Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act

To promote the development of renewable energy on public land, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Covered land The term covered land (A) public land administered by the Secretary; and (B) not excluded from the development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy under— (i) a land use plan established under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 (ii) other Federal law. (2) Exclusion area The term exclusion area (3) Federal land The term Federal land (A) land of the National Forest System (as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 ( 16 U.S.C. 1609(a) (B) public land. (4) Fund The term Fund (5) Priority area The term priority area (6) Public land The term public land public lands 43 U.S.C. 1702 (7) Renewable energy project The term renewable energy project (8) Secretary The term Secretary (9) Variance area The term variance area (A) not an exclusion area; and (B) not a priority area. 3. Extension of funding for implementation of Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (a) In general Section 234(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15873(a) in the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of this Act through fiscal year 2022 (b) Authorization Section 234(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15873(b) (1) by striking Amounts (1) In general Amounts ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (2) Authorization Effective for fiscal year 2017 and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts deposited under subsection (a) shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior for expenditure, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to implement the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1001 . 4. Land use planning; supplements to programmatic environmental impact statements (a) Priority areas (1) In general The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish priority areas on covered land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects. (2) Deadline (A) Geothermal energy For geothermal energy, the Secretary shall establish priority areas as soon as practicable, but not later than 5 years, after the date of enactment of this Act. (B) Solar energy For solar energy, the solar energy zones established by the 2012 western solar plan of the Bureau of Land Management and any subsequent land use plan amendments shall be considered to be priority areas for solar energy projects. (C) Wind energy For wind energy, the Secretary shall establish priority areas as soon as practicable, but not later than 3 years, after the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Variance areas To the maximum extent practicable, variance areas shall be considered for renewable energy project development, consistent with the principles of multiple use (as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 (c) Review and modification Not less frequently than once every 10 years, the Secretary shall— (1) review the adequacy of land allocations for geothermal, solar, and wind energy priority and variance areas for the purpose of encouraging new renewable energy development opportunities; and (2) based on the review carried out under paragraph (1), add, modify, or eliminate priority, variance, and exclusion areas. (d) Compliance with the national environmental policy act For purposes of this section, compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (1) for geothermal energy, by supplementing the October 2008 final programmatic environmental impact statement for geothermal leasing in the western United States; (2) for solar energy, by supplementing the July 2012 final programmatic environmental impact statement for solar energy projects; and (3) for wind energy, by supplementing the July 2005 final programmatic environmental impact statement for wind energy projects. (e) No effect on processing applications A requirement to prepare a supplement to a programmatic environmental impact statement under this section shall not result in any delay in processing an application for a renewable energy project. (f) Coordination In developing a supplement required by this section, the Secretary shall coordinate, on an ongoing basis, with appropriate State, tribal, and local governments, transmission infrastructure owners and operators, developers, and other appropriate entities to ensure that priority areas identified by the Secretary are— (1) economically viable (including having access to transmission); (2) likely to avoid or minimize conflict with habitat for animals and plants, recreation, and other uses of covered land; and (3) consistent with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 43 U.S.C. 1712(c)(9) (g) Removal from classification In carrying out subsections (a) through (e), if the Secretary determines an area previously suited for development should be removed from priority or variance classification, not later than 90 days after the date of the determination, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the determination. 5. Environmental review on covered land (a) In general If the Secretary determines that a proposed renewable energy project has been sufficiently analyzed by a programmatic environmental impact statement conducted under section 4(d), the Secretary shall not require any additional review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (b) Additional environmental review If the Secretary determines that additional environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (c) Relationship to Other Law Nothing in this section modifies or supersedes any requirement under applicable law. 6. Program to improve renewable energy project permit coordination (a) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a program to improve Federal permit coordination with respect to renewable energy projects on covered land. (b) Memorandum of understanding (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for purposes of this section, including to specifically expedite the environmental analysis of applications for projects proposed in a variance area, with— (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; and (B) the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. (2) State participation The Secretary may request the Governor of any interested State to be a signatory to the memorandum of understanding under paragraph (1). (c) Designation of Qualified Staff (1) In general Not later than 30 days after the date on which the memorandum of understanding under subsection (b) is executed, all Federal signatories, as appropriate, shall identify for each of the Bureau of Land Management Renewable Energy Coordination Offices an employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues relating to the office in which the employee is employed, including, as applicable, particular expertise in— (A) consultation regarding, and preparation of, biological opinions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1536 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 (D) planning under section 14 of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 ( 16 U.S.C. 472a (E) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 (F) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ( 16 U.S.C. 703 (G) the preparation of analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (2) Duties Each employee assigned under paragraph (1) shall— (A) be responsible for addressing all issues relating to the jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the employee; and (B) participate as part of the team of personnel working on proposed energy projects, planning, monitoring, inspection, enforcement, and environmental analyses. (d) Additional personnel The Secretary may assign such additional personnel for the Bureau of Land Management Renewable Energy Coordination Offices as are necessary to ensure the effective implementation of any programs administered by the offices, including inspection and enforcement relating to renewable energy project development on covered land, in accordance with the multiple use mandate of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 (e) Renewable energy coordination offices In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary may— (1) establish additional Bureau of Land Management Renewable Energy Coordination Offices; or (2) temporarily assign the qualified staff designated under subsection (c) to a State, district, or field office of the Bureau of Land Management to expedite the permitting of renewable energy projects. (f) Report to congress (1) In general Not later than February 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, and each February 1 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing the progress made under the program established under subsection (a) during the preceding year. (2) Inclusions Each report under this subsection shall include— (A) projections for renewable energy production and capacity installations; and (B) a description of any problems relating to leasing, permitting, siting, or production. 7. Disposition of revenues (a) Disposition of revenues Beginning on January 1, 2017, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, of the amounts collected as bonus bids, rentals, fees, or other payments under a right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authorization (other than under section 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1764(g) (1) 25 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived; (2) 25 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the one or more counties within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived, to be allocated among the counties based on the percentage of land from which the revenue is derived; (3) to be deposited in the Treasury and be made available to the Secretary to carry out the program established by section 6, including the transfer of the funds by the Bureau of Land Management to other Federal agencies and State agencies to facilitate the processing of renewable energy permits on Federal land, with priority given to using the amounts, to the maximum extent practicable, to expediting the issuance of permits required for the development of renewable energy projects in the States from which the revenues are derived— (A) 25 percent for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2025; (B) 20 percent for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030; (C) 15 percent for each of fiscal years 2031 through 2035; and (D) 10 percent for fiscal year 2036 and each fiscal year thereafter; and (4) to be deposited in the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund established by subsection (c)— (A) 25 percent for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2025; (B) 30 percent for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030; (C) 35 percent for each of fiscal years 2031 through 2035; and (D) 40 percent for fiscal year 2036 and each fiscal year thereafter. (b) Payments to states and counties (1) In general Amounts paid to States and counties under subsection (a) shall be used consistent with section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 191 (2) Payments in lieu of taxes A payment to a county under paragraph (1) shall be in addition to a payment in lieu of taxes received by the county under chapter 69 (c) Renewable energy resource conservation fund (1) In general There is established in the Treasury a fund, to be known as the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund (2) Use of funds The Secretary may make funds in the Fund available to Federal, State, and tribal agencies to be distributed in regions in which renewable energy projects are located on Federal land, for the purposes of— (A) restoring and protecting— (i) fish and wildlife habitat for affected species; (ii) fish and wildlife corridors for affected species; and (iii) water resources in areas affected by wind, geothermal, or solar energy development; and (B) preserving and improving recreational access to Federal land and water in an affected region through an easement, right-of-way, or other instrument from willing landowners for the purpose of enhancing public access to existing Federal land and water that is inaccessible or significantly restricted. (3) Partnerships The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with State and tribal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). (4) Investment of fund (A) In general Any amounts deposited in the Fund shall earn interest in an amount determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities. (B) Use Any interest earned under subparagraph (A) may be expended in accordance with this subsection. (5) Intent of congress It is the intent of Congress that the revenues deposited and used in the Fund shall supplement (and not supplant) annual appropriations for activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). 8. Savings clause Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary shall continue to manage public land under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield in accordance with title I of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701

Summary: Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to extend through FY2022 the authorization for deposit and use of lease revenues under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Such funds shall be available to the Department of the Interior for FY2017 and afterwards to implement both the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Interior shall establish priority areas on covered land (i.e., public land administered by Interior and not excluded under law from the development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy) for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects. Variance areas shall also be considered for the development of renewable energy projects under this bill, consistent with the principles of multiple use (as defined under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976). The bill defines "variance area" as covered land that is neither an exclusion area (not suitable for development of renewable energy projects) nor a priority area. Interior shall establish a program to improve federal permit coordination with respect to renewable energy projects carried out on covered land. The bill establishes the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to make funds available to federal, state, and tribal agencies for distribution in regions in which renewable energy projects are located on federal land for: (1) restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitat and corridors for affected species and water resources in areas affected by wind, geothermal, or solar energy development; and (2) preserving and improving recreational access to federal land and water in an affected region.