II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4643 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a forest incentives program to keep forests intact and sequester carbon on private forest land 

of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a forest 

incentives program to keep forests intact and sequester 

carbon on private forest land of the United States, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forest Incentives Pro5 gram Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FOREST INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) CARBON INCENTIVES CONTRACT; CON2 TRACT.—The term ‘‘carbon incentives contract’’ or 

3 ‘‘contract’’ means a 15- to 30-year contract that 

4 specifies— 

5 (A) the eligible practices that will be un6 dertaken; 

7 (B) the acreage of eligible land on which 

8 the practices will be undertaken; 

9 (C) the agreed rate of compensation per 

10 acre; 

11 (D) a schedule to verify that the terms of 

12 the contract have been fulfilled; and 

13 (E) such other terms as are determined 

14 necessary by the Secretary. 

15 (2) CONSERVATION EASEMENT AGREEMENT; 

16 AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘conservation easement 

17 agreement’’ or ‘‘agreement’’ means a permanent 

18 conservation easement that— 

19 (A) covers eligible land that will not be 

20 converted for development; 

21 (B) is enrolled under a carbon incentives 

22 contract; and 

23 (C) is consistent with the guidelines for— 

24 (i) the Forest Legacy Program estab25 lished under section 7 of the Cooperative 


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1 Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 

2 U.S.C. 2103c), subject to the condition 

3 that an eligible practice shall be considered 

4 to be a conservation value for purposes of 

5 such consistency; or 

6 (ii) any other program approved by 

7 the Secretary for use under this section to 

8 provide consistency with Federal legal re9 quirements for permanent conservation 

10 easements. 

11 (3) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘‘eligible land’’ 

12 means forest land in the United States that is pri13 vately owned at the time of initiation of a carbon in14 centives contract or conservation easement agree15 ment. 

16 (4) ELIGIBLE PRACTICE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

18 practice’’ means a forestry practice, including 

19 improved forest management that produces 

20 marketable forest products, that is determined 

21 by the Secretary to provide measurable in22 creases in carbon sequestration and storage be23 yond customary practices on comparable land. 

24 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible prac25 tice’’ includes— 


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1 (i) afforestation on nonforested land, 

2 such as marginal crop or pasture land, 

3 windbreaks, shelterbelts, stream buffers, 

4 including working land and urban forests 

5 and parks, or other areas identified by the 

6 Secretary; 

7 (ii) reforestation on forest land im8 pacted by wildfire, pests, wind, or other 

9 stresses, including working land and urban 

10 forests and parks; 

11 (iii) improved forest management, 

12 with appropriate crediting for the carbon 

13 benefits of harvested wood products, 

14 through practices such as improving regen15 eration after harvest, planting in under16 stocked forests, reducing competition from 

17 slow-growing species, thinning to encour18 age growth, changing rotations to increase 

19 carbon storage, improving harvest effi20 ciency or wood use; and 

21 (iv) such other practices as the Sec22 retary determines to be appropriate. 

23 (5) FOREST INCENTIVES PROGRAM; PRO24 GRAM.—The term ‘‘forest incentives program’’ or 


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1 ‘‘program’’ means the forest incentives program es2 tablished under subsection (b)(1). 

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

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION

6 REDUCTIONS IN UNITED STATES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

8 a forest incentives program to achieve supplemental 

9 greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon se10 questration on private forest land of the United 

11 States through— 

12 (A) carbon incentives contracts; and 

13 (B) conservation easement agreements. 

14 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting projects under this 

15 subsection, the Secretary shall provide a priority for 

16 contracts and agreements— 

17 (A) that sequester the most carbon on a 

18 per acre basis, with appropriate crediting for 

19 the carbon benefits of harvested wood products; 

20 and 

21 (B) that create forestry jobs or protect 

22 habitats and achieve significant other environ23 mental, economic, and social benefits. 

24 (3) ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—To participate in the 

2 program, an owner of eligible land shall— 

3 (i) enter into a carbon incentives con4 tract; and 

5 (ii) fulfill such other requirements as 

6 the Secretary determines to be necessary. 

7 (B) CONTINUED ELIGIBLE PRACTICES.— 

8 An owner of eligible land who has been carrying 

9 out eligible practices on the eligible land shall 

10 not be barred from entering into a carbon in11 centives contract under this subsection to con12 tinue carrying out the eligible practices on the 

13 eligible land. 

14 (C) DURATION OF CONTRACT.—A contract 

15 shall be for a term of not less than 15, nor 

16 more than 30, years, as determined by the 

17 owner of eligible land. 

18 (D) COMPENSATION UNDER CONTRACT.— 

19 The Secretary shall determine the rate of com20 pensation per acre under the contract so that 

21 the longer the term of the contract, the higher 

22 rate of compensation. 

23 (E) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PRO24 GRAMS.—An owner or operator shall not be 

25 prohibited from participating in the program 


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1 due to participation of the owner or operator in 

2 other Federal or State conservation assistance 

3 programs. 

4 (4) COMPLIANCE.—In developing regulations 

5 for carbon incentives contracts under this sub6 section, the Secretary shall specify requirements to 

7 address whether the owner of eligible land has com8 pleted contract and agreement requirements. 

9 (c) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

11 to owners of eligible land financial incentive pay12 ments for— 

13 (A) eligible practices that measurably in14 crease carbon sequestration and storage over a 

15 designated period on eligible land, with appro16 priate crediting for the carbon benefits of har17 vested wood products, as specified through a 

18 carbon incentives contract; and 

19 (B) subject to paragraph (2), conservation 

20 easements on eligible land covered under a con21 servation easement agreement. 

22 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary shall de23 termine the amount of compensation to be provided 

24 under a contract under this subsection based on the 

25 emissions reductions obtained or avoided and the duVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4643.IS S4643

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1 ration of the reductions, with due consideration to 

2 prevailing carbon pricing as determined by any rel3 evant or State compliance offset programs. 

4 (3) NO CONSERVATION EASEMENT AGREEMENT

5 REQUIRED.—Eligibility for financial incentive pay6 ments under a carbon incentives contract described 

7 in paragraph (1)(A) shall not require a conservation 

8 easement agreement. 

9 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

11 regulations that specify eligible practices and related com12 pensation rates, standards, and guidelines as the basis for 

13 entering into the program with owners of eligible land. 

14 (e) SET-ASIDE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PUR15 POSES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of the Sec17 retary, a portion of program funds made available 

18 under the program for a fiscal year may be used— 

19 (A) to develop forest carbon modeling and 

20 methodologies that will improve the projection 

21 of carbon gains for any forest practices made 

22 eligible under the program; 

23 (B) to provide additional incentive pay24 ments for specified management activities that 


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1 increase the adaptive capacity of land under a 

2 carbon incentives contract; and 

3 (C) for the Forest Inventory and Analysis 

4 Program of the Forest Service to develop im5 proved measurement and monitoring of forest 

6 carbon stocks. 

7 (2) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In establishing 

8 the program, the Secretary shall provide that funds 

9 provided under this section shall not be substituted 

10 for, or otherwise used as a basis for reducing, fund11 ing authorized or appropriated under other pro12 grams to compensate owners of eligible land for ac13 tivities that are not covered under the program. 

14 (f) PROGRAM MEASUREMENT, MONITORING, 

15 VERIFICATION, AND REPORTING.— 

16 (1) MEASUREMENT, MONITORING, AND

17 VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall establish and 

18 implement protocols that provide monitoring and 

19 verification of compliance with the terms of con20 tracts and agreements. 

21 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—At least annu22 ally, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

23 that contains— 

24 (A) an estimate of annual and cumulative 

25 reductions achieved as a result of the program, 


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1 determined using standardized measures, in2 cluding measures of economic efficiency; 

3 (B) a summary of any changes to the pro4 gram that will be made as a result of program 

5 measurement, monitoring, and verification; 

6 (C) the total number of acres enrolled in 

7 the program by method; and 

8 (D) a State-by-State summary of the data. 

9 (3) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—Each report 

10 required by this subsection shall be available to the 

11 public through the website of the Department of Ag12 riculture. 

13 (4) PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS.—At least once 

14 every 2 years the Secretary shall adjust eligible prac15 tices and compensation rates for future carbon in16 centives contracts based on the results of monitoring 

17 under paragraph (1) and reporting under paragraph 

18 (2), if determined necessary by the Secretary. 

19 (5) ESTIMATING CARBON BENEFITS.—Any 

20 modeling, methodology, or protocol resource devel21 oped under this section— 

22 (A) shall be suitable for estimating carbon 

23 benefits associated with eligible practices for 

24 the purpose of incentives under this section; 

25 and 


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1 (B) may be used for netting by States or 

2 emission sources under Federal programs relat3 ing to carbon emissions. 

4 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec6 essary to carry out this section. 

7 SEC. 3. MATERIAL CHOICES IN BUILDINGS FOR SUPPLE8 MENTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION RE9 DUCTIONS IN UNITED STATES. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) ELIGIBLE BUILDING.—The term ‘‘eligible 

12 building’’ means a nonresidential building used for 

13 commercial or State or local government purposes. 

14 (2) ELIGIBLE PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

15 product’’ means a commercial or industrial product, 

16 such as an intermediate, feedstock, or end product 

17 (other than food or feed), that is composed in whole 

18 or in part of biological products, including renewable 

19 agricultural and forestry materials used as struc20 tural building material. 

21 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

22 the greenhouse gas incentives program established 

23 under this section. 

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Agriculture. 


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1 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION

2 REDUCTIONS IN BUILDINGS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 a greenhouse gas incentives program to achieve sup5 plemental greenhouse gas emission reductions from 

6 material choices in buildings, based on the lifecycle 

7 assessment of the building materials. 

8 (2) FINANCIAL INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—The 

9 Secretary shall provide to owners of eligible build10 ings incentive payments for the use of eligible prod11 ucts in buildings for sequestering carbon based on a 

12 lifecycle assessment of the structural assemblies, as 

13 compared to a model building as a result of using 

14 eligible products in substitution for more energy-in15 tensive materials in— 

16 (A) new construction; or 

17 (B) building renovation. 

18 (c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to partici20 pate in the program, the owner of an eligible build21 ing shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

22 such time, in such manner, and containing such in23 formation as the Secretary may require. 


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1 (2) COMPONENTS.—In establishing the pro2 gram, the Secretary shall require that payments for 

3 activities under the program shall be— 

4 (A) established at a rate not to exceed the 

5 net estimated benefit an owner of an eligible 

6 building would receive for similar practices 

7 under any federally established carbon offset 

8 program, taking into consideration the costs as9 sociated with the issuance of credits and com10 pliance with reversal provisions; 

11 (B) provided to owners of eligible buildings 

12 demonstrating at least a 20-percent reduction 

13 in carbon emissions potential, based on a 

14 lifecycle assessment of the structural assem15 blies, as compared to the structural assemblies 

16 of a model building, subject to the requirements 

17 that— 

18 (i) the Secretary shall identify a 

19 model baseline nonresidential building— 

20 (I) of common size and function; 

21 and 

22 (II) having a service life of not 

23 less than 60 years; and 

24 (ii) applicants shall evaluate the car25 bon emissions potential of the baseline 


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1 building and the proposed building using 

2 the same lifecycle assessment software tool 

3 and data sets, which shall be compliant 

4 with the document numbered ISO 14044; 

5 and 

6 (C) provided on certification by the owner 

7 of an eligible building and verification by the 

8 Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary 

9 of Energy, that— 

10 (i) the eligible building meets the re11 quirements of the applicable State com12 mercial building energy efficiency code (as 

13 in effect on the date of the applicable per14 mit of the eligible building); and 

15 (ii) the State has made the certifi16 cation required pursuant to section 304 of 

17 the Energy Conservation and Production 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 6833). 

19 (3) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—A participant in 

20 the program shall receive payment under the pro21 gram on completion of construction or renovation of 

22 the applicable eligible building. 

23 (d) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once each 

24 year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 

25 contains— 


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1 (1) an estimate of annual and cumulative re2 ductions achieved as a result of the program— 

3 (A) determined by using lifecycle assess4 ment software that is compliant with the docu5 ment numbered ISO 14044; and 

6 (B) expressed in terms of the total number 

7 of cars removed from the road; 

8 (2) a summary of any changes to the program 

9 that will be made as a result of past implementation 

10 of the program; and 

11 (3) the total number of buildings under carbon 

12 incentives contracts as of the date of the report. 

13 (e) ANALYTICAL REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 

14 this section— 

15 (1) any carbon emissions potential calculation 

16 shall— 

17 (A) be performed in accordance with 

18 standard lifecycle assessment practice; and 

19 (B) include removal and sequestration of 

20 carbon dioxide from the use of biobased prod21 ucts, as well as recycled content materials; 

22 (2) a full lifecycle assessment shall be con23 ducted taking into consideration all lifecycle stages, 

24 including— 

25 (A) resource extraction and processing; 


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1 (B) product manufacturing; 

2 (C) onsite construction of assemblies; 

3 (D) transportation; 

4 (E) maintenance and replacement cycles 

5 over an assumed eligible building service life of 

6 60 years; and 

7 (F) demolition; 

8 (3) structural assemblies shall be considered to 

9 include columns, beams, girders, purlins, floor deck, 

10 roof, and structural envelope elements; 

11 (4) primary materials shall be considered to in12 clude common products used as the structural sys13 tem, such as wood, steel, concrete, or masonry; and 

14 (5) the effects of recycling, reuse, or energy re15 covery beyond the boundaries of an applicable study 

16 system shall not be taken in account. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec19 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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