I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2133 

To increase domestic energy production, reduce dependence on foreign oil, 

and diversify the energy portfolio of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 3, 2011 

Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Natural Resources, Science, Space, and Technology, and Agriculture, 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 increase domestic energy production, reduce dependence 

on foreign oil, and diversify the energy portfolio of the 

United States. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Fulfilling U.S. Energy Leadership Act’’ or the ‘‘FUEL 

6 Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—TRADITIONAL ENERGY PRODUCTION 

Subtitle A—Outer Continental Shelf 

Sec. 101. Implementation of inventory of Outer Continental Shelf resources. 

Sec. 102. Moratorium on oil and gas leasing in certain areas of Gulf of Mexico. 

Sec. 103. 2012–2017 5-year oil and gas leasing program deemed final. 

Sec. 104. Disposition of royalties. 

Sec. 105. Institute for Ocean Energy Safety. 

Subtitle B—Onshore Oil and Gas Production 

Sec. 111. Establishment of Federal Onshore Energy Development Task Force. 

Sec. 112. Hydraulic fracturing sense of Congress. 

TITLE II—RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY 

Subtitle A—Research and Development 

Sec. 201. Next Generation Energy and Efficiency Fund. 

Subtitle B—Public Land Renewable Energy Deployment 

Sec. 211. Renewable energy Federal permit coordination. 

Sec. 212. Extension of funding for implementation of Geothermal Steam Act of 

1970. 

Sec. 213. Programmatic environmental impact statements and land use planning for development of renewable energy on public lands and 

National Forest System lands. 

Sec. 214. National Academy of Sciences study and report of siting, development, and management of renewable energy on public lands 

and National Forest System lands. 

Sec. 215. Renewable energy development on brownfield sites. 

Sec. 216. Development of solar and wind energy on public land. 

Subtitle C—Unconventional Fuels 

Sec. 221. Transparency for delayed loan guarantee applications. 

Sec. 222. Algae-based fuel incentives. 

Sec. 223. Loan guarantee eligible projects. 

TITLE III—NUCLEAR ENERGY 

Sec. 301. Objectives. 

Sec. 302. Funding. 

Sec. 303. Program objectives study. 

Sec. 304. Nuclear energy research and development programs. 

Sec. 305. Small modular reactor program. 

Sec. 306. Conventional improvements to nuclear power plants. 

Sec. 307. Fuel cycle research and development. 

Sec. 308. Nuclear energy enabling technologies program. 

Sec. 309. Emergency risk assessment and preparedness report. 

Sec. 310. Next generation nuclear plant. 

Sec. 311. Technical standards collaboration. 

Sec. 312. Evaluation of long-term operating needs. 

Sec. 313. Available facilities database. 


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Sec. 314. Nuclear waste disposal. 

TITLE IV—ENERGY TRANSMISSION BARRIERS AND 

OPPORTUNITIES 

Sec. 401. Siting of interstate electric transmission facilities. 

1 TITLE I—TRADITIONAL ENERGY 

2 PRODUCTION 

3 Subtitle A—Outer Continental 

4 Shelf 

5 SEC. 101. IMPLEMENTATION OF INVENTORY OF OUTER 

6 CONTINENTAL SHELF RESOURCES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 357 of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15912) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) by striking the first sentence of the 

11 matter preceding paragraph (1) and inserting 

12 the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall conduct a 

13 seismic inventory of oil and natural gas, and 

14 prepare a summary (the latter prepared with 

15 the assistance of, and based on information pro16 vided by, the heads of appropriate Federal 

17 agencies) of the information obtained under 

18 paragraph (3), for the waters of the United 

19 States Outer Continental Shelf (referred to in 

20 this section as the ‘OUTER CONTINENTAL 

21 SHELF’) in the Atlantic Region, the Eastern 

22 Gulf of Mexico, and the Alaska Region.’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘3–D’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2–D and 3–D’’; and 

3 (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

4 (C) by striking paragraphs (3) through (5) 

5 and inserting in the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) use existing inventories and mapping of 

7 marine resources undertaken by the National Ocean8 ographic and Atmospheric Administration and with 

9 the assistance of and based on information provided 

10 by the Department of Defense and other Federal 

11 and State agencies possessing relevant data, and use 

12 any available data regarding alternative energy po13 tential, navigation uses, fisheries, aquiculture uses, 

14 recreational uses, habitat, conservation, and military 

15 uses.’’; and 

16 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall carry 

19 out the inventory and analysis under subsection (a) in 3 

20 phases, with priority given to all or part of applicable plan21 ning areas of the Outer Continental Shelf— 

22 ‘‘(1) estimated to have the greatest potential for 

23 energy development in barrel of oil equivalent; and 

24 ‘‘(2) outside of any leased area or area sched25 uled for leasing prior to calendar year 2011 under 


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1 any outer Continental Shelf 5-year leasing program 

2 or amendment to the program under section 18 of 

3 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

4 1344). 

5 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

8 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

9 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com10 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep11 resentatives a report that provides a plan for exe12 cuting the seismic inventories required under this 

13 section, including an estimate of the costs to com14 plete the seismic inventory by region and environ15 mental and permitting activities to facilitate expedi16 tious completion. 

17 ‘‘(2) FIRST PHASE.—Not later than 2 years 

18 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

19 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describ20 ing the results of the first phase of the inventory 

21 and analysis under subsection (a). 

22 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT PHASES.—Not later than 2 

23 years after the date on which the report is submitted 

24 under paragraph (2) and 2 years thereafter, the Sec25 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing 


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1 the results of the second and third phases, respec2 tively, of the inventory and analysis under subsection 

3 (a). 

4 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—A report sub5 mitted under paragraph (2) or (3) shall be— 

6 ‘‘(A) made publicly available; and 

7 ‘‘(B) updated not less frequently than once 

8 every 5 years.’’. 

9 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO 5-YEAR PROGRAM.—The re10 quirement that the Secretary of the Interior carry out the 

11 inventory required by the amendment made by subsection 

12 (a) shall not be considered to require, authorize, or provide 

13 a basis or justification for delay by the Secretary of the 

14 Interior or any other agency of the issuance of any outer 

15 Continental Shelf leasing program or amendment to the 

16 program under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

17 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), or any lease sale pursuant 

18 to that section. 

19 (c) PERMITS.—Nothing in this section or an amend20 ment made by this section precludes the issuance by the 

21 Secretary of the Interior of a permit to conduct geological 

22 and geophysical exploration of the outer Continental Shelf 

23 in accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

24 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) and other applicable law. 


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1 (d) FUNDING.—Section 999H(d) of the Energy Pol2 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16378(d)) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(1) 35 percent shall be used for activities 

6 under section 999A(b)(1), except that for each of 

7 fiscal years 2012 through 2017 the amount made 

8 available under this paragraph shall be used to carry 

9 out section 357 (for the completion of necessary en10 vironmental analyses under the National Environ11 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

12 with a priority given to completion of programmatic 

13 environmental impact statements necessary to carry 

14 out the seismic inventory or portions of the inven15 tory required by section 357, and the use of seismic 

16 technology to obtain accurate resource estimates).’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A) except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B),’’ before ‘‘25’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 

23 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2017— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 15 percent shall be used for the 

2 purposes described in subparagraph (A); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) 10 percent shall be used for the 

5 activities described in paragraph (1).’’. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

8 to be available until expended without fiscal year limita9 tion— 

10 (1) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

11 through 2017; and 

12 (2) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

13 through 2022. 

14 SEC. 102. MORATORIUM ON OIL AND GAS LEASING IN CER15 TAIN AREAS OF GULF OF MEXICO. 

16 Section 104 of division C of the Tax Relief and 

17 Health Care Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–432; 120 Stat. 

18 3003) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 103. 2012–2017 5-YEAR OIL AND GAS LEASING PRO20 GRAM DEEMED FINAL. 

21 The 2012–2017 5-year oil and gas leasing program 

22 issued by the Secretary of the Interior on March 31, 2010, 

23 is deemed to be final and in compliance with the National 

24 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

25 seq.) and all other Federal laws. 


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1 SEC. 104. DISPOSITION OF ROYALTIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other law, of 

3 the amounts received by the United States as bonuses, 

4 rents, and royalties under oil and gas leases for areas on 

5 the Outer Continental Shelf— 

6 (1) 25 percent shall be paid to States that are 

7 affected States (as that term is defined in section 2 

8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

9 U.S.C. 1331)) with respect to the lease tracts under 

10 the leases; 

11 (2) 75 percent shall retained by the Federal 

12 Government, of which— 

13 (A) the amount described in subsection (b) 

14 shall be deposited each fiscal year in the Next 

15 Generation Energy and Efficiency Fund estab16 lished by title II; 

17 (B) 10 percent shall be available to provide 

18 financial assistance to States in accordance 

19 with section 6 of the Land and Water Con20 servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l– 

21 8), which shall be considered income to the 

22 Land and Water Conservation Fund for pur23 poses of section 2 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 460l– 

24 5); and 

25 (C) the remainder shall be deposited into 

26 the general fund. 


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1 (b) AMOUNT TO BE DEPOSITED INTO FUND.—The 

2 amount referred to in subsection (a)(2)(A) is 50 percent 

3 of the amount of bonuses, rents, and royalties received by 

4 the United States each fiscal year under oil and gas leases 

5 for areas on the Outer Continental Shelf awarded after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, except that the total 

7 amount deposited under subsection (a)(2)(A) shall not ex8 ceed $40,000,000,000. 

9 SEC. 105. INSTITUTE FOR OCEAN ENERGY SAFETY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established an Institute 

11 for Ocean Energy Safety that shall exercise independent 

12 statutory authority over technical and operational safety 

13 in all phases of Outer Continental Shelf energy resource 

14 development projects, including the planning, designing, 

15 constructing, operating, and decommissioning of facilities 

16 and projects, and shall have overall responsibility for fos17 tering safe and environmentally sound offshore energy op18 erations. The Institute shall oversee all non-economic as19 pects of the operations and structures involved in drilling 

20 and production of oil and gas, pipelines, and wind towers, 

21 wave, tidal, and other renewable technologies located in 

22 the Federal offshore zone. The Institute shall also have 

23 the lead coordination role in relation to other regulators 

24 with independent authority over offshore oil and gas ac25 tivities, including the Environmental Protection Agency, 


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1 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2 and the Coast Guard. 

3 (b) KEY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Key responsibilities of 

4 the Institute include the following: 

5 (1) Inspecting all offshore operations by expert 

6 teams through scheduled and unannounced inspec7 tions. 

8 (2) Auditing or otherwise requiring certification 

9 of operator health, safety, and environmental man10 agement systems. 

11 (3) Evaluating eligibility for lessees based on 

12 safety qualifications. 

13 (4) Reviewing and approving the safety and fea14 sibility of any environmental mitigation activities 

15 prescribed by National Environmental Policy Act of 

16 1969 documents and other environmental consulta17 tions, authorization, or permits in addition to enforc18 ing such requirements over the duration of an oper19 ation. 

20 (5) Collecting and analyzing leading and lag21 ging indicators from all active parties for full risk 

22 evaluation. 

23 (6) Promulgating all structural integrity, proc24 ess, and workplace safety rules and regulations in 

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1 tions to supplement performance-based (‘‘safety 

2 case’’) regulations. 

3 (7) Providing technical review and comment on 

4 the five-year leasing program and individual lease 

5 sales. 

6 (8) Providing technical review of spill response 

7 and containment plans. 

8 (9) Reviewing and approving all spill response 

9 and containment plans and advising the new safety 

10 authority on environmental considerations. 

11 (10) Investigating all accidents and other sig12 nificant events that could have potentially turned 

13 catastrophic. 

14 (c) DIRECTOR.—The Institute shall be headed by a 

15 Director, who shall be appointed by the President, by and 

16 with the consent of the Senate, from among individuals 

17 with relevant engineering or technical background. The 

18 term as Director shall be 5 years. 

19 (d) ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL STAFF AND IN20 SPECTORS.—The Director may establish classifications 

21 and salary scales for engineering and technical staff and 

22 inspectors of the Institute that are substantially similar 

23 to those of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

24 (e) CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION.—The In25 stitute, in executing its responsibilities, shall consult and 


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1 collaborate with other government agencies, including in 

2 particular the Department of Energy and the Coast 

3 Guard, and with industry, academia, and scientific experts 

4 as appropriate. 

5 Subtitle B—Onshore Oil and Gas 

6 Production 

7 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL ONSHORE ENERGY 

8 DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Fed10 eral Onshore Energy Development Task Force to coordi11 nate permitting related to energy development on public 

12 lands. 

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall consist of 

14 the heads of the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest 

15 Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United 

16 States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the heads of regional 

17 offices of those agencies that are determined to be relevant 

18 by the heads of those agencies. 

19 (c) PLAN.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall— 

21 (A) within 6 months after the date of en22 actment of this Act, issue a draft plan for 

23 streamlining oil and gas leasing and permitting 

24 on Federal lands, including oil shale and tar 

25 sands leasing and permitting; 


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1 (B) provide a 60-day period for submission 

2 of comments on the plan by the public; and 

3 (C) within 4 months after the end of such 

4 comment period, issue a final plan for such 

5 streamlining. 

6 (2) CONSULTATION.—In drafting the plan the 

7 Task Force shall consult with other agencies in8 volved in Federal permitting process. 

9 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR DRAFTING.—In draft10 ing the plan the Task Force shall— 

11 (A) evaluate the effectiveness of current 

12 statutory permitting timelines, including a dis13 cussion of how often those timelines are exceed14 ed and the factors that lead to delays in issuing 

15 permits to drill; 

16 (B) consider ways to improve and better 

17 facilitate coordination and collaboration among 

18 Federal agencies throughout the permitting 

19 process; 

20 (C) compare the Bureau of Land Manage21 ment permitting process with Federal Energy 

22 Regulatory Commission permitting process, and 

23 evaluate whether a different process would be 

24 more efficient for fostering onshore oil and gas 

25 development; 


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1 (D) evaluate whether industry actors with 

2 positive safety and environmental records 

3 should be put allowed an expedited permit ap4 proval process; 

5 (E) include oil shale and tar sands permit6 ting issues in plan; and 

7 (F) provide specific recommendations for 

8 legislative action to implement a streamlined 

9 leasing plan. 

10 (d) IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTS.—The Task 

11 Force shall oversee implementation of plan and submit an12 nual reports to Congress on such implementation. 

13 SEC. 112. HYDRAULIC FRACTURING SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 300f et seq.) was not intended to regulate natural 

17 gas and oil well construction and stimulation; 

18 (2) States, reflecting their unique needs, have 

19 effectively regulated natural gas and oil well con20 struction and stimulation; and 

21 (3) industry should be encouraged to voluntarily 

22 disclose chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing 

23 process and this information should be made avail24 able to the public. 


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1 TITLE II—RENEWABLE AND 

2 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY 

3 Subtitle A—Research and 

4 Development 

5 SEC. 201. NEXT GENERATION ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY 

6 FUND. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in 

8 the Treasury of the United States the ‘‘Next Generation 

9 Energy and Efficiency Fund’’ (in this section referred to 

10 as ‘‘the Fund’’). 

11 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Energy 

12 shall be responsible for administering the Fund for the 

13 purpose of carrying out this section. 

14 (c) CONTENTS.—The Fund shall consist of amounts 

15 deposited into the Fund under section 104(a)(2)(A). Such 

16 deposits shall cease after $40,000,000,000 has been de17 posited, or 10 years of deposits have been made, whichever 

18 occurs first. 

19 (d) PURPOSE.—The Fund shall be used for the pur20 pose of research and development of technologies that will 

21 significantly decrease America’s reliance on traditional 

22 fossil fuels and increase energy efficiencies, including wind 

23 energy, solar energy, marine and hydrokinetic energy, geo24 thermal energy, hydrogen energy, vehicle energy efficiency 

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1 ergy efficiencies, building and lighting energy efficiencies, 

2 smart grid technology, and energy storage systems to sup3 port electric drive vehicles. 

4 (e) IDENTIFICATION OF PROGRAMS.—Not later than 

5 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 Secretary of Energy shall identify programs of the Depart7 ment of Energy described in subsection (d) for funding 

8 from the Fund, including the Advanced Research Projects 

9 Agency-Energy. 

10 (f) AVAILABILITY OF FUND.—After the Secretary of 

11 Energy has completed the identification of programs 

12 under subsection (e), amounts in the Fund shall be avail13 able, without further appropriation, for carrying out such 

14 programs. 

15 Subtitle B—Public Land 

16 Renewable Energy Deployment 

17 SEC. 211. RENEWABLE ENERGY FEDERAL PERMIT COORDI18 NATION. 

19 Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 15924) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(k) PILOT PROJECT OFFICES TO IMPROVE FED23 ERAL PERMIT COORDINATION FOR RENEWABLE EN24 ERGY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.—In 

2 this subsection, the term ‘renewable energy’ means 

3 energy derived from a wind, solar, or geothermal 

4 source. 

5 ‘‘(2) FIELD OFFICES.—As part of the Pilot 

6 Project, the Secretary shall designate 1 field office 

7 of the Bureau of Land Management in each of the 

8 following States to serve as Renewable Energy Per9 mit Coordination Offices for coordination of Federal 

10 permits for renewable energy projects and trans11 mission involving Federal land facilitating the devel12 opment of renewable energy: 

13 ‘‘(A) Alaska. 

14 ‘‘(B) Arizona. 

15 ‘‘(C) California. 

16 ‘‘(D) Colorado. 

17 ‘‘(E) Idaho. 

18 ‘‘(F) Oregon. 

19 ‘‘(G) New Mexico. 

20 ‘‘(H) Nevada. 

21 ‘‘(I) Montana. 

22 ‘‘(J) Utah. 

23 ‘‘(K) Washington. 

24 ‘‘(L) Wyoming. 

25 ‘‘(3) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

2 days after the date of enactment of this sub3 section, the Secretary shall enter into an 

4 amended memorandum of understanding under 

5 subsection (b) to provide for the inclusion of the 

6 additional Renewable Energy Pilot Project Of7 fices in the Pilot Project. 

8 ‘‘(B) SIGNATURE OF SECRETARY.—The 

9 Secretary shall be a signatory of the amended 

10 memorandum of understanding. 

11 ‘‘(C) SIGNATURES BY GOVERNORS.—The 

12 Secretary shall request that the Governors of 

13 each of the States described in paragraph (2) 

14 be signatories to the amended memorandum of 

15 understanding. 

16 ‘‘(4) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.—Not 

17 later than 30 days after the date of the signing of 

18 the amended memorandum of understanding, all 

19 Federal signatory parties shall, if appropriate, as20 sign to each Renewable Energy Pilot Project Office 

21 designated under paragraph (2) an employee de22 scribed in subsection (c) to carry out duties de23 scribed in that subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary 

2 shall assign to each Renewable Energy Pilot Project 

3 Office additional personnel under subsection (f). 

4 ‘‘(6) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—To coordinate and 

5 process renewable energy authorizations on Federal 

6 land under the jurisdiction of a Pilot Project Office 

7 designated under paragraph (2), the Secretary may 

8 authorize the expenditure or transfer of such funds 

9 as are necessary to— 

10 ‘‘(A) any Federal agency described in sub11 section (h); and 

12 ‘‘(B) any State described in paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(7) FUNDING.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 

15 any royalties, fees, rentals, bonus bids, or other 

16 payments from wind or solar development on 

17 land administered by the Secretary shall be de18 posited in a special fund in the Treasury to be 

19 known as the ‘BLM Wind and Solar Energy 

20 Permit Processing Improvement Fund’ (re21 ferred to in this subsection as ‘Fund’). 

22 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA23 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

24 from the Fund or, to the extent amounts are 

25 not available in the Fund, from the Treasury 


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1 for the costs of administering program oper2 ations for wind and solar development under 

3 the Public Land Renewable Energy Deployment 

4 and Adjustment Act of 2009 and the Federal 

5 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

6 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) $10,000,000 for each of 

7 fiscal years 2012 through 2022, to remain 

8 available without fiscal year limitation until ex9 pended.’’. 

10 SEC. 212. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

11 OF GEOTHERMAL STEAM ACT OF 1970. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 234(a) of the Energy Pol13 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(a)) is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘in the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘for each fiscal 

16 year through fiscal year 2022’’. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 234(b) of the Energy 

18 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(b)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—Effective for fiscal year 

24 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts de25 posited under subsection (a) shall be available to the 


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1 Secretary of the Interior for expenditure, subject to 

2 appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, to 

3 implement the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

4 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) and this Act.’’. 

5 SEC. 213. PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

6 STATEMENTS AND LAND USE PLANNING FOR 

7 DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY ON 

8 PUBLIC LANDS AND NATIONAL FOREST SYS9 TEM LANDS. 

10 (a) PUBLIC LANDS.—Not later than one year after 

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

12 Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, 

13 shall— 

14 (1) complete a programmatic environmental im15 pact statement in accordance with the National En16 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

17 seq.) to analyze the potential impacts of— 

18 (A) a program to develop solar, wind, and 

19 geothermal energy on public lands (as defined 

20 in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy 

21 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

22 1702(e))); and 

23 (B) any amendments to land use plans for 

24 public lands necessary to facilitate the program; 

25 and 


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1 (2) amend land use plans under section 202 of 

2 such Act (43 U.S.C. 1712) as necessary to provide 

3 for the development of solar, wind, and geothermal 

4 energy on public lands in areas considered appro5 priate by the Secretary. 

6 (b) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.—Not later 

7 than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Serv9 ice, shall— 

10 (1) complete a programmatic environmental im11 pact statement in accordance with the National En12 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

13 seq.) to analyze the potential impacts of— 

14 (A) a program to develop solar, wind, and 

15 geothermal energy on National Forest System 

16 lands (as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest 

17 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 

18 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); and 

19 (B) any necessary amendments to land and 

20 resource management plans for National Forest 

21 System lands necessary to facilitate the pro22 gram; and 

23 (2) amend land and resource management plans 

24 under section 6 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1604) as 

25 necessary to provide for the development of solar, 


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1 wind, and geothermal energy on National Forest 

2 System lands in areas considered appropriate by the 

3 Secretary. 

4 (c) EFFECT ON PROCESSING APPLICATIONS.—The 

5 requirement for completion of programmatic environ6 mental impact statements under this section shall not re7 sult in any delay in processing applications for solar, wind, 

8 and geothermal energy development on public lands or Na9 tional Forest System lands. 

10 SEC. 214. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY AND 

11 REPORT OF SITING, DEVELOPMENT, AND 

12 MANAGEMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY ON 

13 PUBLIC LANDS AND NATIONAL FOREST SYS14 TEM LANDS. 

15 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.— 

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

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of Agriculture, shall enter into an arrange20 ment with the National Academy of Sciences under 

21 which the Academy shall conduct a study on the 

22 siting, development, and management of projects for 

23 the production of wind, solar, and geothermal energy 

24 on— 


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1 (A) public lands (as defined in section 

2 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage3 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e))) that 

4 are available for energy development; and 

5 (B) National Forest System lands (as de6 fined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range7 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

8 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))) that are available 

9 for energy development. 

10 (2) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—The study 

11 shall address— 

12 (A) the effectiveness of— 

13 (i) laws (including regulations) and 

14 policies in effect on the date of enactment 

15 of this Act in— 

16 (I) facilitating the development of 

17 wind, solar, and geothermal energy 

18 projects on the land; and 

19 (II) ensuring the public receives 

20 a fair return for the use of the land; 

21 (ii) policies designed to discourage 

22 speculation in the development of wind, 

23 solar, and geothermal energy projects on 

24 the land; 


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1 (iii) the land use planning process in 

2 siting wind, solar, and geothermal energy 

3 facilities; 

4 (iv) mitigation planning for wind, 

5 solar, and geothermal energy projects on 

6 the land, particularly with respect to fish 

7 and wildlife and water resources; 

8 (v) best management practices devel9 oped by the Secretary of the Interior and 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture for wind, 

11 solar, and geothermal energy projects; and 

12 (vi) adaptive management of the im13 pacts associated with wind, solar, and geo14 thermal energy projects on the land; and 

15 (B) the advantages and disadvantages of 

16 using— 

17 (i) rights-of-way as a means of au18 thorizing the use of the land for wind, 

19 solar, and geothermal energy development; 

20 and 

21 (ii) a competitive or noncompetitive 

22 leasing system as a means of authorizing 

23 the use of the land for wind, solar, and 

24 geothermal energy development. 

25 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The study shall— 


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1 (1) analyze the matters described in subsection 

2 (a)(2); and 

3 (2) make recommendations as to— 

4 (A) whether a competitive or noncompeti5 tive leasing system would be a more effective 

6 means than the system in effect on the date of 

7 enactment of this Act to authorize the use of 

8 the Federal land described in subsection (a)(1) 

9 to meet the goals of facilitating the development 

10 of wind, solar, and geothermal energy projects 

11 while achieving a fair return to the public; 

12 (B) the most effective system to authorize 

13 the use of the land to meet the goals of facili14 tating the development of wind, solar, and geo15 thermal energy projects while achieving a fair 

16 return to the public; and 

17 (C) changes, if any, to Federal law (includ18 ing regulations) or policy necessary to address 

19 more effectively the siting, development, and 

20 management of wind, solar, and geothermal en21 ergy projects on the land. 

22 (c) COMPLETION OF STUDY.—Not later than 18 

23 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na24 tional Academy of Sciences shall— 


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1 (1) submit to the Secretary of the Interior and 

2 the Secretary of Agriculture the findings and rec3 ommendations of the study required under sub4 sections (a) and (b); and 

5 (2) make the results of the study available to 

6 the public. 

7 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of receipt of the findings and recommenda9 tions of the study under subsection (c)(1), the Secretary 

10 of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri11 culture, shall submit to Congress a report on— 

12 (1) the findings and recommendations of the 

13 study; 

14 (2) the agreement or disagreement of the Secre15 taries with respect to each of the findings and rec16 ommendations of the National Academy of Sciences; 

17 (3) the administrative actions to be taken by 

18 each of the Secretaries in response to the findings 

19 and recommendations; and 

20 (4) any recommended changes in law. 

21 SEC. 215. RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON 

22 BROWNFIELD SITES. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 (2) BROWNFIELD SITE.—The term ‘‘brownfield 

5 site’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

6 101(39) of the Comprehensive Environmental Re7 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

8 U.S.C. 9601(39)). 

9 (3) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘‘renew10 able energy’’ means energy generated from a renew11 able energy resource, including solar, wind, and geo12 thermal energy, and biomass. 

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

14 the Secretary of Energy. 

15 (b) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

16 PROTECTION AGENCY EFFORTS.—The Secretary, in con17 junction with the Administrator, shall— 

18 (1) in partnership with the National Renewable 

19 Energy Laboratory, identify opportunities to 

20 prioritize renewable energy development on 

21 brownfield sites; 

22 (2) provide to States, units of local govern23 ments, project developers, and other stakeholders 

24 publicly available resources identifying potential 


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1 brownfield sites for renewable energy development, 

2 with an emphasis on non-Federal land; and 

3 (3) provide technical assistance to State and 

4 local officials, interested project developers, and 

5 other stakeholders to expedite renewable energy pro6 duction from brownfield sites identified under this 

7 subsection, with an emphasis on non-Federal land. 

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

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and Administrator 

10 shall submit to Congress a report that includes— 

11 (1) proposals for Federal policies, incentives, or 

12 other means of encouraging renewable energy pro13 duction on sites identified under subsection (b); and 

14 (2) data on existing and potential job creation 

15 from, environmental benefits of, and energy produc16 tion from renewable energy on brownfield sites. 

17 (d) STAKEHOLDER FORUMS.—The Secretary, in con18 junction with the Administrator, shall conduct stakeholder 

19 forums in each region of the United States to assist State 

20 and local officials, project developers, and other stake21 holders with renewable energy project siting on brownfield 

22 sites, with an emphasis on non-Federal land. 

23 (e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects existing 

24 Federal efforts to promote the reuse and redevelopment 

25 of brownfield sites. 


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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec3 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

4 2012 through 2016. 

5 SEC. 216. DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY ON 

6 PUBLIC LAND. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

9 means land that is— 

10 (A)(i) public land administered by the Sec11 retary; or 

12 (ii) National Forest System land adminis13 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

14 (B) designated for the development of 

15 solar or wind energy under a land use plan es16 tablished under— 

17 (i) the Federal Land Policy and Man18 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

19 seq.); or 

20 (ii) the National Forest Management 

21 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.). 

22 (2) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro23 gram’’ means the wind and solar leasing pilot pro24 gram established under subsection (b). 


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

2 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in 

3 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage4 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

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

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec10 retary shall establish a wind and solar leasing pilot 

11 program. 

12 (2) SELECTION OF SITES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

14 after the date the pilot program is established 

15 under this subsection, the Secretary shall select 

16 2 sites that are appropriate for the development 

17 of a solar energy project, and 2 sites that are 

18 appropriate for the development of a wind en19 ergy project, on covered land as part of the 

20 pilot program. 

21 (B) SITE SELECTION.—In carrying out 

22 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall seek to 

23 select sites— 

24 (i) for which there is likely to be a 

25 high level of industry interest; and 


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1 (ii) that are representative of sites on 

2 which solar or wind energy is likely to be 

3 developed on covered land. 

4 (C) INELIGIBLE SITES.—The Secretary 

5 shall not select as part of the pilot program any 

6 site for which a right-of way for site testing or 

7 construction has been issued. 

8 (3) LEASE SALES.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (C)(ii), not later than 180 days 

11 after the date sites are selected under para12 graph (2), the Secretary shall offer each site for 

13 competitive leasing to qualified bidders under 

14 such terms and conditions as are required by 

15 the Secretary. 

16 (B) BIDDING SYSTEMS.—In offering the 

17 sites for lease, the Secretary— 

18 (i) may vary the bidding systems to be 

19 used at each lease sale; but 

20 (ii) shall limit bidding to 1 round in 

21 any lease sale. 

22 (C) LEASE TERMS.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—As part of the pilot 

24 program, the Secretary may vary the 

25 length of the lease terms and establish 


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1 such other lease terms and conditions as 

2 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

3 (ii) DATA COLLECTION.—As part of 

4 the pilot program, the Secretary shall— 

5 (I) offer on a noncompetitive 

6 basis on at least 1 site a short-term 

7 lease for data collection; and 

8 (II) on the expiration of the 

9 short-term lease, offer on a competi10 tive basis a long-term lease, giving 

11 credit toward the bonus bid to the 

12 holder of the short-term lease for any 

13 qualified expenditures to collect data 

14 to develop the site during the short15 term lease. 

16 (4) COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS.—In offering for 

17 lease the selected sites under paragraph (3), the Sec18 retary shall comply with all applicable environmental 

19 and other laws. 

20 (5) REPORT.—The Secretary shall— 

21 (A) compile a report of the results of each 

22 lease sale under the pilot program, including— 

23 (i) the level of competitive interest; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) a summary of bids and revenues 

2 received; and 

3 (B) not later than 90 days after the final 

4 lease sale, submit to the Committee on Energy 

5 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

6 Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

7 of Representatives the report described in sub8 paragraph (A). 

9 (6) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—During the pendency of 

10 the pilot program, the Secretary shall continue to 

11 issue rights-of-way, in compliance with authority in 

12 effect on the date of enactment of this Act, for avail13 able sites not selected for the pilot program. 

14 (c) SECRETARIAL DETERMINATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 months 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary shall determine whether to establish a leasing 

18 program under this section for wind or solar energy. 

19 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish a leasing program if the Secretary deter21 mines that the program— 

22 (A) is in the public interest; and 

23 (B) provides an effective means of devel24 oping wind or solar energy on covered land. 


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1 (3) CONSULTATION.—In making the determina2 tions required under this subsection, the Secretary 

3 shall consult with— 

4 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

5 (B) the heads of other relevant Federal 

6 agencies; 

7 (C) affected States and Indian tribes; 

8 (D) representatives of the solar and wind 

9 industry; 

10 (E) representatives of the environmental 

11 and conservation community; and 

12 (F) the public. 

13 (4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making the deter14 minations required under this subsection, the Sec15 retary shall consider the results of the report pro16 vided under subsection (b)(5) and the results of the 

17 pilot program. 

18 (5) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date on which any determination is made 

20 to establish a leasing program, the Secretary shall 

21 promulgate final regulations to implement the pro22 gram. 

23 (6) REPORT.—If the Secretary determines that 

24 a leasing program should not be established, not 

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1 tion, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

2 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 

3 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

4 of Representatives a report describing the reasons 

5 and findings for the determination. 

6 (d) TRANSITION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

8 that a leasing program should be established, the 

9 Secretary shall continue to provide for the issuance 

10 of rights-of-way for the development of wind or solar 

11 energy in accordance with each requirement de12 scribed in title V of the Federal Land Policy and 

13 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.) 

14 until the program is established and final regula15 tions for the program are promulgated. 

16 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall by 

17 regulation provide for a reasonable transition from 

18 the use of rights-of-way to leases, taking into ac19 count the status of the project (including whether 

20 rights-of-way for testing or construction have been 

21 granted or whether a plan of development has been 

22 submitted). 

23 (e) LEASING PROGRAM.—If the Secretary determines 

24 under subsection (c) that a leasing program should be esVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:59 Jun 09, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2133.IH H2133

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1 tablished, the program shall be established in accordance 

2 with subsections (f) through (l). 

3 (f) COMPETITIVE LEASES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), leases for wind or solar energy develop6 ment under this section shall be issued on a competi7 tive basis with a single round of bidding in any lease 

8 sale. 

9 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

10 apply if the Secretary determines that— 

11 (A) no competitive interest exists; 

12 (B) the public interest would not be served 

13 by the competitive issuance of a lease or right14 of-way; or 

15 (C) the lease is for the placement and op16 eration of a meteorological or data collection fa17 cility or for the development or demonstration 

18 of a new wind or solar technology and has a 

19 term of not more than 5 years. 

20 (g) PAYMENTS.— 

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

22 royalties, fees, rentals, bonuses, or other payments 

23 to ensure a fair return to the United States for any 

24 lease issued under this section. 


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1 (2) BONUS BIDS.—The Secretary may grant 

2 credit toward any bonus bid for a qualified expendi3 ture by the holder of a lease described in subsection 

4 (f)(2)(C) in any competitive lease sale held for a 

5 long-term lease covering the same land covered by 

6 the lease described in subsection (f)(2)(C). 

7 (3) ROYALTIES.—Any lease shall require the 

8 payment of a royalty established by the Secretary 

9 pursuant to rulemaking that shall be a percentage of 

10 the gross proceeds from the sale of electricity at a 

11 rate that— 

12 (A) encourages production of solar or wind 

13 energy; and 

14 (B) ensures a fair return to the public 

15 comparable to the return that would be ob16 tained on State and private land. 

17 (4) ROYALTY RELIEF.—To promote the great18 est generation of renewable energy, the Secretary 

19 may— 

20 (A) reduce any royalty otherwise required 

21 on a showing by clear and convincing evidence 

22 by the person holding a lease under which the 

23 generation of energy has occurred that, without 

24 the reduction in royalty, generation would not 

25 occur; or 


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1 (B) provide that no royalty or a reduced 

2 royalty is required under a lease for a period 

3 not to exceed 5 years beginning on the date 

4 that generation initially commences. 

5 (h) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to hold a lease 

6 under this section, a person shall meet the eligibility re7 quirements for leasing under the first section of the Min8 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181). 

9 (i) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

10 any activity under a leasing program is carried out in a 

11 manner that— 

12 (1) is consistent with all applicable land use 

13 planning, environmental, and other laws; and 

14 (2) provides for— 

15 (A) safety; 

16 (B) protection of the environment; 

17 (C) prevention of waste; 

18 (D) diligent development of the resource; 

19 (E) coordination with applicable Federal 

20 agencies; 

21 (F) a fair return to the United States for 

22 any lease; 

23 (G) use of best management practices, in24 cluding planning and practices for mitigation of 

25 impacts; 


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1 (H) public notice and comment on any pro2 posal submitted for a lease under this section; 

3 and 

4 (I) oversight, inspection, research, moni5 toring, and enforcement relating to a lease 

6 under this section. 

7 (j) LEASE DURATION, SUSPENSION, AND CANCELLA8 TION.—The Secretary shall establish terms and conditions 

9 for the duration, issuance, transfer, renewal, suspension, 

10 and cancellation of a lease under this section. 

11 (k) SECURITY.—The Secretary shall require the hold12 er of a lease issued under this section— 

13 (1) to furnish a surety bond or other form of 

14 security, as prescribed by the Secretary; 

15 (2) to provide for the reclamation and restora16 tion of the area covered by the lease; and 

17 (3) to comply with such other requirements as 

18 the Secretary considers necessary to protect the in19 terests of the public and the United States. 

20 (l) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—The Secretary shall 

21 provide for the payment of 5 percent of the revenues re22 ceived by the Federal Government as a result of leasing 

23 under this section or the issuance of rights-of-way for wind 

24 or solar development under title V of the Federal Land 

25 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et 


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1 seq.) to the State within which the boundaries of the 

2 leased land or right-of-way are located. 

3 Subtitle C—Unconventional Fuels 

4 SEC. 221. TRANSPARENCY FOR DELAYED LOAN GUAR5 ANTEE APPLICATIONS. 

6 Section 1702 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

7 U.S.C. 16512) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(l) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary fails to 

11 make a final decision by the date that is 270 days 

12 after the date on which the Secretary selects an ap13 plication to proceed to negotiations of terms and 

14 conditions for issuance of a conditional commitment 

15 for a loan guarantee application under this title for 

16 a substitute natural gas, chemical feedstock, or liq17 uid transportation fuel project, not later than 7 days 

18 after that date, and for every 90-day period there19 after, the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) prepare a status report for the period 

21 covered by the report; and 

22 ‘‘(B) submit the status report to— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Energy and 

24 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Energy and 

2 Commerce of the House of Representa3 tives. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The status report described 

5 in paragraph (1) shall contain— 

6 ‘‘(A) a description of each reason for the 

7 delay of the application; 

8 ‘‘(B) the name and office of the official 

9 who, for the period covering the status report, 

10 has reviewed the application; and 

11 ‘‘(C) a detailed schedule for completion of 

12 the application review.’’. 

13 SEC. 222. ALGAE-BASED FUEL INCENTIVES. 

14 Section 211(o)(2)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 7545(o)(2)(B)) is amended by adding at the end thereof 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(vi) ALGAE-BASED FUEL INCEN18 TIVES.—In determining whether the appli19 cable volume of renewable fuel required by 

20 this subsection is met in any calendar year, 

21 the Administrator shall count each gallon 

22 of renewable fuel produced from algae as 

23 three gallons of renewable fuel if such 

24 algae-based fuel was produced using car25 bon dioxide that was captured in a manner 


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1 that prevented its uncontrolled release into 

2 the atmosphere during a separate energy 

3 production process.’’. 

4 SEC. 223. LOAN GUARANTEE ELIGIBLE PROJECTS. 

5 Section 1703(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(11) Substitute natural gas production facili8 ties, where the fuel produced— 

9 ‘‘(A) is a gas produced from a solid feed10 stock through a gasification process; and 

11 ‘‘(B) is produced in a manner that cap12 tures ninety percent or more of the carbon pro13 duced through the gasification process.’’. 

14 TITLE III—NUCLEAR ENERGY 

15 SEC. 301. OBJECTIVES. 

16 Section 951(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

17 U.S.C. 16271(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

19 (8) as paragraphs (5) through (11), respectively; 

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol21 lowing new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(2) Reducing the costs of nuclear reactor sys23 tems. 

24 ‘‘(3) Reducing used nuclear fuel and nuclear 

25 waste products generated by civilian nuclear energy. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Supporting technological advances in areas 

2 that industry by itself is not likely to undertake be3 cause of technical and financial uncertainty.’’; and 

4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (11), as so re5 designated, the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(12) Researching and developing technologies 

7 and processes so as to improve and streamline the 

8 process by which nuclear power systems meet Fed9 eral and State requirements and standards.’’. 

10 SEC. 302. FUNDING. 

11 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

12 U.S.C. 16271) is further amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs 

14 (1) through (3) and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) $419,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

16 ‘‘(2) $429,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

17 ‘‘(3) $439,000,000 for fiscal year 2014.’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘under subsection (a)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘under subsection (b)’’; 

21 (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(1) For activities under section 953— 

24 ‘‘(A) $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2014.’’; 

4 and 

5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

6 following new paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(4) For activities under section 952, other 

8 than those described in section 952(d)— 

9 ‘‘(A) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

10 ‘‘(B) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

11 ‘‘(C) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

12 ‘‘(5) For activities under section 952(d)— 

13 ‘‘(A) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

14 ‘‘(B) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

15 ‘‘(C) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

16 ‘‘(6) For activities under section 958— 

17 ‘‘(A) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

18 ‘‘(B) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

19 ‘‘(C) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2014.’’. 

20 SEC. 303. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES STUDY. 

21 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

22 U.S.C. 16271) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES STUDY.—In furtherance 

25 of the program objectives listed in subsection (a) of this 


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1 section, the Secretary shall, within one year after the date 

2 of enactment of this subsection, transmit to the Congress 

3 a report on the results of a study on the scientific and 

4 technical merit of major State requirements and stand5 ards, including moratoria, that delay or impede the further 

6 development and commercialization of nuclear power, and 

7 how the Department in implementing the programs can 

8 assist in overcoming such delays or impediments.’’. 

9 SEC. 304. NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP10 MENT PROGRAMS. 

11 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

12 U.S.C. 16272) is amended by striking subsections (c) 

13 through (e) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) REACTOR CONCEPTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

16 out a program of research, development, demonstra17 tion, and commercial application to advance nuclear 

18 power systems as well as technologies to sustain cur19 rently deployed systems. 

20 ‘‘(2) DESIGNS AND TECHNOLOGIES.—In con21 ducting the program under this subsection, the Sec22 retary shall examine advanced reactor designs and 

23 nuclear technologies, including those that— 

24 ‘‘(A) are economically competitive with 

25 other electric power generation plants; 


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1 ‘‘(B) have higher efficiency, lower cost, and 

2 improved safety compared to reactors in oper3 ation as of the date of enactment of the Ful4 filling U.S. Energy Leadership Act; 

5 ‘‘(C) utilize passive safety features; 

6 ‘‘(D) minimize proliferation risks; 

7 ‘‘(E) substantially reduce production of 

8 high-level waste per unit of output; 

9 ‘‘(F) increase the life and sustainability of 

10 reactor systems currently deployed; 

11 ‘‘(G) use improved instrumentation; 

12 ‘‘(H) are capable of producing large-scale 

13 quantities of hydrogen or process heat; or 

14 ‘‘(I) minimize water usage or use alter15 natives to water as a cooling mechanism. 

16 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—In car17 rying out the program under this subsection, the 

18 Secretary shall seek opportunities to enhance the 

19 progress of the program through international co20 operation through such organizations as the Genera21 tion IV International Forum, or any other inter22 national collaboration the Secretary considers appro23 priate. 

24 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—No funds authorized to be 

25 appropriated to carry out the activities described in 


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1 this subsection shall be used to fund the activities 

2 authorized under sections 641 through 645.’’. 

3 SEC. 305. SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM. 

4 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

5 U.S.C. 16272) is further amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(d) SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall carry out a small 

10 modular reactor program to promote research, 

11 development, demonstration, and commercial 

12 application of small modular reactors, including 

13 through cost-shared projects for commercial ap14 plication of reactor systems designs. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall consult with and 

16 utilize the expertise of the Secretary of the 

17 Navy in establishing and carrying out such pro18 gram. 

19 ‘‘(C) Activities may also include develop20 ment of advanced computer modeling and sim21 ulation tools, by Federal and non-Federal enti22 ties, which demonstrate and validate new design 

23 capabilities of innovative small modular reactor 

24 designs. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

2 subsection, the term ‘small modular reactor’ means 

3 a nuclear reactor— 

4 ‘‘(A) with a rated capacity of less than 300 

5 electrical megawatts; 

6 ‘‘(B) with respect to which most parts can 

7 be factory assembled and shipped as modules to 

8 a reactor plant site for assembly; and 

9 ‘‘(C) that can be constructed and operated 

10 in combination with similar reactors at a single 

11 site. 

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Demonstration activities 

13 carried out under this section shall be limited to in14 dividual technologies and systems, and shall not in15 clude demonstration of full reactor systems or full 

16 plant operations. 

17 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—In conducting the 

18 small modular reactor program, the Secretary may 

19 enter into cooperative agreements to support small 

20 modular reactor designs that enable— 

21 ‘‘(A) lower capital costs or increased access 

22 to private financing in comparison to current 

23 large reactor designs; 


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1 ‘‘(B) reduced long-term radiotoxicity, 

2 mass, or decay heat of the nuclear waste pro3 duced by generation; 

4 ‘‘(C) increased operating safety of nuclear 

5 facilities; 

6 ‘‘(D) reduced dependence of reactor sys7 tems on water resources; 

8 ‘‘(E) increased seismic resistance of nu9 clear generation; 

10 ‘‘(F) reduced proliferation risks through 

11 integrated safeguards and security proliferation 

12 controls; and 

13 ‘‘(G) increased efficiency in reactor manu14 facturing and construction. 

15 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to enter into 

16 a cooperative agreement with the Secretary under 

17 this subsection, an applicant shall submit to the Sec18 retary a proposal for the small modular reactor 

19 project to be undertaken. The proposal shall docu20 ment— 

21 ‘‘(A) all partners and suppliers that will be 

22 active in the small modular reactor project, in23 cluding a description of each partner or sup24 plier’s anticipated domestic and international 

25 activities; 


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1 ‘‘(B) measures to be undertaken to enable 

2 cost-effective implementation of the small mod3 ular reactor project; 

4 ‘‘(C) an accounting structure approved by 

5 the Secretary; 

6 ‘‘(D) all known assets that shall be con7 tributed to satisfy the cost-sharing requirement 

8 under paragraph (6); and 

9 ‘‘(E) the extent to which the proposal will 

10 increase domestic manufacturing activity, ex11 ports, or employment. 

12 ‘‘(6) COST SHARING.—Notwithstanding section 

13 988, the Secretary shall require the parties to a co14 operative agreement under this subsection to be re15 sponsible for not less than 50 percent of the costs 

16 of the small modular reactor project. 

17 ‘‘(7) CALCULATION OF COST SHARING

18 AMOUNT.—A recipient of financial assistance under 

19 this section may not satisfy the cost sharing require20 ment under paragraph (6) by using funds received 

21 from the Federal Government through appropriation 

22 Acts. 

23 ‘‘(8) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Sec24 retary shall consider the following factors in entering 

25 into a cooperative agreement under this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The domestic manufacturing capabili2 ties of the parties to the cooperative agreement 

3 and their partners and suppliers. 

4 ‘‘(B) The viability of the reactor design 

5 and the business plan or plans of the parties to 

6 the cooperative agreement. 

7 ‘‘(C) The parties to the cooperative agree8 ment’s potential to continue the development of 

9 small modular reactors without Federal sub10 sidies or loan guarantees. 

11 ‘‘(D) The cost share to be provided. 

12 ‘‘(E) The degree to which the following 

13 goals will be advanced: 

14 ‘‘(i) Lower capital costs or increased 

15 access to private financing in comparison 

16 to current large reactor designs. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Reduced long-term radiotoxicity, 

18 mass, or decay heat of the nuclear waste 

19 produced by generation. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Increased operating safety of 

21 nuclear facilities. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Reduced dependence of reactor 

23 systems on water resources. 

24 ‘‘(v) Increased seismic resistance of 

25 nuclear generation. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Reduced proliferation risks 

2 through integrated safeguards and security 

3 proliferation controls. 

4 ‘‘(vii) Increased efficiency in reactor 

5 manufacturing and construction.’’. 

6 SEC. 306. CONVENTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS TO NUCLEAR 

7 POWER PLANTS. 

8 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

9 U.S.C. 16272) is further amended by adding at the end 

10 the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(e) CONVENTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS TO NUCLEAR

12 POWER PLANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry 

14 out a Nuclear Energy Research Initiative for re15 search and development related to steam-side im16 provements to nuclear power plants to promote the 

17 research, development, demonstration, and commer18 cial application of— 

19 ‘‘(A) cooling systems; 

20 ‘‘(B) turbine technologies; 

21 ‘‘(C) heat exchangers and pump design; 

22 ‘‘(D) special coatings to improve lifetime of 

23 components and performance of heat exchang24 ers; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) advanced power conversion systems 

2 for advanced reactor technologies. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may 

4 undertake initiatives under this subsection only when 

5 the goals are relevant and proper to enhance the 

6 performance of technologies developed under sub7 section (c). Not more than $10,000,000 of funds au8 thorized for this section may be used for carrying 

9 out this subsection.’’. 

10 SEC. 307. FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

11 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 953 of the Energy Pol12 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16273) is amended— 

13 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AD14 VANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 

16 (2) by striking subsection (a); 

17 (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

18 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; and 

19 (4) by inserting before subsection (e), as so re20 designated by paragraph (3) of this subsection, the 

21 following new subsections: 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

23 fuel cycle research, development, demonstration, and com24 mercial application program (referred to in this section as 

25 the ‘program’) on fuel cycle options that improve uranium 


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1 resource utilization, maximize energy generation, minimize 

2 nuclear waste creation, improve safety, mitigate risk of 

3 proliferation, and improve waste management in support 

4 of a national strategy for spent nuclear fuel and the reac5 tor concepts research, development, demonstration, and 

6 commercial application program under section 952(c). 

7 ‘‘(b) FUEL CYCLE OPTIONS.—Under this section the 

8 Secretary may consider implementing the following initia9 tives: 

10 ‘‘(1) OPEN CYCLE.—Developing fuels, including 

11 the use of nonuranium materials, for use in reactors 

12 that increase energy generation and minimize the 

13 amount of nuclear waste produced in an open fuel 

14 cycle. 

15 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED OPEN CYCLE.—Developing fuel 

16 forms, reactors, and limited separation and trans17 mutation methods that increase fuel utilization and 

18 reduce nuclear waste in a modified open fuel cycle. 

19 ‘‘(3) FULL RECYCLE.—Developing advanced re20 cycling technologies, including Generation IV Reac21 tors, to reduce the risk of proliferation, radiotoxicity, 

22 mass, and decay heat to the greatest extent possible. 

23 ‘‘(4) ADVANCED STORAGE METHODS.—Devel24 oping advanced storage technologies for both onsite 

25 and long-term storage that substantially prolong the 


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1 effective life of current storage devices or that sub2 stantially improve upon existing nuclear waste stor3 age technologies and methods, including repositories. 

4 ‘‘(5) ALTERNATIVE AND DEEP BOREHOLE

5 STORAGE METHODS.—Developing alternative storage 

6 methods for long-term storage, including deep 

7 boreholes into stable crystalline rock formations and 

8 mined repositories in a range of geologic media. 

9 ‘‘(6) OTHER TECHNOLOGIES.—Developing any 

10 other technology or initiative that the Secretary de11 termines is likely to advance the objectives of the 

12 program established under subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL ADVANCED RECYCLING AND

14 CROSSCUTTING ACTIVITIES.—In addition to and in sup15 port of the specific initiatives described in paragraphs (1) 

16 through (6), the Secretary may support the following ac17 tivities: 

18 ‘‘(1) Development and testing of integrated 

19 process flow sheets for advanced nuclear fuel recy20 cling processes. 

21 ‘‘(2) Research to characterize the byproducts 

22 and waste streams resulting from fuel recycling 

23 processes. 

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1 source utilization or reduce the radiotoxicity of waste 

2 streams. 

3 ‘‘(4) Research and development on waste treat4 ment processes and separations technologies, ad5 vanced waste forms, and quantification of prolifera6 tion risks. 

7 ‘‘(5) Identification and evaluation of test and 

8 experimental facilities necessary to successfully im9 plement the advanced fuel cycle initiative. 

10 ‘‘(6) Advancement of fuel cycle-related modeling 

11 and simulation capabilities. 

12 ‘‘(d) BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION REPORT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) In carrying out this section, the Secretary 

14 shall give consideration to the final report on a long15 term nuclear waste solution produced by the Blue 

16 Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. 

17 ‘‘(2) Not later than 180 days after the release 

18 of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nu19 clear Future final report, the Secretary shall trans20 mit to Congress a report, which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) any plans the Department may have 

22 to incorporate any relevant recommendations 

23 from this report into the program; and 

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1 porated into the plan compare with plans for a 

2 long-term nuclear waste solution of a repository 

3 at Yucca Mountain, that may or may not be in4 corporated into the plan, with regard to the 

5 safety, security, legal, cost, and technological 

6 and site readiness factors associated with any 

7 recommendations related to final disposition 

8 pathways for spent nuclear fuel and high-level 

9 radioactive waste to the same factors associated 

10 with permanent deep geological disposal at the 

11 Yucca Mountain waste repository. 

12 ‘‘(3) The analysis described in paragraph 

13 (2)(B) shall be conducted using scientific and tech14 nical materials and information used to support pol15 icy actions related to the Yucca Mountain project.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

17 to section 953 in the table of contents of the Energy Policy 

18 Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 953. Fuel cycle research and development.’’. 

19 SEC. 308. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES 

20 PROGRAM. 

21 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En22 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is 

23 amended by adding at the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 958. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

3 program to support the integration of activities under4 taken through the reactor concepts research, development, 

5 demonstration, and commercial application program under 

6 section 952(c) and the fuel cycle research and development 

7 program under section 953, and support crosscutting nu8 clear energy concepts. Activities commenced under this 

9 section shall be concentrated on broadly applicable re10 search and development focus areas. 

11 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities conducted under this 

12 section may include research involving— 

13 ‘‘(1) advanced reactor materials; 

14 ‘‘(2) advanced radiation mitigation methods; 

15 ‘‘(3) advanced proliferation and security risk 

16 assessment methods; 

17 ‘‘(4) advanced sensors and instrumentation; 

18 ‘‘(5) advanced nuclear manufacturing methods; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(6) any crosscutting technology or trans21 formative concept aimed at establishing substantial 

22 and revolutionary enhancements in the performance 

23 of future nuclear energy systems that the Secretary 

24 considers relevant and appropriate to the purpose of 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit, as part 

2 of the annual budget submission of the Department, a re3 port on the activities of the program conducted under this 

4 section, which shall include a brief evaluation of each ac5 tivity’s progress.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by 

8 adding at the end of the items for subtitle E of title IX 

9 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 958. Nuclear energy enabling technologies.’’. 

10 SEC. 309. EMERGENCY RISK ASSESSMENT AND PREPARED11 NESS REPORT. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress 

14 a report summarizing quantitative risks associated with 

15 the potential of a severe accident arising from the use of 

16 civilian nuclear energy technology, including reactor tech17 nology deployed or likely to be deployed as of the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, and outlining the technologies 

19 currently available to mitigate the consequences of such 

20 an accident. The report shall include recommendations of 

21 areas of technological development that should be pursued 

22 to reduce the potential public harm arising from such an 

23 incident. 


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1 SEC. 310. NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR PLANT. 

2 (a) PROTOTYPE PLANT LOCATION.—Section 

3 642(b)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

4 16022(b)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(3) PROTOTYPE PLANT LOCATION.—The pro6 totype nuclear reactor and associated plant shall be 

7 constructed at a location determined by the consor8 tium through an open and transparent competitive 

9 selection process.’’. 

10 (b) REPORT.— 

11 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp13 troller General shall transmit to the Congress a re14 port providing a status update of the Next Genera15 tion Nuclear Plant program that provides analysis 

16 of— 

17 (A) its progress; 

18 (B) how Federal funds appropriated for 

19 the project have been distributed and spent; 

20 and 

21 (C) the current and expected participation 

22 by non-Federal entities. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 

24 (A) an analysis of the proposed facility’s 

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1 logical development challenges, and a cost esti2 mate and construction schedule; 

3 (B) an assessment of the advantages and 

4 disadvantages of funding a pilot-scale research 

5 reactor project in lieu of a full-scale commercial 

6 power reactor; 

7 (C) an assessment of alternative construc8 tion sites proposed by private industry; 

9 (D) an assessment of the extent to which 

10 the Department of Energy is working with in11 dustry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

12 to ensure that the Next Generation Nuclear 

13 Plant program meets industry expectations for 

14 long-term application of technologies and ad15 dresses potential licensing procedures for de16 ployment; 

17 (E) an assessment of the known or antici18 pated challenges to securing private non-Fed19 eral cost share funds and any measures to over20 come these challenges, including any alternative 

21 funding approaches such as front loading the 

22 Federal share; 

23 (F) an assessment of project risks, includ24 ing those related to— 


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1 (i) project scope, schedule, and re2 sources; 

3 (ii) the formation of partnerships or 

4 agreements between the Department and 

5 the private sector necessary for the 

6 project’s success; and 

7 (iii) the Department’s capabilities to 

8 identify and manage such risks; and 

9 (G) an assessment of what is known about 

10 the potential impact of natural gas and other 

11 fossil fuel prices on private entity participation 

12 in the project. 

13 SEC. 311. TECHNICAL STANDARDS COLLABORATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In15 stitute of Standards and Technology shall establish a nu16 clear energy standards committee (in this section referred 

17 to as the ‘‘technical standards committee’’) to facilitate 

18 and support, consistent with the National Technology 

19 Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, the development 

20 or revision of technical standards for new and existing nu21 clear power plants and advanced nuclear technologies. 

22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The technical standards 

24 committee shall include representatives from appro25 priate Federal agencies and the private sector, and 


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1 be open to materially affected organizations involved 

2 in the development or application of nuclear energy3 related standards. 

4 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The technical standards com5 mittee shall be co-chaired by a representative from 

6 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

7 and a representative from a private sector standards 

8 organization. 

9 (c) DUTIES.—The technical standards committee 

10 shall, in cooperation with appropriate Federal agencies— 

11 (1) perform a needs assessment to identify and 

12 evaluate the technical standards that are needed to 

13 support nuclear energy, including those needed to 

14 support new and existing nuclear power plants and 

15 advanced nuclear technologies; 

16 (2) formulate, coordinate, and recommend pri17 orities for the development of new technical stand18 ards and the revision of existing technical standards 

19 to address the needs identified under paragraph (1); 

20 (3) facilitate and support collaboration and co21 operation among standards developers to address the 

22 needs and priorities identified under paragraphs (1) 

23 and (2); 

24 (4) as appropriate, coordinate with other na25 tional, regional, or international efforts on nuclear 


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1 energy-related technical standards in order to avoid 

2 conflict and duplication and to ensure global com3 patibility; and 

4 (5) promote the establishment and maintenance 

5 of a database of nuclear energy-related technical 

6 standards. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of 

9 fiscal years 2012 through 2014 to the Director of the Na10 tional Institute for Standards and Technology for activi11 ties under this section. 

12 SEC. 312. EVALUATION OF LONG-TERM OPERATING NEEDS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

14 enter into an arrangement with the National Academies 

15 to conduct an evaluation of the scientific and technological 

16 challenges to the long-term maintenance and safe oper17 ation of currently deployed nuclear power reactors up to 

18 and beyond the specified design-life of reactor systems. 

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

20 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to 

21 the Congress, and make publically available, the results 

22 of the evaluation undertaken by the Academies pursuant 

23 to subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 313. AVAILABLE FACILITIES DATABASE. 

2 The Secretary of Energy shall prepare a database of 

3 non-Federal user facilities receiving Federal funds that 

4 may be used for unclassified nuclear energy research.

5 The Secretary shall make this database accessible on the 

6 Department of Energy’s Web site. 

7 SEC. 314. NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL. 

8 To the extent consistent with the requirements of 

9 current law, the Department of Energy shall be respon10 sible for disposal of high-level radioactive waste or spent 

11 nuclear fuel generated by reactors under the programs au12 thorized in this title, or the amendments made by this 

13 title. 

14 TITLE IV—ENERGY TRANS15 MISSION BARRIERS AND OP16 PORTUNITIES 

17 SEC. 401. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION 

18 FACILITIES. 

19 Section 216 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 824p) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 216. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANS22 MISSION FACILITIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

24 that the national interstate transmission system should be 

25 guided by the goal of maximizing the net benefits of the 

26 electricity system, taking into consideration— 


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1 ‘‘(1) support for the development of new renew2 able energy generation capacity, including renewable 

3 energy generation located distant from load centers 

4 and other location-constrained resources; 

5 ‘‘(2) opportunities for reduced emissions from 

6 regional power production; 

7 ‘‘(3) cost savings resulting from— 

8 ‘‘(A) reduced transmission congestion; 

9 ‘‘(B) enhanced opportunities for 

10 intraregional and interregional electricity 

11 trades; 

12 ‘‘(C) reduced line losses; 

13 ‘‘(D) generation resource-sharing; and 

14 ‘‘(E) enhanced fuel diversity; 

15 ‘‘(4) reliability benefits, including satisfying re16 liability standards and guidelines for resource ade17 quacy and system security; 

18 ‘‘(5) diversification of risk relating to events af19 fecting fuel supply or generating resources in a par20 ticular region; 

21 ‘‘(6) the enhancement of competition in elec22 tricity markets and mitigation of market power; 

23 ‘‘(7) the ability to collocate facilities on existing 

24 rights-of-way; 


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1 ‘‘(8) competing land use priorities, including 

2 land protected under Federal or State law; 

3 ‘‘(9) the requirements of section 217(b)(4); and 

4 ‘‘(10) the contribution of demand side manage5 ment (including energy efficiency and demand re6 sponse), energy storage, distributed generation re7 sources, and smart grid investments. 

8 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) HIGH-PRIORITY NATIONAL TRANSMISSION

10 PROJECT.—The term ‘high-priority national trans11 mission project’ means an overhead or underground 

12 transmission facility, consisting of conductors or ca13 bles, towers, manhole duct systems, phase shifting 

14 transformers, reactors, capacitors, and any ancillary 

15 facilities and equipment necessary for the proper op16 eration of the facility, that— 

17 ‘‘(A)(i) operates at or above a voltage of— 

18 ‘‘(I) 345 kilovolts alternating current; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(II) 300 kilovolts direct current; 

21 ‘‘(ii) is a very high current conductor or 

22 superconducting cable that operates at or above 

23 a power equivalent to the power of a conven24 tional transmission cable operating at or above 


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1 345 kilovolts alternating current or 300 kilo2 volts direct current; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) is a renewable feeder line that trans4 mits electricity directly to a transmission facil5 ity under clause (i) or (ii); and 

6 ‘‘(B) is included in a regional plan pursu7 ant to subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(2) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘Indian land’ 

9 means land— 

10 ‘‘(A) the title to which is held by the 

11 United States in trust for an Indian tribe or in12 dividual Indian; or 

13 ‘‘(B) that is held by an Indian tribe or in14 dividual Indian subject to a restriction by the 

15 United States against alienation or encum16 brance. 

17 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

18 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga19 nized group or community, including any Alaska Na20 tive village or regional or village corporation (as de21 fined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Na22 tive Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 

23 seq.)), which is recognized as eligible for the special 

24 programs and services provided by the United States 

25 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LOAD-SERVING ENTITY.—Except as other2 wise provided in this section, the term ‘load-serving 

3 entity’ means any person, Federal, State, or local 

4 agency or instrumentality, or electric cooperative 

5 that delivers electric energy to end-use customers. 

6 ‘‘(5) LOCATION-CONSTRAINED RESOURCE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘location8 constrained resource’ means a low-carbon re9 source used to produce electricity that is geo10 graphically constrained such that the resource 

11 cannot be relocated to an existing transmission 

12 line. 

13 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘location14 constrained resource’ includes the following 

15 types of resources described in subparagraph 

16 (A): 

17 ‘‘(i) Renewable energy, including off18 shore resources. 

19 ‘‘(ii) A fossil fuel electricity plant 

20 equipped with carbon capture technology 

21 that is located at a site that is appropriate 

22 for carbon storage or beneficial reuse. 

23 ‘‘(6) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘renew24 able energy’ means electric energy generated from— 

25 ‘‘(A) solar energy; 


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1 ‘‘(B) wind energy; 

2 ‘‘(C) marine and hydrokinetic renewable 

3 energy; 

4 ‘‘(D) geothermal energy; 

5 ‘‘(E) hydropower; 

6 ‘‘(F) biomass; or 

7 ‘‘(G) landfill gas. 

8 ‘‘(7) RENEWABLE FEEDER LINE.—The term 

9 ‘renewable feeder line’ means a transmission line 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(A) operates at a voltage of 100 kilovolts 

12 or greater; and 

13 ‘‘(B) is identified in the applicable Inter14 connection-wide transmission plan or by the 

15 Commission as a facility that is to be developed 

16 to facilitate collection of electric energy pro17 duced by renewable energy. 

18 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

19 the Secretary of Energy. 

20 ‘‘(c) PLANS FOR NATIONAL INTERSTATE TRANS21 MISSION SYSTEM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall co23 ordinate regional planning to ensure that regional 

24 plans are integrated into an Interconnection-wide 

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1 tional transmission projects, that achieves the policy 

2 established under subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) PLANNING PRINCIPLES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

5 days after the date of enactment of the Ful6 filling U.S. Energy Leadership Act, the Com7 mission shall issue, by rule, after notice and op8 portunity for comment, national electricity grid 

9 planning principles pursuant to the policy es10 tablished under subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—The principles shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) address how the utilities should 

13 fully incorporate consideration of the need 

14 for high-priority national transmission 

15 projects into planning efforts; 

16 ‘‘(ii) address how the utilities should 

17 coordinate with each other, States, Indian 

18 tribes, and other planning efforts in the 

19 applicable Interconnection to effectively de20 velop an Interconnection-wide analysis to 

21 identify needed additions or modifications 

22 to high-priority national transmission 

23 projects, with particular attention to iden24 tifying needs that can be most efficiently 

25 and effectively addressed with high-priority 


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1 national transmission projects that cross 

2 multiple utilities, Regional Transmission 

3 Organizations, or Independent System Op4 erators; 

5 ‘‘(iii)(I) address alternatives to high6 priority national transmission projects, 

7 based on the factors described in subpara8 graph (C)(iii); and 

9 ‘‘(II) determine whether alternative 

10 investments can provide a more expedient 

11 means of improving electricity system ca12 pacity or reliability or reduced costs for 

13 end-users; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) include mechanisms for soliciting 

15 input from the Secretary, Federal trans16 mitting utilities, the Secretary of the Inte17 rior, States, Indian tribes, electric reli18 ability organizations, regional entities, enti19 ties described in section 201(f), generators, 

20 load-serving entities, other interested par21 ties, and the public. 

22 ‘‘(C) FACTORS.—Plans for the develop23 ment and improvement of high-priority national 

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1 pacity transmission grid shall take into consid2 eration— 

3 ‘‘(i) the location of load centers; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the location of generation and 

5 potential generation development, including 

6 location-constrained resources; 

7 ‘‘(iii) existing and potential demand 

8 side management (including energy effi9 ciency and demand response), energy stor10 age, distributed generation resources, and 

11 smart grid investments; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the plans of Regional Trans13 mission Organizations, Independent Sys14 tem Operators, State authorities, Indian 

15 tribes, transmission owners, load-serving 

16 entities, and others in the region; 

17 ‘‘(v) the needs and long-term rights 

18 described in section 217(b); and 

19 ‘‘(vi) costs to consumers of high-pri20 ority national transmission projects, in21 cluding considering the cost of reasonable 

22 alternatives. 

23 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—One or more pub2 lic utilities, transmitting utilities, Regional 

3 Transmission Organizations, Independent 

4 System Operators, regional entities (as de5 fined in section 215(a)), or other 

6 multistate organizations or entities (includ7 ing entities described in section 201(f)) 

8 may develop a regional plan relating to 1 

9 or more high-priority national transmission 

10 projects that is consistent with the plan11 ning principles established by the Commis12 sion. 

13 ‘‘(ii) OTHER PLANS.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Any public 

15 utility or transmitting utility that does 

16 not participate in 1 of the regional 

17 plans developed under clause (i) shall 

18 develop its own plan relating to any 

19 high-priority national transmission 

20 project planned for the system of the 

21 utility. 

22 ‘‘(II) PLANNING PRINCIPLES.— 

23 The plan shall be consistent with the 

24 planning principles established by the 

25 Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) TIMING.—Any plan developed 

2 under clause (i) or (ii) shall be submitted 

3 to the Commission— 

4 ‘‘(I) as soon as practicable, but 

5 not later than 2 years, after the date 

6 of enactment of the Fulfilling U.S. 

7 Energy Leadership Act; and 

8 ‘‘(II) periodically thereafter as 

9 prescribed by the Commission. 

10 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.— 

11 ‘‘(i) JOINT SUBMISSIONS.—The re12 quirements of subparagraph (A) may be 

13 satisfied by a joint submission. 

14 ‘‘(ii) SINGLE INTERCONNECTION-WIDE

15 PLAN.—The Commission shall encourage 

16 coordination that would permit submission 

17 of a single Interconnection-wide plan for 

18 high-priority national transmission 

19 projects. 

20 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATIONS.—The Commission 

21 may require modification of a submitted plan to 

22 the extent that the Commission determines that 

23 the modification is necessary— 

24 ‘‘(i) to reconcile inconsistencies be25 tween plans submitted; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to achieve the policy goals estab2 lished under subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.—The transmission plan4 ning principles and requirements of this subsection 

5 shall apply to each transmission owner and trans6 mission planning entity in the United States portion 

7 of the Eastern and Western Interconnections, in8 cluding an entity described in section 201(f). 

9 ‘‘(d) SITING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section 

11 is to ensure that high-priority national transmission 

12 projects are in the public interest and advance the 

13 policy established under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—The Com15 mission may grant an applicant that submits an ap16 plication for a proposed project a designation of eli17 gibility for consideration under this subsection if the 

18 Commission finds that the proposed project is a 

19 high-priority national transmission project. 

20 ‘‘(3) STATE REVIEW OF PROJECT SITING.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No developer of a 

22 high-priority national transmission project may 

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1 tional transmission project under applicable 

2 State law concerning authorization and routing 

3 of transmission facilities. 

4 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL AUTHORITY.—The Com5 mission may authorize, in accordance with sub6 section (e), construction of a high-priority na7 tional transmission project that the Commission 

8 finds to be in the public interest and in accord9 ance with this section if a State— 

10 ‘‘(i) fails to approve construction and 

11 authorize routing of a high-priority na12 tional transmission project not later than 1 

13 year after the date the applicant submits a 

14 completed application for authorization to 

15 the State; 

16 ‘‘(ii) rejects the application for a high17 priority national transmission project; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) authorizes the high-priority na19 tional transmission project subject to con20 ditions that unreasonably interfere with 

21 the development of a high-priority national 

22 transmission project contrary to the pur23 poses of this section. 

24 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.— 

25 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for a 

2 high-priority national transmission project may 

3 apply to the Commission for a certificate of 

4 public convenience and necessity with respect to 

5 construction of the high-priority national trans6 mission project within a State affected by the 

7 high-priority national transmission project if 

8 the State— 

9 ‘‘(i) fails to authorize construction of 

10 the high-priority national transmission 

11 project under State law not later than 1 

12 year after the date the developer submits a 

13 completed application for authorization to 

14 the State; 

15 ‘‘(ii) rejects the application for the 

16 high-priority national transmission project; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(iii) authorizes the high-priority na19 tional transmission project subject to con20 ditions that unreasonably interfere with 

21 the development of a high-priority national 

22 transmission project contrary to the pur23 poses of this section. 

24 ‘‘(B) FORM.—The application for a certifi25 cate shall be made in writing in such form and 


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1 containing such information as the Commission 

2 may by regulation require. 

3 ‘‘(C) HEARING.—On receipt of an applica4 tion under this paragraph, the Commission— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall provide notice to interested 

6 persons and opportunity for hearing; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) may approve (with or without 

8 conditions) or disapprove the application, 

9 in accordance with paragraph (2). 

10 ‘‘(2) GRANT OF CERTIFICATE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A certificate shall be 

12 issued to a qualified applicant for a certificate 

13 authorizing the whole or partial operation, con14 struction, acquisition, or modification covered 

15 by the application, only if the Commission de16 termines that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the applicant is able and will18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(I) to do the acts and to per20 form the service proposed; and 

21 ‘‘(II) to comply with this Act (in22 cluding regulations); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the proposed operation, construc24 tion, acquisition, or modification, to the ex25 tent authorized by the certificate, is or will 


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1 be required by the present or future public 

2 convenience and necessity. 

3 ‘‘(B) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Com4 mission shall have the power to attach to the 

5 issuance of a certificate under this paragraph 

6 and to the exercise of the rights granted under 

7 the certificate such reasonable terms and condi8 tions as the public convenience and necessity 

9 may require. 

10 ‘‘(C) USE OF STATE WORK.—If 1 or more 

11 States reject or fail to act on a high-priority na12 tional transmission project and the Commission 

13 has siting authority for the high-priority na14 tional transmission project under this section, 

15 the Commission shall give due weight to— 

16 ‘‘(i) the environmental record and re17 sults of the siting process of a State that 

18 did complete the siting process of the State 

19 under this section; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the information that had been 

21 submitted by an applicant to the State 

22 under this section. 

23 ‘‘(D) EVALUATION OF ABILITIES OF APPLI24 CANT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating the 

2 ability of an applicant described in sub3 paragraph (A)(i), the Commission shall 

4 consider whether the financial and tech5 nical capabilities of the applicant are ade6 quate to support construction and oper7 ation of the high-priority national trans8 mission project proposed in the application. 

9 ‘‘(ii) JOINT OWNERSHIP PROJECTS.— 

10 In evaluating applications under paragraph 

11 (1), the Commission shall consider benefits 

12 from the greater diversification of financial 

13 risk inherent in the applications involving 

14 joint ownership projects by multiple load15 serving entities. 

16 ‘‘(E) PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECES17 SITY.—In making a determination with respect 

18 to public convenience and necessity described in 

19 subparagraph (A)(ii), the Commission shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) consider whether the facilities 

21 covered by an application are included in 

22 an Interconnection-wide transmission grid 

23 plan for a high-priority national trans24 mission project developed pursuant to sub25 section (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) determine whether the facilities 

2 covered by the application are in the public 

3 interest. 

4 ‘‘(3) RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN.—If any 

5 holder of a certificate issued under paragraph (2) 

6 cannot acquire by contract, or is unable to agree 

7 with the owner of property on the compensation to 

8 be paid for, the necessary right-of-way to construct, 

9 operate, and maintain the high-priority national 

10 transmission project to which the certificate relates, 

11 and the necessary land or other property necessary 

12 to the proper operation of the high-priority national 

13 transmission project, the holder may acquire the 

14 right-of-way by the exercise of the right of eminent 

15 domain in— 

16 ‘‘(A) the United States district court for 

17 the district in which the property is located; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a State court. 

19 ‘‘(4) STATE AND TRIBAL RECOMMENDA20 TIONS.—In granting a certificate under paragraph 

21 (2), the Commission shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) permit State regulatory agencies and 

23 affected Indian tribes to recommend mitigation 

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1 mental considerations, or cultural site protec2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) incorporate those identified mitiga4 tion measures as conditions on the certificate; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that a 

7 recommended mitigation measure is incon8 sistent with the purposes of this section, infea9 sible, or not cost-effective— 

10 ‘‘(I) consult with State regulatory 

11 agencies and affected Indian tribes to seek 

12 to resolve the issue; 

13 ‘‘(II) incorporate as conditions on the 

14 certificate such recommended mitigation 

15 measures as are determined to be appro16 priate by the Commission, based on con17 sultation by the Commission with State 

18 regulatory agencies and affected Indian 

19 tribes, the purposes of this section, and the 

20 record before the Commission; and 

21 ‘‘(III) if, after consultation, the Com22 mission does not adopt in whole or in part 

23 a recommendation of an agency or affected 

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1 tion is infeasible, not cost-effective, or in2 consistent with this section or other appli3 cable provisions of law. 

4 ‘‘(5) STATE OR LOCAL AUTHORIZATIONS.—An 

5 applicant receiving a certificate under this sub6 section with respect to construction or modification 

7 of a high-priority national transmission project in a 

8 State shall not require a separate siting authoriza9 tion from the State or any local authority within the 

10 State. 

11 ‘‘(6) RIGHTS-OF-WAY OVER INDIAN LAND.— 

12 Notwithstanding paragraph (3), in the case of siting, 

13 construction, operation, and maintenance of a trans14 mission facility to be located on or over Indian land, 

15 a certificate holder under this section shall comply 

16 with the requirements of Federal law for obtaining 

17 rights-of-way on or over Indian land. 

18 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL AUTHORIZATIONS

19 FOR TRANSMISSION FACILITIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF FEDERAL AUTHORIZA21 TION.—In this subsection, the term ‘Federal author22 ization’ means any authorization required under 

23 Federal law in order to site a transmission facility 

24 on Federal land, including such permits, special use 

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1 provals as may be required under Federal law in 

2 order to site a transmission facility. 

3 ‘‘(2) LEAD AGENCY.—If a Federal authoriza4 tion for a high-priority national transmission project 

5 involves land under the jurisdiction of the Depart6 ment of the Interior and any other Federal agency, 

7 the Secretary of the Interior shall act as the lead 

8 agency for purposes of coordinating all applicable 

9 Federal authorizations and related environmental re10 views. 

11 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—To the maximum extent 

12 practicable under applicable Federal law, the Sec13 retary of the Interior shall coordinate the Federal 

14 authorization and review process under this sub15 section with the Commission, and with any Indian 

16 tribes, multistate entities, and State agencies that 

17 are responsible for conducting any separate permit18 ting and environmental reviews of the facility, to en19 sure timely and efficient review and permit deci20 sions. 

21 ‘‘(4) MILESTONES AND DEADLINES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As the lead agency, 

23 the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

24 with the Commission and any other agency re25 sponsible for Federal authorizations and, as apVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:59 Jun 09, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2133.IH H2133

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1 propriate, with Indian tribes, multistate enti2 ties, and State agencies that are willing to co3 ordinate their own separate permitting and en4 vironmental reviews with the Federal authoriza5 tion and environmental reviews, shall establish 

6 prompt and binding intermediate milestones 

7 and ultimate deadlines for the review of, and 

8 Federal authorization decisions relating to, the 

9 proposed high-priority national transmission 

10 project. 

11 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of the 

12 Interior shall ensure that, once an application 

13 has been submitted with such data as the Com14 mission and the Secretaries with jurisdiction 

15 over the affected land consider necessary, all 

16 permit decisions and related environmental re17 views under all applicable Federal laws shall be 

18 completed not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of submission. 

20 ‘‘(C) PREAPPLICATION INFORMATION.— 

21 The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

22 with the Commission, shall provide an expedi23 tious preapplication mechanism for prospective 

24 applicants to confer with the agencies involved 

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1 municate to the prospective applicant not later 

2 than 60 days after the prospective applicant 

3 submits a request for such information con4 cerning— 

5 ‘‘(i) the likelihood of approval for a 

6 potential facility; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) key issues of concern to the 

8 agencies and public. 

9 ‘‘(5) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DOCUMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As lead agency, the 

11 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 

12 the Commission and any affected agency, shall 

13 prepare a single environmental review docu14 ment, which shall be used as the basis for all 

15 decisions on the proposed high-priority national 

16 transmission project under Federal law. 

17 ‘‘(B) STREAMLINING.—The Secretary of 

18 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, in 

19 consultation with the Commission, shall stream20 line the review and permitting of transmission 

21 within corridors designated under section 503 

22 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

23 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1763) or section 368 

24 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 15926) by fully taking into account prior anal2 yses and decisions relating to the corridors. 

3 ‘‘(C) COMMENTS.—If the high-priority na4 tional transmission project includes Federal 

5 land that is not under the jurisdiction of the 

6 Department of the Interior, the document shall 

7 include comments made by the Secretary with 

8 jurisdiction over the affected land on matters 

9 necessary for the protection of the land or re10 quired under applicable law. 

11 ‘‘(6) ISSUANCE OR DENIAL OF AUTHORIZATION

12 BY PRESIDENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 

14 (7), if any agency has denied a Federal author15 ization required for a transmission facility with16 in an energy right-of-way corridor on Federal 

17 land designated pursuant to section 368 of the 

18 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15926), 

19 or has failed to act by the deadline established 

20 by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 

21 this section for deciding whether to issue the 

22 authorization, the applicant or any State in 

23 which the facility would be located may file an 

24 appeal with the President, who shall, in con25 sultation with the affected agency, review the 


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1 denial or failure to take action on the pending 

2 application. 

3 ‘‘(B) OPTIONS.—Based on the overall 

4 record and in consultation with the affected 

5 agency, the President may— 

6 ‘‘(i) issue the necessary authorization 

7 with any appropriate conditions; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) deny the application. 

9 ‘‘(C) DEADLINE.—The President shall 

10 issue a decision not later than 90 days after the 

11 date of the filing of the appeal. 

12 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—In mak13 ing a decision under this paragraph, the Presi14 dent shall comply with applicable requirements 

15 of Federal law, including any requirements of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the National Forest Management 

17 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Endangered Species Act of 

19 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

20 ‘‘(iii) the Federal Water Pollution 

21 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(iv) the National Environmental Pol23 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(v) the Federal Land Policy and 

2 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 

3 et seq.). 

4 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY OF ISSUANCE OR DENIAL

5 OF AUTHORIZATION BY PRESIDENT.—Paragraph (6) 

6 shall not apply to— 

7 ‘‘(A) a unit of the National Park System; 

8 ‘‘(B) a unit of the National Wildlife Ref9 uge System; 

10 ‘‘(C) a component of the National Wild 

11 and Scenic Rivers System; 

12 ‘‘(D) a component of the National Trails 

13 System; 

14 ‘‘(E) a component of the National Wilder15 ness Preservation System; 

16 ‘‘(F) a National Monument; 

17 ‘‘(G) any part of the National Landscape 

18 Conservation System; 

19 ‘‘(H) a National Preserve; 

20 ‘‘(I) a National Scenic Area; or 

21 ‘‘(J) a National Recreation Area. 

22 ‘‘(8) ENERGY RIGHT-OF-WAY CORRIDORS ON

23 FEDERAL LAND.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 

25 subsection, the Secretary with jurisdiction over 


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1 the land shall, to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, use the energy right-of-way corridors 

3 designated in accordance with section 368 of 

4 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

5 15926). 

6 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CORRIDORS.—If the 

7 Secretary is unable to use an energy right-of8 way corridor described in subparagraph (A), the 

9 Secretary shall establish an additional corridor 

10 in accordance with section 368(c) of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15926(c)). 

12 ‘‘(9) DURATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal land 

14 use authorization for an electricity transmission 

15 facility shall be issued— 

16 ‘‘(i) for a duration, as determined by 

17 the Secretary with jurisdiction over the 

18 land, commensurate with the anticipated 

19 use of the facility; 

20 ‘‘(ii) with appropriate authority to 

21 manage the right-of-way for reliability and 

22 environmental protection; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) consistent with the Federal 

24 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 


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1 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other appli2 cable law. 

3 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—On the expiration of the 

4 authorization (including an authorization issued 

5 before the date of enactment of the Fulfilling 

6 U.S. Energy Leadership Act), the authorization 

7 shall be reviewed for renewal— 

8 ‘‘(i) taking fully into account reliance 

9 on the electricity infrastructure; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) recognizing the importance of the 

11 authorization for public health, safety, and 

12 economic welfare and as a legitimate use of 

13 Federal land. 

14 ‘‘(10) CONSULTATION.—In exercising the re15 sponsibilities under this section, the Secretary of the 

16 Interior and the Commission shall consult regularly 

17 with— 

18 ‘‘(A) electric reliability organizations (in19 cluding related regional entities) approved by 

20 the Commission; 

21 ‘‘(B) Transmission Organizations approved 

22 by the Commission; and 

23 ‘‘(C) transmission owners and users and 

24 other interested parties. 

25 ‘‘(11) IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of the Ful3 filling U.S. Energy Leadership Act, the Sec4 retary of the Interior and the Commission shall 

5 issue any regulations necessary to carry out this 

6 subsection. 

7 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL STAFF AND RESOURCES.— 

8 The head of each Federal agency with authority 

9 to issue a Federal authorization shall designate 

10 a senior official responsible for, and dedicate 

11 sufficient other staff and resources to ensure, 

12 full implementation of the regulations and 

13 memorandum required under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

15 Commission shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) periodically evaluate whether high-priority 

17 national transmission projects are being constructed 

18 in accordance with the Interconnection-wide trans19 mission grid plan for high-priority national trans20 mission projects for both the Western and Eastern 

21 Interconnection areas; 

22 ‘‘(2) take any necessary actions, pursuant to 

23 applicable law, to address any identified obstacles to 

24 investment, siting, and construction of high-priority 


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1 national transmission projects identified as needed 

2 under an Interconnection-wide plan; and 

3 ‘‘(3) not later than 2 years after the date of en4 actment of the Fulfilling U.S. Energy Leadership 

5 Act, submit to Congress recommendations for any 

6 further actions or authority needed to ensure the ef7 fective and timely development of— 

8 ‘‘(A) high-priority national transmission 

9 projects; and 

10 ‘‘(B) transmission projects to access re11 gional and offshore renewable energy genera12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(h) REPORT OF SECRETARY.—Not later than 2 

14 years after the date of enactment of the Fulfilling U.S. 

15 Energy Leadership Act, the Secretary shall submit to Con16 gress recommendations for any further actions or author17 ity needed to ensure the effective and timely development 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(1) demand response; 

20 ‘‘(2) energy storage; 

21 ‘‘(3) distributed generation; 

22 ‘‘(4) energy efficiency; and 

23 ‘‘(5) other areas necessary to carry out the pol24 icy established under subsection (a). 

25 ‘‘(i) COST ALLOCATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the Fulfilling U.S. 

3 Energy Leadership Act, the Commission— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall establish by rule an appropriate 

5 methodology for allocation of the costs of high6 priority national transmission projects, subject 

7 to the requirement that any cost allocation 

8 methodology, and any rates affected by the cost 

9 allocation methodology, shall be just, reason10 able, and not unduly discriminatory or pref11 erential; 

12 ‘‘(B) may permit allocation of costs for 

13 high-priority national transmission projects to 

14 load-serving entities within all or a part of a re15 gion, except that costs shall not be allocated to 

16 a region, or subregion, unless the costs are rea17 sonably proportionate to measurable economic 

18 and reliability benefits; 

19 ‘‘(C) may permit allocation of costs to gen20 erators of electricity connected by a high-pri21 ority national transmission project; and 

22 ‘‘(D) shall provide for due deference to 

23 cost allocation proposals supported by broad 

24 agreement among affected States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MECHANISM FOR COLLECTION OF

2 COSTS.—The Commission shall adopt such rules and 

3 require inclusion of such provisions in transmission 

4 tariffs as are required to provide for— 

5 ‘‘(A) the efficient collection of allocated 

6 costs for development and operation of high-pri7 ority national transmission projects; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the distribution of those revenues to 

9 owners of the high-priority national trans10 mission projects. 

11 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically pro13 vided in this section, nothing in this section affects 

14 any requirement of an environmental or historic 

15 preservation law of the United States, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) the National Environmental Policy 

17 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(B) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

19 et seq.); or 

20 ‘‘(C) the National Historic Preservation 

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(2) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section pre23 cludes any person from constructing or modifying 

24 any transmission facility in accordance with State 

25 law. 


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1 ‘‘(k) TRANSMISSION RIGHTS TO SUPPORT NEW GEN2 ERATION DEVELOPMENT.—Subject to section 217(b)(4), 

3 it is the policy of the United States that long-term trans4 mission rights of firmness and duration sufficient to sup5 port generation investment (or equivalent tradable or fi6 nancial long-term transmission rights), shall be available 

7 under appropriate terms and conditions to load-serving en8 tities (as defined in section 217(a)(2)) for long-term power 

9 supply arrangements for new generation facilities using 

10 renewable energy. 

11 ‘‘(l) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con13 duct nationwide assessments to identify areas with a 

14 significant potential for the development of location15 constrained resources. 

16 ‘‘(2) FORMATS.—The resource assessments 

17 shall be made available to the public in multiple for18 mats, including in a geographical information system 

19 compatible format. 

20 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) make the initial resource assessment 

22 required under this subsection not later than 

23 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

24 Fulfilling U.S. Energy Leadership Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) refine the resource assessment on a 

2 regular basis that is consistent with regional 

3 planning cycles. 

4 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

5 shall provide technical assistance to regional plan6 ning authorities, on request, to assist the authorities 

7 in carrying out this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(m) CONGESTION STUDIES.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of enactment of the Fulfilling U.S. Energy 

10 Leadership Act and every 3 years thereafter, the Sec11 retary, in consultation with affected States and Indian 

12 tribes, shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) conduct a study of electric transmission 

14 congestion; and 

15 ‘‘(2) submit to the appropriate committees of 

16 Congress a report that describes the results of the 

17 study. 

18 ‘‘(n) APPLICABILITY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this subsection, the authority of the Com21 mission under this section to approve transmission 

22 plans and to allocate costs incurred pursuant to the 

23 plans applies to all transmission providers, genera24 tors, and users, owners, and operators of the power 

25 system within the Eastern and Western InterconnecVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:59 Jun 09, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2133.IH H2133

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1 tions of the United States, including entities de2 scribed in section 201(f). 

3 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL PLANNING ENTITIES.—The 

4 Commission shall have authority over regional plan5 ning entities to the extent necessary to carry out 

6 this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) PROJECT DEVELOPERS.—Nothing in this 

8 section precludes the development, subject to appli9 cable regulatory requirements, of transmission 

10 projects that are not included in plans developed 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(4) COMMISSION-APPROVED PLANNING PROC13 ESSES.—Nothing in this section affects the approval, 

14 siting, or cost allocation for a project that is author15 ized pursuant to planning processes that have been 

16 approved by the Commission. 

17 ‘‘(5) EXCLUSIONS.—This section does not apply 

18 in the State of Alaska or Hawaii or to the Electric 

19 Reliability Council of Texas, unless the State or the 

20 Council voluntarily elects to participate in a cost al21 location plan under this section.’’. 

Æ 


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