I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 596 

To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2013 

Mr. GOSAR (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. HECK of Nevada, 

Mr. POLIS, Mr. TIPTON, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 

DENHAM, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. SIMPSON, 

Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, and Mrs. KIRKPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 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 promote the development of renewable energy on public 

lands, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 

6 2013’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—GEOTHERMAL ENERGY 

Sec. 101. Extension of funding for implementation of Energy Policy Act of 

2005. 

TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY ON 

CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Development of solar and wind energy on covered land. 

Sec. 203. Royalties. 

Sec. 204. Disposition of royalty revenue. 

Sec. 205. Study and report on mitigation banking. 

3 TITLE I—GEOTHERMAL ENERGY 

4 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

5 OF ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 234(a) of the Energy Pol7 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(a)) is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘in the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘through fiscal 

10 year 2020’’. 

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

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

13 (1) by striking ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘Ef14 fective for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal year 

15 thereafter, amounts’’; and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘without further appropriation’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘in such amounts as are provided in 

18 advance in appropriations Acts’’. 


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1 TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF 

2 WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY ON 

3 CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND 

4 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

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

7 means land that is— 

8 (A)(i) public land administered by the Sec9 retary of the Interior; or 

10 (ii) National Forest System land adminis11 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

12 (B) not excluded from the development of 

13 solar or wind energy under— 

14 (i) a final land use plan established 

15 under the Federal Land Policy and Man16 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

17 seq.); 

18 (ii) a final land and resource manage19 ment plan established under the National 

20 Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 

21 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); or 

22 (iii) Federal law. 

23 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Re24 newable Energy Resource Conservation Fund estab25 lished under section 204(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 CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec6 retary concerned’’ means— 

7 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re8 spect to land described in clause (i) of para9 graph (1)(A); and 

10 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re11 spect to land described in clause (ii) of such 

12 paragraph. 

13 SEC. 202. DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY ON 

14 COVERED LAND. 

15 (a) PILOT PROGRAM ON SELECTED COVERED

16 LAND.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri20 culture shall each establish a wind and solar leasing 

21 pilot program under which the Secretary concerned 

22 conducts lease sales of certain sites located on cov23 ered land administered by the Secretary concerned 

24 for purposes of carrying out wind and solar energy 

25 projects. 


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1 (2) SELECTION OF SITES ON COVERED LAND.— 

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

3 after the date the pilot program is established 

4 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned 

5 shall each select from covered land administered 

6 by the Secretary— 

7 (i) 1 site for the development of a 

8 solar energy project; and 

9 (ii) 1 site for the development of a 

10 wind energy project. 

11 (B) SITE SELECTION.—In selecting sites 

12 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary con13 cerned shall— 

14 (i) give a preference to sites that the 

15 Secretary concerned determines— 

16 (I) are likely to attract a high 

17 level of wind and solar energy indus18 try interest; 

19 (II) have a comparatively low 

20 value for resources other than wind 

21 and solar energy; and 

22 (III) would serve as models for 

23 the expansion of the pilot program to 

24 other locations if the program is ex25 panded under subsection (c); 


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1 (ii) take into consideration the value 

2 of the multiple resources of the covered 

3 land on which such sites are located; and 

4 (iii) not select any site for which a 

5 right-of-way or special use permit for site 

6 testing or construction has been issued 

7 under title V of the Federal Land Policy 

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

9 1761 et seq.) or the National Forest Man10 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et 

11 seq.). 

12 (3) LEASE SALES OF PROJECT SITES.— 

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

14 paragraph (4)(B)(i), not later than 180 days 

15 after the date on which sites are selected under 

16 paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall 

17 offer each site for competitive leasing under 

18 such terms and conditions as the Secretary con19 cerned requires. 

20 (B) BIDDING.—Bidding on a site offered 

21 for lease under this subsection shall be— 

22 (i) limited to one round; 

23 (ii) open only to bidders who— 


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1 (I) submit a plan of development 

2 for such site together with the bid; 

3 and 

4 (II) the Secretary concerned de5 termines are qualified under subpara6 graph (C)(ii); and 

7 (iii) conducted using a bidding system 

8 selected by the Secretary concerned, in9 cluding— 

10 (I) a cash bonus bids system re11 quiring payment of the royalty estab12 lished under this title; 

13 (II) a variable royalty bids sys14 tem based on a percentage of the 

15 gross proceeds from the sale of elec16 tricity produced from the site offered 

17 for lease, except that the royalty shall 

18 not be less than the royalty required 

19 under this title, together with a fixed 

20 cash bonus; or 

21 (III) such other bidding system 

22 as ensures a fair return to the public 

23 consistent with the royalty established 

24 under this title. 


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1 (C) BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS.—The Sec2 retary concerned shall— 

3 (i) before conducting any lease sale 

4 under this subsection, establish qualifica5 tion requirements for bidders on a site of6 fered for lease that ensure that such bid7 ders, with respect to wind or solar energy 

8 projects— 

9 (I) are able to expeditiously de10 velop such a project on the site; 

11 (II) possess the financial re12 sources necessary to complete such a 

13 project; 

14 (III) possess knowledge of the 

15 technology needed to complete such a 

16 project; 

17 (IV) meet eligibility requirements 

18 that are substantially similar to the 

19 eligibility rquirements for leasing that 

20 apply under the first section of the 

21 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181); 

22 and 

23 (V) possess such other qualifica24 tions as the Secretary concerned de25 termines are necessary; and 


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1 (ii) using the requirements established 

2 under clause (i), determine whether a per3 son is qualified to be a bidder on a site of4 fered for lease under this subsection. 

5 (D) CREDIT FOR BID PREPARATION EX6 PENDITURES.—In the case of a site offered for 

7 lease under this subsection with respect to 

8 which more than one bid is submitted on the 

9 date of the lease sale of such site, the Secretary 

10 concerned shall give credit to each person who 

11 submitted a bid with respect to such site for ex12 penditures such person incurred in the prepara13 tion of such bid. 

14 (4) LEASE TERMS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con16 cerned may establish such lease terms and con17 ditions, including the duration of the lease with 

18 respect to any site offered for lease under this 

19 subsection. 

20 (B) SHORT-TERM LEASES FOR DATA COL21 LECTION.—In carrying out this subsection, the 

22 Secretary concerned shall— 

23 (i) offer on a noncompetitive basis a 

24 short-term lease on not less than one site 


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1 selected under paragraph (2) for purposes 

2 of data collection; and 

3 (ii) upon the expiration of the short4 term lease, offer on a competitive basis a 

5 long-term lease, giving credit toward the 

6 bonus bid submitted with respect to the 

7 long-term lease to the holder of the short8 term lease for any qualified expenditures 

9 made by such holder to collect data or to 

10 develop the site during such short-term 

11 lease. 

12 (5) REVENUES.—Subject to section 203, the 

13 Secretary concerned may collect bonus bids, royal14 ties, fees, or other payments (except rental pay15 ments) with respect to sites offered for lease under 

16 this subsection. 

17 (6) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary concerned conducts the 

19 final lease sale under this subsection, the Secretary 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat21 ural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of 

22 the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources 

23 and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

24 Representatives a report on the results of each lease 

25 sale conducted under this subsection, including— 


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1 (A) the level of competitive interest; 

2 (B) a summary of bids and revenues re3 ceived; and 

4 (C) any other factors that may have im5 pacted the lease sale. 

6 (7) OTHER LAWS.— 

7 (A) COMPLIANCE WITH LAND MANAGE8 MENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—In offer9 ing sites for lease under this subsection, the 

10 Secretary concerned shall comply with— 

11 (i) all Federal laws applicable to pub12 lic land or National Forest System land; 

13 and 

14 (ii) Federal or State environmental 

15 laws or any other relevant laws. 

16 (B) APPLICABILITY TO WIND AND SOLAR

17 ENERGY PROJECTS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL

18 LAWS.—Nothing in this subsection shall be con19 strued so as to prohibit the Secretary concerned 

20 from issuing rights-of-way or special use per21 mits with respect to wind and solar energy 

22 projects in compliance with other Federal laws 

23 and regulations in effect on the date of the en24 actment of this Act. 


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1 (8) ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY

2 MANAGEMENT.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Sections 302(c) and 

4 303 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage5 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(c), 1733) 

6 shall apply to activities conducted on sites on 

7 covered land offered for lease under this sub8 section. 

9 (B) EFFECT ON ENFORCEMENT AUTHOR10 ITY UNDER OTHER FEDERAL LAW.—Nothing in 

11 this subsection shall be construed so as to re12 duce or limit the enforcement authority vested 

13 in the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 

14 of Agriculture, or the Attorney General on cov15 ered land under any other Federal law. 

16 (b) TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

17 Until final regulations are issued under subsection (c)(4), 

18 the Secretary of the Interior shall continue to carry out 

19 the pilot program under subsection (a) on the sites offered 

20 for lease under such subsection. The Secretary may extend 

21 any lease issued for such sites under subsection (a) under 

22 the same terms and conditions applicable to such lease on 

23 the date of the lease sale as necessary until final regula24 tions are issued under subsection (c)(4) with respect to 

25 such sites. 


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1 (c) EXPANSION OF PILOT PROGRAM TO ALL COV2 ERED LAND.— 

3 (1) JOINT DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—Not 

4 later than 5 years after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the 

6 Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly determine 

7 whether to expand the pilot program established 

8 under subsection (a) to apply to all covered land, in9 cluding sites with respect to which leases were issued 

10 under subsection (a). In making such determination, 

11 the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture shall— 

13 (A) take into consideration the results of 

14 the pilot program; 

15 (B) consult with— 

16 (i) the heads of Federal agencies and 

17 relevant State agencies (including State 

18 fish and wildlife agencies); 

19 (ii) interested States, Indian tribes, 

20 and local governments; 

21 (iii) representatives of the solar and 

22 wind energy industries; 

23 (iv) representatives of the environ24 ment, conservation, and outdoor sporting 

25 communities; and 


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1 (v) the public; and 

2 (C) consider whether such expansion— 

3 (i) provides an effective means of de4 veloping wind or solar energy; and 

5 (ii) is in the public interest. 

6 (2) EXPANSION AUTHORIZED.—The pilot pro7 gram shall be expanded only if the Secretary of the 

8 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture determined 

9 to expand the pilot program under paragraph (1). 

10 (3) REPORT ON JOINT DETERMINATION.—Not 

11 later than 60 days after making the determination 

12 under paragraph (1) to expand the pilot program, 

13 the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

14 Agriculture shall jointly submit to the Committee on 

15 Energy and Natural Resources and Committee on 

16 Agriculture of the Senate and the Committee on 

17 Natural Resources and Committee on Agriculture of 

18 the House of Representatives a report describing the 

19 basis and findings for the determination. 

20 (4) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT EXPAN21 SION.—Not later than one year after making a de22 termination to expand the pilot program under para23 graph (1), the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec24 retary of Agriculture shall jointly issue final regula25 tions to implement this Act. 


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1 (5) APPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS OF PILOT

2 PROGRAM TO EXPANDED PROGRAM.— 

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

4 subparagraph (B), paragraphs (3), (7), and (8) 

5 of subsection (a) shall apply to covered land of6 fered for lease under this subsection in the 

7 same manner as such paragraphs apply to sites 

8 offered for lease under subsection (a). 

9 (B) COMPETITIVE LEASING NOT REQUIRED

10 UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The re11 quirement under subsection (a)(3) that a lease 

12 be sold on a competitive basis shall not apply 

13 to a lease issued under this subsection if the 

14 Secretary concerned determines that— 

15 (i) no competitive interest exists for 

16 the covered land offered for lease; 

17 (ii) the public interest would not be 

18 served by the competitive issuance of a 

19 lease with respect to such covered land; or 

20 (iii) the lease is for a purpose de21 scribed in paragraph (7)(A)(ii). 

22 (6) PAYMENTS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 203, 

24 the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

25 of Agriculture shall jointly establish fees, boVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Feb 16, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H596.IH H596

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1 nuses, or other payments (except rental pay2 ments) to ensure a fair return to the United 

3 States for any lease issued under this sub4 section. 

5 (B) BONUS BIDS.—The Secretary con6 cerned may grant credit toward any bonus bid 

7 for a qualified expenditure by the holder of a 

8 lease described in paragraph (7)(A)(ii) in any 

9 competitive lease sale held for a long-term lease 

10 of the covered land that is the subject of the 

11 lease described in such paragraph. 

12 (C) READJUSTMENT.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Royalties and other 

14 terms and conditions of a lease issued 

15 under this subsection shall be subject to 

16 readjustment— 

17 (I) on the date that is 15 years 

18 after the date on which the lease is 

19 issued; and 

20 (II) every 10 years thereafter. 

21 (ii) INDEXING.—Effective on the first 

22 day of the first month beginning after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act and each 

24 year thereafter, the amount of royalties or 

25 other terms and conditions subject to readVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Feb 16, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H596.IH H596

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1 justment under clause (i) shall be adjusted 

2 to reflect changes for the 12-month period 

3 ending on the most recent date for which 

4 data are available in the Consumer Price 

5 Index for All Urban Consumers published 

6 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 

7 Department of Labor. 

8 (7) LEASE DURATION, ADMINISTRATION, AND

9 READJUSTMENT.— 

10 (A) DURATION.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

12 in clause (ii), a lease issued under this sub13 section shall be for— 

14 (I) an initial term of 25 years; 

15 and 

16 (II) any additional period after 

17 the initial 25-year term during which 

18 electricity is being produced annually 

19 in commercial quantities from the 

20 lease. 

21 (ii) DATA COLLECTION LEASES.—In 

22 the case of a lease issued under this sub23 section for the placement and operation of 

24 a meteorological or data collection facility 

25 or for the development or demonstration of 


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1 a new wind or solar technology, such lease 

2 shall have a term of not more than 5 

3 years. 

4 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of 

5 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

6 shall jointly establish terms and conditions for 

7 the issuance, transfer, renewal, suspension, and 

8 cancellation of a lease issued under this sub9 section. 

10 (C) READJUSTMENT PROVISION RE11 QUIRED.—Each lease issued under this sub12 section shall provide for readjustment in ac13 cordance with subparagraph (A). 

14 (8) SURFACE-DISTURBING ACTIVITIES.—The 

15 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri16 culture shall jointly issue regulations regarding sur17 face-disturbing activities conducted under any lease 

18 issued under this subsection, including any reclama19 tion and other actions necessary to conserve and to 

20 offset impacts to surface resources. 

21 (9) SECURITY.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con23 cerned shall require that the holder of a lease 

24 issued under this subsection— 


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1 (i) furnish a surety bond or other 

2 form of security, as prescribed by the Sec3 retary; 

4 (ii) provide for the reclamation and 

5 restoration of the covered land that is the 

6 subject of the lease; and 

7 (iii) comply with such other require8 ments as the Secretary considers necessary 

9 to protect the interests of the public and 

10 the United States. 

11 (B) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Not less fre12 quently than once every 5 years, the Secretary 

13 concerned shall conduct a review of the ade14 quacy of the surety bond or other form of secu15 rity provided by the holder of a lease issued 

16 under this subsection. 

17 SEC. 203. ROYALTIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned shall re19 quire as a term and condition of any lease issued under 

20 section 202, the payment of a royalty. The Secretary of 

21 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall estab22 lish such royalty pursuant to a joint rulemaking that shall 

23 be a percentage of the gross proceeds from the sale of elec24 tricity produced on covered land that is the subject of such 

25 lease at a rate that— 


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1 (1) encourages production of solar or wind en2 ergy; 

3 (2) ensures a fair return to the public com4 parable to the return that would be obtained on 

5 State or private land; and 

6 (3) encourages the maximum energy generation 

7 while disturbing the least quantity of covered land 

8 and other natural resources, including water. 

9 (b) CONSIDERATION.—In establishing the royalty 

10 under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior and the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture shall consider the relative capac12 ity factors of wind and solar energy projects. 

13 (c) EXCLUSIVE PAYMENT ON SALE OF ELEC14 TRICITY.—The royalty under subsection (a) shall be the 

15 only rent, royalty, or similar payment to the Federal Gov16 ernment required with respect to the sale of electricity pro17 duced under a lease issued under section 202. 

18 (d) ROYALTY RELIEF.—The Secretary concerned 

19 may reduce the royalty rate established under subsection 

20 (a) if the holder of a lease issued under this title shows 

21 by clear and convincing evidence that— 

22 (1) collection of the full royalty would unreason23 ably burden energy generation on covered land that 

24 is the subject of the lease; and 


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1 (2) the royalty reduction is in the public inter2 est. 

3 (e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (1) AUDITING SYSTEM.—The Secretary of the 

5 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall joint6 ly establish a comprehensive inspection, collection, 

7 fiscal, and production accounting and auditing sys8 tem— 

9 (A) to accurately determine royalties, in10 terest, fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other 

11 payments owed under this title; and 

12 (B) to collect and account for the pay13 ments in a timely manner. 

14 (2) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL OIL AND ROY15 ALTY MANAGEMENT ACT.—The provisions of the 

16 Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 

17 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (including the civil 

18 and criminal enforcement provisions of such Act) 

19 shall apply to leases issued under this title with re20 spect to wind and solar energy projects in the same 

21 manner as such provisions apply to oil and gas 

22 leases. 

23 (f) REPORT ON ROYALTIES.—Not later than 5 years 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act and every 5 years 

25 thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 


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1 with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the 

3 Committee on Agriculture of the Senate and the Com4 mittee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Agri5 culture of the House of Representatives a report con6 sisting of a review of the collections and impacts of the 

7 royalties and fees collected under this title, including— 

8 (1) the total revenues received (by category) on 

9 an annual basis as royalties from wind, solar, and 

10 geothermal development and production (specified by 

11 energy source) on covered land; 

12 (2) whether the revenues received for the devel13 opment of wind, solar, and geothermal development 

14 are comparable to the revenues received for similar 

15 development on State or private land; 

16 (3) any impact on the development of wind, 

17 solar, and geothermal development and production 

18 on covered land as a result of the royalties; and 

19 (4) any recommendations with respect to 

20 changes in Federal law (including regulations) relat21 ing to the amount or method of collection (including 

22 auditing, compliance, and enforcement) of the royal23 ties. 

24 (g) REGULATIONS.—Not later than one year after the 

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


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1 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly issue 

2 final regulations to carry out this section. 

3 SEC. 204. DISPOSITION OF ROYALTY REVENUE. 

4 (a) ALLOCATION OF REVENUE.—Effective beginning 

5 on the date of the enactment of this Act, all amounts col6 lected by the Secretary concerned as royalties or bonuses 

7 under subsection (a)(5) or (c)(6) of section 202, shall be 

8 distributed as follows: 

9 (1) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the 

10 Secretary of the Treasury to States within the 

11 boundaries of which the royalties or bonuses are de12 rived, to be allocated among such States based on 

13 the percentage of covered land from which such roy14 alties or bonuses are derived in each State. 

15 (2) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the 

16 Secretary of the Treasury to the counties within the 

17 boundaries of which the royalties or bonuses are de18 rived, to be allocated among such counties based on 

19 the percentage of covered land from which such roy20 alties or bonuses are derived in each county. 

21 (3) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in 

22 the Fund (established by subsection (b)). 

23 (4) For the period that begins on the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act and ending on the date 

25 that is 15 years after the date of the enactment of 


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1 this Act, 15 percent shall be paid by the Secretary 

2 of the Treasury directly to the State offices of the 

3 Bureau of Land Management and the regional office 

4 of the Forest Service with jurisdiction over the areas 

5 of which the royalties or bonuses are derived for 

6 purposes of reducing the number of renewable en7 ergy permits that have not been processed before the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, to be allocated 

9 among such offices based on the percentage of cov10 ered land from which the royalties or bonuses are 

11 derived in each State. 

12 (5) The remainder shall be deposited into the 

13 general fund of the Treasury for purposes of reduc14 ing the annual Federal budget deficit. 

15 (b) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE CONSERVATION

16 FUND.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

18 the Treasury of the United States a Renewable En19 ergy Resource Conservation Fund to be adminis20 tered by the Secretary of the Interior, in consulta21 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, for use in re22 gions impacted by the development of wind or solar 

23 energy on public land. 

24 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall use 

25 amounts in the Fund to take actions and to make 


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1 payments to State agencies, Federal agencies, or 

2 other interested persons in such regions for— 

3 (A) protecting and restoring important fish 

4 and wildlife habitat in such regions, including 

5 corridors, water resources, and other sensitive 

6 land; and 

7 (B) assuring and improving access to Fed8 eral lands and waters in such regions for hunt9 ing, fishing, and other forms of outdoor recre10 ation in a manner consistent with the conserva11 tion of fish and wildlife habitat. 

12 (3) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts in 

13 the Fund shall be available for expenditure, in ac14 cordance with this subsection, without further appro15 priation and without fiscal year limitation. 

16 (4) INVESTMENT OF FUND.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts deposited 

18 in the Fund shall earn interest in an amount 

19 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on 

20 the basis of the current average market yield on 

21 outstanding marketable obligations of the 

22 United States of comparable maturities. 

23 (B) USE.—Any interest earned under sub24 paragraph (A) may be expended in accordance 

25 with this subsection. 


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1 (5) MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS.—The expend2 iture of funds under this subsection shall be sepa3 rate and distinct from any mitigation requirements 

4 imposed pursuant to any law, regulation, or term or 

5 condition of any lease, right-of-way, or other author6 ization. 

7 (c) ALLOCATION FOR PERMITTING AFTER EXPIRA8 TION OF 15-YEAR PERIOD.— 

9 (1) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—At the 

10 end of the 15-year period described in subsection 

11 (a)(4), the Secretary shall certify whether the State 

12 offices referred to in such subsection have ade13 quately reduced the renewable energy permitting 

14 backlog referred to in such subsection. 

15 (2) ALLOCATION AFTER CERTIFICATION.—If 

16 the Secretary certifies under paragraph (1) that— 

17 (A) the State offices referred to in such 

18 paragraph have not adequately reduced the 

19 backlog referred to in such paragraph— 

20 (i) the 15-year period described in 

21 subsection (a)(4) shall be extended by an 

22 additional 15-year period; and 

23 (ii) payments shall continue to be 

24 made during that period as described in 

25 such subsection; or 


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1 (B) the State offices referred to in such 

2 paragraph have adequately reduced such back3 log— 

4 (i) two-thirds of the amount otherwise 

5 required to be paid under subsection (a)(4) 

6 shall be added to the amount deposited in 

7 the Fund established under subsection (b); 

8 and 

9 (ii) one-third of such amount shall be 

10 deposited into the general fund of the 

11 Treasury for purposes of reducing the an12 nual Federal budget deficit. 

13 (d) PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid to States and 

15 counties under subsection (a) shall be used in a 

16 manner that is consistent with section 35 of the 

17 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191). 

18 (2) IMPACTS.—Not less than 35 percent of the 

19 amount paid to a State each fiscal year shall be used 

20 for the purposes described in subsection (b)(2). 

21 SEC. 205. STUDY AND REPORT ON MITIGATION BANKING. 

22 (a) STUDY.— 

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

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of AgriVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Feb 16, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H596.IH H596

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1 culture shall carry out a study to determine the fea2 sibility of carrying out a mitigation banking program 

3 on Federal land administered by the Secretary of the 

4 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture for purposes 

5 of fully offsetting the impacts of wind or solar en6 ergy on such Federal land. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—The study under paragraph 

8 (1) shall— 

9 (A) identify areas in which— 

10 (i) privately owned land is not avail11 able to fully offset the impacts of wind or 

12 solar energy development on Federal land 

13 administered by the Secretary of the Inte14 rior or the Secretary of Agriculture; or 

15 (ii) mitigation investments on such 

16 Federal land are likely to provide greater 

17 conservation value for the impacts of wind 

18 or solar energy development on such Fed19 eral land; and 

20 (B) examine— 

21 (i) the effectiveness of laws (including 

22 regulations) and policies in effect on the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act in facili24 tating the development and effective oper25 ation of mitigation banks; 


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1 (ii) the advantages and disadvantages 

2 of using mitigation banks on such Federal 

3 land to mitigate impacts to natural re4 sources on private, State, and tribal land; 

5 and 

6 (iii) any changes in Federal law (in7 cluding regulations) or policy necessary to 

8 further develop a Federal mitigation bank9 ing program. 

10 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

12 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

13 shall jointly submit to Congress a report that includes— 

14 (1) the recommendations of the Secretaries re15 lating to— 

16 (A) the most effective system for Federal 

17 land administered by the Secretary of the Inte18 rior or the Secretary of Agriculture to meet the 

19 goals of facilitating the development of a miti20 gation banking program on such Federal land; 

21 and 

22 (B) any change to Federal law (including 

23 regulations) or policy necessary to address more 

24 effectively the siting, development, and manage25 ment of mitigation banking programs on such 


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1 Federal land to mitigate impacts to natural re2 sources on private, State, and tribal land; and 

3 (2) any administrative action to be taken by the 

4 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri5 culture in response to the recommendations. 

6 (c) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Not later than 

7 30 days after the date on which the report described in 

8 subsection (b) is submitted to Congress, the Secretary of 

9 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall make 

10 the results of the study available to the public. 

Æ 


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