I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 527 

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 

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. 

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 

5 Administration and Stewardship Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

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

3 amended— 

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

5 at the end and inserting a period; 

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

7 inserting a period; and 

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

9 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.— 

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

11 Helium Reserve’ means the Bureau of Land 

12 Management Cliffside Gas Field and supporting 

13 infrastructure. 

14 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Federal He15 lium Reserve’ includes— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Cliffside Gas Field helium 

17 storage reservoir; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) all associated infrastructure 

19 owned, leased, or managed under contract 

20 by the Secretary for storage, transpor21 tation, withdrawal, purification, or man22 agement of helium. 

23 ‘‘(5) QUALIFYING DOMESTIC HELIUM TRANS24 ACTION.—The term ‘qualifying domestic helium 

25 transaction’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

2 (B), means any new or newly negotiated agree3 ment for the purchase or sale of at least 

4 15,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude helium 

5 or bulk liquid helium delivered in the United 

6 States in the most recent 2-fiscal-year period; 

7 and 

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

9 crude helium from the Secretary. 

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

11 agreement’ means an agreement between a helium 

12 refiner and another party under which the helium 

13 refiner agrees to process the other person’s helium 

14 at an agreed upon price.’’. 

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

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

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

18 ‘‘SEC. 6. SALE OF HELIUM. 

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

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

21 the Secretary shall offer for sale crude helium for 

22 Federal, medical, scientific, and commercial uses in 

23 such quantities, at such times, and under such con24 ditions as the Secretary determines necessary to 


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1 carry out this subsection with minimum market dis2 ruption. 

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

4 offer for sale during each fiscal year under para5 graph (1) a quantity of crude helium that is not less 

6 than the quantity of crude helium offered for sale by 

7 the Secretary during fiscal year 2012. 

8 ‘‘(3) PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Fed9 eral agencies, and holders of 1 or more Federal re10 search grants, may purchase refined helium under 

11 this subsection for Federal, medical, and scientific 

12 uses from persons who have entered into enforceable 

13 contracts to purchase an equivalent quantity of 

14 crude helium from the Secretary. 

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

16 crude helium by the Secretary under this subsection 

17 shall be at prices established by the Secretary that 

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

19 crude helium from the Federal Helium Reserve be20 fore the date of enactment of the Responsible He21 lium Administration and Stewardship Act. 

22 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—This subsection applies dur23 ing the period— 


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

2 the Responsible Helium Administration and 

3 Stewardship Act; and 

4 ‘‘(B) ending on the expiration of the one5 year period following such date of enactment. 

6 ‘‘(b) PHASE B: MAXIMIZING TOTAL RECOVERY OF

7 HELIUM AND INCREASING RETURNS TO THE AMERICAN

8 TAXPAYER.— 

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

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

11 crude helium for Federal, medical, scientific, and 

12 commercial uses in such quantities, at such times, 

13 and under such conditions as the Secretary deter14 mines necessary— 

15 ‘‘(A) to maximize total recovery and con16 servation of helium from the Federal Helium 

17 Reserve; 

18 ‘‘(B) to manage crude helium sales accord19 ing to the ability of the Secretary to extract and 

20 produce helium from the Federal Helium Re21 serve; 

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

23 and demand and minimize market disruption; 

24 and 


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

2 demand of Federal users in the event of any 

3 disruption to the Federal Helium Reserve. 

4 ‘‘(2) PURCHASE BY DESIGNATED FEDERAL

5 AGENCIES AND GRANTEES.—Any Federal agency, 

6 and any holder of 1 or more Federal research 

7 grants, may purchase refined helium for Federal, 

8 medical, research, and scientific uses from an eligi9 ble person, at the minimum auction price or other 

10 price designated by the Secretary. The Secretary 

11 shall then provide an equivalent volume of crude he12 lium to the eligible person as if the eligible person 

13 was the successful bidder for the helium at auction. 

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

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

16 distributer who is registered as such with the Sec17 retary. 

18 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—This subsection applies dur19 ing the period— 

20 ‘‘(A) beginning on the expiration of the pe21 riod described in subsection (a)(5)(B); and 

22 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the vol23 ume of recoverable crude helium at the Federal 

24 Helium Reserve (other than privately owned 

25 quantities of crude helium stored temporarily at 


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1 the Federal Helium Reserve under section 5 

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

3 cubic feet. 

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

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

6 for sale crude helium for Federal uses (including 

7 medical and scientific uses) in such quantities, at 

8 such times, and under such conditions as the Sec9 retary determines necessary to carry out this sub10 section. 

11 ‘‘(2) PURCHASE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES AND

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

13 more Federal research grants related to helium or 

14 the use of helium, may purchase refined helium 

15 under this subsection for Federal uses (including 

16 medical and scientific uses) from persons who have 

17 entered into enforceable contracts to purchase an 

18 equivalent quantity of crude helium from the Sec19 retary. 

20 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection ap21 plies beginning on the day after the date described 

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

23 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND MINIMUM PRICES DETERMINA24 TION.— 


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

2 the Secretary under subsection (b) shall be con3 ducted at auction under the conditions described in 

4 this section and at no less than the minimum price 

5 established by the Secretary. 

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

7 auctions of crude helium in the Federal Helium Re8 serve as soon as practical but no later than begin9 ning 180 days after the first day of the period de10 scribed in subsection (b)(4), under the following con11 ditions: 

12 ‘‘(A) 60 percent of the volume of crude he13 lium made available in each auction shall be 

14 made available to entities that can show the 

15 Secretary they have either adequate refining ca16 pacity or tolling agreements for refining in 

17 place, in accordance with the conditions set 

18 forth in paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of the volume of crude he20 lium made available in each auction shall be 

21 made available to any bidder, in accordance 

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

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

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1 tion and Stewardship Act, the Secretary shall 

2 make available an additional volume of crude 

3 helium, in an amount equivalent to the amount 

4 made available under subparagraph (B) that 

5 the Secretary certifies can be refined, through 

6 tolling agreements or otherwise. Of such addi7 tional volume, a person may not acquire in the 

8 auction a volume in excess of the volume they 

9 demonstrate to the Secretary they have the 

10 ability to refine through either refining capacity 

11 or tolling agreements. 

12 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall conduct such 

13 auctions at such times as the Secretary deter14 mines necessary to ensure a reliable supply of 

15 helium and a fair return to taxpayers, but no 

16 less frequently than 2 times each fiscal year. 

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

18 under this subsection after the date of the en19 actment of the Responsible Helium Administra20 tion and Stewardship Act, the Secretary may 

21 revise the percentage under subparagraph (A) 

22 so as to make available for auction 100 percent 

23 of the volume of crude helium intended to be of24 fered. 


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1 ‘‘(F) The Secretary may adjust the per2 centages and amount specified in subpara3 graphs (A) through (C), respectively, in any 

4 auction if the Secretary determines the adjust5 ment is necessary to— 

6 ‘‘(i) respond to market supply and de7 mand and minimize market disruption; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) increase participation in helium 

9 auctions. 

10 ‘‘(G) Notwithstanding any other provision 

11 of this subsection, for each fiscal year, the Sec12 retary may not offer a total volume of crude he13 lium for sale under this subsection that exceeds 

14 the lesser of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the projected maximum total pro16 duction capacity of the Federal Helium 

17 Reserve during that fiscal year; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the maximum refining capacity 

19 of persons connected by pipeline to the 

20 Federal Helium Reserve during that fiscal 

21 year. 

22 ‘‘(3) AUCTION CONDITIONS.— 

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

24 shall conduct each auction by sealed bid for 

25 predetermined volume lots, unless the Secretary 


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1 determines that an alternative bidding method 

2 may result in more revenue to the Federal Gov3 ernment. 

4 ‘‘(B) BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS AND LIM5 ITS.—In carrying out an auction under sub6 section (b), the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) may accept bids only from per8 sons the Secretary determines are seeking 

9 to purchase helium for their own use, for 

10 refining, or for delivery to users; and 

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

12 than 30 percent of the total volume of 

13 crude helium offered in that auction, ex14 cept that the Secretary may adjust such 

15 limitation based on the number of bidders 

16 in the auction. 

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

18 Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall begin charging each winning 

20 bidder a storage fee for crude helium pur21 chased by the bidder that remains in the 

22 Federal Helium Reserve, beginning on the 

23 date the Secretary receives payment of the 

24 purchase price for the helium; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) beginning 270 days after the 

2 date of the auction, shall charge increasing 

3 storage fees that will encourage the with4 drawal of the helium no later than 2 years 

5 after the date of the auction. 

6 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF MINIMUM SALE

7 PRICE.—The Secretary shall make a determination 

8 of the minimum sale price for sales described in 

9 paragraph (1) using— 

10 ‘‘(A) a confidential survey of qualifying do11 mestic helium transactions to which any holder 

12 of a contract with the Secretary for the accept13 ance, storage, and redelivery of crude helium in 

14 the Cliffside Gas Field helium storage reservoir 

15 is a party; 

16 ‘‘(B) current market crude helium prices 

17 as represented by the sale price at any auction 

18 held by the Secretary in the preceding 2 years; 

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

20 among helium refiners, producers, and lique21 fiers, in dollars per thousand cubic feet, of con22 verting gaseous crude helium into bulk liquid 

23 helium; and 


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

2 associated with the sale or resale of bulk liquid 

3 helium. 

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 23:27 Feb 12, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H527.IH 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 ACTS AND PRACTICES.— 

17 The Secretary may issue such rules and regulations 

18 with respect to bidding, transfer, and refining of he19 lium produced from or held in the Federal Helium 

20 Reserve as may be necessary to prevent unfair acts 

21 and practices. 

22 ‘‘(8) AUCTION RECORDS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) FURNISHING RECORDS.—Every per24 son participating in auctions of helium from the 

25 Federal Helium Reserve shall furnish to the 


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1 Secretary on request such records of trans2 actions in helium auctions as the Secretary may 

3 require to reconstruct bidding or trading in the 

4 course of a particular inquiry or investigation 

5 being conducted by the Secretary for enforce6 ment or surveillance purposes. In requiring in7 formation pursuant to this paragraph, the Sec8 retary shall specify the information required, 

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

10 and date on which the information must be fur11 nished. 

12 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

13 Secretary may issue rules to require persons 

14 participating in helium auctions to file such re15 ports as the Secretary determines to be nec16 essary for purposes of this Act. 

17 ‘‘(C) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 Rules under this subsection may require speci19 fied persons to make and keep for prescribed 

20 periods such records as the Secretary deter21 mines are necessary or appropriate to ensure 

22 that such persons can comply with reporting re23 quirements under this subsection. 

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1 sion of law, the Secretary shall not be compelled 

2 to disclose any proprietary information required 

3 to be kept or reported under this subsection. 

4 Nothing in this subsection authorizes the Sec5 retary to withhold information from Congress, 

6 prevents the Secretary from complying with a 

7 request for information from any other Federal 

8 department or agency requesting information 

9 for purposes within the scope of its jurisdiction, 

10 or prevents the Secretary from complying with 

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

12 action brought by the United States or by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(e) HELIUM PRODUCTION FUND.— 

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

16 this Act shall be credited to the Helium Production 

17 Fund, which shall be available without fiscal year 

18 limitation for purposes considered necessary by the 

19 Secretary to carry out this subsection. 

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

21 the Helium Production Fund may be used by the 

22 Secretary to conduct helium auctions and otherwise 

23 administer this Act. 

24 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT AMOUNTS.—During the pe25 riod described in subsection (a)(4), amounts in the 


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1 Helium Production Fund in excess of amounts the 

2 Secretary considers necessary to conduct helium auc3 tions and otherwise administer this Act shall be paid 

4 to the general fund of the Treasury and credited 

5 against all amounts required to be repaid to the 

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

7 ‘‘(4) CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND MAINTE8 NANCE.—Amounts in the Helium Production Fund 

9 in excess of amounts the Secretary considers nec10 essary to carry out paragraphs (1) through (3) may 

11 be used to fund the following capital investments in 

12 upgrades and maintenance at the Federal Helium 

13 reserve: 

14 ‘‘(A) Wellhead maintenance at the Cliffside 

15 Gas Field helium storage reservoir. 

16 ‘‘(B) Capital investments in maintenance 

17 and upgrades of facilities that pressurize the 

18 Cliffside Gas Field helium storage reservoir. 

19 ‘‘(C) Capital investments in maintenance 

20 and upgrades of equipment related to the stor21 age, withdrawal, transportation, purification, 

22 and sale of crude helium at the Cliffside Gas 

23 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.—Amounts in the Helium 

5 Production Fund in excess of amounts the Secretary 

6 considers necessary to carry out paragraphs (1) 

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

8 Treasury. 

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

10 FEDERAL LAND.—All amounts received by the Secretary 

11 from the sale or disposition of crude helium on Federal 

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

13 credited against all amounts required to be repaid to the 

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

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

16 of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Sec17 retary of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on 

18 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

19 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

20 Senate a report describing all expenditures by the Bureau 

21 of Land Management for operation and maintenance of 

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

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

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1 uled maintenance of such reserve or its infrastructure to 

2 be conducted by the Bureau. 

3 SEC. 4. BLM TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS TO FACILI4 TATE MARKET AND SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMA5 TION. 

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

7 amended by redesignating sections 15 through 17 as sec8 tions 17 through 19, and by inserting after section 14 the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 15. PIPELINE ACCESS. 

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

12 through the Bureau of Land Management, shall make 

13 available on the Internet the current refining capacity on 

14 the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline, including— 

15 ‘‘(1) refinery capacity and future capacity esti16 mates; 

17 ‘‘(2) ownership of federally auctioned helium 

18 held in the Federal Helium Reserve; 

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

20 buyers through such pipeline; 

21 ‘‘(4) pipeline pressure constraints; and 

22 ‘‘(5) other factors that will increase trans23 parency for persons interested in entering refining 

24 contracts with existing refiners. 


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

2 take any applications for new refining capacity on the 

3 Federal Helium Reserve pipeline. To create more competi4 tion, any new refining capacity added to the Federal He5 lium Reserve pipeline system shall be granted access to 

6 crude helium that is equal to the access provided to exist7 ing refining facilities. 

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

9 Secretary shall manage Federal Helium Reserve pipeline 

10 access in a competitive manner to ensure that all persons 

11 purchasing helium have equal access to timing and deliv12 ery of the helium, subject to the capacity of the system. 

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

14 shall, to the greatest extent practicable, make the sched15 uling of crude helium deliveries through the Federal He16 lium Reserve pipeline open and transparent to all pur17 chasers of helium through the auction process, and to the 

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

19 interest. 

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

21 SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMATION. 

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

23 with appropriate and timely information affecting the he24 lium resource, the Director of the Bureau of Land Man25 agement shall establish, no later than 90 days after the 


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1 date of enactment of the Responsible Helium Administra2 tion and Stewardship Act, a real-time reporting process, 

3 including reporting over the Internet, to provide data that 

4 will affect the helium industry, including such effects for 

5 all persons in such industry from crude helium suppliers 

6 to end users. 

7 ‘‘(b) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—Information pro8 vided under this section shall include the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) Annual maintenance schedules and quar10 terly updates thereof, which shall be available on the 

11 Internet, to the extent practicable, and shall include 

12 the following: 

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

14 shutdowns of the Federal Helium Reserve pipe15 line. 

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

17 whether routine, extended, or extraordinary. 

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

19 supply. 

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

21 on the supply chain. 

22 ‘‘(E) Any concerns regarding maintenance 

23 of the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline, pres24 sure of such pipeline, or deviation from normal 

25 operation of such pipeline. 


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

2 ‘‘(A) The beginning of the outage. 

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

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

5 ‘‘(D) The estimated impact on helium sup6 ply. 

7 ‘‘(E) A plan to correct problems, an esti8 mate of the potential timeframe for correction, 

9 and the likelihood of plan success within the 

10 timeframe. 

11 ‘‘(F) Efforts to minimize negative impacts 

12 on the helium supply chain. 

13 ‘‘(G) Updates on repair status and the an14 ticipated online date. 

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

16 of Land Management and the Cliffside Refiners 

17 Limited Partnership, including— 

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

19 meeting between the Bureau of Land Manage20 ment and the Cliffside Refiners Limited Part21 nership, including attendees and their affili22 ations, on the Internet site of the Bureau with23 in 1 week after the meeting; and 

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1 ating status related to the Federal helium pro2 gram. 

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

4 Federal Helium Reserve, including how much longer 

5 such crude helium supply will be available based on 

6 current and forecasted demand and the projected 

7 maximum production capacity of the Federal Helium 

8 Reserve for the following fiscal year.’’. 

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

10 SEPARATION. 

11 (a) HELIUM GAS RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Not 

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

14 (1) in coordination with appropriate heads of 

15 State geological surveys— 

16 (A) complete a national helium gas assess17 ment that identifies and quantifies the quantity 

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

19 each reservoir, including assessments of the 

20 constituent gases found in each helium re21 source, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and 

22 natural gas; and 

23 (B) make available the modern seismic and 

24 geophysical log data for characterization of the 

25 Bush Dome Reservoir; 


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1 (2) in coordination with appropriate inter2 national agencies and the global geology community, 

3 complete a global helium gas assessment that identi4 fies and quantifies the quantity of the helium, in5 cluding the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir; 

6 (3) in consultation with the Secretary of En7 ergy, acting through the Administrator of the En8 ergy Information Administration, complete— 

9 (A) an assessment of trends in global de10 mand for helium, including the isotope helium11 3; 

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

13 for helium across all sectors, including scientific 

14 and medical research, commercial, manufac15 turing, space technologies, cryogenics, and na16 tional defense; and 

17 (C) an inventory of medical, scientific, in18 dustrial, commercial, and other uses of helium 

19 in the United States, including Federal and 

20 commercial helium uses, that identifies the na21 ture of the helium use, the amounts required, 

22 the technical and commercial viability of helium 

23 recapture and recycling in that use, and the 

24 availability of material substitutes wherever 

25 possible; and 


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1 (4) submit to the Committee on Natural Re2 sources of the House of Representatives and the 

3 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

4 Senate a report describing the results of the assess5 ments required under this subsection. 

6 (b) HELIUM-3 SEPARATION.— 

7 (1) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—The Sec8 retary of the Interior shall cooperate with the Sec9 retary of Energy, or a designee of the Secretary of 

10 Energy, on any assessment or research relating to 

11 the extraction and refining of the isotope helium-3 

12 from crude helium at the Federal Helium Reserve 

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

14 section 2) or along the Federal Helium Reserve 

15 pipeline system, including— 

16 (A) gas analysis; 

17 (B) infrastructure studies; and 

18 (C) cooperation with private helium refin19 ers. 

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

21 Interior shall assess the feasibility of establishing a 

22 facility to separate the isotope helium-3 from crude 

23 helium at— 

24 (A) the Federal Helium Reserve; or 


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26 

•HR 527 IH

1 (B) an existing helium separation or purifi2 cation facility connected to the Federal Helium 

3 Reserve pipeline system. 

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

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

6 Interior shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

7 Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

9 Senate a report that contains a description of the re10 sults of the assessments conducted under this sub11 section. 

Æ 


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