II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1733 

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

of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2015 

Mrs. SHAHEEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a forest 

incentives program to keep forests intact and sequester 

carbon on private forest land of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forest Incentives Pro5 gram Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1733 IS

1 (1) public and private forest land in the United 

2 States plays a crucial role in sequestering carbon 

3 and otherwise contributes to mitigation of green4 house gas emissions; 

5 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency has 

6 reported in the annual greenhouse gas inventory 

7 that United States forests and forest products se8 quester as much as 12 to 14 percent of annual 

9 United States carbon emissions, which makes forests 

10 one of the largest carbon sinks in the United States; 

11 (3) according to the Environmental Protection 

12 Agency, carbon sequestration from forests and other 

13 land uses has grown by approximately 14 percent 

14 since 1990, largely as a result of afforestation and 

15 improved forest management; 

16 (4) the use of forests products, such as wood 

17 products, in buildings and biobased products can 

18 also reduce carbon emissions when used in place of 

19 other, more carbon-intensive products; 

20 (5)(A) in addition to the significant carbon 

21 mitigation benefits of using forests and forest prod22 ucts for carbon sequestration, the economic and soci23 etal cobenefits of forest carbon solutions are extraor24 dinarily valuable; and 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1733 IS

1 (B) incentivizing forest carbon activities, includ2 ing through working forests, has the potential to 

3 provide timber and other forest commodities, im4 prove air quality, enhance watershed function and 

5 water supply, create and sustain fish and wildlife 

6 habitat, contribute to scenic and aesthetic qualities, 

7 support historical and cultural resources, provide 

8 hunting, fishing, and recreational opportunities, and 

9 increase forest resiliency, while also supporting rural 

10 jobs and local economies; 

11 (6) despite positive recent trends in forest car12 bon, as documented by the annual greenhouse gas 

13 inventory of the Environmental Protection Agency, 

14 projections of the Forest Service indicate those for15 est carbon and other benefits are at risk in future 

16 decades due to development pressures and other fac17 tors; 

18 (7) while the majority of the productive forest 

19 land of the United States is under private owner20 ship, private landowners are facing increased pres21 sure to convert their forest land to other uses; 

22 (8) while some landowners are able to partici23 pate in various carbon markets, the transaction 

24 costs and restrictions of those programs are often 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1733 IS

1 prohibitive for private landowners, particularly 

2 smallholders; and 

3 (9) creating incentives for private forest land4 owners to adopt best practices to maintain and in5 crease carbon benefits from forest land through a 

6 streamlined program that avoids excessive trans7 action costs will help ‘‘keep forests as forests’’ and 

8 enhance forest carbon benefits by providing incentive 

9 payments for a suite of eligible practices throughout 

10 the lifecycle of forest management, including forest 

11 products that provide long-term carbon storage ben12 efits. 

13 SEC. 3. FOREST INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) CARBON INCENTIVES CONTRACT; CON16 TRACT.—The term ‘‘carbon incentives contract’’ or 

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

18 specifies— 

19 (A) the eligible practices that will be un20 dertaken; 

21 (B) the acreage of eligible land on which 

22 the practices will be undertaken; 

23 (C) the agreed rate of compensation per 

24 acre; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1733 IS

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

2 the contract have been fulfilled; and 

3 (E) such other terms as are determined 

4 necessary by the Secretary. 

5 (2) CONSERVATION EASEMENT AGREEMENT; 

6 AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘conservation easement 

7 agreement’’ or ‘‘agreement’’ means a permanent 

8 conservation easement that— 

9 (A) covers eligible land that will not be 

10 converted for development; 

11 (B) is enrolled under a carbon incentives 

12 contract; and 

13 (C) is consistent with the guidelines for— 

14 (i) the Forest Legacy Program estab15 lished under section 7 of the Cooperative 

16 Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 

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

18 that an eligible practice shall be considered 

19 to be a conservation value for purposes of 

20 such consistency; or 

21 (ii) any other program approved by 

22 the Secretary for use under this section to 

23 provide consistency with Federal legal re24 quirements for permanent conservation 

25 easements. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1733 IS

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

2 means forest land in the United States that is pri3 vately owned at the time of initiation of a carbon in4 centives contract or conservation easement agree5 ment. 

6 (4) ELIGIBLE PRACTICE.— 

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

8 practice’’ means a forestry practice, including 

9 improved forest management that produces 

10 marketable forest products, that is determined 

11 by the Secretary to provide measurable in12 creases in carbon sequestration and storage be13 yond customary practices on comparable land. 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible prac15 tice’’ includes— 

16 (i) afforestation on nonforested land, 

17 such as marginal crop or pasture land, 

18 windbreaks, shelterbelts, stream buffers, 

19 including working land and urban forests 

20 and parks, or other areas identified by the 

21 Secretary; 

22 (ii) reforestation on forest land im23 pacted by wildfire, pests, wind, or other 

24 stresses, including working land and urban 

25 forests and parks; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1733 IS

1 (iii) improved forest management 

2 through practices such as improving regen3 eration after harvest, planting in under4 stocked forests, reducing competition from 

5 slow-growing species, thinning to encour6 age growth, changing rotations to increase 

7 carbon storage, improving harvest effi8 ciency or wood use; and 

9 (iv) such other practices as the Sec10 retary determines to be appropriate. 

11 (5) FOREST INCENTIVES PROGRAM; PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘‘forest incentives program’’ or 

13 ‘‘program’’ means the forest incentives program es14 tablished under subsection (b)(1). 

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

16 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

17 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION

18 REDUCTIONS IN UNITED STATES.— 

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

20 a forest incentives program to achieve supplemental 

21 greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon se22 questration on private forest land of the United 

23 States through— 

24 (A) carbon incentives contracts; and 

25 (B) conservation easement agreements. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1733 IS

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

2 subsection, the Secretary shall provide a priority for 

3 contracts and agreements— 

4 (A) that sequester the most carbon on a 

5 per acre basis; and 

6 (B) that create forestry jobs or protect 

7 habitats and achieve significant other environ8 mental, economic, and social benefits. 

9 (3) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

11 program, an owner of eligible land shall— 

12 (i) enter into a carbon incentives con13 tract; and 

14 (ii) fulfill such other requirements as 

15 the Secretary determines to be necessary. 

16 (B) CONTINUED ELIGIBLE PRACTICES.— 

17 An owner of eligible land who has been carrying 

18 out eligible practices on the eligible land shall 

19 not be barred from entering into a carbon in20 centives contract under this subsection to con21 tinue carrying out the eligible practices on the 

22 eligible land. 

23 (C) DURATION OF CONTRACT.—A contract 

24 shall be for a term of not less than 15 nor more 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1733 IS

1 than 30 years, as determined by the owner of 

2 eligible land. 

3 (D) COMPENSATION UNDER CONTRACT.— 

4 The Secretary shall determine the rate of com5 pensation per acre under the contract so that 

6 the longer the term of the contract, the higher 

7 rate of compensation. 

8 (E) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PRO9 GRAMS.—An owner or operator shall not be 

10 prohibited from participating in the program 

11 due to participation of the owner or operator in 

12 other Federal or State conservation assistance 

13 programs. 

14 (4) COMPLIANCE.—In developing regulations 

15 for carbon incentives contracts under this sub16 section, the Secretary shall specify requirements to 

17 address whether the owner of eligible land has com18 pleted contract and agreement requirements. 

19 (c) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— 

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

21 to owners of eligible land financial incentive pay22 ments for— 

23 (A) eligible practices that measurably in24 crease carbon sequestration and storage over a 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1733 IS

1 designated period on eligible land, as specified 

2 through a carbon incentives contract; and 

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

4 easements on eligible land covered under a con5 servation easement agreement. 

6 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary shall de7 termine the amount of compensation to be provided 

8 under a contract under this subsection based on the 

9 emissions reductions obtained or avoided and the du10 ration of the reductions, with due consideration to 

11 prevailing carbon pricing as determined by any rel12 evant or State compliance offset programs. 

13 (3) NO CONSERVATION EASEMENT AGREEMENT

14 REQUIRED.—Eligibility for financial incentive pay15 ments under a carbon incentives contract described 

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

17 easement agreement. 

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

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

20 regulations that specify eligible practices and related com21 pensation rates, standards, and guidelines as the basis for 

22 entering into the program with owners of eligible land. 

23 (e) SET-ASIDE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PUR24 POSES.— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1733 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of the Sec2 retary, a portion of program funds made available 

3 under this program for a fiscal year may be used— 

4 (A) to develop forest carbon modeling and 

5 methodologies that will improve the projection 

6 of carbon gains for any forest practices made 

7 eligible under the program; 

8 (B) to provide additional incentive pay9 ments for specified management activities that 

10 increase the adaptive capacity of land under a 

11 carbon incentives contract; and 

12 (C) for the Forest Inventory and Analysis 

13 Program of the Forest Service to develop im14 proved measurement and monitoring of forest 

15 carbon stocks. 

16 (2) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In establishing 

17 the program, the Secretary shall provide that funds 

18 provided under this section shall not be substituted 

19 for, or otherwise used as a basis for reducing, fund20 ing authorized or appropriated under other pro21 grams to compensate owners of eligible land for ac22 tivities that are not covered under the program. 

23 (f) PROGRAM MEASUREMENT, MONITORING, 

24 VERIFICATION, AND REPORTING.— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1733 IS

1 (1) MEASUREMENT, MONITORING, AND

2 VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall establish and 

3 implement protocols that provide monitoring and 

4 verification of compliance with the terms of con5 tracts and agreements. 

6 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—At least annu7 ally, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

8 that contains— 

9 (A) an estimate of annual and cumulative 

10 reductions achieved as a result of the program, 

11 determined using standardized measures, in12 cluding measures of economic efficiency; 

13 (B) a summary of any changes to the pro14 gram that will be made as a result of program 

15 measurement, monitoring, and verification; 

16 (C) the total number of acres enrolled in 

17 the program by method; and 

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

19 (3) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—Each report 

20 required by this subsection shall be available to the 

21 public through the website of the Department of Ag22 riculture. 

23 (4) PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS.—At least once 

24 every 2 years the Secretary shall adjust eligible prac25 tices and compensation rates for future carbon inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jul 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1733.IS S1733

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1733 IS

1 centives contracts based on the results of monitoring 

2 under paragraph (1) and reporting under paragraph 

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

4 (5) ESTIMATING CARBON BENEFITS.—Any 

5 modeling, methodology, or protocol resource devel6 oped under this section— 

7 (A) shall be suitable for estimating carbon 

8 benefits associated with eligible practices for 

9 the purpose of incentives under this section; 

10 and 

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

12 emission sources under Federal programs relat13 ing to carbon emissions. 

14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 such sums as are necessary. 

17 SEC. 4. MATERIAL CHOICES IN BUILDINGS FOR SUPPLE18 MENTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION RE19 DUCTIONS IN UNITED STATES. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

22 building’’ means a nonresidential building used for 

23 commercial or State or local government purposes. 

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

25 product’’ means a commercial or industrial product, 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1733 IS

1 such as an intermediate, feedstock, or end product 

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

3 or in part of biological products, including renewable 

4 agricultural and forestry materials used as struc5 tural building material. 

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

7 the greenhouse gas incentives program established 

8 under this section. 

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

10 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

11 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION

12 REDUCTIONS IN BUILDINGS.— 

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

14 a greenhouse gas incentives program to achieve sup15 plemental greenhouse gas emission reductions from 

16 material choices in buildings, based on the lifecycle 

17 assessment of the building materials. 

18 (2) FINANCIAL INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—The 

19 Secretary shall provide to owners of eligible build20 ings incentive payments for the use of eligible prod21 ucts in buildings for sequestering carbon based on a 

22 lifecycle assessment of the structural assemblies, as 

23 compared to a model building as a result of using 

24 eligible products in substitution for more energy-in25 tensive materials in— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1733 IS

1 (A) new construction; or 

2 (B) building renovation. 

3 (c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to partici5 pate in the program, the owner of an eligible build6 ing shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

7 such time, in such manner, and containing such in8 formation as the Secretary may require. 

9 (2) COMPONENTS.—In establishing the pro10 gram, the Secretary shall require that payments for 

11 activities under the program shall be— 

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

13 net estimated benefit an owner of an eligible 

14 building would receive for similar practices 

15 under any federally established carbon offset 

16 program, taking into consideration the costs as17 sociated with the issuance of credits and com18 pliance with reversal provisions; 

19 (B) provided to owners of eligible buildings 

20 demonstrating at least a 20-percent reduction 

21 in carbon emissions potential, based on a 

22 lifecycle assessment of the structural assem23 blies, as compared to the structural assemblies 

24 of a model building, subject to the requirements 

25 that— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1733 IS

1 (i) the Secretary shall identify a 

2 model baseline nonresidential building— 

3 (I) of common size and function; 

4 and 

5 (II) having a service life of not 

6 less than 60 years; and 

7 (ii) applicants shall evaluate the car8 bon emissions potential of the baseline 

9 building and the proposed building using 

10 the same lifecycle assessment software tool 

11 and data sets, which shall be compliant 

12 with the document numbered ISO 14044; 

13 and 

14 (C) provided on certification by the owner 

15 of an eligible building and verification by the 

16 Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary 

17 of Energy, that— 

18 (i) the eligible building meets the re19 quirements of the applicable State com20 mercial building energy efficiency code (as 

21 in effect on the date of the applicable per22 mit of the eligible building); and 

23 (ii) the State has made the certifi24 cation required pursuant to section 304 of 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1733 IS

1 the Energy Conservation and Production 

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

3 (3) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—A participant in 

4 the program shall receive payment under the pro5 gram on completion of construction or renovation of 

6 the applicable eligible building. 

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

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

9 contains— 

10 (1) an estimate of annual and cumulative re11 ductions achieved as a result of the program— 

12 (A) determined by using lifecycle assess13 ment software that is compliant with the docu14 ment numbered ISO 14044; and 

15 (B) expressed in terms of the total number 

16 of cars removed from the road; 

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

18 that will be made as a result of past implementation 

19 of the program; and 

20 (3) the total number of buildings under carbon 

21 incentives contracts as of the date of the report. 

22 (e) ANALYTICAL REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 

23 this section— 

24 (1) any carbon emissions potential calculation 

25 shall— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1733 IS

1 (A) be performed in accordance with 

2 standard lifecycle assessment practice; and 

3 (B) include removal and sequestration of 

4 carbon dioxide from the use of biobased prod5 ucts, as well as recycled content materials; 

6 (2) a full lifecycle assessment shall be con7 ducted taking into consideration all lifecycle stages, 

8 including— 

9 (A) resource extraction and processing; 

10 (B) product manufacturing; 

11 (C) onsite construction of assemblies; 

12 (D) transportation; 

13 (E) maintenance and replacement cycles 

14 over an assumed eligible building service life of 

15 60 years; and 

16 (F) demolition; 

17 (3) structural assemblies shall be considered to 

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

19 roof, and structural envelope elements; 

20 (4) primary materials shall be considered to in21 clude common products used as the structural sys22 tem, such as wood, steel, concrete, or masonry; and 

23 (5) the effects of recycling, reuse, or energy re24 covery beyond the boundaries of an applicable study 

25 system shall not be taken in account. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1733 IS

1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS