II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3379 

To amend the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon pollution and create clean 

energy jobs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2010 

Mrs. BOXER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon pollution 

and create clean energy jobs. 

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 ‘‘Pollution and Costs 

5 Reduction Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas 

9 emissions and emissions of other air pollutants, as 

10 defined in section 302 of the Clean Air Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 7602), will spur investments that create new 

2 jobs and foster innovation and entrepreneurship in 

3 clean technology industries; and 

4 (2) on April 2, 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, 

5 549 U.S. 497 (2007), the Supreme Court held that 

6 greenhouse gases are air pollutants, as defined in 

7 section 302 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602). 

8 SEC. 3. BUILDING POLLUTION REDUCTION PROGRAM. 

9 Section 105 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7405) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(f) BUILDING POLLUTION REDUCTION PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) AIR POLLUTANT.—The term ‘air pol14 lutant’ has the meaning given the term in sec15 tion 302. 

16 ‘‘(B) GREENHOUSE GASES.—The term 

17 ‘greenhouse gases’ means carbon dioxide, meth18 ane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluo19 rocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. 

20 ‘‘(C) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—The 

21 term ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ means— 

22 ‘‘(i) direct greenhouse gas emissions 

23 from sources that are owned or controlled 

24 by an owner of a building; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) indirect greenhouse gas emis2 sions resulting from the generation of elec3 tricity, heat, or steam purchased by the 

4 owner of a building. 

5 ‘‘(D) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The term 

6 ‘renewable biomass’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in section 211(o)(1). 

8 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish and carry out a program, to be known as the 

10 ‘Building Pollution Reduction Program’, to provide 

11 assistance to owners of buildings in the United 

12 States to reduce the emission of air pollutants and 

13 building operating costs by— 

14 ‘‘(A) constructing highly efficient buildings 

15 in the United States; or 

16 ‘‘(B) increasing the efficiency of and re17 ducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated 

18 with existing buildings in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator shall 

20 provide assistance under this section to owners of 

21 buildings in the United States based on the extent 

22 to which projects relating to the buildings of the 

23 owners result in verifiable, additional, and enforce24 able reductions in emissions of air pollutants 

25 through operational improvements such as— 


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1 ‘‘(A) improved energy efficiency; 

2 ‘‘(B) increased water-use efficiency; 

3 ‘‘(C) use of renewable energy sources; and 

4 ‘‘(D) such additional measures, as deter5 mined by the Administrator, as will result in a 

6 measurable decrease in emissions of air pollut7 ants. 

8 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 

9 this subsection, the Administrator shall give priority 

10 to projects that— 

11 ‘‘(A) achieve the following minimum scores 

12 as evaluated by energy performance bench13 marking tools— 

14 ‘‘(i) in new or renovated buildings 

15 that demonstrate exemplary performance 

16 by achieving— 

17 ‘‘(I) a minimum score of 75 on 

18 the benchmarking tool of the Energy 

19 Star program established by section 

20 324A of the Energy Policy and Con21 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a); or 

22 ‘‘(II) an equivalent score on an 

23 established energy performance bench24 marking metric selected by the Ad25 ministrator, such as the metric used 


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1 for the National Building Rating Pro2 gram of the Department of Energy; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in retrofitted existing buildings 

5 that demonstrate— 

6 ‘‘(I) substantial improvement in 

7 the score or rating on the bench8 marking tool described in clause (i) by 

9 a minimum of 30 points; or 

10 ‘‘(II) an equivalent improvement 

11 using an established performance 

12 benchmarking metric selected by the 

13 Administrator; 

14 ‘‘(B) are completed by building owners 

15 with a proven track record of reducing pollution 

16 through the measures described in paragraph 

17 (3); and 

18 ‘‘(C) result in measurable pollution reduc19 tion benefits not encompassed within the 

20 metrics of the Energy Star program described 

21 in subparagraph (A)(i)(I). 

22 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad24 ministrator to carry out this section $50,000,000 for 

25 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. ADVANCED BIOFUELS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) according to the Environmental Protection 

4 Agency, the transportation sector is responsible for 

5 a significant quantity of the greenhouse gas emis6 sions of the United States; 

7 (2) advanced, environmentally sustainable bio8 fuels can help promote a safe, secure, and domestic 

9 source of low-carbon fuels that reduce the emissions 

10 of pollutants (as defined in section 302 of the Clean 

11 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602)); and 

12 (3) such biofuels can— 

13 (A) help the United States reduce green14 house gas emissions, which are considered to be 

15 air pollutants under section 302 of that Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 7602); and 

17 (B) benefit consumers and environmental 

18 quality. 

19 (b) DEFINITION OF ADVANCED GREEN BIOFUEL.— 

20 Section 211(o)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 7545(o)(1)) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 

23 (L) as subparagraphs (D) through (M), respectively; 

24 and 

25 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol26 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(C) ADVANCED GREEN BIOFUEL.—The 

2 term ‘advanced green biofuel’ means an ad3 vanced biofuel that the Administrator deter4 mines— 

5 ‘‘(i) has lifecycle greenhouse gas emis6 sions that are at least 60 percent less than 

7 the baseline lifecycle greenhouse gas emis8 sions; 

9 ‘‘(ii) is made from advanced renewable 

10 biomass; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) minimizes biorefinery water re12 quirements to the maximum extent achiev13 able, taking into consideration costs and 

14 other appropriate factors.’’. 

15 (c) ADVANCED BIOFUELS.—Section 211 of the Clean 

16 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545) is amended by inserting after 

17 subsection (o) the following: 

18 ‘‘(p) ADVANCED BIOFUELS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ADVANCED RENEWABLE

20 BIOMASS.—In this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) ADVANCED RENEWABLE BIOMASS.— 

22 The term ‘advanced renewable biomass’ means 

23 renewable biomass that is produced using sus24 tainable practices, as determined by the Admin25 istrator, in consultation with the Secretary of 


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1 Agriculture, taking into consideration factors 

2 such as— 

3 ‘‘(i) the maintenance and enhance4 ment of the quality and productivity of the 

5 soil; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the conservation of soil, water, 

7 energy, natural resources, and fish and 

8 wildlife habitat; 

9 ‘‘(iii) the maintenance and enhance10 ment of the quality of surface water and 

11 groundwater; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the protection of the health and 

13 safety of individuals involved in the pro14 duction system; 

15 ‘‘(v) the promotion of the well-being of 

16 animals; 

17 ‘‘(vi) the increase in employment op18 portunities in the agricultural sector; and 

19 ‘‘(vii) prevention of the introduction of 

20 invasive species, including consideration of 

21 a review by the Invasive Species Council 

22 established by Executive Order 13112 (64 

23 Fed. Reg. 6183 (February 3, 1999)). 

24 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ 

25 means the 1,000,000,000-Gallon Challenge 


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1 Grant Program established under paragraph 

2 (2)(A). 

3 ‘‘(C) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The term 

4 ‘renewable biomass’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in subsection (o)(1). 

6 ‘‘(2) 1,000,000,000-GALLON CHALLENGE

7 GRANT PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis9 trator shall establish within the Environmental 

10 Protection Agency a program, to be known as 

11 the ‘1,000,000,000-Gallon Challenge Grant 

12 Program’, under which the Administrator shall 

13 provide grants in accordance with this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During each cal17 endar year for the period described in 

18 clause (ii), the Administrator shall solicit 

19 applications for grants under the Program 

20 from owners and operators of projects 

21 that, as determined by the Administrator, 

22 have the potential, in the aggregate, to 

23 produce up to 500,000,000 gallons in an24 nual domestic production capacity of ad25 vanced green biofuels. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) DESCRIPTION OF PERIOD.—The 

2 period referred to in clause (i) is the period 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(I) begins on the date of estab5 lishment of the Program; and 

6 ‘‘(II) ends on the date on which, 

7 as determined by the Administrator, 

8 the Program supports projects that 

9 have the potential to produce, or are 

10 producing, not less than 

11 1,000,000,000 gallons in annual do12 mestic production capacity of ad13 vanced green biofuels. 

14 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(I) DEFINITION OF ADJUST16 MENT PERIOD.—In this clause, the 

17 term ‘adjustment period’ means the 

18 period that— 

19 ‘‘(aa) begins on the date of 

20 establishment of the Program; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(bb) ends on the earlier of, 

23 as determined by the Adminis24 trator— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) the date on 

2 which the Program supports 

3 projects that have the poten4 tial to produce, or are pro5 ducing, not less than 

6 1,000,000,000 gallons in an7 nual domestic production ca8 pacity of advanced green 

9 biofuels; and 

10 ‘‘(BB) the date on 

11 which the Program achieves 

12 the annual domestic produc13 tion capacity targets of the 

14 Program. 

15 ‘‘(II) SOLICITATION OF APPLICA16 TIONS.—For any calendar year during 

17 the adjustment period for which an 

18 application for a grant under the Pro19 gram is withdrawn, or for which a re20 cipient of a grant under the Program 

21 fails to meet the domestic production 

22 capacity targets of the recipient (as 

23 determined by the Administrator), the 

24 Administrator shall solicit additional 


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1 applications for grants under the Pro2 gram. 

3 ‘‘(iv) APPLICATION POLICY.—The 

4 grant solicitation process of the Program 

5 shall provide for, as determined by the Ad6 ministrator— 

7 ‘‘(I) simplified, standardized, and 

8 timely solicitation of applications; and 

9 ‘‘(II) a simplified, standardized 

10 funding process that requires— 

11 ‘‘(aa) timely receipt and re12 view of applications; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) protection of propri14 etary information provided in ap15 plications. 

16 ‘‘(C) TYPES OF GRANTS.—In carrying out 

17 the Program, the Administrator shall provide 4 

18 types of grants, as follows: 

19 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

20 GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A research 

22 and development grant may be pro23 vided under the Program to a project 

24 that, as determined by the Adminis25 trator, will assist biofuel developers in 


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1 producing advanced green biofuels by 

2 facilitating— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the development of 

4 technologies to produce advanced 

5 green biofuels; 

6 ‘‘(bb) the creation of tech7 nologies used in facilities that 

8 produce advanced green biofuels; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(cc) the production of ad11 vanced green biofuels, including 

12 renewable biomass. 

13 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—The amount 

14 of a research and development grant 

15 provided under the Program shall not 

16 exceed the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(aa) an amount equal to 80 

18 percent of the cost of the project; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(bb) $2,000,000. 

21 ‘‘(ii) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A planning 

23 grant may be provided under the Pro24 gram to a project that, as determined 

25 by the Administrator, will assist 


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1 biofuel developers in producing ad2 vanced green biofuels by facilitating 

3 the development and finalization of 

4 project plans and contracts that dem5 onstrate that the project— 

6 ‘‘(aa) has the potential for 

7 commercial viability; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) is likely to be oper9 ational by not later than 3 years 

10 after the date on which the plan11 ning grant is provided. 

12 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—The amount 

13 of a planning grant provided under 

14 the Program shall not exceed the less15 er of— 

16 ‘‘(aa) an amount equal to 80 

17 percent of the cost of the project; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(bb) $2,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(iii) TRANSLATIONAL GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A transla22 tional grant, which helps to create 

23 successful technological innovations 

24 and the commercial use of those inno25 vations, may be provided under the 


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1 Program to a project that, as deter2 mined by the Administrator, will as3 sist biofuel developers in producing 

4 advanced green biofuels, including 

5 from the development of a basic 

6 proof-of-concept for the project to the 

7 establishment of a pilot-scale ad8 vanced green biofuel production facil9 ity through a phased process, as de10 scribed in subclause (II). 

11 ‘‘(II) PHASES.—The phases re12 ferred to in subclause (I) are the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(aa) PHASE I.—A project 

15 shall be considered to be in phase 

16 I for purposes of this subpara17 graph if the purpose of the 

18 project is to determine the sci19 entific and technical merit and 

20 feasibility of ideas that appear to 

21 have commercial potential, as de22 scribed in item (bb). 

23 ‘‘(bb) PHASE II.—A project 

24 shall be considered to be in phase 

25 II for purposes of this subparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:34 May 18, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3379.IS S3379

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1 graph if the purpose of the 

2 project is to advance the develop3 ment of a project that meets par4 ticular Program needs, based on 

5 the scientific and technical merit 

6 and feasibility demonstrated in 

7 the application for the project (as 

8 evidenced by phase I of the 

9 project), taking into consider10 ation, among other things, the 

11 commercial potential of the 

12 project, as evidenced by— 

13 ‘‘(AA) the record of 

14 success of the applicable 

15 biofuel developer in commer16 cializing the results of re17 search; 

18 ‘‘(BB) the existence of 

19 phase II-appropriate funding 

20 commitments from the pri21 vate sector or a funding 

22 source other than the Pro23 gram; 


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1 ‘‘(CC) the existence of 

2 commitments for phase III 

3 of the project; and 

4 ‘‘(DD) the presence of 

5 other indicators of the com6 mercial potential of the 

7 project. 

8 ‘‘(cc) PHASE III.—A project 

9 shall be considered to be in phase 

10 III for purposes of this subclause 

11 if— 

12 ‘‘(AA) the project has 

13 completed phases I and II; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(BB) commercial ap16 plication of, or the continu17 ation of work on, the project 

18 will be funded by the private 

19 sector or a funding source 

20 other than the Program. 

21 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION.—The amount 

22 of a translational grant provided 

23 under the Program shall not exceed 

24 the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) an amount equal to 80 

2 percent of the cost of the project; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(bb) $8,000,000. 

5 ‘‘(iv) CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A construc7 tion grant may be provided under the 

8 Program to a project that, as deter9 mined by the Administrator— 

10 ‘‘(aa) will assist biofuel de11 velopers in producing advanced 

12 green biofuels by paying con13 struction costs and other costs; 

14 ‘‘(bb) demonstrates the po15 tential for commercial success; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(cc) will commence con18 struction by not later than 1 year 

19 after the date on which the con20 struction grant is provided. 

21 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—The amount 

22 of a construction grant provided 

23 under the Program shall not exceed 

24 an amount equal to 60 percent of the 

25 cost of the project. 


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1 ‘‘(D) SELECTION.— 

2 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

3 GRANTS.—In evaluating applications for 

4 research and development grants under the 

5 Program, the Administrator shall take into 

6 consideration— 

7 ‘‘(I) the potential of a project for 

8 commercial viability; 

9 ‘‘(II) the potential of the project 

10 to provide environmental and public 

11 health benefits; 

12 ‘‘(III) the potential of the project 

13 to use existing fuel delivery and dis14 tribution systems; and 

15 ‘‘(IV) such other factors as the 

16 Administrator determines to be appro17 priate. 

18 ‘‘(ii) PLANNING GRANTS.—In evalu19 ating applications for planning grants 

20 under the Program, the Administrator 

21 shall take into consideration— 

22 ‘‘(I) the potential of a project for 

23 commercial viability; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the potential of the project 

2 to provide environmental and public 

3 health benefits; 

4 ‘‘(III) the potential of the project 

5 to use existing fuel delivery and dis6 tribution systems; 

7 ‘‘(IV) the scalability of the 

8 project; and 

9 ‘‘(V) such other factors as the 

10 Administrator determines to be appro11 priate. 

12 ‘‘(iii) TRANSLATIONAL GRANTS.—In 

13 evaluating applications for translational 

14 grants under the Program, the Adminis15 trator shall take into consideration— 

16 ‘‘(I) the potential of a project for 

17 commercial viability; 

18 ‘‘(II) the potential of the project 

19 to provide environmental and public 

20 health benefits; 

21 ‘‘(III) the potential of the project 

22 to use existing fuel delivery and dis23 tribution systems; 

24 ‘‘(IV) the scalability of the 

25 project; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) such other factors as the 

2 Administrator determines to be appro3 priate. 

4 ‘‘(iv) CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.—In 

5 evaluating applications for construction 

6 grants under the Program, the Adminis7 trator shall take into consideration— 

8 ‘‘(I) the potential of a project for 

9 commercial success; 

10 ‘‘(II) the potential of the project 

11 to provide environmental and public 

12 health benefits; 

13 ‘‘(III) the potential of the project 

14 to use existing fuel delivery and dis15 tribution systems; 

16 ‘‘(IV) the scalability of the 

17 project; 

18 ‘‘(V) the readiness of the project 

19 to commence construction by not later 

20 than 1 year after the date on which 

21 the construction grant is provided; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(VI) such other factors as the 

24 Administrator determines to be appro25 priate. 


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1 ‘‘(v) EXERCISE OF DISCRETION IN

2 FUNDING PROJECTS.—The Administrator 

3 shall not exclude an application from con4 sideration under this subparagraph solely 

5 on the basis that the project that is the 

6 subject of the application uses, or proposes 

7 to use, any item described in subsection 

8 (o)(1)(I). 

9 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH COMPLEMEN10 TARY PROGRAMS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF COMPLEMENTARY

12 PROGRAM.—In this subparagraph, the 

13 term ‘complementary program’ means a 

14 grant program under any other provision 

15 of law (including a regulation) under which 

16 a recipient of a grant under the Program 

17 receives, or has the potential to receive, 

18 funds to assist the project of the recipient 

19 to achieve environmental performance 

20 standards equivalent to, or greater than, 

21 the standards required under the Program. 

22 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF PROGRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A grant pro24 vided to a recipient under the Pro25 gram— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) shall be provided in 

2 addition to any grant provided to 

3 the recipient under a complemen4 tary program; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) shall not be dimin6 ished as a result of receipt by the 

7 recipient of funds under any 

8 complementary program. 

9 ‘‘(II) AMOUNT OF OTHER

10 GRANTS.—Receipt of a grant under 

11 the Program shall not affect the 

12 amount the recipient is otherwise eli13 gible to receive under any complemen14 tary program. 

15 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this subsection $500,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

18 years 2011 through 2015.’’. 

Æ 


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