I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7347 
To support carbon dioxide utilization and direct air capture research, to 
facilitate the permitting and development of carbon capture, utilization, 
and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 19, 2018 
Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. VEASEY, and Mrs. BUSTOS) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Science, 
Space, and Technology, Natural Resources, Transportation and Infra-
structure, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To support carbon dioxide utilization and direct air capture 
research, to facilitate the permitting and development 
of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects 
and carbon dioxide pipelines, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Utilizing Significant 
Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act’’ or the ‘‘USE 
IT Act’’. 
TITLE 
I—ENCOURAGING 
PROJECTS TO REDUCE EMIS-
SIONS 
SEC. 101. RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND 
OTHER ACTIVITIES. 
Section 103 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7403) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(3), in the first sentence of 
the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘percursors’’ and inserting ‘‘precursors’’; and 
(2) in subsection (g)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 
respectively, and indenting appropriately; 
(B) in the undesignated matter following 
subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated)— 
(i) in the second sentence, by striking 
‘‘The Administrator’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(5) COORDINATION AND AVOIDANCE OF DU-
PLICATION.—The Administrator’’; and 
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(ii) in the first sentence, by striking 
‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(4) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing’’; 
(C) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A) (as so redesignated)— 
(i) in the third sentence, by striking 
‘‘Such program’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) PROGRAM
INCLUSIONS.—The program 
under this subsection’’; 
(ii) in the second sentence— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘States, institu-
tions of higher education,’’ after ‘‘sci-
entists,’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘Such strategies 
and technologies shall be developed’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) 
PARTICIPATION
REQUIREMENT.—Such 
strategies and technologies described in paragraph 
(1) shall be developed’’; and 
(iii) in the first sentence, by striking 
‘‘In carrying out’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(6) CERTAIN CARBON DIOXIDE ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para-
graph (3)(A) with respect to carbon dioxide, the 
Administrator shall carry out the activities de-
scribed in each of subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), 
and (E). 
‘‘(B) DIRECT AIR CAPTURE RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(I) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ 
means the Direct Air Capture Tech-
nology Advisory Board established by 
clause (iii)(I). 
‘‘(II) DILUTE.—The term ‘dilute’ 
means a concentration of less than 1 
percent by volume. 
‘‘(III) DIRECT AIR CAPTURE.— 
‘‘(aa) IN
GENERAL.—The 
term ‘direct air capture’, with re-
spect to a facility, technology, or 
system, means that the facility, 
technology, or system uses car-
bon capture equipment to cap-
ture carbon dioxide directly from 
the air. 
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‘‘(bb) 
EXCLUSION.—The 
term ‘direct air capture’ does not 
include any facility, technology, 
or system that captures carbon 
dioxide— 
‘‘(AA) that is delib-
erately released from a natu-
rally occurring subsurface 
spring; or 
‘‘(BB) 
using 
natural 
photosynthesis. 
‘‘(IV) 
INTELLECTUAL
PROP-
ERTY.—The term ‘intellectual prop-
erty’ means— 
‘‘(aa) an invention that is 
patentable under title 35, United 
States Code; and 
‘‘(bb) any patent on an in-
vention described in item (aa). 
‘‘(ii) TECHNOLOGY PRIZES.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of the USE IT Act, the Admin-
istrator, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Energy, shall establish a 
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program to provide, and shall provide, 
financial awards on a competitive 
basis for direct air capture from 
media in which the concentration of 
carbon dioxide is dilute. 
‘‘(II) DUTIES.—In carrying out 
this clause, the Administrator shall— 
‘‘(aa) subject to subclause 
(III), develop specific require-
ments for— 
‘‘(AA) the competition 
process; and 
‘‘(BB) monitoring and 
verification procedures for 
approved projects; 
‘‘(bb) offer financial awards 
for a project designed— 
‘‘(AA) to capture more 
than 10,000 tons of carbon 
dioxide per year; and 
‘‘(BB) to be deployed 
at a cost of less than $200 
per ton of carbon dioxide 
captured; and 
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‘‘(cc) to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, make financial 
awards to geographically diverse 
projects, including at least— 
‘‘(AA) 1 project in a 
coastal State; and 
‘‘(BB) 1 project in a 
rural State. 
‘‘(III) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 
In carrying out subclause (II)(aa), the 
Administrator shall— 
‘‘(aa) provide notice of and, 
for a period of not less than 60 
days, an opportunity for public 
comment on, any draft or pro-
posed version of the requirements 
described in subclause (II)(aa); 
and 
‘‘(bb) take into account pub-
lic comments received in devel-
oping the final version of those 
requirements. 
‘‘(IV) PEER REVIEW.—No finan-
cial awards may be provided under 
this clause until the proposal for 
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which the award is sought has been 
peer reviewed in accordance with such 
standards for peer review as are es-
tablished by the Administrator. 
‘‘(iii) DIRECT
AIR
CAPTURE
TECH-
NOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD.— 
‘‘(I) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is 
established an advisory board to be 
known as the ‘Direct Air Capture 
Technology Advisory Board’. 
‘‘(II) COMPOSITION.—The Board 
shall be composed of 9 members ap-
pointed by the Administrator, who 
shall provide expertise in— 
‘‘(aa) climate science; 
‘‘(bb) physics; 
‘‘(cc) chemistry; 
‘‘(dd) biology; 
‘‘(ee) engineering; 
‘‘(ff) economics; 
‘‘(gg) business management; 
and 
‘‘(hh) such other disciplines 
as the Administrator determines 
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to be necessary to achieve the 
purposes of this subparagraph. 
‘‘(III) TERM; VACANCIES.— 
‘‘(aa) TERM.—A member of 
the Board shall serve for a term 
of 6 years. 
‘‘(bb) VACANCIES.—A va-
cancy on the Board— 
‘‘(AA) shall not affect 
the powers of the Board; 
and 
‘‘(BB) shall be filled in 
the same manner as the 
original 
appointment 
was 
made. 
‘‘(IV) INITIAL
MEETING.—Not 
later than 30 days after the date on 
which all members of the Board have 
been appointed, the Board shall hold 
the initial meeting of the Board. 
‘‘(V) 
MEETINGS.—The 
Board 
shall meet at the call of the Chair-
person. 
‘‘(VI) QUORUM.—A majority of 
the members of the Board shall con-
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stitute a quorum, but a lesser number 
of members may hold hearings. 
‘‘(VII) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE 
CHAIRPERSON.—The Board shall se-
lect a Chairperson and Vice Chair-
person from among the members of 
the Board. 
‘‘(VIII) 
COMPENSATION.—Each 
member of the Board may be com-
pensated at not to exceed the daily 
equivalent of the annual rate of basic 
pay in effect for a position at level V 
of the Executive Schedule under sec-
tion 5316 of title 5, United States 
Code, for each day during which the 
member is engaged in the actual per-
formance of the duties of the Board. 
‘‘(IX) DUTIES.—The Board shall 
advise the Administrator on carrying 
out the duties of the Administrator 
under this subparagraph. 
‘‘(X) FACA.—The Federal Advi-
sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 
shall apply to the Board. 
‘‘(iv) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.— 
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‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—As a condi-
tion of receiving a financial award 
under this subparagraph, an applicant 
shall agree to vest the intellectual 
property of the applicant derived from 
the technology in 1 or more entities 
that are incorporated in the United 
States. 
‘‘(II) 
RESERVATION
OF
LI-
CENSE.—The United States— 
‘‘(aa) may reserve a non-
exclusive, nontransferable, irrev-
ocable, paid-up license, to have 
practiced for or on behalf of the 
United States, in connection with 
any 
intellectual 
property 
de-
scribed in subclause (I); but 
‘‘(bb) shall not, in the exer-
cise of a license reserved under 
item (aa), publicly disclose pro-
prietary information relating to 
the license. 
‘‘(III) TRANSFER
OF
TITLE.— 
Title to any intellectual property de-
scribed in subclause (I) shall not be 
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transferred or passed, except to an 
entity that is incorporated in the 
United States, until the expiration of 
the first patent obtained in connection 
with the intellectual property. 
‘‘(v) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this subparagraph 
$25,000,000, to remain available until ex-
pended. 
‘‘(vi) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 
The Board and all authority provided 
under this subparagraph shall terminate 
on December 31, 2028. 
‘‘(C) CARBON
DIOXIDE
UTILIZATION
RE-
SEARCH.— 
‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF CARBON DIOXIDE 
UTILIZATION.—In this subparagraph, the 
term ‘carbon dioxide utilization’ refers to 
technologies or approaches that lead to the 
use of carbon dioxide— 
‘‘(I) through the fixation of car-
bon dioxide through photosynthesis or 
chemosynthesis, such as through the 
growing of algae or bacteria; 
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‘‘(II) through the chemical con-
version of carbon dioxide to a material 
or chemical compound in which the 
carbon dioxide is securely stored; or 
‘‘(III) through the use of carbon 
dioxide for any other purpose for 
which a commercial market exists, as 
determined by the Administrator. 
‘‘(ii) PROGRAM.—The Administrator, 
in consultation with the Secretary of En-
ergy, shall carry out a research and devel-
opment program for carbon dioxide utiliza-
tion to promote existing and new tech-
nologies that transform carbon dioxide 
generated by industrial processes into a 
product of commercial value, or as an 
input to products of commercial value. 
‘‘(iii) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL AS-
SISTANCE.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of the USE IT Act, 
in carrying out this subsection, the Admin-
istrator, in consultation with the Secretary 
of Energy, shall support research and in-
frastructure activities relating to carbon 
dioxide utilization by providing technical 
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assistance and financial assistance in ac-
cordance with clause (iv). 
‘‘(iv) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to 
receive technical assistance and financial 
assistance under clause (iii), a carbon diox-
ide utilization project shall— 
‘‘(I) have access to an emissions 
stream generated by a stationary 
source within the United States that 
is capable of supplying not less than 
250 metric tons per day of carbon di-
oxide for research; 
‘‘(II) have access to adequate 
space for a laboratory and equipment 
for testing small-scale carbon dioxide 
utilization technologies, with onsite 
access to larger test bays for scale-up; 
and 
‘‘(III) have existing partnerships 
with institutions of higher education, 
private companies, States, or other 
government entities. 
‘‘(v) COORDINATION.—In supporting 
carbon dioxide utilization projects under 
this paragraph, the Administrator shall 
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consult with the Secretary of Energy, and, 
as appropriate, with the head of any other 
relevant Federal agency, States, the pri-
vate sector, and institutions of higher edu-
cation to develop methods and technologies 
to account for the carbon dioxide emissions 
avoided by the carbon dioxide utilization 
projects, including the consideration of 
lifecycle analysis developed pursuant to 
section 45Q(f)(5)(B) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(vi) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this subparagraph 
$50,000,000, to remain available until ex-
pended. 
‘‘(D) 
DEEP
SALINE
FORMATION
RE-
PORT.— 
‘‘(i) DEFINITION
OF
DEEP
SALINE 
FORMATION.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In this sub-
paragraph, the term ‘deep saline for-
mation’ means a formation of sub-
surface geographically extensive sedi-
mentary rock layers saturated with 
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waters or brines that have a high total 
dissolved solids content and that are 
below the depth where carbon dioxide 
can exist in the formation as a super-
critical fluid. 
‘‘(II) CLARIFICATION.—In this 
subparagraph, the term ‘deep saline 
formation’ does not include oil and 
gas reservoirs. 
‘‘(ii) REPORT.—In consultation with 
the Secretary of Energy, and, as appro-
priate, with the head of any other relevant 
Federal agency and relevant stakeholders, 
not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of the USE IT Act, the Adminis-
trator shall prepare, submit to Congress, 
and make publicly available a report that 
includes— 
‘‘(I) a comprehensive identifica-
tion of potential risks and benefits to 
project developers associated with in-
creased storage of carbon dioxide cap-
tured from stationary sources in deep 
saline formations, using existing re-
search; 
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‘‘(II) recommendations for man-
aging the potential risks identified 
under subclause (I), including poten-
tial risks unique to public land; and 
‘‘(III) recommendations for Fed-
eral legislation or other policy changes 
to mitigate any potential risks identi-
fied under subclause (I). 
‘‘(E) REPORT ON CARBON DIOXIDE NON-
REGULATORY
STRATEGIES
AND
TECH-
NOLOGIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Not less fre-
quently than once every 2 years, the Ad-
ministrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives 
a report that describes— 
‘‘(I) the recipients of assistance 
under subparagraphs (B) and (C); 
and 
‘‘(II) a plan for supporting addi-
tional nonregulatory strategies and 
technologies that could significantly 
prevent carbon dioxide emissions or 
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reduce carbon dioxide levels in the air, 
in conjunction with other Federal 
agencies. 
‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The plan sub-
mitted under clause (i) shall include— 
‘‘(I) a methodology for evaluating 
and ranking technologies based on the 
ability of the technologies to cost ef-
fectively reduce carbon dioxide emis-
sions or carbon dioxide levels in the 
air; and 
‘‘(II) a description of any nonair- 
related environmental or energy con-
siderations 
regarding 
the 
tech-
nologies.’’. 
TITLE 
II—IMPROVEMENT 
OF 
PERMITTING PROCESS FOR 
CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE 
AND 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
PROJECTS 
SEC. 201. INCLUSION OF CARBON CAPTURE INFRASTRUC-
TURE PROJECTS. 
Section 41001(6) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 
4370m(6)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
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(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
inserting ‘‘carbon capture,’’ before ‘‘renewable 
or conventional’’; 
(B) in clause (i)(III), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end; 
(C) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 
(iii); and 
(D) by inserting after clause (i) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ii) is covered by a programmatic 
plan or environmental review developed for 
the primary purpose of facilitating develop-
ment of carbon dioxide pipelines; or’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘construc-
tion of infrastructure for carbon capture’ in-
cludes construction of any facility, technology, 
or system that captures, utilizes, or sequesters 
carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide 
pipelines.’’. 
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the purpose of promoting the efficient, orderly, 
and responsible development of carbon capture, 
utilization, and sequestration projects and car-
bon dioxide pipelines. 
(2) MEMBERS AND SELECTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chair shall— 
(i) develop criteria for the selection of 
members to each task force; and 
(ii) select members for each task force 
in accordance with clause (i) and subpara-
graph (B). 
(B) MEMBERS.—Each task force— 
(i) shall include not less than 1 rep-
resentative of each of— 
(I) the Environmental Protection 
Agency; 
(II) the Department of Energy; 
(III) the Department of the Inte-
rior; 
(IV) any other Federal agency 
the Chair determines to be appro-
priate; 
(V) any State that requests par-
ticipation in the geographical area 
covered by the task force; 
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