II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2911 

To establish a task force to review policies and measures to promote, and 

to develop best practices for, reduction of short-lived climate pollutants, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. 

COONS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. KING, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish a task force to review policies and measures 

to promote, and to develop best practices for, reduction 

of short-lived climate pollutants, 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 ‘‘Super Pollutants Act 

5 of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Short-lived climate pollutants account for 

2 40 percent of global warming currently impacting 

3 the atmosphere, even though such pollutants account 

4 for a much smaller percentage of warming agents by 

5 weight. 

6 (2) Reducing short-lived climate pollutant emis7 sions could— 

8 (A) prevent more than 2,000,000 pre9 mature deaths each year, according to the 

10 United Nations Environment Programme 

11 (UNEP); 

12 (B) prevent more than 30,000,000 tons of 

13 crop losses each year, according to UNEP; 

14 (C) cut the rate of sea level rise by 25 per15 cent, according to the National Center for At16 mospheric Research and the Scripps Institution 

17 of Oceanography; 

18 (D) cut the rate of warming by up to 0.6 

19 degrees Celsius by 2050, according to UNEP; 

20 and 

21 (E) significantly contribute toward the 

22 overall global target of holding increased warm23 ing below 2 degrees Celsius. 

24 (3) The United States is one of the world’s 

25 largest consumer of hydrofluorocarbons and is proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Oct 02, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2911.IS S2911

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1 viding significant innovation in the development of 

2 low global warming potential (low-GWP) alterna3 tives. 

4 (4) The United States could serve as a leader 

5 and exemplar of responsibly phasing down hydro6 fluorocarbon production and consumption. 

7 (5) The Montreal Protocol on Substances that 

8 Deplete the Ozone Layer has been an extraordinarily 

9 successful model for protecting the stratospheric 

10 ozone layer and achieving significant climate protec11 tion co-benefits. Since the treaty was signed in 

12 1987, there has been a 98 percent reduction in 

13 ozone-depleting substances. 

14 (6) The interagency Strategy to Reduce Meth15 ane Emissions, released in March 2014, outlines a 

16 proactive agenda for reducing methane leakage and 

17 waste throughout the United States economy. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) HIGH–GWP HFC.—The term ‘‘high-GWP 

21 HFC’’ means high global warming potential hydro22 fluorocarbons. 

23 (2) SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANT.—The 

24 term ‘‘short-lived climate pollutant’’ means— 

25 (A) black carbon; 


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1 (B) methane; and 

2 (C) high-GWP HFC. 

3 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON SHORT-LIVED CLI4 MATE POLLUTANT MITIGATION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 

7 establish the Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Cli8 mate Pollutant Mitigation (referred to in this section as 

9 the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

10 (b) MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall include the 

11 head of all relevant Federal agencies (or their designated 

12 representatives), including the Department of Agriculture, 

13 the Department of Commerce, the Department of De14 fense, the Department of Energy, the Department of the 

15 Interior, the Department of State, the United States 

16 Agency for International Development, the Department of 

17 Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

18 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra19 tion. 

20 (c) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 

21 (1) review the policy recommendations made by 

22 the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task 

23 Force, the Interagency Strategy to Reduce Methane 

24 Emissions, the March 2012 report to Congress on 


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1 Black Carbon, and the Council on Climate Prepared2 ness and Resilience; 

3 (2) incorporate any appropriate proposals or 

4 recommendations made by the entities or reports re5 ferred to in paragraph (1) that are relevant to short6 lived climate pollutants into the Task Force’s action 

7 plan; 

8 (3) identify relevant Federal programs that are 

9 or could be addressing the reduction of short-lived 

10 climate pollutants in the United States and world11 wide; 

12 (4) identify overlapping and duplicative pro13 grams addressing short-lived climate pollutants that 

14 would benefit from consolidation and streamlining; 

15 (5) identify gaps and serious deficiencies in 

16 United States programs targeted at short-lived cli17 mate pollutants, including those that can be 

18 achieved through a combination of assessment, sci19 entific research, monitoring, and technological devel20 opment activities; 

21 (6) not later than 18 months after the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act, submit a report to Con23 gress on the findings and recommendations resulting 

24 from the activities described in paragraphs (1) 

25 through (5); and 


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1 (7) in developing recommendations, consult 

2 with affected stakeholders in private industry. 

3 (d) EMISSION REDUCTION PLANS.—Not later than 

4 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 

5 Federal agency shall submit a report to the appropriate 

6 congressional committees that includes— 

7 (1) the agency’s plans for meeting the goals set 

8 forth in section 2 of Executive Order 13514 (Octo9 ber 5, 2009) to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, methane, 

10 and related indirect emissions, including tropo11 spheric ozone, by the Federal Government; and 

12 (2) specific plans to purchase cleaner alter13 natives to high-GWP HFC whenever feasible and to 

14 transition over time to equipment that uses safer 

15 and more sustainable alternatives to high-GWP 

16 HFC. 

17 SEC. 5. REDUCTION OF BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS. 

18 (a) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Through the United States 

20 membership in the International Maritime Organiza21 tion, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

22 Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Com23 merce, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro24 tection Agency, and the Commandant of the Coast 

25 Guard, shall develop a comprehensive plan to reduce 


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1 black carbon emissions from international shipping 

2 through— 

3 (A) a clean freight partnership; 

4 (B) the inclusion of limits on black carbon; 

5 and 

6 (C) efforts that include protection of access 

7 to critical fuel shipments and emergency needs 

8 of coastal communities. 

9 (2) ROADMAP.—A principal objective of the 

10 plan developed pursuant to paragraph (1) should be 

11 the creation, in coordination with the Department of 

12 Transportation, of a roadmap toward helping coun13 tries reduce fine-particle emissions (PM2.5) in the 

14 shipping sector through— 

15 (A) the installation of advanced emissions 

16 controls; and 

17 (B) the reduction of sulfur content in 

18 fuels. 

19 (b) BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS REDUCTION

20 GOALS.—In advance of and upon assuming the Chair of 

21 the Arctic Council, the Secretary of State should— 

22 (1) lead an effort to reduce black carbon 

23 through an Arctic-wide aspirational black carbon 

24 goal; and 


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1 (2) encourage observers of the Arctic Council 

2 (including India and China) to adopt national black 

3 carbon emissions reduction goals. 

4 (c) CLIMATE AND CLEAN AIR COALITION.—Through 

5 the United States membership in the Climate and Clean 

6 Air Coalition to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants 

7 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Coalition’’), the Sec8 retary of State is encouraged— 

9 (1) to work with the Coalition to craft specific 

10 financing mechanisms for the incremental cost of 

11 international black carbon mitigation activities; and 

12 (2) to request that the Coalition produce a re13 port of black carbon mitigation financing options. 

14 (d) BLACK CARBON MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.— 

15 (1) PRIORITIZATION.—The Administrator of 

16 the United States Agency for International Develop17 ment shall prioritize black carbon mitigation activi18 ties as part of aid distribution activities and give 

19 special emphasis to projects that produce substantial 

20 environmental and public health benefits, including 

21 support for clean-burning cookstoves and fuels. 

22 (2) EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS.—The Secretary of 

23 State, in collaboration with the Environmental Pro24 tection Agency and the Department of Transpor25 tation, should further aid international efforts to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Oct 02, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2911.IS S2911

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1 duce black carbon emissions from diesel trucks, 2- 

2 stroke engines, diesel generators, and industrial pro3 cesses by providing technical assistance— 

4 (A) to help developing nations lower the 

5 sulfur content of their diesel fuels; 

6 (B) to expand access to diesel particulate 

7 filters; 

8 (C) to provide vehicle manufacturers with 

9 low-emission engine designs; 

10 (D) to work with the Global Alliance for 

11 Clean Cookstoves to help developing nations es12 tablish thriving markets for clean and efficient 

13 cooking solutions; and 

14 (E) to develop other mitigation activities, 

15 including energy efficiency alternatives for gen16 erators and industrial processes. 

17 SEC. 6. GLOBAL REDUCTIONS IN HIGH-GWP FLUORINATED 

18 GASES. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 

20 (1) ACTIONS BY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

21 AGENCY.—It is the sense of Congress that the Ad22 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

23 should— 


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1 (A) amend any regulations issued under 

2 section 608 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 7671g)— 

4 (i) to include hydrofluorocarbons; and 

5 (ii) to expand initiatives relating to 

6 the recovery and reclamation of hydrofluo7 rocarbons. 

8 (B) cooperate with the Secretary of Energy 

9 in considering modifications to the Energy Star 

10 program established under section 324A of the 

11 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 6294a) to recognize refrigerant systems that— 

13 (i) achieve best-in-class energy effi14 ciency savings; and 

15 (ii) utilize low global warming poten16 tial refrigerants and foam-blowing agents; 

17 and 

18 (C) remove high global warming potential 

19 hydrofluorocarbons from the Significant New 

20 Alternatives Policy Program authorized under 

21 section 612(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 7671k(c)) for applications in which the Admin23 istrator has identified other alternatives that— 

24 (i) are currently or potentially avail25 able; and 


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1 (ii) reduce the overall risk to human 

2 health and the environment. 

3 (2) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of 

4 the Senate that an amendment to the Montreal Pro5 tocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 

6 should ensure a smooth, technically feasible transi7 tion away from high-GWP HFC. 

8 (b) STUDY ON HIGH-GWP HFC ALTERNATIVES.— 

9 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator 

11 of the Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration 

12 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

13 shall evaluate the availability of high-GWP HFC alter14 natives and submit a report to Congress that— 

15 (1) identifies— 

16 (A) the standards or regulatory barriers 

17 that are preventing the use of alternatives to 

18 high-GWP HFC in the United States that are 

19 in widespread use in other countries; 

20 (B) which standards or regulations need to 

21 be revised; and 

22 (C) what actions will be necessary to revise 

23 such standards or regulations; and 


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1 (2) sets forth a plan for revising the standards 

2 referred to in paragraph (1) in the shortest possible 

3 time frame. 

4 (c) PROHIBITION OF HCFC–22 AIR CONDITIONING

5 CONDENSING EQUIPMENT.— 

6 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 605 of the Clean 

7 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7671d) is amended by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(e) HCFC–22 AIR CONDITIONING CONDENSING

10 EQUIPMENT.—Effective 1 year after the date of the enact11 ment of the Super Pollutants Act of 2014, it shall be un12 lawful for any person to manufacture any uncharged hy13 drochlorofluorocarbon–22 air conditioning condensing 

14 equipment for residential use.’’. 

15 (2) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad17 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

18 shall promulgate regulations— 

19 (A) to carry out the amendment made by 

20 paragraph (1); and 

21 (B) to reduce the allocation of HCFC–22 

22 consumption allowances commensurate with an23 ticipated decreased demand resulting from the 

24 prohibition of uncharged condensing equipment 


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1 under sections 605(e) of the Clean Air Act, as 

2 added by paragraph (1). 

3 (d) R–134a AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONING SERV4 ICING AND RECHARGE KITS.— 

5 (1) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Envi6 ronmental Protection Agency shall conduct a study 

7 to determine whether the sale of R–134a automotive 

8 air conditioning recharge kits to consumers rep9 resents an environmentally significant source of 

10 high-GWP HFC emissions. 

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

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 shall submit a report to Congress that contains the 

14 results of the study conducted pursuant to para15 graph (1). 

16 SEC. 7. REDUCTION OF METHANE LEAKAGE. 

17 (a) TECHNICAL GUIDANCE.—The Secretary of State, 

18 the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Envi19 ronmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of Com20 merce shall— 

21 (1) provide other countries with technical guid22 ance on containment of emissions from gas drilling, 

23 landfills, coal mining, and agriculture when engaging 

24 with other governments, including trade delegations, 


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1 under the auspices of Department of State’s Global 

2 Shale Gas Initiative; and 

3 (2) collaborate with— 

4 (A) the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring 

5 Reduction Partnership; and 

6 (B) the Environmental Protection Agency’s 

7 Global Methane Initiative, Natural Gas STAR 

8 Program, and other voluntary reduction pro9 grams. 

10 (b) GAS PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

11 (1) STUDY.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Energy 

13 Regulatory Commission, consistent with exist14 ing authority, shall conduct a study of methods 

15 utilized at facilities subject to the Commission’s 

16 jurisdiction to reduce leaks and venting across 

17 natural gas facilities. 

18 (B) ISSUES TO BE EXAMINED.—In con19 ducting the study required under this para20 graph, the Commission shall examine— 

21 (i) how the Commission’s treatment of 

22 just and reasonable rates for interstate 

23 transmission could be reformed to incent 

24 pipeline operators to recover fugitive meth25 ane emissions; 


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1 (ii) how the Commission could coordi2 nate with other agencies, including the De3 partment of Energy, the Environmental 

4 Protection Agency, and the Pipeline and 

5 Hazardous Materials Safety Administra6 tion, to ensure the development of rigorous 

7 and technically sound standards; and 

8 (iii) whether new pipeline systems are 

9 being engineered to meet the highest 

10 achievable standards for leak avoidance 

11 prior to being granted a construction cer12 tificate. 

13 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

15 shall submit a report to Congress that contains the 

16 results of the examination conducted pursuant to 

17 paragraph (1). 

18 (3) INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE PRO19 GRAM.—The Administrator of the Environmental 

20 Protection Agency shall establish a directed inspec21 tion and maintenance program that focuses on— 

22 (A) identifying the types of equipment 

23 throughout the production value chain that are 

24 most likely to have high leak rates; and 


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1 (B) efforts on replacing or monitoring 

2 those types of equipment. 

3 (c) FINANCING CONDITIONS.—The U.S. Export-Im4 port Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corpora5 tion, when evaluating gas and oil-related projects for fi6 nancial support, should condition financing for such 

7 projects upon— 

8 (1) the deployment of the best technology, 

9 methods, and management practices for detecting 

10 and repairing leaks of methane throughout the oil 

11 and gas production, processing, transportation, and 

12 distribution system; 

13 (2) the minimization of venting and inefficient 

14 or unnecessary flaring; and 

15 (3) the deployment of best technology, methods, 

16 and management practices for reducing emissions of 

17 other air pollution, especially volatile organic com18 pounds and hazardous air pollutants. 

Æ 


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