IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 527 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2013 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

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. 

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 ‘‘Responsible Helium 

3 Administration and Stewardship Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 Section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167) is 

6 amended— 

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

8 at the end and inserting a period; 

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

10 inserting a period; and 

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

12 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal 

14 Helium Reserve’ means the Bureau of Land 

15 Management Cliffside Gas Field and supporting 

16 infrastructure. 

17 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Federal He18 lium Reserve’ includes— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Cliffside Gas Field helium 

20 storage reservoir; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) all associated infrastructure 

22 owned, leased, or managed under contract 

23 by the Secretary for storage, transpor24 tation, withdrawal, purification, or man25 agement of helium. 


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1 ‘‘(5) QUALIFYING DOMESTIC HELIUM TRANS2 ACTION.—The term ‘qualifying domestic helium 

3 transaction’— 

4 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

5 (B), means any new or newly renegotiated 

6 agreement for the purchase or sale of at least 

7 15,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude helium 

8 or bulk liquid helium delivered in the United 

9 States in the most recent full fiscal year; and 

10 ‘‘(B) does not include any purchase of 

11 crude helium from the Secretary. 

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

13 agreement’ means an agreement between a helium 

14 refiner and another party under which the helium 

15 refiner agrees to process the other person’s helium 

16 at an agreed upon price.’’. 

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

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

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

20 ‘‘SEC. 6. SALE OF HELIUM. 

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

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

23 the Secretary shall offer for sale crude helium for 

24 Federal, medical, research, scientific, and commer25 cial uses in such quantities, at such times, and 


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1 under such conditions as the Secretary determines 

2 necessary to carry out this subsection with minimum 

3 market disruption. 

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

5 offer for sale during each fiscal year under para6 graph (1) a quantity of crude helium equivalent to 

7 the quantity of crude helium produced from the Fed8 eral Helium Reserve during fiscal year 2012. 

9 ‘‘(3) IN-KIND PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGEN10 CIES AND GRANTEES.—Federal agencies, and hold11 ers of 1 or more Federal research grants, may pur12 chase refined helium under this subsection for Fed13 eral, medical, research and scientific uses from per14 sons who have entered into enforceable contracts to 

15 purchase an equivalent quantity of crude helium 

16 from the Secretary. 

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

18 crude helium by the Secretary under this subsection 

19 shall be at prices established by the Secretary that 

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

21 crude helium from the Federal Helium Reserve be22 fore the date of enactment of the Responsible He23 lium Administration and Stewardship Act, except 

24 that any sale to a person referred to in paragraph 


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1 (3) for a purchase authorized by that paragraph 

2 shall be at a price specified by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—This subsection applies dur4 ing 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

11 HELIUM AND INCREASING RETURNS TO THE AMERICAN

12 TAXPAYER.— 

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

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

15 crude helium for medical, research, scientific, and 

16 commercial uses in such quantities, at such times, 

17 and under such conditions as the Secretary deter18 mines necessary— 

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

21 Reserve; 

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 AGEN8 CIES AND GRANTEES.—Any Federal agency, and any 

9 holder of 1 or more Federal research grants, may 

10 purchase refined helium for Federal, medical, re11 search, and scientific uses from an eligible person. 

12 The Secretary shall then provide an equivalent vol13 ume of crude helium to the eligible person as if the 

14 eligible person was the successful bidder for the he15 lium at auction. Provision of helium by the Sec16 retary under this paragraph shall not be considered 

17 a sale of helium by the Secretary at auction. The 

18 Secretary shall provide such helium at the minimum 

19 price established by the Secretary for the most re20 cent auction held under this subsection or such other 

21 price as may 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 dur2 ing 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 

10 and this section) is 3,000,000,000 standard 

11 cubic feet. 

12 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM ANNUAL SALES.—Notwith13 standing any provision of subsection (d), for each 

14 fiscal year, the Secretary may not offer or provide 

15 for sale under this subsection a total volume of 

16 crude helium that exceeds the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(A) the projected maximum total produc18 tion capacity of the Federal Helium Reserve 

19 during that fiscal year; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the maximum refining capacity of 

21 persons connected by pipeline to the Federal 

22 Helium Reserve during that fiscal year. 

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

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

25 for sale crude helium for Federal uses (including 


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1 medical, research, and scientific uses) in such quan2 tities, at such times, and under such conditions as 

3 the Secretary determines necessary to carry out this 

4 subsection. 

5 ‘‘(2) PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES AND

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

7 more Federal research grants related to helium or 

8 the use of helium, may purchase refined helium 

9 under this subsection for Federal uses (including 

10 medical, research, and scientific uses) from persons 

11 who have entered into enforceable contracts to pur12 chase an equivalent quantity of crude helium from 

13 the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection ap15 plies beginning on the day after the date described 

16 in subsection (b)(4)(B). 

17 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND MINIMUM PRICES DETERMINA18 TION.— 

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

20 the Secretary in auctions under subsection (b) shall 

21 be conducted under the conditions described in this 

22 section and at no less than the minimum price es23 tablished by the Secretary. 

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

25 such auctions of crude helium as soon as practical 


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1 but no later than beginning 180 days after the first 

2 day of the period described in subsection (b)(4), 

3 under the following conditions: 

4 ‘‘(A) 60 percent of the volume of crude he5 lium made available in each auction shall be 

6 made available to entities that can show the 

7 Secretary they have either adequate refining ca8 pacity or tolling agreements for refining in 

9 place, in accordance with the conditions set 

10 forth in paragraph (3). 

11 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of the volume of crude he12 lium made available in each auction shall be 

13 made available to any bidder, in accordance 

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

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

16 under this subsection after the date of the en17 actment of the Responsible Helium Administra18 tion and Stewardship Act, the Secretary shall 

19 make available an additional volume of crude 

20 helium, in an amount equivalent to the amount 

21 made available under subparagraph (B) that 

22 the Secretary certifies can be refined, through 

23 tolling agreements or otherwise. Of such addi24 tional volume, a person may not acquire in the 

25 auction a volume in excess of the volume they 


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1 demonstrate to the Secretary they have the 

2 ability to refine through either refining capacity 

3 or tolling agreements. 

4 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall conduct such 

5 auctions at such times as the Secretary deter6 mines necessary to ensure a reliable supply of 

7 helium and a fair return to taxpayers, but no 

8 less frequently than 2 times each fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(E) For purposes of the first auction 

10 under this subsection after the date of the en11 actment of the Responsible Helium Administra12 tion and Stewardship Act, the Secretary may 

13 revise the percentage under subparagraph (A) 

14 so as to make available for auction 100 percent 

15 of the volume of crude helium intended to be of16 fered. 

17 ‘‘(F) The Secretary may adjust the per18 centages and amount specified in subpara19 graphs (A) through (C), respectively, in any 

20 auction if the Secretary determines the adjust21 ment is necessary to— 

22 ‘‘(i) respond to market supply and de23 mand and minimize market disruption; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) increase participation in helium 

25 auctions. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The Secretary may conduct an auc2 tion no more frequently than once each fiscal 

3 year of an amount of helium equal to up to 10 

4 percent of the volume of crude helium to be 

5 made available at auction during the following 

6 fiscal year. Such amount of crude helium shall 

7 be made available to any bidder, in accordance 

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

9 Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(C), for crude 

10 helium sold in such an auction the Secretary 

11 shall begin charging a storage fee under clause 

12 (i) of that paragraph beginning 1 year after the 

13 date of such auction, and shall begin charging 

14 increasing storage fees under clause (ii) of that 

15 paragraph beginning 270 days after beginning 

16 charging storage fees under clause (i) of that 

17 paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(3) AUCTION CONDITIONS.— 

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

20 shall conduct each auction by sealed bid for 

21 predetermined volume lots, unless the Secretary 

22 determines that an alternative bidding method 

23 may result in more revenue to the Federal Gov24 ernment or may increase participation in the 

25 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 per5 sons the Secretary determines are seeking 

6 to purchase helium for their own use, for 

7 refining, or for delivery to users; and 

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

9 than 30 percent of the total volume of 

10 crude helium offered in that auction, ex11 cept that the Secretary may adjust such 

12 limitation based on the number of bidders 

13 in the auction. 

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 

23 date of the auction, shall charge increasing 

24 storage fees that will encourage the withVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:40 May 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H527.RFS H527

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1 drawal of the helium no later than 2 years 

2 after the date of the auction. 

3 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF MINIMUM SALE

4 PRICE.—The Secretary shall make a determination 

5 of the minimum sale price for sales described in 

6 paragraph (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 

14 as represented by the sale price at any auction 

15 held by the Secretary in the preceding 2 years; 

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

17 among helium refiners, producers, and lique18 fiers, in dollars per thousand cubic feet, of con19 verting gaseous crude helium into bulk liquid 

20 helium; 

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

22 associated with the sale or resale of bulk liquid 

23 helium; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) the sale price for crude helium of2 fered in the most recent auction under para3 graph (2)(G). 

4 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—The Sec5 retary shall— 

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

7 a contract with the Secretary for the accept8 ance, storage, and redelivery of crude helium to 

9 disclose, on a strictly confidential basis in dol10 lars per thousand cubic feet, the weighted aver11 age price of all crude helium and bulk liquid he12 lium purchased, sold, or processed by the per13 sons in all qualifying domestic helium trans14 actions during the fiscal year; 

15 ‘‘(B) appoint a qualified independent third 

16 party to perform data collection and analysis 

17 for the purposes of the survey under paragraph 

18 (4)(A); and 

19 ‘‘(C) adopt such administrative policies 

20 and procedures as the Secretary considers nec21 essary and reasonable to ensure robust protec22 tion of the confidentiality of data submitted by 

23 private persons. 

24 ‘‘(6) CHANGES IN MINIMUM PRICE.—If the Sec25 retary believes that the minimum price as deterVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:40 May 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H527.RFS H527

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1 mined by the survey under paragraph (4)(A) may 

2 not be reflective of the current market value of he3 lium, or if a higher minimum price may result in 

4 greater conservation of the Federal crude helium re5 source, the Secretary may change the minimum 

6 price charged for crude helium sold under this sec7 tion by up to 10 percent of the price determined 

8 under paragraph (4). If at any sale in which the 

9 minimum price is increased under this paragraph all 

10 crude helium offered is sold at the increased price, 

11 the Secretary shall consider that increased price to 

12 be the minimum price determined under paragraph 

13 (4) for all future sales of crude helium under this 

14 section unless that price is further changed in ac15 cordance with this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(7) ENSURING FAIR AND NONDISCRIMINATORY

17 ACTS AND PRACTICES.—The Secretary may issue 

18 such rules and regulations with respect to ensure 

19 bidding, transfer, and refining of helium produced 

20 from or held in the Federal Helium Reserve as may 

21 be necessary to ensure fair and nondiscriminatory 

22 acts and practices. 

23 ‘‘(8) AUCTION RECORDS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) FURNISHING RECORDS.—Every per25 son participating in auctions of helium from the 


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1 Federal Helium Reserve shall furnish to the 

2 Secretary on request such records of trans3 actions in helium auctions as the Secretary may 

4 require to reconstruct bidding or trading in the 

5 course of a particular inquiry or investigation 

6 being conducted by the Secretary for enforce7 ment or surveillance purposes. In requiring in8 formation pursuant to this paragraph, the Sec9 retary shall specify the information required, 

10 the period for which it is required, and the time 

11 and date on which the information must be fur12 nished. 

13 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

14 Secretary may issue rules to require persons 

15 participating in helium auctions to file such re16 ports as the Secretary determines to be nec17 essary for purposes of this Act. 

18 ‘‘(C) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 Rules under this subsection may require speci20 fied persons to make and keep for prescribed 

21 periods such records as the Secretary deter22 mines are necessary or appropriate to ensure 

23 that such persons can comply with reporting re24 quirements under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE OF IN2 FORMATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, the Secretary shall not be compelled 

4 to disclose any proprietary information required 

5 to be kept or reported under this subsection. 

6 Nothing in this subsection authorizes the Sec7 retary to withhold information from Congress, 

8 prevents the Secretary from complying with a 

9 request for information from any other Federal 

10 department or agency requesting information 

11 for purposes within the scope of its jurisdiction, 

12 or prevents the Secretary from complying with 

13 an order of a court of the United States in an 

14 action brought by the United States or by the 

15 Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(e) HELIUM PRODUCTION FUND.— 

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

18 this Act shall be credited to the Helium Production 

19 Fund, which shall be available without fiscal year 

20 limitation for purposes considered necessary by the 

21 Secretary to carry out this subsection. 

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

23 the Helium Production Fund may be used by the 

24 Secretary to conduct helium auctions and otherwise 

25 administer this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT AMOUNTS.—During the pe2 riod described in subsection (a)(4), amounts in the 

3 Helium Production Fund in excess of amounts the 

4 Secretary considers necessary to conduct helium auc5 tions and otherwise administer this Act shall be paid 

6 to the general fund of the Treasury and credited 

7 against all amounts required to be repaid to the 

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

9 ‘‘(4) CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND MAINTE10 NANCE.—Amounts in the Helium Production Fund 

11 in excess of amounts the Secretary considers nec12 essary to carry out paragraphs (1) through (3) may 

13 be used to fund the following capital investments in 

14 upgrades and maintenance at the Federal Helium 

15 reserve: 

16 ‘‘(A) Wellhead maintenance at the Cliffside 

17 Gas Field helium storage reservoir. 

18 ‘‘(B) Capital investments in maintenance 

19 and upgrades of facilities that pressurize the 

20 Cliffside Gas Field helium storage reservoir. 

21 ‘‘(C) Capital investments in maintenance 

22 and upgrades of equipment related to the stor23 age, withdrawal, transportation, purification, 

24 and sale of crude helium at the Cliffside Gas 

25 Field helium storage reservoir. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Any other scheduled or unscheduled 

2 maintenance of the Cliffside Gas Field helium 

3 storage reservoir and helium pipeline. 

4 ‘‘(5) EXCESS FUNDS AND DEFICIT REDUC5 TION.—Amounts in the Helium Production Fund in 

6 excess of amounts the Secretary considers necessary 

7 to carry out paragraphs (1) through (4) shall be 

8 paid to the general fund of the Treasury and used 

9 to reduce the annual Federal budget deficit. 

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

11 FEDERAL LAND.—All amounts received by the Secretary 

12 from the sale or disposition of crude helium on Federal 

13 land shall be paid to the general fund of the Treasury and 

14 credited against all amounts required to be repaid to the 

15 United States under this Act as of October 1, 1995. 

16 ‘‘(g) MAINTENANCE OF HELIUM SUPPLY.—The Sec17 retary shall ensure that there is no disruption in the sup18 ply of helium from the Federal Helium Reserve during the 

19 transition between phases of helium sales under sub20 sections (a), (b), and (c).’’. 

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

22 of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Sec23 retary of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on 

24 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

25 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 


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1 Senate a report describing all expenditures by the Bureau 

2 of Land Management for operation and maintenance of 

3 the Federal Helium Reserve (as that term is defined in 

4 the amendment made by section 2(3)), investments made 

5 by the Bureau for such reserve, and scheduled or unsched6 uled maintenance of such reserve or its infrastructure to 

7 be conducted by the Bureau. 

8 SEC. 4. BLM TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS TO FACILI9 TATE MARKET AND SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMA10 TION. 

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

12 amended by redesignating sections 15 and 17 as sections 

13 17 and 18, and by inserting after section 14 the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 15. PIPELINE ACCESS. 

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

16 through the Bureau of Land Management, shall make 

17 available on the Internet the current refining capacity on 

18 the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline, including— 

19 ‘‘(1) refinery capacity and future capacity esti20 mates; 

21 ‘‘(2) ownership of federally auctioned helium 

22 held in the Federal Helium Reserve; 

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

24 buyers through such pipeline; 

25 ‘‘(4) for each helium refiner— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the number of tolling agreements en2 tered into before October 1, 2013; and 

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

4 ‘‘(i) the number of tolling agreements 

5 entered into; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the number of tolling requests 

7 received; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the total volume of helium re9 fined under each tolling agreement entered 

10 into; 

11 ‘‘(5) pipeline pressure constraints; and 

12 ‘‘(6) other factors that will increase trans13 parency for persons interested in entering refining 

14 contracts with existing refiners. 

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

16 take any applications for new refining capacity on the 

17 Federal Helium Reserve pipeline. To create more competi18 tion, any new refining capacity added to the Federal He19 lium Reserve pipeline system shall be granted access to 

20 crude helium that is equal to the access provided to exist21 ing refining facilities. 

22 ‘‘(c) ACCESS BY PURCHASERS OF HELIUM.—The 

23 Secretary shall manage Federal Helium Reserve pipeline 

24 access in a competitive manner to ensure that all persons 


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1 purchasing helium have equal access to timing and deliv2 ery of the helium, subject to the capacity of the system. 

3 ‘‘(d) SCHEDULING DELIVERIES.—The Secretary 

4 shall, to the greatest extent practicable, make the sched5 uling of crude helium deliveries through the Federal He6 lium Reserve pipeline open and transparent to all pur7 chasers of helium through the auction process, and to the 

8 public if the Secretary believes that it is in the national 

9 interest. 

10 ‘‘(e) SCHEDULING PRIORITY.— 

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

12 deliveries through the Federal Helium Reserve pipe13 line the Secretary shall grant pipeline access in the 

14 following order of priority: 

15 ‘‘(A) Helium held in the Reserve as a re16 sult of a purchase under subsection (b)(2). 

17 ‘‘(B) Helium sold at auction being deliv18 ered to fulfill a tolling agreement. 

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

20 ‘‘(D) Helium held in the Reserve as a re21 sult of a crude helium exchange resulting from 

22 any temporary shutdown of the Reserve or of a 

23 refinery on the Reserve pipeline. 

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1 sponsible Helium Administration and Steward2 ship Act. 

3 ‘‘(2) In scheduling such deliveries of helium de4 scribed in each of subparagraphs (A) through (E) of 

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall grant pipeline ac6 cess based on the following order of priority: 

7 ‘‘(A) The price paid to the United States 

8 for the helium, giving higher priority to helium 

9 for which a greater price was paid. 

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

11 from the Secretary, giving higher priority to he12 lium purchased on an earlier date. 

13 ‘‘(C) Any other factor the Secretary con14 siders appropriate to prioritize delivery. 

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

16 SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMATION. 

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

18 with appropriate and timely information affecting the he19 lium resource, the Director of the Bureau of Land Man20 agement shall establish, no later than 90 days after the 

21 date of enactment of the Responsible Helium Administra22 tion and Stewardship Act, a real-time reporting process, 

23 including reporting over the Internet, to provide data that 

24 will affect the helium industry, including such effects for 


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1 all persons in such industry from crude helium suppliers 

2 to end users. 

3 ‘‘(b) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—Information pro4 vided under this section shall include the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Annual maintenance schedules and quar6 terly updates thereof, which shall be available on the 

7 Internet, to the extent practicable, and shall include 

8 the following: 

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

10 shutdowns of the Federal Helium Reserve pipe11 line. 

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

13 whether routine, extended, or extraordinary. 

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

15 supply. 

16 ‘‘(D) The efforts to minimize any impact 

17 on the supply chain. 

18 ‘‘(E) Any concerns regarding maintenance 

19 of the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline, pres20 sure of such pipeline, or deviation from normal 

21 operation of such pipeline. 

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

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

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

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


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1 ‘‘(D) The estimated impact on helium sup2 ply. 

3 ‘‘(E) A plan to correct problems, an esti4 mate of the potential timeframe for correction, 

5 and the likelihood of plan success within the 

6 timeframe. 

7 ‘‘(F) Efforts to minimize negative impacts 

8 on the helium supply chain. 

9 ‘‘(G) Updates on repair status and the an10 ticipated online date. 

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

12 of Land Management and the Cliffside Refiners 

13 Limited Partnership, including— 

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

15 meeting between the Bureau of Land Manage16 ment and the Cliffside Refiners Limited Part17 nership, including attendees and their affili18 ations, on the Internet site of the Bureau with19 in 1 week after the meeting; and 

20 ‘‘(B) indication in the minutes of any ac21 tion taken that could affect the supply or oper22 ating status related to the Federal helium pro23 gram. 

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

25 Federal Helium Reserve, including how much longer 


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1 such crude helium supply will be available based on 

2 current and forecasted demand and the projected 

3 maximum production capacity of the Federal Helium 

4 Reserve for the following fiscal year.’’. 

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

6 SEPARATION. 

7 (a) HELIUM GAS RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Not 

8 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

10 (1) in coordination with appropriate heads of 

11 State geological surveys— 

12 (A) complete a national helium gas assess13 ment that identifies and quantifies the quantity 

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

15 each reservoir, including assessments of the 

16 constituent gases found in each helium re17 source, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and 

18 natural gas; and 

19 (B) make available the modern seismic and 

20 geophysical log data for characterization of the 

21 Bush Dome Reservoir; 

22 (2) in coordination with appropriate inter23 national agencies and the global geology community, 

24 complete a global helium gas assessment that identiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:40 May 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H527.RFS H527

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1 fies and quantifies the quantity of the helium, in2 cluding the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir; 

3 (3) in consultation with the Secretary of En4 ergy, acting through the Administrator of the En5 ergy Information Administration, complete— 

6 (A) an assessment of trends in global de7 mand for helium, including the isotope helium8 3; 

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

10 for helium across all sectors, including scientific 

11 and medical research, commercial, manufac12 turing, space technologies, cryogenics, and na13 tional defense; and 

14 (C) an inventory of medical, research, sci15 entific, industrial, commercial, and other uses 

16 of helium in the United States, including Fed17 eral and commercial helium uses, that identifies 

18 the nature of the helium use, the amounts re19 quired, the technical and commercial viability of 

20 helium recapture and recycling in that use, and 

21 the availability of material substitutes wherever 

22 possible; 

23 (4) complete an assessment of options for en24 suring a domestic helium supply in the future, in25 cluding— 


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1 (A) an analysis of how the Federal Helium 

2 Reserve has influenced domestic and global he3 lium supply and prices historically; and 

4 (B) an assessment of options for how the 

5 Federal Helium Reserve could promote the long 

6 term availability and security of domestic he7 lium supplies; and 

8 (5) submit to the Committee on Natural Re9 sources of the House of Representatives and the 

10 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

11 Senate a report describing the results of the assess12 ments required under this subsection. 

13 (b) HELIUM-3 SEPARATION.— 

14 (1) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—The Sec15 retary of the Interior shall cooperate with the Sec16 retary of Energy, or a designee of the Secretary of 

17 Energy, on any assessment or research relating to 

18 the extraction and refining of the isotope helium-3 

19 from crude helium at the Federal Helium Reserve 

20 (as that term is defined in the amendments made by 

21 section 2) or along the Federal Helium Reserve 

22 pipeline system, including— 

23 (A) gas analysis; 

24 (B) infrastructure studies; and 


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1 (C) cooperation with private helium refin2 ers. 

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

4 Interior shall assess the feasibility of establishing a 

5 facility to separate the isotope helium-3 from crude 

6 helium at— 

7 (A) the Federal Helium Reserve; or 

8 (B) an existing helium separation or purifi9 cation facility connected to the Federal Helium 

10 Reserve pipeline system. 

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

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

13 Interior shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

14 Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

15 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

16 Senate a report that contains a description of the re17 sults of the assessments conducted under this sub18 section. 

19 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE FEDERAL HE20 LIUM RESERVE. 

21 The Secretary of the Interior may allow any person 

22 not connected to the Federal Helium Reserve, as that term 

23 is defined under section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 

24 167), as amended by this Act, to connect to the Federal 

25 Helium Reserve for the purpose of storing helium, subject 


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1 to such storage fees as may be required by the Secretary. 

2 Withdrawal of such helium shall be governed by that Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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