II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 699 

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program to demonstrate 

the commercial application of integrated systems for long-term geological 

storage of carbon dioxide, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 31, 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and Ms. 

MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program 

to demonstrate the commercial application of integrated 

systems for long-term geological storage of carbon dioxide, 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 ‘‘Department of Energy 

5 Carbon Capture and Sequestration Program Amendments 

6 Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LARGE-SCALE CARBON STORAGE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle F of title IX of the En3 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is 

4 amended by inserting after section 963 (42 U.S.C. 16293) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 963A. LARGE-SCALE CARBON STORAGE PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) INDUSTRIAL SOURCE.—The term ‘indus9 trial source’ means any source of carbon dioxide that 

10 is not naturally occurring. 

11 ‘‘(2) LARGE-SCALE.—The term ‘large-scale’ 

12 means the injection of over 1,000,000 tons of carbon 

13 dioxide each year from industrial sources into a geo14 logical formation. 

15 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘Sec16 retary concerned’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

18 through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 

19 respect to National Forest System land; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re21 spect to land managed by the Bureau of Land 

22 Management (including land held for the ben23 efit of an Indian tribe). 

24 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—In addition to the research, develop25 ment, and demonstration program authorized by section 

26 963, the Secretary shall carry out a program to demVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:42 Apr 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.IS S699

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1 onstrate the commercial application of integrated systems 

2 for the capture, injection, monitoring, and long-term geo3 logical storage of carbon dioxide from industrial sources. 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out the 

5 program, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agree6 ments to provide financial and technical assistance to up 

7 to 10 demonstration projects. 

8 ‘‘(d) PROJECT SELECTION.—The Secretary shall 

9 competitively select recipients of cooperative agreements 

10 under this section from among applicants that— 

11 ‘‘(1) provide the Secretary with sufficient geo12 logical site information (including hydrogeological 

13 and geophysical information) to establish that the 

14 proposed geological storage unit is capable of long15 term storage of the injected carbon dioxide, includ16 ing— 

17 ‘‘(A) the location, extent, and storage ca18 pacity of the geological storage unit at the site 

19 into which the carbon dioxide will be injected; 

20 ‘‘(B) the principal potential modes of 

21 geomechanical failure in the geological storage 

22 unit; 

23 ‘‘(C) the ability of the geological storage 

24 unit to retain injected carbon dioxide; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the measurement, monitoring, and 

2 verification requirements necessary to ensure 

3 adequate information on the operation of the 

4 geological storage unit during and after the in5 jection of carbon dioxide; 

6 ‘‘(2) possess the land or interests in land nec7 essary for— 

8 ‘‘(A) the injection and storage of the car9 bon dioxide at the proposed geological storage 

10 unit; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the closure, monitoring, and long12 term stewardship of the geological storage unit; 

13 ‘‘(3) possess or have a reasonable expectation of 

14 obtaining all necessary permits and authorizations 

15 under applicable Federal and State laws (including 

16 regulations); and 

17 ‘‘(4) agree to comply with each requirement of 

18 subsection (e). 

19 ‘‘(e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall 

20 condition receipt of financial assistance pursuant to a co21 operative agreement under this section on the recipient 

22 agreeing to— 

23 ‘‘(1) comply with all applicable Federal and 

24 State laws (including regulations), including a cer25 tification by the appropriate regulatory authority 


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1 that the project will comply with Federal and State 

2 requirements to protect drinking water supplies; 

3 ‘‘(2) in the case of industrial sources subject to 

4 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), inject 

5 only carbon dioxide captured from industrial sources 

6 in compliance with that Act; 

7 ‘‘(3) comply with all applicable construction and 

8 operating requirements for deep injection wells; 

9 ‘‘(4) measure, monitor, and test to verify that 

10 carbon dioxide injected into the injection zone is 

11 not— 

12 ‘‘(A) escaping from or migrating beyond 

13 the confinement zone; or 

14 ‘‘(B) endangering an underground source 

15 of drinking water; 

16 ‘‘(5) comply with applicable well-plugging, post17 injection site care, and site closure requirements, in18 cluding— 

19 ‘‘(A)(i) maintaining financial assurances 

20 during the post-injection closure and monitoring 

21 phase until a certificate of closure is issued by 

22 the Secretary; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) promptly undertaking remediation ac24 tivities for any leak from the geological storage 


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1 unit that would endanger public health or safe2 ty or natural resources; and 

3 ‘‘(B) complying with subsection (f); 

4 ‘‘(6) comply with applicable long-term care re5 quirements; 

6 ‘‘(7) maintain financial protection in a form 

7 and in an amount acceptable to— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; 

9 ‘‘(B) the Secretary with jurisdiction over 

10 the land; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency; and 

13 ‘‘(8) provide the assurances described in section 

14 963(c)(4)(B). 

15 ‘‘(f) POST INJECTION CLOSURE AND MONITORING

16 ELEMENTS.—In assessing whether a project complies with 

17 site closure requirements under subsection (e)(5), the Sec18 retary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Envi19 ronmental Protection Agency, shall determine whether the 

20 recipient of financial assistance has demonstrated contin21 uous compliance with each of the following over a period 

22 of not less than 10 consecutive years after the plume of 

23 carbon dioxide has stabilized within the geologic formation 

24 that comprises the geologic storage unit following the ces25 sation of injection activities: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The estimated location and extent of the 

2 project footprint (including the detectable plume of 

3 carbon dioxide and the area of elevated pressure re4 sulting from the project) has not substantially 

5 changed and is contained within the geologic storage 

6 unit. 

7 ‘‘(2) The injection zone formation pressure has 

8 ceased to increase following cessation of carbon diox9 ide injection into the geologic storage unit. 

10 ‘‘(3) There is no leakage of either carbon diox11 ide or displaced formation fluid from the geologic 

12 storage unit that is endangering public health and 

13 safety, including underground sources of drinking 

14 water and natural resources. 

15 ‘‘(4) The injected or displaced formation fluids 

16 are not expected to migrate in the future in a man17 ner that encounters a potential leakage pathway. 

18 ‘‘(5) The injection wells at the site completed 

19 into or through the injection zone or confining zone 

20 are plugged and abandoned in accordance with the 

21 applicable requirements of Federal or State law gov22 erning the wells. 

23 ‘‘(g) INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF LIABILITY.—In this sub2 section, the term ‘liability’ means any legal liability 

3 for— 

4 ‘‘(A) bodily injury, sickness, disease, or 

5 death; 

6 ‘‘(B) loss of or damage to property, or loss 

7 of use of property; or 

8 ‘‘(C) injury to or destruction or loss of nat9 ural resources, including fish, wildlife, and 

10 drinking water supplies. 

11 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date of the receipt by the Secretary of a 

13 completed application for a demonstration project, 

14 the Secretary may agree to indemnify and hold 

15 harmless the recipient of a cooperative agreement 

16 under this section from liability arising out of or re17 sulting from a demonstration project in excess of the 

18 amount of liability covered by financial protection 

19 maintained by the recipient under subsection (e)(7). 

20 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE AND

21 INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT.—Notwithstanding para22 graph (1), the Secretary may not indemnify the re23 cipient of a cooperative agreement under this section 

24 from liability arising out of conduct of a recipient 


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1 that is grossly negligent or that constitutes inten2 tional misconduct. 

3 ‘‘(4) COLLECTION OF FEES.— 

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

5 collect a fee from any person with whom an 

6 agreement for indemnification is executed under 

7 this subsection in an amount that is equal to 

8 the net present value of payments made by the 

9 United States to cover liability under the in10 demnification agreement. 

11 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish, by regulation, criteria for determining the 

13 amount of the fee, taking into account— 

14 ‘‘(i) the likelihood of an incident re15 sulting in liability to the United States 

16 under the indemnification agreement; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) other factors pertaining to the 

18 hazard of the indemnified project. 

19 ‘‘(C) USE OF FEES.—Fees collected under 

20 this paragraph shall be deposited in the Treas21 ury and credited to miscellaneous receipts. 

22 ‘‘(5) CONTRACTS IN ADVANCE OF APPROPRIA23 TIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), the Secretary may enter into agreeVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:42 Apr 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.IS S699

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1 ments of indemnification under this subsection 

2 in advance of appropriations and incur obliga3 tions without regard to section 1341 of title 31, 

4 United States Code (commonly known as the 

5 ‘Anti-Deficiency Act’), or section 11 of title 41, 

6 United States Code (commonly known as the 

7 ‘Adequacy of Appropriations Act’). 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The amount of indem9 nification under this subsection shall not exceed 

10 $10,000,000,000 (adjusted not less than once 

11 during each 5-year period following the date of 

12 enactment of this section, in accordance with 

13 the aggregate percentage change in the Con14 sumer Price Index since the previous adjust15 ment under this subparagraph), in the aggre16 gate, for all persons indemnified in connection 

17 with an agreement and for each project, includ18 ing such legal costs as are approved by the Sec19 retary. 

20 ‘‘(6) CONDITIONS OF AGREEMENTS OF INDEM21 NIFICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An agreement of in23 demnification under this subsection may con24 tain such terms as the Secretary considers apVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:42 Apr 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.IS S699

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1 propriate to carry out the purposes of this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The agreement 

4 shall provide that, if the Secretary makes a de5 termination the United States will probably be 

6 required to make indemnity payments under the 

7 agreement, the Attorney General— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall collaborate with the recipi9 ent of an award under this subsection; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) may— 

11 ‘‘(I) approve the payment of any 

12 claim under the agreement of indem13 nification; 

14 ‘‘(II) appear on behalf of the re15 cipient; 

16 ‘‘(III) take charge of an action; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(IV) settle or defend an action. 

19 ‘‘(C) SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 

21 General shall have final authority on behalf 

22 of the United States to settle or approve 

23 the settlement of any claim under this sub24 section on a fair and reasonable basis with 


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1 due regard for the purposes of this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXPENSES.—The settlement 

4 shall not include expenses in connection 

5 with the claim incurred by the recipient. 

6 ‘‘(h) FEDERAL LAND.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

8 may authorize the siting of a project on Federal 

9 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary con10 cerned in a manner consistent with applicable laws 

11 and land management plans and subject to such 

12 terms and conditions as the Secretary concerned de13 termines to be necessary. 

14 ‘‘(2) FRAMEWORK FOR GEOLOGICAL CARBON

15 SEQUESTRATION ON PUBLIC LAND.—In determining 

16 whether to authorize a project on Federal land, the 

17 Secretary concerned shall take into account the 

18 framework for geological carbon sequestration on 

19 public land prepared in accordance with section 714 

20 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

21 2007 (Public Law 110–140; 121 Stat. 1715). 

22 ‘‘(i) ACCEPTANCE OF TITLE AND LONG-TERM MONI23 TORING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of a cooper25 ative agreement under this section, the Secretary 


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1 may accept title to, or transfer of administrative ju2 risdiction from another Federal agency over, any 

3 land or interest in land necessary for the monitoring, 

4 remediation, or long-term stewardship of a project 

5 site. 

6 ‘‘(2) LONG-TERM MONITORING ACTIVITIES.— 

7 After accepting title to, or transfer of, a site closed 

8 in accordance with this section, the Secretary shall 

9 monitor the site and conduct any remediation activi10 ties to ensure the geological integrity of the site and 

11 prevent any endangerment of public health or safety. 

12 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—There is appropriated to the 

13 Secretary, out of funds of the Treasury not other14 wise appropriated, such sums as are necessary to 

15 carry out paragraph (2).’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) Section 963 of the Energy Policy Act of 

18 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16293) is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating subsections (a) 

20 through (d) as subsections (b) through (e), re21 spectively; 

22 (B) by inserting before subsection (b) (as 

23 so redesignated) the following: 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) INDUSTRIAL SOURCE.—The term ‘indus2 trial source’ means any source of carbon dioxide that 

3 is not naturally occurring. 

4 ‘‘(2) LARGE-SCALE.—The term ‘large-scale’ 

5 means the injection of over 1,000,000 tons of carbon 

6 dioxide from industrial sources over the lifetime of 

7 the project.’’; 

8 (C) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), 

9 by striking ‘‘IN GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘PRO10 GRAM’’; 

11 (D) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), 

12 by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub13 section (b)’’; and 

14 (E) in subsection (d)(3) (as so redesig15 nated), by striking subparagraph (D). 

16 (2) Sections 703(a)(3) and 704 of the Energy 

17 Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

18 17251(a)(3), 17252) are amended by striking ‘‘sec19 tion 963(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 16293(c)(3))’’ each place it appears and in21 serting ‘‘section 963(d)(3) of the Energy Policy Act 

22 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16293(d)(3))’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. TRAINING PROGRAM FOR STATE AND TRIBAL 

2 AGENCIES. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, in 

4 consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental 

5 Protection Agency and the Secretary of Transportation, 

6 shall establish a program to provide grants for employee 

7 training purposes to State and tribal agencies involved in 

8 permitting, management, inspection, and oversight of car9 bon capture, transportation, and storage projects. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy 

12 to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 

13 years 2010 through 2020. 

Æ 


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