 ations. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS