II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1713 

To establish loan guarantee programs to develop biochar technology using 

excess plant biomass, to establish biochar demonstration projects on 

public land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. HATCH, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. 

UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish loan guarantee programs to develop biochar 

technology using excess plant biomass, to establish 

biochar demonstration projects on public land, 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 ‘‘Water Efficiency via 

5 Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 

6 2009’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) numerous expert reports have brought at2 tention to the negative impacts caused by invasive 

3 weed species, including the consumption of water in 

4 areas with diminishing supplies; 

5 (2) salt cedar, or Tamarix species, a noxious 

6 and invasive plant commonly found on public land 

7 can consume 200 gallons of water per plant each 

8 day; 

9 (3) salt cedar now covers as much as 1,000,000 

10 acres of floodplains, riparian acres, wetland, and 

11 lake margins in the Western United States; 

12 (4) minimizing the impact of and eradicating 

13 invasive species that wrest water from delicate wa14 tersheds is in the best interest of the United States; 

15 (5) as drought conditions worsen and legal re16 quirements relating to water supply accelerate water 

17 shortages, innovative approaches are needed to ad18 dress the increasing demand for water; 

19 (6) pine bark beetle has killed thousands of 

20 acres of standing forests in the Western United 

21 States, creating a hazardous buildup of dead tree 

22 biomass that is a serious fire threat to those and 

23 surrounding areas; 

24 (7) biochar technology would result in a more 

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1 cessful approach to combating invasive weeds and 

2 removing excess biomass and plant waste from pub3 lic land; 

4 (8) invasive weeds and excess biomass on public 

5 land can serve as feedstock for biochar and alter6 native fuel production; 

7 (9) it is in the best interest of the United 

8 States to conduct a comprehensive and thorough re9 search, development, and demonstration program on 

10 biochar and related bioenergy so as to better under11 stand how to use excess biomass available on public 

12 land; and 

13 (10) biochar production and use systems have 

14 been shown to have many ancillary beneficial envi15 ronmental impacts. 

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

17 (1) to restore the natural hydrology of Western 

18 landscapes by removing water-intensive invasive 

19 plant species; 

20 (2) to reduce dangerous forest and rangeland 

21 fuel loads; 

22 (3) to develop technologies to convert undesir23 able invasive plant species to useful materials; 

24 (4) to develop markets for those materials; and 


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1 (5) to provide technologies to land managers to 

2 continue those processes into the future. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) BIOCHAR.—The term ‘‘biochar’’ means 

6 charcoal or black carbon derived from organic mat7 ter through pyrolysis. 

8 (2) BIOENERGY.—The term ‘‘bioenergy’’ means 

9 hydrocarbons derived from organic matter through 

10 pyrolysis, including bio-oil, syngas, or thermal en11 ergy. 

12 (3) EXCESS BIOMASS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘excess bio14 mass’’ means any plant matter targeted for re15 moval from public land to promote ecosystem 

16 health. 

17 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘excess bio18 mass’’ includes— 

19 (i) trees or tree waste on public land; 

20 (ii) wood and wood wastes and resi21 dues; and 

22 (iii) weedy plants and grasses (includ23 ing aquatic, noxious, or invasive plants). 

24 (4) FEEDSTOCK.—The term ‘‘feedstock’’ means 

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1 rials that serves as the raw material for the produc2 tion of biochar and bioenergy. 

3 (5) INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 

4 ‘‘invasive plant species’’ means a species— 

5 (A) that is nonnative to a specified eco6 system; and 

7 (B) the introduction to an ecosystem of 

8 which causes, or may cause, harm to— 

9 (i) the economy; 

10 (ii) the environment; 

11 (iii) water resources; or 

12 (iv) human, animal, or plant health. 

13 (6) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec14 retary concerned’’ means the Secretary of the Inte15 rior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

16 SEC. 4. RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the United States 

18 Geological Survey shall conduct resources assessments 

19 that collect and synthesize interagency and State data to 

20 quantify— 

21 (1) invasive plant species and excess biomass in 

22 the form of dangerous fuel loads on public land that 

23 can be used for feedstock; 

24 (2) estimated carbon content in that feedstock; 


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1 (3) estimated potential biochar and bioenergy 

2 producible from that feedstock; and 

3 (4) potential water savings resulting from re4 moval of invasive plant species and excess biomass 

5 on public land, by watershed. 

6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the Di8 rector of United States Geological Survey shall submit to 

9 Congress a report that describes the results of each re10 source assessment conducted under subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH. 

12 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF MOBILE BIOCHAR PRODUC13 TION UNITS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en14 actment of this Act and in accordance with subsection (c), 

15 the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a program to 

16 provide guarantees of loans by private institutions— 

17 (1) to develop and optimize commercially and 

18 technologically viable biochar production units 

19 that— 

20 (A) are designed to use woody invasive 

21 plant species and excess biomass feedstock such 

22 as tamarisk, pinyon pine, and juniper; 

23 (B) produce net negative carbon emissions 

24 relative to natural decomposition; 


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1 (C) are self-contained on a portable plat2 form suitable for deployment to remote loca3 tions and on unpaved roads; and 

4 (D) can capture biochar and bioenergy 

5 produced for immediate energy needs or trans6 port to market; and 

7 (2) to produce, not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of securing a guaranteed loan under this sec9 tion for the purposes described in section 7(a)(2), 4 

10 biochar production units for deployment to remote 

11 landscapes, of which— 

12 (A) 2 shall be dedicated primarily to con13 tract work with the Bureau of Land Manage14 ment; and 

15 (B) 2 shall be dedicated primarily to con16 tract work with the National Park Service. 

17 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF FIXED BIOCHAR PRODUCTION

18 UNITS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act and in accordance with subsection (c), the Sec20 retary of Agriculture shall establish a program to provide 

21 guarantees of loans by private institutions— 

22 (1) to develop and optimize commercially and 

23 technologically viable biochar production units 

24 that— 


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1 (A) while not necessarily self contained, 

2 can be disassembled, moved, and reassembled to 

3 be operational on a new site within 30 days, so 

4 as to support fuels reduction work; 

5 (B) are designed to use excess biomass 

6 feedstock, such as trees killed by bark beetle in7 festations; 

8 (C) produce net negative carbon emissions 

9 relative to natural decomposition; 

10 (D) can capture biochar and bioenergy 

11 produced for immediate energy needs or trans12 port to market; and 

13 (2) to produce, not later than 2 years after the 

14 date of securing a guaranteed loan under this sec15 tion for the purposes described in section 7(a)(3), 2 

16 biochar production units for deployment to remote 

17 landscapes. 

18 (c) GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

20 may provide loan guarantees under this section to 

21 an applicant if the biochar production units pro22 duced by the applicant will be dedicated primarily to 

23 contract restoration work with the Bureau of Land 

24 Management, National Park Service, or Forest Serv25 ice, using— 


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1 (A) pinyon pine and juniper feedstock in 

2 the Great Basin; 

3 (B) tamarisk feedstock in the Mojave 

4 Desert; or 

5 (C) excess biomass feedstock, such as trees 

6 killed by bark beetle infestations in the Inter7 mountain West. 

8 (2) CRITERIA.—In selecting recipients of loan 

9 guarantees from among applicants, the Secretary 

10 concerned shall give preference to proposals that, as 

11 determined by the Secretary concerned— 

12 (A) meet all applicable Federal and State 

13 permitting requirements; 

14 (B) are most likely to be successful; and 

15 (C) are located in local markets that have 

16 the greatest need for the biochar production 

17 units due to— 

18 (i) identified high-priority landscape 

19 restoration needs; 

20 (ii) availability of sufficient quantities 

21 of feedstocks described in subsection (b); 

22 or 

23 (iii) a high level of demand for 

24 biochar or other commercial byproducts of 

25 the biochar production units. 


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1 (3) MATURITY.—A loan guaranteed under this 

2 section shall have a maturity of not more than 20 

3 years. 

4 (4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The loan agree5 ment for a loan guaranteed under this section shall 

6 provide that no provision of the loan agreement may 

7 be amended or waived without the consent of the 

8 Secretary. 

9 (5) GUARANTEE FEE.—The recipient of a loan 

10 guarantee under this section shall pay to the Sec11 retary concerned a guarantee fee in an amount de12 termined by the Secretary concerned to be sufficient 

13 to cover the administrative costs of the Secretary 

14 concerned relating to the loan guarantee. 

15 (6) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The full faith and cred17 it of the United States is pledged to the pay18 ment of all guarantees made by the Secretary 

19 concerned under this section. 

20 (B) EVIDENCE.—Any guarantee made by 

21 the Secretary concerned under this section shall 

22 be conclusive evidence of the eligibility of the 

23 loan for the guarantee with respect to principal 

24 and interest. 


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1 (C) VALIDITY.—The validity of any guar2 antee made by the Secretary concerned under 

3 this section shall be incontestable in the hands 

4 of a holder of the guaranteed loan. 

5 (7) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Until the date on 

6 which each guaranteed loan under this section has 

7 been repaid in full, each year the Secretary con8 cerned shall submit to Congress a report on the ac9 tivities of the Secretary concerned under this section 

10 during the preceding year. 

11 SEC. 6. EXISTING TECHNOLOGY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior and 

13 the Secretary of Agriculture shall each establish a pro14 gram to provide guarantees of loans by private institutions 

15 for the construction or acquisition of facilities for the pro16 duction of biochar. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary concerned may 

18 provide a loan guarantee under this section to an applicant 

19 if facilities constructed or acquired by the applicant will 

20 be dedicated primarily to contract restoration work with 

21 the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, 

22 or Forest Service, using— 

23 (1) pinyon pine and juniper feedstock in the 

24 Great Basin; 

25 (2) tamarisk feedstock in the Mojave Desert; or 


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1 (3) excess biomass feedstock, such as trees 

2 killed by bark beetle infestations in the Inter3 mountain West. 

4 (c) CRITERIA.—In selecting recipients of loan guar5 antees from among applicants, the Secretary concerned 

6 shall give preference to proposals that, as determined by 

7 the Secretary concerned— 

8 (1) meet all applicable Federal and State per9 mitting requirements; 

10 (2) are most likely to be successful; and 

11 (3) are located in local markets that have the 

12 greatest need for the facility due to— 

13 (A) identified high-priority landscape res14 toration needs; 

15 (B) availability of sufficient quantities of 

16 feedstocks described in subsection (b); or 

17 (C) a high level of demand for biochar or 

18 other commercial byproducts of the facility. 

19 (d) MATURITY.—A loan guaranteed under this sec20 tion shall have a maturity of not more than 20 years. 

21 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The loan agreement 

22 for a loan guaranteed under this section shall provide that 

23 no provision of the loan agreement may be amended or 

24 waived without the consent of the Secretary concerned. 


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1 (f) GUARANTEE FEE.—The recipient of a loan guar2 antee under this section shall pay the Secretary concerned 

3 a guarantee fee in an amount determined by the Secretary 

4 concerned to be sufficient to cover the administrative costs 

5 of the Secretary concerned relating to the loan guarantee. 

6 (g) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The full faith and credit of 

8 the United States is pledged to the payment of all 

9 guarantees made by the Secretary concerned under 

10 this section. 

11 (2) EVIDENCE.—Any guarantee made by the 

12 Secretary concerned under this section shall be con13 clusive evidence of the eligibility of the loan for the 

14 guarantee with respect to principal and interest. 

15 (3) VALIDITY.—The validity of any guarantee 

16 made by the Secretary concerned under this section 

17 shall be incontestable in the hands of a holder of the 

18 guaranteed loan. 

19 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Until the date on which 

20 each guaranteed loan under this section has been repaid 

21 in full, each year the Secretary concerned shall submit to 

22 Congress a report on the activities of the Secretary con23 cerned under this section during the preceding year. 

24 SEC. 7. DEPLOYMENT. 

25 (a) NEW TECHNOLOGY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

4 initiate 3-year programs to employ the biochar pro5 duction units provided under section 5 in pilot appli6 cations in various climates and ecosystems of the 

7 United States. 

8 (2) MOBILE UNITS.—In the case of biochar pro9 duction units developed or optimized under section 

10 5(a)— 

11 (A) the Director of the National Park 

12 Service shall carry out initial programs using 

13 invasive tamarisk in the Mojave Desert as feed14 stock; and 

15 (B) the Director of the Bureau of Land 

16 Management shall carry out initial programs 

17 using excess pinyon pine and juniper biomass in 

18 the Great Basin as feedstock. 

19 (3) FIXED UNITS.—In the case of biochar pro20 duction units developed or optimized under section 

21 5(b), the Chief of the Forest Service shall carry out 

22 the initial program using bark beetle-killed trees in 

23 the Intermountain West. 

24 (b) EXISTING TECHNOLOGY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the In3 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare 

4 plans for carrying out 3-year landscape restoration 

5 programs in various climates and ecosystems of the 

6 United States to employ facilities constructed or ac7 quired under section 6. 

8 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the land9 scape restoration programs described in paragraph 

10 (1), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

11 of Agriculture shall carry out programs using 

12 invasive tamarisk in the Mojave Desert, excess 

13 pinyon pine and juniper biomass in the Great Basin, 

14 and bark beetle-killed trees in the Intermountain 

15 West. 

16 SEC. 8. APPLICATION AND MARKET RESEARCH. 

17 (a) ATTRIBUTES.—Not later than 1 year after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

19 shall provide competitive grants to conduct research and 

20 analysis that identifies— 

21 (1) attributes and composition profiles of 

22 biochar produced from different feedstocks for use 

23 as soil amendments; and 

24 (2) attributes and composition profiles of bio25 energy produced from different feedstocks for use as 


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1 fuel for transportation, heating, or other uses identi2 fied in subsection (b)(1). 

3 (b) MARKET DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

5 Agriculture, acting through the Director of the National 

6 Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Administrator of 

7 the Agricultural Research Service, and the Administrator 

8 of the Agricultural Marketing Service shall provide com9 petitive grants to conduct research and analysis that— 

10 (1) identifies potential uses and markets for 

11 biochar and bioenergy; and 

12 (2) in the case of economic and life-cycle issues, 

13 analyzes— 

14 (A) the full production costs versus the 

15 economic benefits of biochar production sys16 tems; 

17 (B) the impact of the production and use 

18 of biochar, including the performance of biochar 

19 in carbon sequestration programs; and 

20 (C) the availability of feedstocks and the 

21 efficiency of using those feedstock for biochar 

22 production as compared to other biofuel-produc23 tion systems. 

24 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Not later than 1 

25 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 of Agriculture shall provide competitive grants to conduct 

2 research and analysis relating to— 

3 (1) the environmental benefits of biochar pro4 duction and use, including— 

5 (A) the water savings resulting from re6 ducing populations of invasive or noxious plant 

7 species; 

8 (B) the potential of biochar production 

9 systems— 

10 (i) to reduce fertilizer use, nutrient 

11 leaching, and run-off; and 

12 (ii) to reduce water pollution from 

13 feedlot runoff by capturing ammonia; and 

14 (C) the reduction in greenhouse gas emis15 sions resulting from the production and use of 

16 related bioenergy; 

17 (2) the potential environmental impacts of 

18 biochar and bioenergy use, including— 

19 (A) the potential toxicity and other adverse 

20 ecosystem effects resulting from biochar pro21 duction or use of different biochars, as identi22 fied under subsection (a)(1); 

23 (B) the characterization of combustion 

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1 section (a)(2), and the effects of those combus2 tion products on air and water quality; and 

3 (C) impacts on human health and safety. 

4 (d) DEVELOPMENT OF BIOCHAR IN LANDSCAPE RES5 TORATION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

7 through the Director of the National Institute of Food and 

8 Agriculture and the Administrator of the Agricultural Re9 search Service, shall provide competitive grants to re10 search and analyze— 

11 (1) the potential uses of biochar in landscape 

12 restoration in different ecosystems and soil types; 

13 (2) the relative benefits and potential adverse 

14 effects of use of different biochars, as identified 

15 under subsection (a)(1) in different western eco16 systems and soil types; and 

17 (3) the safety and efficacy of different methods 

18 of application. 

19 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 sections 4 through 8, including for the cost of grants and 

22 loan guarantees under those sections, such sums as are 

23 necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2016. 

Æ 


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