II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 783 

To amend the Helium Act to improve helium stewardship, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2013 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Helium Act to improve helium stewardship, 

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 ‘‘Helium Stewardship 

5 Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this Act: 


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1 ‘‘(1) CLIFFSIDE FIELD.—The term ‘Cliffside 

2 Field’ means the helium storage reservoir in which 

3 the Federal Helium Reserve is stored. 

4 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL HELIUM PIPELINE.—The term 

5 ‘Federal Helium Pipeline’ means the federally owned 

6 pipeline system through which the Federal Helium 

7 Reserve may be transported. 

8 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.—The term 

9 ‘Federal Helium Reserve’ means helium reserves 

10 owned by the United States. 

11 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL HELIUM SYSTEM.—The term 

12 ‘Federal Helium System’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Federal Helium Reserve; 

14 ‘‘(B) the Cliffside Field; 

15 ‘‘(C) the Federal Helium Pipeline; and 

16 ‘‘(D) all other infrastructure owned, 

17 leased, or managed under contract by the Sec18 retary for the storage, transportation, with19 drawal, purification, or management of helium. 

20 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL USER.—The term ‘Federal user’ 

21 means a Federal agency or extramural holder of one 

22 or more Federal research grants using helium. 

23 ‘‘(6) LOW-BTU GAS.—The term ‘low-Btu gas’ 

24 means a fuel gas with a heating value of less than 

25 250 Btu per standard cubic foot measured as the 


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1 higher heating value resulting from the inclusion of 

2 noncombustible gases, including nitrogen, helium, 

3 argon, and carbon dioxide. 

4 ‘‘(7) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 

5 individual, corporation, partnership, firm, associa6 tion, trust, estate, public or private institution, or 

7 State or political subdivision. 

8 ‘‘(8) PRIORITY PIPELINE ACCESS.—The term 

9 ‘priority pipeline access’ means the first priority of 

10 delivery of crude helium under which the Secretary 

11 schedules and ensures the delivery of crude helium 

12 to a helium refinery through the Federal Helium 

13 System. 

14 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED BIDDER.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

16 bidder’ means a person the Secretary deter17 mines is seeking to purchase helium for their 

18 own use, refining, or redelivery to users. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘qualified 

20 bidder’ does not include a person who was pre21 viously determined to be a qualified bidder if 

22 the Secretary determines that the person did 

23 not meet the requirements of a qualified bidder 

24 under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(10) QUALIFYING DOMESTIC HELIUM TRANS2 ACTION.—The term ‘qualifying domestic helium 

3 transaction’ means any agreement entered into or 

4 renegotiated agreement during the preceding 1-year 

5 period in the United States for the purchase or sale 

6 of at least 20,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude 

7 or pure helium to which any holder of a contract 

8 with the Secretary for the acceptance, storage, deliv9 ery, or redelivery of crude helium from the Federal 

10 Helium System is a party. 

11 ‘‘(11) REFINER.—The term ‘refiner’ means a 

12 person with the ability to take delivery of crude he13 lium from the Federal Helium Pipeline and refine 

14 the crude helium into pure helium. 

15 ‘‘(12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

16 means the Secretary of the Interior.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY. 

18 Section 3 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167a) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(c) EXTRACTION OF HELIUM FROM DEPOSITS ON

21 FEDERAL LAND.—All amounts received by the Secretary 

22 from the sale or disposition of helium on Federal land 

23 shall be credited to the Helium Production Fund estab24 lished under section 6(d).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. STORAGE, WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSPORTATION. 

2 Section 5 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167c) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 5. STORAGE, WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSPORTATION. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary provides helium 

6 storage, withdrawal, or transportation services to any per7 son, the Secretary shall impose a fee on the person that 

8 accurately reflects the economic value of those services. 

9 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM FEES.—The fees charged under sub10 section (a) shall be not less than the amount required to 

11 reimburse the Secretary for the full costs of providing 

12 storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. 

13 ‘‘(c) SCHEDULE OF FEES.—Prior to sale or auction 

14 under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 6, the Secretary 

15 shall annually publish a standardized schedule of fees that 

16 the Secretary will charge under this section. 

17 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT.—All fees received by the Secretary 

18 under this section shall be credited to the Helium Produc19 tion Fund established under section 6(d). 

20 ‘‘(e) NEW STORAGE.—In accordance with this sec21 tion, the Secretary shall allow any person or qualified bid22 der to which crude helium is sold or auctioned under sec23 tion 6 to store that helium in the Federal Helium Re24 serve.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM. 

2 Section 6 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167d) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 6. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM. 

5 ‘‘(a) PHASE A: ALLOCATION TRANSITION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer 

7 crude helium for sale in such quantities, at such 

8 times, at not less than the minimum price estab9 lished under subsection (b)(7), and under such 

10 terms and conditions as the Secretary determines 

11 necessary to carry out this subsection with minimum 

12 market disruption. 

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PURCHASES.—Federal users 

14 may purchase refined helium with priority pipeline 

15 access under this subsection from persons who have 

16 entered into enforceable contracts to purchase an 

17 equivalent quantity of crude helium from the Sec18 retary. 

19 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—This subsection applies dur20 ing the period— 

21 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date of enactment of 

22 the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013; and 

23 ‘‘(B) ending on September 30, 2014. 

24 ‘‘(b) PHASE B: AUCTION IMPLEMENTATION.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer 

26 crude helium for sale in quantities not subject to 


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1 auction under paragraph (2), at such times, at not 

2 less than the minimum price established under para3 graph (7), and under such terms and conditions as 

4 the Secretary determines necessary— 

5 ‘‘(A) to maximize total recovery of helium 

6 from the Federal Helium Reserve over the long 

7 term; 

8 ‘‘(B) to maximize the total financial return 

9 to the taxpayer; 

10 ‘‘(C) to manage crude helium sales accord11 ing to the ability of the Secretary to extract and 

12 produce helium from the Federal Helium Re13 serve; 

14 ‘‘(D) to give priority to meeting the helium 

15 demand of Federal users in the event of any 

16 disruption to the Federal Helium Reserve; and 

17 ‘‘(E) to carry out this subsection with min18 imum market disruption. 

19 ‘‘(2) AUCTION QUANTITIES.—For the period de20 scribed in paragraph (4) and consistent with the 

21 conditions described in paragraph (8), the Secretary 

22 shall annually auction to any qualified bidder a 

23 quantity of crude helium in the Federal Helium Re24 serve equal to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2015, 10 percent of 

2 the total volume of crude helium made available 

3 for that fiscal year; and 

4 ‘‘(B) for each subsequent fiscal year, a 

5 percentage of the total volume of crude helium 

6 that is 10 percentage points greater than the 

7 percentage available for the previous fiscal year, 

8 but not to exceed 100 percent. 

9 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL PURCHASES.—Federal users 

10 may purchase refined helium-with priority pipeline 

11 access and at the in-kind price under this subsection 

12 from persons who have entered into enforceable con13 tracts to purchase an equivalent quantity of crude 

14 helium from the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—This subsection applies dur16 ing the period— 

17 ‘‘(A) beginning on October 1, 2014; and 

18 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the vol19 ume of recoverable crude helium at the Federal 

20 Helium Reserve (other than privately owned 

21 quantities of crude helium stored temporarily at 

22 the Federal Helium Reserve under section 5 

23 and this section) is 3,000,000,000 standard 

24 cubic feet. 


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1 ‘‘(5) SAFETY VALVE.—The Secretary may ad2 just the quantities specified in paragraph (2)— 

3 ‘‘(A) downward, if the Secretary deter4 mines the adjustment necessary— 

5 ‘‘(i) to minimize market disruptions 

6 that pose a threat to the economic well7 being of the United States; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) only after submitting a written 

9 justification of the adjustment to the Com10 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources 

11 of the Senate and the Committee on Nat12 ural Resources of the House of Represent13 atives; or 

14 ‘‘(B) upward, if the Secretary determines 

15 the adjustment necessary to increase participa16 tion in crude helium auctions or returns to the 

17 taxpayer. 

18 ‘‘(6) AUCTION FORMAT.—The Secretary shall 

19 conduct each auction using a method that maximizes 

20 revenue to the Federal Government. 

21 ‘‘(7) PRICES.—The Secretary shall annually es22 tablish, as applicable, sale and minimum auction 

23 prices under subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (1) 

24 and (2) using, if applicable and in the following 

25 order of priority: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The sale price of crude helium in auc2 tions held by the Secretary under paragraph 

3 (2). 

4 ‘‘(B) Price recommendations and 

5 disaggregated data from a qualified, inde6 pendent third party who has no conflict of in7 terest, who shall conduct a confidential survey 

8 of qualifying domestic helium transactions. 

9 ‘‘(C) The volume-weighted average price of 

10 all crude helium and pure helium purchased, 

11 sold, or processed by persons in all qualifying 

12 domestic helium transactions. 

13 ‘‘(D) The volume-weighted average cost of 

14 converting gaseous crude helium into pure he15 lium. 

16 ‘‘(8) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 require all persons that are parties to a con19 tract with the Secretary for the withdrawal, ac20 ceptance, storage, transportation, delivery, or 

21 redelivery of crude helium to disclose, on a 

22 strictly confidential basis— 

23 ‘‘(i) the volumes and associated prices 

24 in dollars per thousand cubic feet of all 

25 crude and pure helium purchased, sold, or 


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1 processed by persons in qualifying domes2 tic helium transactions; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the volumes and associated costs 

4 in dollars per thousand cubic feet of con5 verting crude helium into pure helium; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) refinery capacity and future ca7 pacity estimates. 

8 ‘‘(B) CONDITION.—As a condition of sale 

9 or auction to a refiner under subsection (a)(1) 

10 and paragraphs (1) and (2), effective beginning 

11 90 days after the date of enactment of the He12 lium Stewardship Act of 2013, the refiner shall 

13 make excess refining capacity of helium avail14 able at commercially reasonable rates to— 

15 ‘‘(i) any person prevailing in auctions 

16 under paragraph (2); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) any person that has acquired 

18 crude helium from the Secretary from the 

19 Federal Helium Reserve by means other 

20 than an auction under paragraph (2) after 

21 the date of enactment of the Helium Stew22 ardship Act of 2013. 

23 ‘‘(9) USE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

24 may use the information collected under this Act— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to approximate crude helium prices; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) to ensure the recovery of fair value 

4 for the taxpayers of the United States from 

5 sales of crude helium. 

6 ‘‘(10) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

7 The Secretary shall adopt such administrative poli8 cies and procedures as the Secretary considers nec9 essary and reasonable to ensure the confidentiality 

10 of information submitted pursuant to this Act. 

11 ‘‘(c) PHASE C: CONTINUED ACCESS FOR FEDERAL

12 USERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer 

14 crude helium for sale to Federal users in such quan15 tities, at such times, at not less than the minimum 

16 price established under subsection (b)(7), and under 

17 such terms and conditions as the Secretary deter18 mines necessary to carry out this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PURCHASES.—Federal users 

20 may purchase refined helium with priority pipeline 

21 access under this subsection from persons who have 

22 entered into enforceable contracts to purchase an 

23 equivalent quantity of crude helium from the Sec24 retary. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection ap2 plies beginning on the day after the date described 

3 in subsection (b)(4)(B). 

4 ‘‘(d) HELIUM PRODUCTION FUND.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All amounts received under 

6 this Act, including amounts from the sale or auction 

7 of crude helium, shall be credited to the Helium Pro8 duction Fund, which shall be available without fiscal 

9 year limitation for purposes considered necessary by 

10 the Secretary to carry out this Act (other than sec11 tions 16, 17, and 18), including capital investments 

12 in upgrades and maintenance at the Federal Helium 

13 System, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) well head maintenance at the Cliff15 side Field; 

16 ‘‘(B) capital investments in maintenance 

17 and upgrades of facilities that pressurize the 

18 Cliffside Field; 

19 ‘‘(C) capital investments in maintenance 

20 and upgrades of equipment related to the stor21 age, withdrawal, transportation, purification, 

22 and sale of crude helium from the Federal He23 lium Reserve; 

24 ‘‘(D) entering into purchase, lease, or 

25 other agreements to drill new or uncap existing 


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1 wells to maximize the recovery of crude helium 

2 from the Federal Helium System if the Sec3 retary determines the actions to be cost-effec4 tive; and 

5 ‘‘(E) any other scheduled or unscheduled 

6 maintenance of the Federal Helium System. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCESS FUNDS.—Any amounts in the He8 lium Production Fund described in paragraph (1) 

9 that exceed the amounts that the Secretary deter10 mines to be necessary to carry out paragraph (1) 

11 shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treas12 ury. 

13 ‘‘(e) MINIMUM QUANTITY.—The Secretary shall offer 

14 for sale or auction during each fiscal year under sub15 sections (a), (b), and (c) a quantity of crude helium that 

16 is the lesser of — 

17 ‘‘(1) the quantity of crude helium offered for 

18 sale by the Secretary during fiscal year 2012; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the maximum total production capacity of 

20 the Federal Helium System. 

21 ‘‘(f) MAINTENANCE OF HELIUM SUPPLY.—The Sec22 retary shall minimize disruption in the supply of helium 

23 from the Federal Helium System during the transition be24 tween phases of helium sales under subsections (a), (b), 

25 and (c).’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. INFORMATION, ASSESSMENT, RESEARCH, AND 

2 STRATEGY. 

3 The Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167 et seq.) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by repealing section 15 (50 U.S.C. 167m); 

6 (2) by redesignating section 17 (50 U.S.C. 167 

7 note) as section 20; and 

8 (3) by inserting after section 14 (50 U.S.C. 

9 167l) the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 15. INFORMATION. 

11 ‘‘(a) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, acting 

12 through the Bureau of Land Management, shall make 

13 available on the Internet information relating to the Fed14 eral Helium System that includes— 

15 ‘‘(1) continued publication of an open market 

16 and in-kind price; 

17 ‘‘(2) aggregated projections of excess refining 

18 capacity; 

19 ‘‘(3) ownership of helium held in the Federal 

20 Helium Reserve; 

21 ‘‘(4) the volume of helium delivered to persons 

22 through the Federal Helium Pipeline; 

23 ‘‘(5) pressure constraints of the Federal Helium 

24 Pipeline; 

25 ‘‘(6) an estimate of the projected date when 

26 3,000,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude helium 


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1 will remain in the Federal Helium Reserve and the 

2 final phase described in section 6(c) will begin; 

3 ‘‘(7) the amount of the fees charged under sec4 tion 5; 

5 ‘‘(8) the scheduling of crude helium deliveries 

6 through the Federal Helium Pipeline; and 

7 ‘‘(9) other factors that will increase trans8 parency. 

9 ‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

10 date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, 

11 to provide the market with appropriate and timely infor12 mation affecting the helium resource, the Director of the 

13 Bureau of Land Management shall establish a timely and 

14 public reporting process to provide data that affects the 

15 helium industry, including— 

16 ‘‘(1) annual maintenance schedules and quar17 terly updates, that shall include— 

18 ‘‘(A) the date and duration of planned 

19 shutdowns of the Federal Helium Pipeline; 

20 ‘‘(B) the nature of work to be undertaken 

21 on the Federal Helium System, whether rou22 tine, extended, or extraordinary; 

23 ‘‘(C) the anticipated impact of the work on 

24 the helium supply; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the efforts being made to minimize 

2 any impact on the supply chain; and 

3 ‘‘(E) any concerns regarding maintenance 

4 of the Federal Helium Pipeline, including the 

5 pressure of the pipeline or deviation from nor6 mal operation of the pipeline; 

7 ‘‘(2) for each unplanned outage, a description 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the beginning of the outage; 

10 ‘‘(B) the expected duration of the outage; 

11 ‘‘(C) the nature of the problem; 

12 ‘‘(D) the estimated impact on helium sup13 ply; 

14 ‘‘(E) a plan to correct problems, including 

15 an estimate of the potential timeframe for cor16 rection and the likelihood of plan success within 

17 the timeframe; 

18 ‘‘(F) efforts to minimize negative impacts 

19 on the helium supply chain; and 

20 ‘‘(G) updates on repair status and the an21 ticipated online date; 

22 ‘‘(3) monthly summaries of meetings and com23 munications between the Bureau of Land Manage24 ment and the Cliffside Refiners Limited Partner25 ship, including a list of participants and an indicaVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Apr 29, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S783.IS S783

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1 tion of any actions taken as a result of the meetings 

2 or communications; and 

3 ‘‘(4) current predictions of the lifespan of the 

4 Federal Helium System, including how much longer 

5 the crude helium supply will be available based on 

6 current and forecasted demand and the projected 

7 maximum production capacity of the Federal Helium 

8 System for the following fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 16. HELIUM GAS RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, 

12 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the United 

13 States Geological Survey, shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) in coordination with appropriate heads of 

15 State geological surveys— 

16 ‘‘(A) complete a national helium gas as17 sessment that identifies and quantifies the 

18 quantity of helium, including the isotope he19 lium-3, in each reservoir, including assessments 

20 of the constituent gases found in each helium 

21 resource, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and 

22 natural gas; and 

23 ‘‘(B) make available the modern seismic 

24 and geophysical log data for characterization of 

25 the Bush Dome Reservoir; 


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1 ‘‘(2) in coordination with appropriate inter2 national agencies and the global geology community, 

3 complete a global helium gas assessment that identi4 fies and quantifies the quantity of the helium, in5 cluding the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir; 

6 ‘‘(3) in coordination with the Secretary of En7 ergy, acting through the Administrator of the En8 ergy Information Administration, complete— 

9 ‘‘(A) an assessment of trends in global de10 mand for helium, including the isotope helium11 3; 

12 ‘‘(B) a 10-year forecast of domestic de13 mand for helium across all sectors, including 

14 scientific and medical research, commercial, 

15 manufacturing, space technologies, cryogenics, 

16 and national defense; and 

17 ‘‘(C) an inventory of medical, scientific, in18 dustrial, commercial, and other uses of helium 

19 in the United States, including Federal uses, 

20 that identifies the nature of the helium use, the 

21 amounts required, the technical and commercial 

22 viability of helium recapture and recycling in 

23 that use, and the availability of material sub24 stitutes wherever possible; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) submit to the Committee on Energy and 

2 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

3 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa4 tives a report describing the results of the assess5 ments required under this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 such sums as are necessary. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 17. LOW-BTU GAS SEPARATION AND HELIUM CON10 SERVATION. 

11 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Energy 

12 shall support programs of research, development, commer13 cial application, and conservation (including the programs 

14 described in subsection (b))— 

15 ‘‘(1) to expand the domestic production of low16 Btu gas and helium resources; 

17 ‘‘(2) to separate and capture helium from nat18 ural gas streams; and 

19 ‘‘(3) to reduce the venting of helium and he20 lium-bearing low-Btu gas during natural gas explo21 ration and production. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.— 

24 The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with other 

25 appropriate agencies, shall support a civilian reVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Apr 29, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S783.IS S783

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1 search program to develop advanced membrane tech2 nology that is used in the separation of low-Btu 

3 gases, including technologies that remove helium and 

4 other constituent gases that lower the Btu content 

5 of natural gas. 

6 ‘‘(2) HELIUM SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY.—The 

7 Secretary of Energy shall support a research pro8 gram to develop technologies for separating, gath9 ering, and processing helium in low concentrations 

10 that occur naturally in geological reservoirs or for11 mations, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) low-Btu gas production streams; and 

13 ‘‘(B) technologies that minimize the atmos14 pheric venting of helium gas during natural gas 

15 production. 

16 ‘‘(3) INDUSTRIAL HELIUM PROGRAM.—The Sec17 retary of Energy, working through the Advanced 

18 Manufacturing Office of the Department of Energy, 

19 shall carry out a research program— 

20 ‘‘(A) to develop low-cost technologies and 

21 technology systems for recycling, reprocessing, 

22 and reusing helium for all medical, scientific, 

23 industrial, commercial, aerospace, and other 

24 uses of helium in the United States, including 

25 Federal uses; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to develop industrial gathering tech2 nologies to capture helium from other chemical 

3 processing, including ammonia processing. 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 such sums as are necessary. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 18. HELIUM-3 SEPARATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—The Secretary 

9 shall cooperate with the Secretary of Energy, or a des10 ignee, on any assessment or research relating to the ex11 traction and refining of the isotope helium-3 from crude 

12 helium at the Federal Helium Reserve or along the Fed13 eral Helium Pipeline, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) gas analysis; 

15 ‘‘(2) infrastructure studies; and 

16 ‘‘(3) cooperation with refiners. 

17 ‘‘(b) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Secretary, in con18 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, or a designee, may 

19 carry out a study to assess the feasibility of establishing 

20 a facility to separate the isotope helium-3 from crude he21 lium at— 

22 ‘‘(1) the Federal Helium Reserve; or 

23 ‘‘(2) an existing helium separation or purifi24 cation facility connected to the Federal Helium Pipe25 line. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

2 of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, the 

3 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

4 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

5 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a re6 port that contains a description of the results of the as7 sessments conducted under this section. 

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 such sums as are necessary. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 19. FEDERAL AGENCY HELIUM ACQUISITION STRAT12 EGY. 

13 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

14 of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, the Secretary (in 

15 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary 

16 of Defense, the Director of the National Science Founda17 tion, and the Director of the National Institutes of 

18 Health) shall submit to Congress a report that provides 

19 for Federal users— 

20 ‘‘(1) an assessment of the consumption of, and 

21 projected demand for, crude and refined helium; 

22 ‘‘(2) a description of a 20-year Federal strategy 

23 for securing access to crude helium; 


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1 ‘‘(3) an assessment of the effects of increases in 

2 the price of refined helium and methods and policies 

3 for mitigating any determined effects; and 

4 ‘‘(4) a description of a process for prioritization 

5 of uses that accounts for diminished availability of 

6 helium supplies that may occur over time.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

8 (a) Section 4 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167b) 

9 is amended by striking ‘‘section 6(f)’’ each place it appears 

10 in subsections (c)(3), (c)(4), and (d)(2) and inserting 

11 ‘‘section 6(d)’’. 

12 (b) Section 8 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167f) 

13 is repealed. 

14 SEC. 8. EXISTING AGREEMENTS. 

15 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

16 not in any manner affect or diminish the rights and obli17 gations of the Secretary of the Interior and private parties 

18 under agreements in existence on the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, except to the extent that the agreements are 

20 renewed or extended after that date. 

21 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 

22 The Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate such 

23 regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act and the 


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1 amendments made by this Act, including regulations nec2 essary to prevent unfair acts and practices. 

Æ 


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