In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 25, 2013. 

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the 

Senate to the bill (H.R. 527) entitled ‘‘An Act 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.’’, with the following 

HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT: 

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the 

amendment of the Senate to the text of the bill, insert 

the following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helium Stewardship 

3 Act of 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 Section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167) is amend6 ed to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this Act: 

9 ‘‘(1) CLIFFSIDE FIELD.—The term ‘Cliffside 

10 Field’ means the helium storage reservoir in which 

11 the Federal Helium Reserve is stored. 
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1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL HELIUM PIPELINE.—The term 

2 ‘Federal Helium Pipeline’ means the federally owned 

3 pipeline system through which helium for the Federal 

4 Helium Reserve may be transported. 

5 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.—The term 

6 ‘Federal Helium Reserve’ means helium reserves 

7 owned by the United States. 

8 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL HELIUM SYSTEM.—The term 

9 ‘Federal Helium System’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Federal Helium Reserve; 

11 ‘‘(B) the Cliffside Field; 

12 ‘‘(C) the Federal Helium Pipeline; and 

13 ‘‘(D) all other infrastructure owned, leased, 

14 or managed under contract by the Secretary for 

15 the storage, transportation, withdrawal, enrich16 ment, purification, or management of helium. 

17 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL USER.—The term ‘Federal user’ 

18 means a Federal agency or extramural holder of one 

19 or more Federal research grants using helium. 

20 ‘‘(6) LOW-BTU GAS.—The term ‘low-Btu gas’ 

21 means a fuel gas with a heating value of less than 

22 250 Btu per standard cubic foot measured as the 

23 higher heating value resulting from the inclusion of 

24 noncombustible gases, including nitrogen, helium, 

25 argon, and carbon dioxide. 
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1 ‘‘(7) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any in2 dividual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, 

3 trust, estate, public or private institution, or State or 

4 political subdivision. 

5 ‘‘(8) PRIORITY PIPELINE ACCESS.—The term 

6 ‘priority pipeline access’ means the first priority of 

7 delivery of crude helium under which the Secretary 

8 schedules and ensures the delivery of crude helium to 

9 a helium refinery through the Federal Helium Sys10 tem. 

11 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED BIDDER.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified bid13 der’ means a person the Secretary determines is 

14 seeking to purchase helium for their own use, re15 fining, or redelivery to users. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘qualified bid17 der’ does not include a person who was pre18 viously determined to be a qualified bidder if the 

19 Secretary determines that the person did not 

20 meet the requirements of a qualified bidder 

21 under this Act. 

22 ‘‘(10) QUALIFYING DOMESTIC HELIUM TRANS23 ACTION.—The term ‘qualifying domestic helium 

24 transaction’ means any agreement entered into or re25 negotiated agreement during the preceding 1-year pe-
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1 riod in the United States for the purchase or sale of 

2 at least 15,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude or 

3 pure helium to which any holder of a contract with 

4 the Secretary for the acceptance, storage, delivery, or 

5 redelivery of crude helium from the Federal Helium 

6 System is a party. 

7 ‘‘(11) REFINER.—The term ‘refiner’ means a 

8 person with the ability to take delivery of crude he9 lium from the Federal Helium Pipeline and refine the 

10 crude helium into pure helium. 

11 ‘‘(12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY. 

14 Section 3 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167a) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) EXTRACTION OF HELIUM FROM DEPOSITS ON

17 FEDERAL LAND.—All amounts received by the Secretary 

18 from the sale or disposition of helium on Federal land shall 

19 be credited to the Helium Production Fund established 

20 under section 6(e).’’. 

21 SEC. 4. STORAGE, WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSPORTATION. 

22 Section 5 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167c) is 

23 amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 5. STORAGE, WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSPORTATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary provides helium 

3 storage, withdrawal, or transportation services to any per4 son, the Secretary shall impose a fee on the person that ac5 curately reflects the economic value of those services. 

6 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM FEES.—The fees charged under sub7 section (a) shall be not less than the amount required to 

8 reimburse the Secretary for the full costs of providing stor9 age, withdrawal, or transportation services, including cap10 ital investments in upgrades and maintenance at the Fed11 eral Helium System. 

12 ‘‘(c) SCHEDULE OF FEES.—Prior to sale or auction 

13 under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 6, the Secretary 

14 shall annually publish a standardized schedule of fees that 

15 the Secretary will charge under this section. 

16 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT.—All fees received by the Secretary 

17 under this section shall be credited to the Helium Produc18 tion Fund established under section 6(e). 

19 ‘‘(e) STORAGE AND DELIVERY.—In accordance with 

20 this section, the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) allow any person or qualified bidder to 

22 which crude helium is sold or auctioned under section 

23 6 to store helium in the Federal Helium Reserve; and 

24 ‘‘(2) establish a schedule for the transportation 

25 and delivery of helium using the Federal Helium Sys26 tem that— 
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1 ‘‘(A) ensures timely delivery of helium auc2 tioned pursuant to section 6(b)(2); 

3 ‘‘(B) ensures timely delivery of helium ac4 quired from the Secretary from the Federal He5 lium Reserve by means other than an auction 

6 under section 6(b)(2), including nonallocated 

7 sales; and 

8 ‘‘(C) provides priority access to the Federal 

9 Helium Pipeline for in-kind sales for Federal 

10 users. 

11 ‘‘(f) NEW PIPELINE ACCESS.—The Secretary shall con12 sider any applications for access to the Federal Helium 

13 Pipeline in a manner consistent with the schedule for phas14 ing out commercial sales and disposition of assets pursuant 

15 to section 6.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM. 

17 Section 6 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167d) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 6. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM. 

20 ‘‘(a) PHASE A: ALLOCATION TRANSITION.— 

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

22 crude helium for sale in such quantities, at such 

23 times, at not less than the minimum price established 

24 under subsection (b)(7), and under such terms and 

25 conditions as the Secretary determines necessary to 
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1 carry out this subsection with minimum market dis2 ruption. 

3 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PURCHASES.—Federal users may 

4 purchase refined helium with priority pipeline access 

5 under this subsection from persons who have entered 

6 into enforceable contracts to purchase an equivalent 

7 quantity of crude helium at the in-kind price from 

8 the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—This subsection applies dur10 ing— 

11 ‘‘(A) the period beginning on the date of en12 actment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 

13 and ending on September 30, 2014; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any period during which the sale of 

15 helium under subsection (b) is delayed or sus16 pended. 

17 ‘‘(b) PHASE B: AUCTION IMPLEMENTATION.— 

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

19 crude helium for sale in quantities not subject to auc20 tion under paragraph (2), after completion of each 

21 auction, at not less than the minimum price estab22 lished under paragraph (7), and under such terms 

23 and conditions as the Secretary determines nec24 essary— 
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1 ‘‘(A) to maximize total recovery of helium 

2 from the Federal Helium Reserve over the long 

3 term; 

4 ‘‘(B) to maximize the total financial return 

5 to the taxpayer; 

6 ‘‘(C) to manage crude helium sales accord7 ing to the ability of the Secretary to extract and 

8 produce helium from the Federal Helium Re9 serve; 

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

11 demand of Federal users in the event of any dis12 ruption to the Federal Helium Reserve; and 

13 ‘‘(E) to carry out this subsection with min14 imum market disruption. 

15 ‘‘(2) AUCTION QUANTITIES.—For the period de16 scribed in paragraph (4) and consistent with the con17 ditions described in paragraph (8), the Secretary 

18 shall annually auction to any qualified bidder a 

19 quantity of crude helium in the Federal Helium Re20 serve equal to— 

21 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2015, 10 percent of the 

22 total volume of crude helium made available for 

23 that fiscal year; 

24 ‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

25 2019, a percentage of the total volume of crude 
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1 helium that is 15 percentage points greater than 

2 the percentage made available for the previous 

3 fiscal year; and 

4 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal 

5 year thereafter, 100 percent of the total volume 

6 of crude helium made available for that fiscal 

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL PURCHASES.—Federal users may 

9 purchase refined helium with priority pipeline access 

10 under this subsection from persons who have entered 

11 into enforceable contracts to purchase an equivalent 

12 quantity of crude helium at the in-kind price from 

13 the Secretary. 

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

15 the period— 

16 ‘‘(A) beginning on October 1, 2014; and 

17 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the vol18 ume of recoverable crude helium at the Federal 

19 Helium Reserve (other than privately owned 

20 quantities of crude helium stored temporarily at 

21 the Federal Helium Reserve under section 5 and 

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

23 ‘‘(5) SAFETY VALVE.—The Secretary may adjust 

24 the quantities specified in paragraph (2)— 
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1 ‘‘(A) downward, if the Secretary determines 

2 the adjustment necessary— 

3 ‘‘(i) to minimize market disruptions 

4 that pose a threat to the economic well-being 

5 of the United States; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) only after submitting a written 

7 justification of the adjustment to the Com8 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

9 the Senate and the Committee on Natural 

10 Resources of the House of Representatives; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(B) upward, if the Secretary determines 

13 the adjustment necessary to increase participa14 tion in crude helium auctions or returns to the 

15 taxpayer. 

16 ‘‘(6) AUCTION FORMAT.—The Secretary shall 

17 conduct each auction using a method that maximizes 

18 revenue to the Federal Government. 

19 ‘‘(7) PRICES.—The Secretary shall annually es20 tablish, as applicable, separate sale and minimum 

21 auction prices under subsection (a)(1) and para22 graphs (1) and (2) using, if applicable and in the fol23 lowing order of priority: 

24 ‘‘(A) The sale price of crude helium in auc25 tions held by the Secretary under paragraph (2). 
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1 ‘‘(B) Price recommendations and 

2 disaggregated data from a qualified, independent 

3 third party who has no conflict of interest, who 

4 shall conduct a confidential survey of qualifying 

5 domestic helium transactions. 

6 ‘‘(C) The volume-weighted average price of 

7 all crude helium and pure helium purchased, 

8 sold, or processed by persons in all qualifying 

9 domestic helium transactions. 

10 ‘‘(D) The volume-weighted average cost of 

11 converting gaseous crude helium into pure he12 lium. 

13 ‘‘(8) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re15 quire all persons that are parties to a contract 

16 with the Secretary for the withdrawal, accept17 ance, storage, transportation, delivery, or rede18 livery of crude helium to disclose, on a strictly 

19 confidential basis— 

20 ‘‘(i) the volumes and associated prices 

21 in dollars per thousand cubic feet of all 

22 crude and pure helium purchased, sold, or 

23 processed by persons in qualifying domestic 

24 helium transactions; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the volumes and associated costs 

2 in dollars per thousand cubic feet of con3 verting crude helium into pure helium; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) refinery capacity and future ca5 pacity estimates. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONDITION.—As a condition of sale or 

7 auction to a refiner under subsection (a)(1) and 

8 paragraphs (1) and (2), effective beginning 90 

9 days after the date of enactment of the Helium 

10 Stewardship Act of 2013, the refiner shall make 

11 excess refining capacity of helium available at 

12 commercially reasonable rates to— 

13 ‘‘(i) any person prevailing in auctions 

14 under paragraph (2); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) any person that has acquired 

16 crude helium from the Secretary from the 

17 Federal Helium Reserve by means other 

18 than an auction under paragraph (2) after 

19 the date of enactment of the Helium Stew20 ardship Act of 2013, including nonallocated 

21 sales. 

22 ‘‘(9) USE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary may 

23 use the information collected under this Act— 

24 ‘‘(A) to approximate crude helium prices; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(B) to ensure the recovery of fair value for 

2 the taxpayers of the United States from sales of 

3 crude helium. 

4 ‘‘(10) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIALITY.—The 

5 Secretary shall adopt such administrative policies 

6 and procedures as the Secretary considers necessary 

7 and reasonable to ensure the confidentiality of infor8 mation submitted pursuant to this Act. 

9 ‘‘(11) FORWARD AUCTIONS.—Effective beginning 

10 in fiscal year 2016, the Secretary may conduct a for11 ward auction once each fiscal year of a quantity of 

12 helium that is equal to up to 10 percent of the volume 

13 of crude helium to be made available at auction dur14 ing the following fiscal year if the Secretary deter15 mines that the forward auction will— 

16 ‘‘(A) not cause a disruption in the supply 

17 of helium from the Reserve; 

18 ‘‘(B) represent a cost-effective action; 

19 ‘‘(C) generate greater returns for taxpayers; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(D) increase the effectiveness of price dis22 covery. 

23 ‘‘(12) SALE SCHEDULE AND FREQUENCY.—For 

24 fiscal year 2015 the Secretary shall conduct only one 

25 auction, which shall precede, and one sale, which 
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1 shall take place no later than August 1, 2014, with 

2 full and final payment for the sale being made no 

3 later than September 26, 2014. Consistent with the 

4 annual volumes established under paragraph (2), ef5 fective beginning in fiscal year 2016, the Secretary 

6 may conduct auctions twice during each fiscal year 

7 if the Secretary determines that the auction frequency 

8 will— 

9 ‘‘(A) not cause a disruption in the supply 

10 of helium from the Reserve; 

11 ‘‘(B) represent a cost-effective action; 

12 ‘‘(C) generate greater returns for taxpayers; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(D) increase the effectiveness of price dis15 covery. 

16 ‘‘(13) ONE-TIME SALE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para18 graph (4)(A), the Secretary shall hold a one-time 

19 sale of helium, no later than August 1, 2014 

20 from amounts available in fiscal year 2016 pur21 suant to this section. Full and final payment for 

22 the sale must be made no later than 45 days 

23 after the date the sale takes place. 

24 ‘‘(B) VOLUME SOLD.—The volume of helium 

25 sold under this paragraph— 
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1 ‘‘(i) shall be at least 250 million cubic 

2 feet; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall be made available for sale 

4 consistent with paragraph (2)(B). 

5 ‘‘(c) PHASE C: CONTINUED ACCESS FOR FEDERAL

6 USERS.— 

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

8 crude helium for sale to Federal users in such quan9 tities, at such times, at such prices required to reim10 burse the Secretary for the full costs of the sales, and 

11 under such terms and conditions as the Secretary de12 termines necessary to carry out this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PURCHASES.—Federal users may 

14 purchase refined helium with priority pipeline access 

15 under this subsection from persons who have entered 

16 into enforceable contracts to purchase an equivalent 

17 quantity of crude helium at the in-kind price from 

18 the Secretary. 

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

20 beginning on the day after the date described in sub21 section (b)(4)(B). 

22 ‘‘(d) PHASE D: DISPOSAL OF ASSETS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 2 years 

24 after the date of commencement of Phase C described 

25 in subsection (c) and not later than September 30, 
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1 2021, the Secretary shall designate as excess property 

2 and dispose of all facilities, equipment, and other real 

3 and personal property, and all interests in the same, 

4 held by the United States in the Federal Helium Sys5 tem. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE LAW.—The disposal of the 

7 property described in paragraph (1) shall be in ac8 cordance with subtitle I of title 40, United States 

9 Code. 

10 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDS.—All proceeds accruing to the 

11 United States by reason of the sale or other disposal 

12 of the property described in paragraph (1) shall be 

13 treated as funds received under this Act for purposes 

14 of subsection (e). 

15 ‘‘(4) COSTS.—All costs associated with the sale 

16 and disposal (including costs associated with termi17 nation of personnel) and with the cessation of activi18 ties under this subsection shall be paid from amounts 

19 available in the Helium Production Fund established 

20 under subsection (e). 

21 ‘‘(e) HELIUM PRODUCTION FUND.— 

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

23 this Act, including amounts from the sale or auction 

24 of crude helium, shall be credited to the Helium Pro25 duction Fund, which shall be available without fiscal 
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1 year limitation for purposes determined to be nec2 essary and cost effective by the Secretary to carry out 

3 this Act (other than sections 16, 17, and 18), includ4 ing capital investments in upgrades and maintenance 

5 at the Federal Helium System, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) well head maintenance at the Cliffside 

7 Field; 

8 ‘‘(B) capital investments in maintenance 

9 and upgrades of facilities that pressurize the 

10 Cliffside Field; 

11 ‘‘(C) capital investments in maintenance 

12 and upgrades of equipment related to the storage, 

13 withdrawal, enrichment, transportation, purifi14 cation, and sale of crude helium from the Fed15 eral Helium Reserve; 

16 ‘‘(D) entering into purchase, lease, or other 

17 agreements to drill new or uncap existing wells 

18 to maximize the recovery of crude helium from 

19 the Federal Helium System; and 

20 ‘‘(E) any other scheduled or unscheduled 

21 maintenance of the Federal Helium System. 

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

23 Production Fund in excess of amounts the Secretary 

24 determines to be necessary to carry out paragraph (1) 
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1 shall be paid to the general fund of the Treasury and 

2 used to reduce the annual Federal budget deficit. 

3 ‘‘(3) RETIREMENT OF PUBLIC DEBT.—Out of 

4 amounts paid to the general fund of the Treasury 

5 under paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury 

6 shall use $51,000,000 to retire public debt. 

7 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 

9 2013 and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the In10 terior shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

11 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

12 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

13 a report describing all expenditures by the Bureau of 

14 Land Management to carry out this Act. 

15 ‘‘(f) MINIMUM QUANTITY.—The Secretary shall offer 

16 for sale or auction during each fiscal year under subsections 

17 (a), (b), and (c) a quantity of crude helium that is the lesser 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(1) the quantity of crude helium offered for sale 

20 by the Secretary during fiscal year 2012; or 

21 ‘‘(2) the maximum total production capacity of 

22 the Federal Helium System.’’. 

23 SEC. 6. INFORMATION, ASSESSMENT, RESEARCH, AND 

24 STRATEGY. 

25 The Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167 et seq.) is amended— 
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1 (1) by repealing section 15 (50 U.S.C. 167m); 

2 (2) by redesignating section 17 (50 U.S.C. 167 

3 note) as section 20; and 

4 (3) by inserting after section 14 (50 U.S.C. 167l) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 15. INFORMATION. 

7 ‘‘(a) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, acting through 

8 the Bureau of Land Management, shall make available on 

9 the Internet information relating to the Federal Helium 

10 System that includes— 

11 ‘‘(1) continued publication of an open market 

12 and in-kind price; 

13 ‘‘(2) aggregated projections of excess refining ca14 pacity; 

15 ‘‘(3) ownership of helium held in the Federal He16 lium Reserve; 

17 ‘‘(4) the volume of helium delivered to persons 

18 through the Federal Helium Pipeline; 

19 ‘‘(5) pressure constraints of the Federal Helium 

20 Pipeline; 

21 ‘‘(6) an estimate of the projected date when 

22 3,000,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude helium will 

23 remain in the Federal Helium Reserve and the final 

24 phase described in section 6(c) will begin; 
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1 ‘‘(7) the amount of the fees charged under section 

2 5; 

3 ‘‘(8) the scheduling of crude helium deliveries 

4 through the Federal Helium Pipeline; and 

5 ‘‘(9) other factors that will increase trans6 parency. 

7 ‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, 

9 to provide the market with appropriate and timely infor10 mation affecting the helium resource, the Director of the Bu11 reau of Land Management shall establish a timely and pub12 lic reporting process to provide data that affects the helium 

13 industry, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) annual maintenance schedules and quar15 terly updates, that shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) the date and duration of planned shut17 downs of the Federal Helium Pipeline; 

18 ‘‘(B) the nature of work to be undertaken on 

19 the Federal Helium System, whether routine, ex20 tended, or extraordinary; 

21 ‘‘(C) the anticipated impact of the work on 

22 the helium supply; 

23 ‘‘(D) the efforts being made to minimize 

24 any impact on the supply chain; and 
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1 ‘‘(E) any concerns regarding maintenance 

2 of the Federal Helium Pipeline, including the 

3 pressure of the pipeline or deviation from nor4 mal operation of the pipeline; 

5 ‘‘(2) for each unplanned outage, a description 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the beginning of the outage; 

8 ‘‘(B) the expected duration of the outage; 

9 ‘‘(C) the nature of the problem; 

10 ‘‘(D) the estimated impact on helium sup11 ply; 

12 ‘‘(E) a plan to correct problems, including 

13 an estimate of the potential timeframe for correc14 tion and the likelihood of plan success within the 

15 timeframe; 

16 ‘‘(F) efforts to minimize negative impacts 

17 on the helium supply chain; and 

18 ‘‘(G) updates on repair status and the an19 ticipated online date; 

20 ‘‘(3) monthly summaries of meetings and com21 munications between the Bureau of Land Manage22 ment and the Cliffside Refiners Limited Partnership, 

23 including a list of participants and an indication of 

24 any actions taken as a result of the meetings or com25 munications; and 
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1 ‘‘(4) current predictions of the lifespan of the 

2 Federal Helium System, including how much longer 

3 the crude helium supply will be available based on 

4 current and forecasted demand and the projected 

5 maximum production capacity of the Federal Helium 

6 System for the following fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 16. HELIUM GAS RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, 

10 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the United 

11 States Geological Survey, shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) in coordination with appropriate heads of 

13 State geological surveys— 

14 ‘‘(A) complete a national helium gas assess15 ment that identifies and quantifies the quantity 

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

17 each reservoir, including assessments of the con18 stituent gases found in each helium resource, 

19 such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and natural 

20 gas; and 

21 ‘‘(B) make available the modern seismic 

22 and geophysical log data for characterization of 

23 the Bush Dome Reservoir; 

24 ‘‘(2) in coordination with appropriate inter25 national agencies and the global geology community, 
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1 complete a global helium gas assessment that identi2 fies and quantifies the quantity of the helium, includ3 ing the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir; 

4 ‘‘(3) in coordination with the Secretary of En5 ergy, acting through the Administrator of the Energy 

6 Information Administration, complete— 

7 ‘‘(A) an assessment of trends in global de8 mand for helium, including the isotope helium9 3; 

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

11 for helium across all sectors, including scientific 

12 and medical research, commercial, manufac13 turing, space technologies, cryogenics, and na14 tional defense; and 

15 ‘‘(C) an inventory of medical, scientific, in16 dustrial, commercial, and other uses of helium in 

17 the United States, including Federal uses, that 

18 identifies the nature of the helium use, the 

19 amounts required, the technical and commercial 

20 viability of helium recapture and recycling in 

21 that use, and the availability of material sub22 stitutes wherever possible; and 

23 ‘‘(4) submit to the Committee on Energy and 

24 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

25 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
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1 a report describing the results of the assessments re2 quired under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $1,000,000. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 17. LOW-BTU GAS SEPARATION AND HELIUM CON7 SERVATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

9 support programs of research, development, commercial ap10 plication, and conservation (including the programs de11 scribed in subsection (b))— 

12 ‘‘(1) to expand the domestic production of low13 Btu gas and helium resources; 

14 ‘‘(2) to separate and capture helium from nat15 ural gas streams; and 

16 ‘‘(3) to reduce the venting of helium and helium17 bearing low-Btu gas during natural gas exploration 

18 and production. 

19 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—The 

21 Secretary of Energy, in consultation with other ap22 propriate agencies, shall support a civilian research 

23 program to develop advanced membrane technology 

24 that is used in the separation of low-Btu gases, in25 cluding technologies that remove helium and other 
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1 constituent gases that lower the Btu content of nat2 ural gas. 

3 ‘‘(2) HELIUM SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY.—The 

4 Secretary of Energy shall support a research program 

5 to develop technologies for separating, gathering, and 

6 processing helium in low concentrations that occur 

7 naturally in geological reservoirs or formations, in8 cluding— 

9 ‘‘(A) low-Btu gas production streams; and 

10 ‘‘(B) technologies that minimize the atmos11 pheric venting of helium gas during natural gas 

12 production. 

13 ‘‘(3) INDUSTRIAL HELIUM PROGRAM.—The Sec14 retary of Energy, working through the Advanced 

15 Manufacturing Office of the Department of Energy, 

16 shall carry out a research program— 

17 ‘‘(A) to develop low-cost technologies and 

18 technology systems for recycling, reprocessing, 

19 and reusing helium for all medical, scientific, in20 dustrial, commercial, aerospace, and other uses 

21 of helium in the United States, including Fed22 eral uses; and 

23 ‘‘(B) to develop industrial gathering tech24 nologies to capture helium from other chemical 

25 processing, including ammonia processing. 
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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $3,000,000. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 18. HELIUM-3 SEPARATION. 

5 ‘‘(a) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—The Secretary 

6 shall cooperate with the Secretary of Energy, or a designee, 

7 on any assessment or research relating to the extraction and 

8 refining of the isotope helium-3 from crude helium and 

9 other potential sources, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) gas analysis; and 

11 ‘‘(2) infrastructure studies. 

12 ‘‘(b) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Secretary of Energy, or a designee, may carry 

14 out a study to assess the feasibility of— 

15 ‘‘(1) establishing a facility to separate the iso16 tope helium-3 from crude helium; and 

17 ‘‘(2) exploring other potential sources of the iso18 tope helium-3. 

19 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, the 

21 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

22 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat23 ural Resources of the House of Representatives a report that 

24 contains a description of the results of the assessments con25 ducted under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $1,000,000. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 19. FEDERAL AGENCY HELIUM ACQUISITION STRAT5 EGY. 

6 ‘‘In anticipation of the implementation of Phase D de7 scribed in section 6(d), and not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act of 

9 2013, the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of 

10 Energy, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Na11 tional Science Foundation, the Administrator of the Na12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director 

13 of the National Institutes of Health, and other agencies as 

14 appropriate) shall submit to Congress a report that pro15 vides for Federal users— 

16 ‘‘(1) an assessment of the consumption of, and 

17 projected demand for, crude and refined helium; 

18 ‘‘(2) a description of a 20-year Federal strategy 

19 for securing access to helium; 

20 ‘‘(3) a determination of a date prior to Sep21 tember 30, 2021, for the implementation of Phase D 

22 as described in section 6(d) that minimizes any po23 tential supply disruptions for Federal users; 
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1 ‘‘(4) an assessment of the effects of increases in 

2 the price of refined helium and methods and policies 

3 for mitigating any determined effects; and 

4 ‘‘(5) a description of a process for prioritization 

5 of uses that accounts for diminished availability of 

6 helium supplies that may occur over time.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

8 (a) Section 4 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167b) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘section 6(f)’’ each place it appears 

10 in subsections (c)(3), (c)(4), and (d)(2) and inserting ‘‘sec11 tion 6(e)’’. 

12 (b) Section 8 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167f) is 

13 repealed. 

14 SEC. 8. EXISTING AGREEMENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act and the amendments 

16 made by this Act shall not affect or diminish the rights and 

17 obligations of the Secretary of the Interior and private par18 ties under agreements in existence on the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, except to the extent that the agreements are re20 newed or extended after that date. 

21 (b) DELIVERY.—No agreement described in subsection 

22 (a) shall affect or diminish the right of any party that pur23 chases helium after the date of enactment of this Act in ac24 cordance with section 6 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167d) 

25 (as amended by section 5) to receive delivery of the helium 
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•HR 527 EAH 

1 in accordance with section 5(e)(2) of the Helium Act (50 

2 U.S.C. 167c(e)(2)) (as amended by section 4). 

3 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 

4 The Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate such 

5 regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act and the 

6 amendments made by this Act, including regulations nec7 essary to prevent unfair acts and practices. 

8 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS. 

9 (a) SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF

10 DETERMINATION PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) SECURE PAYMENTS FOR STATES AND COUN12 TIES CONTAINING FEDERAL LAND.— 

13 (A) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—Section 

14 101 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 

15 Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111) 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it ap17 pears and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

18 (B) ELECTIONS.—Section 102(b) of the Se19 cure Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter20 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7112(b)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

23 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 
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1 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking 

2 ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘2013’’. 

4 (C) DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS TO ELIGI5 BLE COUNTIES.—Section 103(d)(2) of the Secure 

6 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determina7 tion Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7113(d)(2)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘and 2012’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘through 2013’’. 

10 (2) CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT

11 SPECIAL PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND.—Title II of 

12 the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter13 mination Act of 2000 is amended— 

14 (A) in section 203(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

15 7123(a)(1)), by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2013’’; 

17 (B) in section 204(e)(3)(B)(iii) (16 U.S.C. 

18 7124(e)(3)(B)(iii)), by striking ‘‘2012’’ and in19 serting ‘‘2013’’; 

20 (C) in section 205(a)(4) (16 U.S.C. 

21 7125(a)(4)), by striking ‘‘2011’’ each place it ap22 pears and inserting ‘‘2012’’; 

23 (D) in section 207(a) (16 U.S.C. 7127(a)), 

24 by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

25 (E) in section 208 (16 U.S.C. 7128)— 
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1 (i) in subsection (a), by striking 

2 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

3 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking 

4 ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

5 (3) CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY TO RESERVE

6 AND USE COUNTY FUNDS.—Section 304 of the Secure 

7 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

8 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7144) is amended— 

9 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2012’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

11 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2013’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

13 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sec14 tion 402 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 

15 Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7152) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

17 (b) ABANDONED WELL REMEDIATION.—Section 349 of 

18 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15907) is amend19 ed by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) FEDERALLY DRILLED WELLS.—Out of any 

21 amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

22 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2014, $36,000,000 for fiscal year 

23 2015, and $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 shall be made 

24 available to the Secretary, without further appropriation 

25 and to remain available until expended, to remediate, re-
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1 claim, and close abandoned oil and gas wells on current 

2 or former National Petroleum Reserve land.’’. 

3 (c) NATIONAL PARKS MAINTENANCE BACKLOG.—Sec4 tion 814(g) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Man5 agement Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 1f) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) AVAILABLE FUNDS.—Out of any amounts 

8 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

9 $20,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary 

10 of the Interior for fiscal year 2018, and $30,000,000 

11 shall be made available to the Secretary of the Inte12 rior for fiscal year 2019, without further appropria13 tion and to remain available until expended, to pay 

14 the Federal funding share of challenge cost-share 

15 agreements for deferred maintenance projects and to 

16 correct deficiencies in National Park Service infra17 structure. 

18 ‘‘(5) COST-SHARE REQUIREMENT.—Not less than 

19 50 percent of the total cost of project for funds made 

20 available under paragraph (4) to pay the Federal 

21 funding share shall be derived from non-Federal 

22 sources, including in-kind contribution of goods and 

23 services fairly valued.’’. 

24 (d) ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND.—Section 

25 411(h) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 
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1 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1240a(h)) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘(6) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) WAIVER OF LIMITATION.—Notwith5 standing paragraph (5), the limitation on the 

6 total annual payments to a certified State or In7 dian tribe under this subsection shall not apply 

8 for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. 

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON WAIVER.—Notwith10 standing subparagraph (A), the total annual 

11 payment to a certified State or Indian tribe 

12 under this subsection for fiscal year 2014 shall 

13 not be more than $28,000,000 and for fiscal year 

14 2015 shall not be more than $75,000,000. 

15 ‘‘(C) INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS.—If the total 

16 annual payment to a certified State or Indian 

17 tribe under paragraphs (1) and (2) is limited by 

18 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) give priority to making payments 

20 under paragraph (2); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) use any remaining funds to make 

22 payments under paragraph (1).’’. 

23 (e) SODA ASH ROYALTIES.—Notwithstanding section 

24 24 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 262) and the 

25 terms of any lease under that Act, the royalty rate on the 
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1 quantity of gross value of the output of sodium compounds 

2 and related products at the point of shipment to market 

3 from Federal land in the 2-year period beginning on the 

4 date of enactment of this Act shall be 4 percent. 

5 (f) AUTHORIZATION OFFSET.—Section 207(c) of the 

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

7 17022(c)) is amended by inserting before the period at the 

8 end the following: ‘‘, except that the amount authorized to 

9 be appropriated to carry out this section not appropriated 

10 as of the date of enactment of the Helium Stewardship Act 

11 of 2013 shall be reduced by $6,000,000’’. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H.R. 527 

HOUSE AMENDMENT TO 

SENATE AMENDMENT