II 

Calendar No. 99 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 699 

[Report No. 112–32] 

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, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. TESTER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

JULY 11, 2011 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy 

3 Carbon Capture and Sequestration Program Amendments 

4 Act of 2011’’. 

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

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle F of title IX of the En7 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is 

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

9 the following: 

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

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

12 ‘‘(1) INDUSTRIAL SOURCE.—The term ‘indus13 trial source’ means any source of carbon dioxide that 

14 is not naturally occurring. 

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

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

17 dioxide each year from industrial sources into a geo18 logical formation. 

19 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘Sec20 retary concerned’ means— 

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

22 through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 

23 respect to National Forest System land; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re25 spect to land managed by the Bureau of Land 


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1 Management (including land held for the ben2 efit of an Indian tribe). 

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—In addition to the research, develop4 ment, and demonstration program authorized by section 

5 963, the Secretary shall carry out a program to dem6 onstrate the commercial application of integrated systems 

7 for the capture, injection, monitoring, and long-term geo8 logical storage of carbon dioxide from industrial sources. 

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

10 program, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agree11 ments to provide financial and technical assistance to up 

12 to 10 large-scale demonstration projects. 

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

14 competitively select recipients of cooperative agreements 

15 under this section from among applicants that— 

16 ‘‘(1) provide the Secretary with sufficient geo17 logical site information (including hydrogeological 

18 and geophysical information) to establish that the 

19 proposed geological storage unit is capable of long20 term storage of the injected carbon dioxide, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(A) the location, extent, and storage ca23 pacity of the geological storage unit at the site 

24 into which the carbon dioxide will be injected; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the principal potential modes of 

2 geomechanical failure in the geological storage 

3 unit; 

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

5 unit to retain injected carbon dioxide; and 

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

7 verification requirements necessary to ensure 

8 adequate information on the operation of the 

9 geological storage unit during and after the in10 jection of carbon dioxide; 

11 ‘‘(2) possess the land or interests in land nec12 essary for— 

13 ‘‘(A) the injection and storage of the car14 bon dioxide at the proposed geological storage 

15 unit; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the closure, monitoring, and long17 term stewardship of the geological storage unit; 

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

19 obtaining all necessary permits and authorizations 

20 under applicable Federal and State laws (including 

21 regulations); and 

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

23 subsection (e). 

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

25 condition receipt of financial assistance pursuant to a coVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:21 Jul 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.RS S699

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1 operative agreement under this section on the recipient 

2 agreeing to— 

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

4 State laws (including regulations), including a cer5 tification by the appropriate regulatory authority 

6 that the project will comply with Federal and State 

7 requirements to protect drinking water supplies; 

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

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

10 only carbon dioxide captured from industrial sources 

11 in compliance with that Act; 

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

13 operating requirements for deep injection wells; 

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

15 carbon dioxide injected into the injection zone is 

16 not— 

17 ‘‘(A) escaping from or migrating beyond 

18 the confinement zone; or 

19 ‘‘(B) endangering an underground source 

20 of drinking water; 

21 ‘‘(5) comply with applicable well-plugging, post22 injection site care, and site closure requirements, in23 cluding— 

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

25 during the post-injection closure and monitoring 


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1 phase until a certificate of closure is issued by 

2 the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) promptly undertaking remediation ac4 tivities for any leak from the geological storage 

5 unit that would endanger public health or safe6 ty or natural resources; and 

7 ‘‘(B) complying with the requirements of 

8 subsection (f); 

9 ‘‘(6) comply with applicable long-term care re10 quirements; 

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

12 and in an amount acceptable to— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; 

14 ‘‘(B) the Secretary with jurisdiction over 

15 the land; and 

16 ‘‘(C) the Administrator of the Environ17 mental Protection Agency; and 

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

19 963(c)(4)(B). 

20 ‘‘(f) POST INJECTION CLOSURE AND MONITORING

21 ELEMENTS.—In assessing whether a project complies with 

22 site closure requirements under subsection (e)(5), the Sec23 retary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Envi24 ronmental Protection Agency, shall determine whether the 

25 recipient of financial assistance has demonstrated continVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:21 Jul 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.RS S699

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1 uous compliance with each of the following requirements 

2 over a period of not less than 10 consecutive years after 

3 the plume of carbon dioxide has stabilized within the geo4 logic formation that comprises the geologic storage unit 

5 following the cessation of injection activities: 

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

7 project footprint (including the detectable plume of 

8 carbon dioxide and the area of elevated pressure re9 sulting from the project) has not substantially 

10 changed and is contained within the geologic storage 

11 unit. 

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

13 ceased to increase following cessation of carbon diox14 ide injection into the geologic storage unit. 

15 ‘‘(3) There is no leakage of either carbon diox16 ide or displaced formation fluid from the geologic 

17 storage unit that is endangering public health and 

18 safety, including underground sources of drinking 

19 water and natural resources. 

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

21 are not expected to migrate in the future in a man22 ner that encounters a potential leakage pathway. 

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

24 into or through the injection zone or confining zone 

25 are plugged and abandoned in accordance with the 


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1 applicable requirements of Federal or State law gov2 erning the wells. 

3 ‘‘(g) INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF LIABILITY.—In this sub5 section, the term ‘liability’ means any legal liability 

6 for— 

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

8 death; 

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

10 of use of property; or 

11 ‘‘(C) injury to or destruction or loss of nat12 ural resources, including fish, wildlife, and 

13 drinking water supplies. 

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

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

16 completed application for a demonstration project, 

17 the Secretary may agree to indemnify and hold 

18 harmless the recipient of a cooperative agreement 

19 under this section from liability arising out of or re20 sulting from a demonstration project in excess of the 

21 amount of liability covered by financial protection 

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

23 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE AND

24 INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT.—Notwithstanding para25 graph (1), the Secretary may not indemnify the reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:21 Jul 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.RS S699

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1 cipient of a cooperative agreement under this section 

2 from liability arising out of conduct of a recipient 

3 that is grossly negligent or that constitutes inten4 tional misconduct. 

5 ‘‘(4) COLLECTION OF FEES.— 

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

7 collect a fee from any person with whom an 

8 agreement for indemnification is executed under 

9 this subsection in an amount that is equal to 

10 the net present value of payments made by the 

11 United States to cover liability under the in12 demnification agreement. 

13 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish, by regulation, criteria for determining the 

15 amount of the fee, taking into account— 

16 ‘‘(i) the likelihood of an incident re17 sulting in liability to the United States 

18 under the indemnification agreement; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) other factors pertaining to the 

20 hazard of the indemnified project. 

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

22 this paragraph shall be deposited in the Treas23 ury and credited to miscellaneous receipts. 

24 ‘‘(5) CONTRACTS IN ADVANCE OF APPROPRIA25 TIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), the Secretary may enter into agree3 ments of indemnification under this subsection 

4 in advance of appropriations and incur obliga5 tions without regard to section 1341 of title 31, 

6 United States Code (commonly known as the 

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

8 United States Code (commonly known as the 

9 ‘Adequacy of Appropriations Act’). 

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The amount of indem11 nification under this subsection shall not exceed 

12 $10,000,000,000 (adjusted not less than once 

13 during each 5-year period following the date of 

14 enactment of this section, in accordance with 

15 the aggregate percentage change in the Con16 sumer Price Index since the previous adjust17 ment under this subparagraph), in the aggre18 gate, for all persons indemnified in connection 

19 with an agreement and for each project, includ20 ing such legal costs as are approved by the Sec21 retary. 

22 ‘‘(6) CONDITIONS OF AGREEMENTS OF INDEM23 NIFICATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An agreement of in25 demnification under this subsection may conVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:21 Jul 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S699.RS S699

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1 tain such terms as the Secretary considers ap2 propriate to carry out the purposes of this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The agreement 

5 shall provide that, if the Secretary makes a de6 termination the United States will probably be 

7 required to make indemnity payments under the 

8 agreement, the Attorney General— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall collaborate with the recipi10 ent of an award under this subsection; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) may— 

12 ‘‘(I) approve the payment of any 

13 claim under the agreement of indem14 nification; 

15 ‘‘(II) appear on behalf of the re16 cipient; 

17 ‘‘(III) take charge of an action; 

18 and 

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

20 ‘‘(C) SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 

22 General shall have final authority on behalf 

23 of the United States to settle or approve 

24 the settlement of any claim under this sub25 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. 

14 (c) OFFSET.—Section 708 of the Energy Independence 

15 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17256) is repealed. 

16 SEC. 4. ANNUAL DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ASSESSMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORT.—Not 

19 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

20 Act and annually thereafter until the Secretary of 

21 Energy (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

22 determines that technology preventing the emission of, 

23 capturing, transporting, permanently storing or se24 questering, or putting to beneficial use carbon dioxide 

25 is available to the commercial marketplace, the Sec26 retary shall conduct an assessment in accordance 


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1 with subsection (b) of the existing Federal programs 

2 supporting such technology and submit to the appro3 priate authorizing and appropriating committees of 

4 Congress a report on the results of the assessment. 

5 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE6 VIEW.—Not later than 1 year after the first report is 

7 provided to the appropriate authorizing and appro8 priating committees of Congress under paragraph (1) 

9 and subsequently as needed until technology pre10 venting the emission of, capturing, transporting, per11 manently storing or sequestering, and putting to ben12 eficial use carbon dioxide is available to the commer13 cial marketplace, the Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall conduct a review of the report de15 scribed in paragraph (1) in accordance with sub16 section (c). 

17 (b) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORT REQUIRE18 MENTS.—The Secretary shall include in the report required 

19 under subsection (a)(1)— 

20 (1) a detailed description of the existing pro21 grams, including each major program area, that con22 duct or support research, development, demonstration, 

23 and deployment of technology— 


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1 (A) to prevent the emission of carbon diox2 ide or capture of carbon dioxide from sources, in3 cluding fossil fuel-based power plants; 

4 (B) to transport carbon dioxide; 

5 (C) to store or sequester captured carbon di6 oxide permanently; or 

7 (D) to put captured carbon dioxide to bene8 ficial use; 

9 (2) an assessment, based on Federal Government 

10 laboratory research experience, available industry re11 search experience, and such other data and informa12 tion as the Secretary considers useful and appro13 priate, to determine whether each major program 

14 area and principal projects within the areas described 

15 in paragraph (1) are designed to, and will, advance 

16 fundamental knowledge or achieve significant tech17 nical advancement and materially improve the tech18 nology base to effectively address the prevention of 

19 carbon dioxide emissions or capture of carbon dioxide 

20 or the transport, permanent storage, or beneficial use 

21 of captured carbon dioxide; 

22 (3) an assessment of the estimated time frame 

23 and costs of the Secretary necessary to reasonably 

24 conclude that technology will be available to the com25 mercial marketplace; and 


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1 (4) an assessment of the barriers and solutions, 

2 including policy recommendations, to financing large 

3 carbon capture and storage demonstration projects 

4 with a focus on overcoming the impacts of oil price 

5 volatility on enhanced oil recovery contracts for car6 bon dioxide. 

7 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW

8 REQUIREMENTS.—The Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall include in the review required under subsection 

10 (a)(2)— 

11 (1) an analysis of the estimated time frames and 

12 costs of the Secretary, as reported pursuant to sub13 section (b)(3); 

14 (2) any recommendations that the Comptroller 

15 General considers appropriate and useful to improve 

16 the likelihood of achieving technological advancements 

17 to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions or to expedite 

18 the availability of carbon capture and sequestration 

19 technology for the commercial marketplace; 

20 (3) an assessment of any legal or regulatory im21 pediment by any Federal agency or department that 

22 has arisen in relation to the deployment of carbon 

23 capture and storage technology, including any delays 

24 in the permitting of the technology or the construction 

25 or operation of any the facility; and 


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1 (4) any other analyses the Comptroller General 

2 considers necessary or appropriate. 

3 (d) BUDGET REQUEST REPORT.—In the case of the 

4 budget request for fiscal year 2013, the President shall in5 clude in the budget request of the Secretary for the Fossil 

6 Energy Program a report that— 

7 (1) assesses the progress of the Secretary in im8 plementing the recommendations of the Comptroller 

9 General of the United States and compares the esti10 mated costs of completing implementation of those 

11 recommendations to the requested budget levels; and 

12 (2) an assessment of the progress made for the 

13 preceding fiscal year toward achieving the goals of the 

14 program for which funding is requested. 


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Calendar No. 99 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 699 

[Report No. 112–32] 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to carry out 

purposes. logical storage of carbon dioxide, and for other cation of integrated systems for long-term geoa program to demonstrate the commercial appliJULY 11, 2011 

Reported with amendments 


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