IB 

Union Calendar No. 27 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 527 

[Report No. 113–42] 

To amend the Helium Act to complete the privatization of the Federal 

helium reserve in a competitive market fashion that ensures stability 

in the helium markets while protecting the interests of American taxpayers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2013 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. FLORES, and 

Mr. HOLT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

APRIL 18, 2013 

Additional sponsor: Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina 

APRIL 18, 2013 

Reported 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 italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 6, 2013] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Helium Act to complete the privatization of 

the Federal helium reserve in a competitive market fashion that ensures stability in the helium markets while 

protecting the interests of American taxpayers, and for 

other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Responsible Helium Ad5 ministration and Stewardship Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the semicolon 

10 at the end and inserting a period; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

12 inserting a period; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal He16 lium Reserve’ means the Bureau of Land Man17 agement Cliffside Gas Field and supporting in18 frastructure. 

19 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Federal He20 lium Reserve’ includes— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Cliffside Gas Field helium 

22 storage reservoir; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) all associated infrastructure 

24 owned, leased, or managed under contract 

25 by the Secretary for storage, transportation, 


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1 withdrawal, purification, or management of 

2 helium. 

3 ‘‘(5) QUALIFYING DOMESTIC HELIUM TRANS4 ACTION.—The term ‘qualifying domestic helium 

5 transaction’— 

6 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

7 (B), means any new or newly renegotiated agree8 ment for the purchase or sale of at least 

9 15,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude helium 

10 or bulk liquid helium delivered in the United 

11 States in the most recent full fiscal year; and 

12 ‘‘(B) does not include any purchase of crude 

13 helium from the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(6) TOLLING AGREEMENT.—The term ‘tolling 

15 agreement’ means an agreement between a helium re16 finer and another party under which the helium re17 finer agrees to process the other person’s helium at an 

18 agreed upon price.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. SALE AND AUCTION OF CRUDE HELIUM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Helium Act (50 

21 U.S.C. 167d) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 6. SALE OF HELIUM. 

23 ‘‘(a) PHASE A: FINALIZING DEBT PAYOFF.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

25 Secretary shall offer for sale crude helium for Federal, 


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1 medical, research, scientific, and commercial uses in 

2 such quantities, at such times, and under such condi3 tions as the Secretary determines necessary to carry 

4 out this subsection with minimum market disruption. 

5 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM QUANTITY.—The Secretary shall 

6 offer for sale during each fiscal year under paragraph 

7 (1) a quantity of crude helium equivalent to the 

8 quantity of crude helium produced from the Federal 

9 Helium Reserve during fiscal year 2012. 

10 ‘‘(3) IN-KIND PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES

11 AND GRANTEES.—Federal agencies, and holders of 1 

12 or more Federal research grants, may purchase re13 fined helium under this subsection for Federal, med14 ical, research and scientific uses from persons who 

15 have entered into enforceable contracts to purchase an 

16 equivalent quantity of crude helium from the Sec17 retary. 

18 ‘‘(4) PRICES AND DETERMINATIONS.—Sales of 

19 crude helium by the Secretary under this subsection 

20 shall be at prices established by the Secretary that 

21 shall not be less than the price in the last sale of 

22 crude helium from the Federal Helium Reserve before 

23 the date of enactment of the Responsible Helium Ad24 ministration and Stewardship Act, except that any 

25 sale to a person referred to in paragraph (3) for a 


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1 purchase authorized by that paragraph shall be at a 

2 price specified by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—This subsection applies during 

4 the period— 

5 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date of enactment of 

6 the Responsible Helium Administration and 

7 Stewardship Act; and 

8 ‘‘(B) ending on the expiration of the one9 year period following such date of enactment. 

10 ‘‘(b) PHASE B: MAXIMIZING TOTAL RECOVERY OF HE11 LIUM AND INCREASING RETURNS TO THE AMERICAN TAX12 PAYER.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer for 

14 sale at auction, as described in subsection (d), crude 

15 helium for medical, research, scientific, and commer16 cial uses in such quantities, at such times, and under 

17 such conditions as the Secretary determines nec18 essary— 

19 ‘‘(A) to maximize total recovery and con20 servation of helium from the Federal Helium Re21 serve; 

22 ‘‘(B) to manage crude helium sales accord23 ing to the ability of the Secretary to extract and 

24 produce helium from the Federal Helium Re25 serve; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to respond to helium market supply 

2 and demand and minimize market disruption; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(D) to give priority to meeting the helium 

5 demand of Federal users through purchases 

6 under paragraph (2). 

7 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES

8 AND GRANTEES.—Any Federal agency, and any hold9 er of 1 or more Federal research grants, may pur10 chase refined helium for Federal, medical, research, 

11 and scientific uses from an eligible person. The Sec12 retary shall then provide an equivalent volume of 

13 crude helium to the eligible person as if the eligible 

14 person was the successful bidder for the helium at 

15 auction. Provision of helium by the Secretary under 

16 this paragraph shall not be considered a sale of he17 lium by the Secretary at auction. The Secretary shall 

18 provide such helium at the minimum price estab19 lished by the Secretary for the most recent auction 

20 held under this subsection or such other price as may 

21 be specified by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—For purposes of this 

23 subsection, the term ‘eligible person’ means a helium 

24 distributer who is registered as such with the Sec25 retary. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—This subsection applies during 

2 the period— 

3 ‘‘(A) beginning on the expiration of the pe4 riod described in subsection (a)(5)(B); and 

5 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the vol6 ume of recoverable crude helium at the Federal 

7 Helium Reserve (other than privately owned 

8 quantities of crude helium stored temporarily at 

9 the Federal Helium Reserve under section 5 and 

10 this section) is 3,000,000,000 standard cubic feet. 

11 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM ANNUAL SALES.—Notwith12 standing any provision of subsection (d), for each fis13 cal year, the Secretary may not offer or provide for 

14 sale under this subsection a total volume of crude he15 lium that exceeds the lesser of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the projected maximum total produc17 tion capacity of the Federal Helium Reserve dur18 ing that fiscal year; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the maximum refining capacity of 

20 persons connected by pipeline to the Federal He21 lium Reserve during that fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(c) PHASE C: ACCESS FOR FEDERAL USERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may offer for 

24 sale crude helium for Federal uses (including medical, 

25 research, and scientific uses) in such quantities, at 


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1 such times, and under such conditions as the Sec2 retary determines necessary to carry out this sub3 section. 

4 ‘‘(2) PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES AND

5 GRANTEES.—Federal agencies, and holders of 1 or 

6 more Federal research grants related to helium or the 

7 use of helium, may purchase refined helium under 

8 this subsection for Federal uses (including medical, 

9 research, and scientific uses) from persons who have 

10 entered into enforceable contracts to purchase an 

11 equivalent quantity of crude helium from the Sec12 retary. 

13 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection applies 

14 beginning on the day after the date described in sub15 section (b)(4)(B). 

16 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND MINIMUM PRICES DETERMINA17 TION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Sales of crude helium by the 

19 Secretary in auctions under subsection (b) shall be 

20 conducted under the conditions described in this sec21 tion and at no less than the minimum price estab22 lished by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(2) AUCTION.—The Secretary shall conduct 

24 such auctions of crude helium as soon as practical but 

25 no later than beginning 180 days after the first day 


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1 of the period described in subsection (b)(4), under the 

2 following conditions: 

3 ‘‘(A) 60 percent of the volume of crude he4 lium made available in each auction shall be 

5 made available to entities that can show the Sec6 retary they have either adequate refining capac7 ity or tolling agreements for refining in place, in 

8 accordance with the conditions set forth in para9 graph (3). 

10 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of the volume of crude he11 lium made available in each auction shall be 

12 made available to any bidder, in accordance 

13 with the conditions set forth in paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(C) In each auction after the first auction 

15 under this subsection after the date of the enact16 ment of the Responsible Helium Administration 

17 and Stewardship Act, the Secretary shall make 

18 available an additional volume of crude helium, 

19 in an amount equivalent to the amount made 

20 available under subparagraph (B) that the Sec21 retary certifies can be refined, through tolling 

22 agreements or otherwise. Of such additional vol23 ume, a person may not acquire in the auction a 

24 volume in excess of the volume they demonstrate 

25 to the Secretary they have the ability to refine 


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1 through either refining capacity or tolling agree2 ments. 

3 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall conduct such auc4 tions at such times as the Secretary determines 

5 necessary to ensure a reliable supply of helium 

6 and a fair return to taxpayers, but no less fre7 quently than 2 times each fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(E) For purposes of the first auction under 

9 this subsection after the date of the enactment of 

10 the Responsible Helium Administration and 

11 Stewardship Act, the Secretary may revise the 

12 percentage under subparagraph (A) so as to 

13 make available for auction 100 percent of the 

14 volume of crude helium intended to be offered. 

15 ‘‘(F) The Secretary may adjust the percent16 ages and amount specified in subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (C), respectively, in any auction if the 

18 Secretary determines the adjustment is necessary 

19 to— 

20 ‘‘(i) respond to market supply and de21 mand and minimize market disruption; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) increase participation in helium 

23 auctions. 

24 ‘‘(G) The Secretary may conduct an auction 

25 no more frequently than once each fiscal year of 


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1 an amount of helium equal to up to 10 percent 

2 of the volume of crude helium to be made avail3 able at auction during the following fiscal year. 

4 Such amount of crude helium shall be made 

5 available to any bidder, in accordance with the 

6 conditions set forth in paragraph (3). Notwith7 standing paragraph (3)(C), for crude helium sold 

8 in such an auction the Secretary shall begin 

9 charging a storage fee under clause (i) of that 

10 paragraph beginning 1 year after the date of 

11 such auction, and shall begin charging increas12 ing storage fees under clause (ii) of that para13 graph beginning 270 days after beginning charg14 ing storage fees under clause (i) of that para15 graph. 

16 ‘‘(3) AUCTION CONDITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) BIDDING METHOD.—The Secretary 

18 shall conduct each auction by sealed bid for pre19 determined volume lots, unless the Secretary de20 termines that an alternative bidding method 

21 may result in more revenue to the Federal Gov22 ernment or may increase participation in the 

23 auction. 


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1 ‘‘(B) BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS AND LIM2 ITS.—In carrying out an auction under sub3 section (b), the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(i) may accept bids only from persons 

5 the Secretary determines are seeking to pur6 chase helium for their own use, for refining, 

7 or for delivery to users; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) may not award to a person more 

9 than 30 percent of the total volume of crude 

10 helium offered in that auction, except that 

11 the Secretary may adjust such limitation 

12 based on the number of bidders in the auc13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(C) STORAGE FEES.—In each auction the 

15 Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall begin charging each winning 

17 bidder a storage fee for crude helium pur18 chased by the bidder that remains in the 

19 Federal Helium Reserve, beginning on the 

20 date the Secretary receives payment of the 

21 purchase price for the helium; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) beginning 270 days after the date 

23 of the auction, shall charge increasing stor24 age fees that will encourage the withdrawal 


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1 of the helium no later than 2 years after the 

2 date of the auction. 

3 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF MINIMUM SALE

4 PRICE.—The Secretary shall make a determination of 

5 the minimum sale price for sales described in para6 graph (1) using— 

7 ‘‘(A) a confidential survey of qualifying do8 mestic helium transactions to which any holder 

9 of a contract with the Secretary for the accept10 ance, storage, and redelivery of crude helium in 

11 the Cliffside Gas Field helium storage reservoir 

12 is a party; 

13 ‘‘(B) current market crude helium prices as 

14 represented by the sale price at any auction held 

15 by the Secretary in the preceding 2 years; 

16 ‘‘(C) the volume-weighted average cost 

17 among helium refiners, producers, and liquefiers, 

18 in dollars per thousand cubic feet, of converting 

19 gaseous crude helium into bulk liquid helium; 

20 ‘‘(D) the additional layer of cost and profit 

21 associated with the sale or resale of bulk liquid 

22 helium; and 

23 ‘‘(E) the sale price for crude helium offered 

24 in the most recent auction under paragraph 

25 (2)(G). 


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1 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) require all persons that are parties to 

4 a contract with the Secretary for the acceptance, 

5 storage, and redelivery of crude helium to dis6 close, on a strictly confidential basis in dollars 

7 per thousand cubic feet, the weighted average 

8 price of all crude helium and bulk liquid helium 

9 purchased, sold, or processed by the persons in 

10 all qualifying domestic helium transactions dur11 ing the fiscal year; 

12 ‘‘(B) appoint a qualified independent third 

13 party to perform data collection and analysis for 

14 the purposes of the survey under paragraph 

15 (4)(A); and 

16 ‘‘(C) adopt such administrative policies and 

17 procedures as the Secretary considers necessary 

18 and reasonable to ensure robust protection of the 

19 confidentiality of data submitted by private per20 sons. 

21 ‘‘(6) CHANGES IN MINIMUM PRICE.—If the Sec22 retary believes that the minimum price as determined 

23 by the survey under paragraph (4)(A) may not be re24 flective of the current market value of helium, or if a 

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1 servation of the Federal crude helium resource, the 

2 Secretary may change the minimum price charged for 

3 crude helium sold under this section by up to 10 per4 cent of the price determined under paragraph (4). If 

5 at any sale in which the minimum price is increased 

6 under this paragraph all crude helium offered is sold 

7 at the increased price, the Secretary shall consider 

8 that increased price to be the minimum price deter9 mined under paragraph (4) for all future sales of 

10 crude helium under this section unless that price is 

11 further changed in accordance with this paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(7) ENSURING FAIR AND NONDISCRIMINATORY

13 ACTS AND PRACTICES.—The Secretary may issue such 

14 rules and regulations with respect to ensure bidding, 

15 transfer, and refining of helium produced from or 

16 held in the Federal Helium Reserve as may be nec17 essary to ensure fair and nondiscriminatory acts and 

18 practices. 

19 ‘‘(8) AUCTION RECORDS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) FURNISHING RECORDS.—Every person 

21 participating in auctions of helium from the 

22 Federal Helium Reserve shall furnish to the Sec23 retary on request such records of transactions in 

24 helium auctions as the Secretary may require to 

25 reconstruct bidding or trading in the course of a 


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1 particular inquiry or investigation being con2 ducted by the Secretary for enforcement or sur3 veillance purposes. In requiring information 

4 pursuant to this paragraph, the Secretary shall 

5 specify the information required, the period for 

6 which it is required, and the time and date on 

7 which the information must be furnished. 

8 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

9 Secretary may issue rules to require persons par10 ticipating in helium auctions to file such reports 

11 as the Secretary determines to be necessary for 

12 purposes of this Act. 

13 ‘‘(C) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 Rules under this subsection may require specified 

15 persons to make and keep for prescribed periods 

16 such records as the Secretary determines are nec17 essary or appropriate to ensure that such persons 

18 can comply with reporting requirements under 

19 this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE OF IN21 FORMATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law, the Secretary shall not be compelled 

23 to disclose any proprietary information required 

24 to be kept or reported under this subsection. 

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1 retary to withhold information from Congress, 

2 prevents the Secretary from complying with a re3 quest for information from any other Federal de4 partment or agency requesting information for 

5 purposes within the scope of its jurisdiction, or 

6 prevents the Secretary from complying with an 

7 order of a court of the United States in an ac8 tion brought by the United States or by the Sec9 retary. 

10 ‘‘(e) HELIUM PRODUCTION FUND.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All amounts received under 

12 this Act shall be credited to the Helium Production 

13 Fund, which shall be available without fiscal year 

14 limitation for purposes considered necessary by the 

15 Secretary to carry out this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Amounts in 

17 the Helium Production Fund may be used by the Sec18 retary to conduct helium auctions and otherwise ad19 minister this Act. 

20 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT AMOUNTS.—During the period 

21 described in subsection (a)(4), amounts in the Helium 

22 Production Fund in excess of amounts the Secretary 

23 considers necessary to conduct helium auctions and 

24 otherwise administer this Act shall be paid to the gen25 eral fund of the Treasury and credited against all 


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1 amounts required to be repaid to the United States 

2 under this Act as of October 1, 1995. 

3 ‘‘(4) CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND MAINTE4 NANCE.—Amounts in the Helium Production Fund in 

5 excess of amounts the Secretary considers necessary to 

6 carry out paragraphs (1) through (3) may be used to 

7 fund the following capital investments in upgrades 

8 and maintenance at the Federal Helium reserve: 

9 ‘‘(A) Wellhead maintenance at the Cliffside 

10 Gas Field helium storage reservoir. 

11 ‘‘(B) Capital investments in maintenance 

12 and upgrades of facilities that pressurize the 

13 Cliffside Gas Field helium storage reservoir. 

14 ‘‘(C) Capital investments in maintenance 

15 and upgrades of equipment related to the storage, 

16 withdrawal, transportation, purification, and 

17 sale of crude helium at the Cliffside Gas Field 

18 helium storage reservoir. 

19 ‘‘(D) Any other scheduled or unscheduled 

20 maintenance of the Cliffside Gas Field helium 

21 storage reservoir and helium pipeline. 

22 ‘‘(5) EXCESS FUNDS.—Amounts in the Helium 

23 Production Fund in excess of amounts the Secretary 

24 considers necessary to carry out paragraphs (1) 


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1 through (4) shall be paid to the general fund of the 

2 Treasury. 

3 ‘‘(f) EXTRACTION OF HELIUM FROM DEPOSITS ON

4 FEDERAL LAND.—All amounts received by the Secretary 

5 from the sale or disposition of crude helium on Federal land 

6 shall be paid to the general fund of the Treasury and cred7 ited against all amounts required to be repaid to the United 

8 States under this Act as of October 1, 1995. 

9 ‘‘(g) MAINTENANCE OF HELIUM SUPPLY.—The Sec10 retary shall ensure that there is no disruption in the supply 

11 of helium from the Federal Helium Reserve during the tran12 sition between phases of helium sales under subsections (a), 

13 (b), and (c).’’. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

16 of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

17 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

19 report describing all expenditures by the Bureau of Land 

20 Management for operation and maintenance of the Federal 

21 Helium Reserve (as that term is defined in the amendment 

22 made by section 2(3)), investments made by the Bureau for 

23 such reserve, and scheduled or unscheduled maintenance of 

24 such reserve or its infrastructure to be conducted by the Bu25 reau. 


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1 SEC. 4. BLM TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS TO FACILI2 TATE MARKET AND SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMA3 TION. 

4 The Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167 et seq.) is further 

5 amended by redesignating sections 15 and 17 as sections 

6 17 and 18, and by inserting after section 14 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 15. PIPELINE ACCESS. 

8 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Bureau of Land Management, shall make available on 

10 the Internet the current refining capacity on the Federal 

11 Helium Reserve pipeline, including— 

12 ‘‘(1) refinery capacity and future capacity esti13 mates; 

14 ‘‘(2) ownership of federally auctioned helium 

15 held in the Federal Helium Reserve; 

16 ‘‘(3) volume of helium delivered to individual 

17 buyers through such pipeline; 

18 ‘‘(4) for each helium refiner— 

19 ‘‘(A) the number of tolling agreements en20 tered into before October 1, 2013; and 

21 ‘‘(B) for each fiscal year thereafter— 

22 ‘‘(i) the number of tolling agreements 

23 entered into; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the number of tolling requests re25 ceived; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the total volume of helium re2 fined under each tolling agreement entered 

3 into; 

4 ‘‘(5) pipeline pressure constraints; and 

5 ‘‘(6) other factors that will increase transparency 

6 for persons interested in entering refining contracts 

7 with existing refiners. 

8 ‘‘(b) NEW REFINING CAPACITY.—The Secretary shall 

9 take any applications for new refining capacity on the Fed10 eral Helium Reserve pipeline. To create more competition, 

11 any new refining capacity added to the Federal Helium 

12 Reserve pipeline system shall be granted access to crude he13 lium that is equal to the access provided to existing refining 

14 facilities. 

15 ‘‘(c) ACCESS BY PURCHASERS OF HELIUM.—The Sec16 retary shall manage Federal Helium Reserve pipeline access 

17 in a competitive manner to ensure that all persons pur18 chasing helium have equal access to timing and delivery 

19 of the helium, subject to the capacity of the system. 

20 ‘‘(d) SCHEDULING DELIVERIES.—The Secretary shall, 

21 to the greatest extent practicable, make the scheduling of 

22 crude helium deliveries through the Federal Helium Reserve 

23 pipeline open and transparent to all purchasers of helium 

24 through the auction process, and to the public if the Sec25 retary believes that it is in the national interest. 


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1 ‘‘(e) SCHEDULING PRIORITY.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In scheduling crude helium 

3 deliveries through the Federal Helium Reserve pipe4 line the Secretary shall grant pipeline access in the 

5 following order of priority: 

6 ‘‘(A) Helium held in the Reserve as a result 

7 of a purchase under subsection (b)(2). 

8 ‘‘(B) Helium sold at auction being delivered 

9 to fulfill a tolling agreement. 

10 ‘‘(C) Other helium sold at auction. 

11 ‘‘(D) Helium held in the Reserve as a result 

12 of a crude helium exchange resulting from any 

13 temporary shutdown of the Reserve or of a refin14 ery on the Reserve pipeline. 

15 ‘‘(E) Helium held in inventory in the Re16 serve before the date of enactment of the Respon17 sible Helium Administration and Stewardship 

18 Act. 

19 ‘‘(2) In scheduling such deliveries of helium de20 scribed in each of subparagraphs (A) through (E) of 

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall grant pipeline ac22 cess based on the following order of priority: 

23 ‘‘(A) The price paid to the United States for 

24 the helium, giving higher priority to helium for 

25 which a greater price was paid. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The date the helium was purchased 

2 from the Secretary, giving higher priority to he3 lium purchased on an earlier date. 

4 ‘‘(C) Any other factor the Secretary con5 siders appropriate to prioritize delivery. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 16. BLM REPORTING REQUIREMENTS TO FACILITATE 

7 SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide the market 

9 with appropriate and timely information affecting the he10 lium resource, the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage11 ment shall establish, no later than 90 days after the date 

12 of enactment of the Responsible Helium Administration 

13 and Stewardship Act, a real-time reporting process, includ14 ing reporting over the Internet, to provide data that will 

15 affect the helium industry, including such effects for all per16 sons in such industry from crude helium suppliers to end 

17 users. 

18 ‘‘(b) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—Information provided 

19 under this section shall include the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) Annual maintenance schedules and quar21 terly updates thereof, which shall be available on the 

22 Internet, to the extent practicable, and shall include 

23 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The date and duration of planned 

2 shutdowns of the Federal Helium Reserve pipe3 line. 

4 ‘‘(B) The nature of work to be undertaken, 

5 whether routine, extended, or extraordinary. 

6 ‘‘(C) The anticipated impact on the helium 

7 supply. 

8 ‘‘(D) The efforts to minimize any impact on 

9 the supply chain. 

10 ‘‘(E) Any concerns regarding maintenance 

11 of the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline, pressure 

12 of such pipeline, or deviation from normal oper13 ation of such pipeline. 

14 ‘‘(2) For each unplanned outage, the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The beginning of the outage. 

16 ‘‘(B) The expected duration of outage. 

17 ‘‘(C) A description of the problem. 

18 ‘‘(D) The estimated impact on helium sup19 ply. 

20 ‘‘(E) A plan to correct problems, an esti21 mate of the potential timeframe for correction, 

22 and the likelihood of plan success within the 

23 timeframe. 

24 ‘‘(F) Efforts to minimize negative impacts 

25 on the helium supply chain. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Updates on repair status and the an2 ticipated online date. 

3 ‘‘(3) Minutes of meetings between the Bureau of 

4 Land Management and the Cliffside Refiners Limited 

5 Partnership, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) publication of the minutes of each 

7 meeting between the Bureau of Land Manage8 ment and the Cliffside Refiners Limited Partner9 ship, including attendees and their affiliations, 

10 on the Internet site of the Bureau within 1 week 

11 after the meeting; and 

12 ‘‘(B) indication in the minutes of any ac13 tion taken that could affect the supply or oper14 ating status related to the Federal helium pro15 gram. 

16 ‘‘(4) Current predictions of the lifespan of the 

17 Federal Helium Reserve, including how much longer 

18 such crude helium supply will be available based on 

19 current and forecasted demand and the projected 

20 maximum production capacity of the Federal Helium 

21 Reserve for the following fiscal year.’’. 


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•HR 527 RH

1 SEC. 5. HELIUM RESOURCE ASSESSMENT AND HELIUM–3 

2 SEPARATION. 

3 (a) HELIUM GAS RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Not later 

4 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

5 Secretary of the Interior shall— 

6 (1) in coordination with appropriate heads of 

7 State geological surveys— 

8 (A) complete a national helium gas assess9 ment that identifies and quantifies the quantity 

10 of helium, including the isotope helium-3, in 

11 each reservoir, including assessments of the con12 stituent gases found in each helium resource, 

13 such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and natural 

14 gas; and 

15 (B) make available the modern seismic and 

16 geophysical log data for characterization of the 

17 Bush Dome Reservoir; 

18 (2) in coordination with appropriate inter19 national agencies and the global geology community, 

20 complete a global helium gas assessment that identi21 fies and quantifies the quantity of the helium, includ22 ing the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir; 

23 (3) in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

24 acting through the Administrator of the Energy Infor25 mation Administration, complete— 


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•HR 527 RH

1 (A) an assessment of trends in global de2 mand for helium, including the isotope helium3 3; 

4 (B) a 10-year forecast of domestic demand 

5 for helium across all sectors, including scientific 

6 and medical research, commercial, manufac7 turing, space technologies, cryogenics, and na8 tional defense; and 

9 (C) an inventory of medical, research, sci10 entific, industrial, commercial, and other uses of 

11 helium in the United States, including Federal 

12 and commercial helium uses, that identifies the 

13 nature of the helium use, the amounts required, 

14 the technical and commercial viability of helium 

15 recapture and recycling in that use, and the 

16 availability of material substitutes wherever pos17 sible; and 

18 (4) submit to the Committee on Natural Re19 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com20 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen21 ate a report describing the results of the assessments 

22 required under this subsection. 

23 (b) HELIUM-3 SEPARATION.— 

24 (1) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—The Secretary 

25 of the Interior shall cooperate with the Secretary of 


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•HR 527 RH

1 Energy, or a designee of the Secretary of Energy, on 

2 any assessment or research relating to the extraction 

3 and refining of the isotope helium-3 from crude he4 lium at the Federal Helium Reserve (as that term is 

5 defined in the amendments made by section 2) or 

6 along the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline system, in7 cluding— 

8 (A) gas analysis; 

9 (B) infrastructure studies; and 

10 (C) cooperation with private helium refin11 ers. 

12 (2) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Secretary of the 

13 Interior shall assess the feasibility of establishing a 

14 facility to separate the isotope helium-3 from crude 

15 helium at— 

16 (A) the Federal Helium Reserve; or 

17 (B) an existing helium separation or purifi18 cation facility connected to the Federal Helium 

19 Reserve pipeline system. 

20 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the In22 terior shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re23 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the SenVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:17 Apr 18, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H527.RH H527

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•HR 527 RH

1 ate a report that contains a description of the results 

2 of the assessments conducted under this subsection. 


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Union Calendar No. 27 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 527 

[Report No. 113–42] 

A BILL 

To amend the Helium Act to complete the privatof American taxpayers, and for other purposes. the helium markets while protecting the interests petitive market fashion that ensures stability in ization of the Federal helium reserve in a comAPRIL 18, 2013 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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