II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 711 

To amend the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000 

to reauthorize that Act and to promote the research, identification, assessment, exploration, and development of methane hydrate resources. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5, 2005 

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. STEVENS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To amend the Methane Hydrate Research and Development 

Act of 2000 to reauthorize that Act and to promote 

the research, identification, assessment, exploration, and 

development of methane hydrate resources.

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 ‘‘Methane Hydrate Re5 search and Development Reauthorization Act of 2005’’. 
2

•S 711 IS

1 SEC. 2. METHANE HYDRATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT. 

3 The Methane Hydrate Research and Development 

4 Act of 2000 (30 U.S.C. 1902 note; Public Law 106–193) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

7 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Methane Hydrate Re8 search and Development Act of 2000’. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

10 ‘‘Congress finds that— 

11 ‘‘(1) in order to promote energy independence 

12 and meet the increasing demand for energy, the 

13 United States will require a diversified portfolio of 

14 substantially increased quantities of electricity, nat15 ural gas, and transportation fuels; 

16 ‘‘(2) according to the report submitted to Con17 gress by the National Research Council entitled 

18 ‘Charting the Future of Methane Hydrate Research 

19 in the United States’, the total United States re20 sources of gas hydrates have been estimated to be on 

21 the order of 200,000 trillion cubic feet; 

22 ‘‘(3) according to the report of the National 

23 Commission on Energy Policy entitled ‘Ending the 

24 Energy Stalemate—A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet 

25 America’s Energy Challenge’, and dated December 
3

•S 711 IS

1 2004, the United States may be endowed with over 

2 1/4 of the methane hydrate deposits in the world; 

3 ‘‘(4) according to the Energy Information Ad4 ministration, a shortfall in natural gas supply from 

5 conventional and unconventional sources is expected 

6 to occur in or about 2020; and 

7 ‘‘(5) the National Academy of Science states 

8 that methane hydrate may have the potential to al9 leviate the projected shortfall in the natural gas sup10 ply. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 ‘‘In this Act: 

13 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT.—The term ‘contract’ means a 

14 procurement contract within the meaning of section 

15 6303 of title 31, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The term 

17 ‘cooperative agreement’ means a cooperative agree18 ment within the meaning of section 6305 of title 31, 

19 United States Code. 

20 ‘‘(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

21 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

22 ‘‘(4) GRANT.—The term ‘grant’ means a grant 

23 awarded under a grant agreement (within the mean24 ing of section 6304 of title 31, United States Code). 
4

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(5) INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘in2 dustrial enterprise’ means a private, nongovern3 mental enterprise that has an expertise or capability 

4 that relates to methane hydrate research and devel5 opment. 

6 ‘‘(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—

7 The term ‘institution of higher education’ means an 

8 institution of higher education (as defined in section 

9 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 1002)). 

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

12 the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assist13 ant Secretary for Fossil Energy. 

14 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.—The term 

15 ‘Secretary of Commerce’ means the Secretary of 

16 Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the 

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The term 

19 ‘Secretary of Defense’ means the Secretary of De20 fense, acting through the Secretary of the Navy. 

21 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—The 

22 term ‘Secretary of the Interior’ means the Secretary 

23 of the Interior, acting through the Director of the 

24 United States Geological Survey, the Director of the 
5

•S 711 IS

1 Bureau of Land Management, and the Director of 

2 the Minerals Management Service. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 4. METHANE HYDRATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP4 MENT PROGRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later 

7 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the 

8 Methane Hydrate Research and Development Reau9 thorization Act of 2005, the Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary 

11 of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 

12 Director, shall commence a program of methane hy13 drate research and development in accordance with 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATIONS.—The Secretary, the Sec16 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the 

17 Secretary of the Interior, and the Director shall des18 ignate individuals to carry out this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The individual des20 ignated by the Secretary shall coordinate all activi21 ties within the Department of Energy relating to 

22 methane hydrate research and development. 

23 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The individuals designated 

24 under paragraph (2) shall meet not later than 180 

25 days after the date of the enactment of the Methane 
6

•S 711 IS

1 Hydrate Research and Development Reauthorization 

2 Act of 2005 and not less frequently than every 180 

3 days thereafter to— 

4 ‘‘(A) review the progress of the program 

5 under paragraph (1); and 

6 ‘‘(B) coordinate interagency research and 

7 partnership efforts in carrying out the program. 

8 ‘‘(b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE9 MENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS, 

10 AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—In car12 rying out the program of methane hydrate research 

13 and development authorized by this section, the Sec14 retary may award grants to, or enter into contracts 

15 or cooperative agreements with, institutions of high16 er education and industrial enterprises to— 

17 ‘‘(A) conduct basic and applied research to 

18 identify, explore, assess, and develop methane 

19 hydrate as a commercially viable source of en20 ergy; 

21 ‘‘(B) identify methane hydrate resources 

22 through remote sensing; 

23 ‘‘(C) acquire and reprocess seismic data 

24 suitable for characterizing methane hydrate ac25 cumulations; 
7

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(D) assist in developing technologies re2 quired for efficient and environmentally sound 

3 development of methane hydrate resources; 

4 ‘‘(E) promote education and training in 

5 methane hydrate resource research and re6 source development through fellowships or other 

7 means for graduate education and training; 

8 ‘‘(F) conduct basic and applied research to 

9 assess and mitigate the environmental impact of 

10 hydrate degassing (including both natural 

11 degassing and degassing associated with com12 mercial development); 

13 ‘‘(G) develop technologies to reduce the 

14 risks of drilling through methane hydrates; and 

15 ‘‘(H) conduct exploratory drilling, well 

16 testing, and production testing operations on 

17 permafrost and non-permafrost gas hydrates in 

18 support of the activities authorized by this 

19 paragraph, including drilling of 1 or more full20 scale production test wells. 

21 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE PEER REVIEW.—Funds 

22 made available under paragraph (1) shall be made 

23 available based on a competitive process using exter24 nal scientific peer review of proposed research. 

25 ‘‘(c) METHANE HYDRATES ADVISORY PANEL.— 
8

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish an advisory panel (including the hiring of appro3 priate staff) consisting of representatives of indus4 trial enterprises, institutions of higher education, 

5 oceanographic institutions, State agencies, and envi6 ronmental organizations with knowledge and exper7 tise in the natural gas hydrates field, to— 

8 ‘‘(A) assist in developing recommendations 

9 and broad programmatic priorities for the 

10 methane hydrate research and development pro11 gram carried out under subsection (a)(1); 

12 ‘‘(B) provide scientific oversight for the 

13 methane hydrates program, including assessing 

14 progress toward program goals, evaluating pro15 gram balance, and providing recommendations 

16 to enhance the quality of the program over 

17 time; and 

18 ‘‘(C) not later than 2 years after the date 

19 of the enactment of the Methane Hydrate Re20 search and Development Reauthorization Act of 

21 2005, and at such later dates as the panel con22 siders advisable, submit to Congress— 

23 ‘‘(i) an assessment of the methane hy24 drate research program; and 
9

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the 5-year re2 search plan of the Department of Energy. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—In appointing 

4 each member of the advisory panel established under 

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure, to the 

6 maximum extent practicable, that the appointment 

7 of the member does not pose a conflict of interest 

8 with respect to the duties of the member under this 

9 Act. 

10 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The advisory panel shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) hold the initial meeting of the advi12 sory panel not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of establishment of the advisory panel; and 

14 ‘‘(B) meet biennially thereafter. 

15 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—The advisory panel shall 

16 coordinate activities of the advisory panel with pro17 gram managers of the Department of Energy at ap18 propriate national laboratories 

19 ‘‘(d) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the funds 

20 made available to carry out this section may be used for 

21 the construction of a new building or the acquisition, ex22 pansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building 

23 (including site grading and improvement and architect 

24 fees). 
10

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In 

2 carrying out subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) facilitate and develop partnerships among 

4 government, industrial enterprises, and institutions 

5 of higher education to research, identify, assess, and 

6 explore methane hydrate resources; 

7 ‘‘(2) undertake programs to develop basic infor8 mation necessary for promoting long-term interest in 

9 methane hydrate resources as an energy source; 

10 ‘‘(3) ensure that the data and information de11 veloped through the program are accessible and 

12 widely disseminated as needed and appropriate; 

13 ‘‘(4) promote cooperation among agencies that 

14 are developing technologies that may hold promise 

15 for methane hydrate resource development; 

16 ‘‘(5) report annually to Congress on the results 

17 of actions taken to carry out this Act; and 

18 ‘‘(6) ensure, to the maximum extent prac19 ticable, greater participation by the Department of 

20 Energy in international cooperative efforts. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY. 

22 ‘‘(a) AGREEMENT FOR STUDY.—The Secretary shall 

23 offer to enter into an agreement with the National Re24 search Council under which the National Research Council 

25 shall— 
11

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(1) conduct a study of the progress made 

2 under the methane hydrate research and develop3 ment program implemented under this Act; and 

4 ‘‘(2) make recommendations for future methane 

5 hydrate research and development needs. 

6 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2009, 

7 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing 

8 the findings and recommendations of the National Re9 search Council under this section. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 6. REPORTS AND STUDIES FOR CONGRESS. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall provide to the Committee on 

12 Science of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

14 copies of any report or study that the Department of En15 ergy prepares at the direction of any committee of Con16 gress. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec19 retary to carry out this Act, to remain available until ex20 pended— 

21 ‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

22 ‘‘(2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

23 ‘‘(3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

24 ‘‘(4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 
12

•S 711 IS

1 ‘‘(5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.’’.

Æ