Union Calendar No. 225

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1753

[Report No. 106–377, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To promote the research, identification, assessment,

exploration, and development of methane hydrateresources, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 18, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an

amendment; committed to the Committee of the WholeHouse on the State of the Union and ordered to beprinted
IB

Union Calendar No. 225

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1753

[Report No. 106–377, Parts I and II]

To promote the research, identification, assessment, exploration, and

development of methane hydrate resources, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 11, 1999

Mr. DOYLE (for himself, Mr. CALVERT, and Mr. COSTELLO) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in

addition to the Committee on Resources, 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

OCTOBER 13, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Science with amendments

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

OCTOBER 13, 1999

Referral to the Committee on Resources extended for a period ending not later

than October 18, 1999

OCTOBER 18, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment; committed

to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in boldface roman]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 11, 1999]

A BILL

To promote the research, identification, assessment, explo-
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ration, and development of methane hydrate resources,

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 ‘‘Gas Hydrate Research

5 and Development Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:

8 (1) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’ means a

9 procurement contract within the meaning of section

10 6303 of title 31, United States Code.

11 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘co12 operative agreement’’ means a cooperative agreement

13 within the meaning of section 6305 of title 31, United

14 States Code.

15 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the

16 Director of the National Science Foundation.

17 (4) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ means a grant

18 awarded under a grant agreement, within the mean19 ing of section 6304 of title 31, United States Code.

20 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means an in22 stitution of higher education, within the meaning of

23 section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

24 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).
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1 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assistant

3 Secretary for Fossil Energy.

4 (7) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The term ‘‘Sec5 retary of Defense’’ means the Secretary of Defense,

6 acting through the Secretary of the Navy.

7 (8) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—The term

8 ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’ means the Secretary of the

9 Interior, acting through the Director of the United

10 States Geological Survey.

11 SEC. 3. GAS HYDRATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO12 GRAM.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—

14 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later

15 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,

16 the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of

17 Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Direc18 tor, shall commence a program of gas hydrate re19 search and development.

20 (2) DESIGNATIONS.—The Secretary, the Sec21 retary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and

22 the Director shall designate individuals to carry out

23 this section.

24 (3) MEETINGS.—The individuals designated

25 under paragraph (2) shall meet not later than 120
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1 days after the date on which all such individuals are

2 designated and not less frequently than every 120

3 days thereafter to—

4 (A) review the progress of the program

5 under paragraph (1); and

6 (B) make recommendations on future ac7 tivities to occur subsequent to the meeting.

8 (b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS,

9 INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS, AND FIELD

10 WORK PROPOSALS.—

11 (1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—The Sec12 retary may award grants or contracts to, or enter

13 into cooperative agreements with, institutions of high14 er education and industrial enterprises to—

15 (A) conduct basic and applied research to

16 identify, explore, assess, and develop gas hydrate

17 as a source of energy;

18 (B) assist in developing technologies re19 quired for efficient and environmentally sound

20 development of gas hydrate resources;

21 (C) undertake research programs to provide

22 safe means of transport and storage of gas pro23 duced from gas hydrates;
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1 (D) promote education and training in gas

2 hydrate resource research and resource develop3 ment;

4 (E) conduct basic and applied research to

5 assess and mitigate the environmental impacts of

6 hydrate degassing (including both natural

7 degassing and degassing associated with commer8 cial development); and

9 (F) develop technologies to reduce the risks

10 of drilling through gas hydrates.

11 (2) COMPETITIVE MERIT-BASED REVIEW.—Funds

12 made available under paragraph (1) shall be made

13 available based on a competitive merit-based process.

14 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may establish an

15 advisory panel consisting of experts from industry, institu16 tions of higher education, and Federal agencies to—

17 (1) advise the Secretary on potential applica18 tions of gas hydrate; and

19 (2) assist in developing recommendations and

20 priorities for the gas hydrate research and develop21 ment program carried out under subsection (a)(1).

22 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

23 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than

24 5 percent of the amount made available to carry out

25 this section for a fiscal year may be used by the Sec-
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1 retary for expenses associated with the administration

2 of the program carried out under subsection (a)(1).

3 (2) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the funds

4 made available to carry out this section may be used

5 for the construction of a new building or the acquisi6 tion, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an exist7 ing building (including site grading and improve8 ment and architect fees).

9 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In car10 rying out subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall—

11 (1) facilitate and develop partnerships among

12 government, industry, and institutions of higher edu13 cation to research, identify, assess, and explore gas

14 hydrate resources;

15 (2) undertake programs to develop basic infor16 mation necessary for promoting long-term interest in

17 gas hydrate resources as an energy source;

18 (3) ensure that the data and information devel19 oped through the program are accessible and widely

20 disseminated as needed and appropriate;

21 (4) promote cooperation among agencies that are

22 developing technologies that may hold promise for gas

23 hydrate resource development; and

24 (5) report annually to Congress on accomplish25 ments under this section.
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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE MINING AND MINERALS POL2 ICY ACT OF 1970.

3 Section 201 of the Mining and Minerals Policy Act

4 of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1901) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (6)—

6 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’

7 at the end;

8 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as

9 subparagraph (H); and

10 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(G) for purposes of this section and sec13 tions 202 through 205 only, methane hydrate;

14 and’’;

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para16 graph (8); and

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(7) The term ‘methane hydrate’ means a meth20 ane clathrate that—

21 ‘‘(A) is in the form of a methane-water ice22 like crystalline material; and

23 ‘‘(B) is stable and occurs naturally in deep24 ocean and permafrost areas.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of Energy to carry out this Act—

4 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

5 (2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2001;

6 (3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

7 (4) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

8 (5) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

9 Amounts authorized under this section shall remain avail10 able until expended.

11 SEC. 6. SUNSET.

12 Section 3 of this Act shall cease to be effective after

13 the end of fiscal year 2004.

14 Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to promote the

15 research, identification, assessment, exploration, and de16 velopment of gas hydrate resources, and for other pur17 poses.’’.

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Hy20 drate Research and Development Act of 1999’’.

21 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

22 In this Act:

23 (1) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’

24 means a procurement contract within the

25 meaning of section 6303 of title 31, United

26 States Code.
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1 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The

2 term ‘‘cooperative agreement’’ means a

3 cooperative agreement within the mean4 ing of section 6305 of title 31, United

5 States Code.

6 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’

7 means the Director of the National

8 Science Foundation.

9 (4) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ means a

10 grant awarded under a grant agreement,

11 within the meaning of section 6304 of

12 title 31, United States Code.

13 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU14 CATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher

15 education’’ means an institution of higher

16 education, within the meaning of section

17 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

19 (6) METHANE HYDRATE.—The term

20 ‘‘methane hydrate’’ means a methane

21 clathrate that—

22 (A) is in the form of a methane23 water ice-like crystalline material;

24 and
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1 (B) is stable and occurs naturally

2 in deep-ocean and permafrost areas.

3 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

4 means the Secretary of Energy, acting

5 through the Assistant Secretary for Fossil

6 Energy.

7 (8) SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.—The

8 term ‘‘Secretary of Commerce’’ means the

9 Secretary of Commerce, acting through

10 the Administrator of the National Oce11 anic and Atmospheric Administration.

12 (9) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The term

13 ‘‘Secretary of Defense’’ means the Sec14 retary of Defense, acting through the Sec15 retary of the Navy.

16 (10) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—The

17 term ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’ means

18 the Secretary of the Interior, acting

19 through the Director of the United States

20 Geological Survey and the Director of the

21 Minerals Management Service.

22 SEC. 3. METHANE HYDRATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP23 MENT PROGRAM.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not

2 later than 180 days after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the Secretary, in con4 sultation with the Secretary of Com5 merce, the Secretary of Defense, the Sec6 retary of the Interior, and the Director,

7 shall commence a program of methane

8 hydrate research and development.

9 (2) DESIGNATIONS.—The Secretary, the

10 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of

11 Defense, the Secretary of the Interior,

12 and the Director shall designate individ13 uals to carry out this section.

14 (3) MEETINGS.—The individuals des15 ignated under paragraph (2) shall meet

16 not later than 120 days after the date on

17 which all such individuals are designated

18 and not less frequently than every 120

19 days thereafter to—

20 (A) review the progress of the

21 program under paragraph (1); and

22 (B) make recommendations on fu23 ture activities to occur subsequent to

24 the meeting.
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1 (b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE

2 AGREEMENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER

3 AGREEMENTS, AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.—

4 (1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—

5 The Secretary may award grants or con6 tracts to, or enter into cooperative agree7 ments with, institutions of higher edu8 cation and industrial enterprises to—

9 (A) conduct basic and applied re10 search to identify, explore, assess,

11 and develop methane hydrate as a

12 source of energy;

13 (B) assist in developing tech14 nologies required for efficient and en15 vironmentally sound development of

16 methane hydrate resources;

17 (C) undertake research programs

18 to provide safe means of transport

19 and storage of methane produced

20 from methane hydrates;

21 (D) promote education and train22 ing in methane hydrate resource re23 search and resource development;

24 (E) conduct basic and applied re25 search to assess and mitigate the en-
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1 vironmental impacts of hydrate

2 degassing (including both natural

3 degassing and degassing associated

4 with commercial development); and

5 (F) develop technologies to re6 duce the risks of drilling through

7 methane hydrates.

8 (2) COMPETITIVE MERIT-BASED RE9 VIEW.—Funds made available under para10 graph (1) shall be made available based

11 on a competitive merit-based process.

12 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall es13 tablish an advisory panel consisting of ex14 perts from industry, institutions of higher

15 education, and Federal agencies to—

16 (1) advise the Secretary on potential

17 applications of methane hydrate;

18 (2) assist in developing recommenda19 tions and priorities for the methane hy20 drate research and development program

21 carried out under subsection (a)(1); and

22 (3) report to the Congress within 2

23 years after the date of the enactment of

24 this Act, or at such later date as the Sec25 retary considers advisable, on the impact
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1 on global climate change from methane

2 hydrate extraction and consumption.

3 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

4 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not

5 more than 5 percent of the amount made

6 available to carry out this section for a

7 fiscal year may be used by the Secretary

8 for expenses associated with the adminis9 tration of the program carried out under

10 subsection (a)(1).

11 (2) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the

12 funds made available to carry out this

13 section may be used for the construction

14 of a new building or the acquisition, ex15 pansion, remodeling, or alteration of an

16 existing building (including site grading

17 and improvement and architect fees).

18 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—

19 In carrying out subsection (b)(1), the Sec20 retary shall—

21 (1) facilitate and develop partner22 ships among government, industry, and

23 institutions of higher education to re24 search, identify, assess, and explore

25 methane hydrate resources;
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1 (2) undertake programs to develop

2 basic information necessary for pro3 moting long-term interest in methane hy4 drate resources as an energy source;

5 (3) ensure that the data and informa6 tion developed through the program are

7 accessible and widely disseminated as

8 needed and appropriate;

9 (4) promote cooperation among agen10 cies that are developing technologies that

11 may hold promise for methane hydrate

12 resource development; and

13 (5) report annually to Congress on ac14 complishments under this section.

15 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE MINING AND MINERALS POL16 ICY ACT OF 1970.

17 Section 201 of the Mining and Minerals

18 Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1901) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (6)—

21 (A) in subparagraph (F), by strik22 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end;

23 (B) by redesignating subpara24 graph (G) as subparagraph (H); and
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1 (C) by inserting after subpara2 graph (F) the following:

3 ‘‘(G) for purposes of this section

4 and sections 202 through 205 only,

5 methane hydrate; and’’;

6 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as

7 paragraph (8); and

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6)

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(7) The term ‘methane hydrate’

11 means a methane clathrate that—

12 ‘‘(A) is in the form of a methane13 water ice-like crystalline material;

14 and

15 ‘‘(B) is stable and occurs naturally

16 in deep-ocean and permafrost areas.’’.

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 There are authorized to be appropriated

19 to the Secretary of Energy to carry out this

20 Act—

21 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

22 (2) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

23 (3) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

24 (4) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

25 and
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1 (5) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

2 Amounts authorized under this section shall

3 remain available until expended.

4 SEC. 6. SUNSET.

5 Section 3 of this Act shall cease to be ef6 fective after the end of fiscal year 2004.