REMOVE Act of 2022

To establish the Committee on Large-Scale Carbon Management in the Department of Energy and a Federal Carbon Removal Initiative, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Removing Emissions to Mend Our Vulnerable Earth Act of 2022 REMOVE Act of 2022 2. Committee on Large-Scale Carbon Management and Federal Carbon Removal Initiative (a) Definition of carbon dioxide removal In this section, the term carbon dioxide removal (1) direct air capture and sequestration; (2) enhanced carbon mineralization; (3) bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration; (4) forest restoration; (5) soil carbon management; (6) ocean-based carbon removal; and (7) any other approaches or methods identified by the Committee. (b) Committee on Large-Scale Carbon Management (1) Establishment (A) In general There is established in the Department of Energy, Office of Undersecretary for Science and Energy a committee on matters relating to large-scale carbon management. (B) Designation The committee established by subparagraph (A) shall be known as the Committee on Large-Scale Carbon Management Committee (C) Membership (i) Composition The Committee shall be composed of the members of the executive committee established under subsection (c)(1) and such other members as the executive committee considers appropriate. (ii) Cochairpersons The members of the executive committee established by subsection (c)(1) shall be cochairpersons of the Committee. (2) Duties of the Committee The duties of the Committee shall be as follows: (A) Developing a strategic plan for Federal experimenting, prototyping, and production of technological carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and sequestration. (B) Overseeing working groups established under subsection (d). (C) Coordinating budget planning with the Federal agencies and budget review with the Office of Management and Budget for matters relating to experimenting, prototyping, and production described in subparagraph (A). (D) Identifying cost-effective carbon dioxide removal technologies that are suitable for large-scale production. (E) Evaluating carbon dioxide removal monitoring activities, data collection on carbon emissions and sinks, and long-term storage protocols for carbon dioxide removal strategies. (F) Overseeing independent evaluations of performance of the working groups established under subsection (d). (G) Monitoring the long-term carbon and environmental impacts of carbon dioxide removal. (H) Evaluating socio-economic and community impacts resulting from the application of carbon dioxide removal technologies and developing protocols for effective community engagement, with an emphasis on outreach to distressed and unrepresented groups. (c) Executive committee (1) Establishment There is established in the Committee an executive committee. (2) Membership The executive committee shall be composed of the following: (A) The Associate Director for Science of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. (B) One senior official of the Department of Energy selected by the Secretary of Energy. (C) One senior official of the Department of Agriculture selected by the Secretary of Agriculture. (D) One senior official of the Department of Defense selected by the Secretary of Defense. (E) One senior official of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration selected by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (F) One senior official of the Environmental Protection Agency selected by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (d) Working groups and Carbon Removal Initiative (1) Establishment (A) In general The Committee shall establish working groups which shall carry out an initiative on technological and detailed experimenting, prototyping, and production of carbon dioxide removal technology. (B) Designation of initiative The initiative carried out under subparagraph (A) shall be known as the Carbon Removal Initiative (2) Working group foci The working groups established under paragraph (1) are as follows: (A) Oceans (i) In general One working group to focus on matters relating to carbon dioxide removal from the oceans and coastal regions. (ii) Membership The working group described in clause (i) shall be composed of 9 members as follows: (I) One individual selected by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from among employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (II) One individual selected by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from among employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (III) One individual selected by the Secretary of Defense from among employees of the Department of Defense. (IV) One individual selected by the Director of the National Science Foundation from among employees of the National Science Foundation. (V) Two individuals selected by the Secretary of the Interior from among employees of the Department of the Interior. (VI) One individual selected by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from among employees of the Environmental Protection Agency. (VII) One individual selected by the Secretary of Energy from among employees of the Department of Energy. (VIII) One individual selected by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality from among employees on the Council on Environmental Quality. (iii) Cochairpersons The individuals selected under subclauses (I) and (IV) of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons of the working group established under clause (i). (B) Terrestrial (i) In general One working group to focus on terrestrial and biological matters relating to carbon dioxide removal. (ii) Membership The working group described in clause (i) shall be composed of 7 members as follows: (I) Two individuals, one of whom shall be selected by the Secretary of Agriculture from among employees of the Department of Agriculture and one of whom shall be selected by chief of the Forest Service from among employees of the Forest Service. (II) One individual selected by the Secretary of Energy from among employees of the Department of Energy. (III) One individual selected by the Secretary of the Interior from among employees of the Department of the Interior. (IV) One individual selected by the Director of the National Science Foundation from among employees of the National Science Foundation. (V) One individual selected by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from among employees of the Environmental Protection Agency. (VI) One individual selected by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality from among employees of the Council on Environmental Quality. (iii) Cochairpersons The individuals selected under subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons of the working group established under clause (i). (C) Geological (i) In general One working group to focus on geological matters relating to carbon dioxide removal and storage. (ii) Membership The working group described in clause (i) shall be composed of 6 members as follows: (I) One individual selected by the Secretary of Energy from among employees of the Department of Energy. (II) Two individuals selected by the Secretary of the Interior, one from among the employees of the United States Geological Survey and one from among the employees of the Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management. (III) One individual selected by the Director of the National Science Foundation from among employees of the National Science Foundation. (IV) One individual selected by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from among employees of the Environmental Protection Agency. (V) One individual selected by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality from among employees of the Council on Environmental Quality. (iii) Cochairpersons The individuals selected under subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons of the working group established under clause (i). (D) Technological (i) In general One working group to focus on technological matters relating to carbon dioxide removal. (ii) Membership The working group described in clause (i) shall be composed of 8 members as follows: (I) One individual selected by the Secretary of Energy from among employees of the Department of Energy. (II) One individual selected by the Secretary of Defense from among employees of the Department of Defense. (III) One individual selected by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from among employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (IV) One individual selected by the Director of the National Science Foundation from among employees of the National Science Foundation. (V) One individual selected by the Secretary of Commerce from among employees of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (VI) One individual selected by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from among employees of the Environmental Protection Agency. (VII) One individual selected by the Secretary of Transportation from among employees of the Department of Transportation. (VIII) One individual selected by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality from among employees of the Council on Environmental Quality. (iii) Cochairpersons The individuals selected under subclauses (I) and (III) of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons of the working group established under clause (i). (e) Annual budget crosscut review (1) In general Not less frequently than once each year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall assist in the coordination of the initiative carried out under subsection (d)(1)(A) by conducting a budget crosscut review— (A) to ensure that budget proposals from members of the working groups established under such subsection are integrated with the overall budget for each Federal department and agency participating in such working groups; and (B) to ensure that the various staff of the Office of Management and Budget review and act on Federal department and agency budget proposals for experimenting, prototyping, and production of carbon dioxide removal technology in a holistic fashion. (2) Technical assistance The committee shall provide such technical assistance and advice on research priorities to the Director of the Office of Budget and Management as requested. (3) Submittal to Congress Along with each submission of the President pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Director with respect to the most recently completed budget crosscut review under paragraph (1). (f) Coordination In carrying out this Act, the Committee shall— (1) coordinate and seek to avoid duplication with other programs of the Department of Energy and other Federal agencies on the Committee; (2) coordinate and collaborate with the Carbon Dioxide Removal Task Force and U.S. Global Change Research Program; and (3) to the maximum extent practicable, leverage existing resources and programs of the Department of Energy and other Federal agencies on the Committee. (g) Administrative support The Department of Energy, Office of the Undersecretary for Science and Energy, shall provide such administrative support for the Committee as required. (h) Carbon accounting coordination working group and data plan (1) Findings Congress finds that— (A) multiple Federal agencies and programs collect data on carbon emissions and sinks related to carbon dioxide removal; (B) Federal carbon emissions and sinks data collection efforts are siloed, with different methodological approaches to collection, multiple data warehouse locations, potential redundancies in data collected, and gaps in coverage; and (C) improved coordination of carbon measurement, monitoring, and data aggregation related to carbon dioxide removal is needed to support the development and deployment of carbon dioxide removal methods and strategies at scale. (2) Objective The objective of this subsection is to establish a comprehensive, multi-agency plan for the collection and management of data on carbon emissions and sinks related to carbon dioxide removal that— (A) enables comprehensive reporting on carbon dioxide removal based on full and consistent integration with existing relevant data collection efforts across the Federal Government; and (B) provides policymakers with information on the effectiveness of carbon dioxide removal and carbon sequestration activities. (3) Establishment The executive committee shall establish a working group on carbon dioxide removal-related data collection and management. (4) Data plan elements The working group established in paragraph (3) shall develop a data plan that includes— (A) an inventory of existing Federal data sources on carbon emissions and sinks related to carbon dioxide removal; (B) a description of the scope of activities for which new data on emissions and sinks related to carbon dioxide removal should be collected; (C) methodologies for collection of carbon dioxide removal-related data; (D) the roles of the respective Federal agencies in collection and management of carbon dioxide removal-related data in meeting agency-specific mission requirements in coordination with governmentwide comprehensive carbon accounting objectives; and (E) data collection and management protocols and practices to facilitate integration of data on emissions and sinks related to carbon dioxide removal into comprehensive reports on carbon removal and accounting on a nationwide scale. (5) Considerations The data plan shall, at a minimum, consider and address— (A) the role of existing programs that document carbon emissions and sinks, including but not limited to the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program; (B) how the effectiveness of carbon dioxide removal projects (as defined by the Committee) can be tracked and effectively managed over time; (C) gaps in existing Federal data collection efforts that delay progress on carbon dioxide removal experimenting, prototyping, and production; (D) how data collection on carbon dioxide removal projects could incorporate best practices for the accounting of— (i) additionality, which is the counterfactual assessment of carbon dioxide emitted without the occurrence of a carbon dioxide removal practice; (ii) permanence, which is an assessment of the time scale of climate impacts for a carbon dioxide removal practice in comparison to the time scale of greenhouse gases impacting climate change; (iii) risk of reversal, which is a probabilistic assessment of a carbon dioxide removal practice storing carbon for a shorter period of time than the time scale identified in clause (ii); (iv) lifecycle environmental, socio-economic, and community impacts of a carbon dioxide removal practice; and (v) transparency, which is the ability for the public to easily access information regarding carbon dioxide removal practices, including information listed in this subparagraph; and (E) how the gaps identified in subparagraph (C) can be remedied to ensure the qualities listed in subparagraph (D) are measured, potentially through the consolidation of resources or the creation of a new database intended for supporting carbon dioxide removal over time. (6) Reports (A) Expert participation The working group shall establish a process for engagement with the scientific community and stakeholder groups in the development of the data plan. (B) Public review Within 180 days of enactment of this subsection, the Committee shall make available a draft report for public review and comment. The working group shall consider public comments in the process of finalizing the data plan. (C) Reports to congress (i) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the executive committee shall submit to Congress the initial data plan. (ii) Along with each submission of the President pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the executive committee shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Committee with respect to implementation of the data plan along with any recommendations for modification of the plan.

Summary: Removing Emissions to Mend Our Vulnerable Earth Act of 2022 or the REMOVE Act of 2022 This bill establishes the Committee on Large-Scale Carbon Management within the Department of Energy to plan and oversee efforts to (1) remove carbon dioxide from the air or ocean, and (2) store such carbon.