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(2) with the approval of the appropriate Fed-
eral or State land management agency or private
land owner.
(d) ACTIVITIES AT THE NATIONAL ENERGY TECH-
NOLOGY LABORATORY.—The Secretary, through the Na-
tional Energy Technology Laboratory, shall carry out a
program of research and other activities complementary
to and supportive of the research programs under sub-
section (b).
(e) CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY OF THE INTE-
RIOR.—In carrying out this part, the Secretary shall con-
sult regularly with the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 970. ULTRA-DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ON-
SHORE NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETRO-
LEUM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO-
GRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out the
activities under section 969, to maximize the value of nat-
ural gas and other petroleum resources of the United
States, by increasing the supply of such resources, through
reducing the cost and increasing the efficiency of explo-
ration for and production of such resources, while improv-
ing safety and minimizing environmental impacts.
482
(b) ROLE OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall
have ultimate responsibility for, and oversight of, all as-
pects of the program under this section.
(c) ROLE OF THE PROGRAM CONSORTIUM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall contract
with a consortium to—
(A) manage awards pursuant to subsection
(f)(3);
(B) issue project solicitations upon ap-
proval of the Secretary;
(C) make project awards upon approval of
the Secretary;
(D) disburse funds awarded under sub-
section (f) as directed by the Secretary in ac-
cordance with the annual plan under subsection
(e); and
(E) carry out other activities assigned to
the program consortium by this section.
(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not as-
sign any activities to the program consortium except
as specifically authorized under this section.
(3) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—
(A) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall
establish procedures—
483
(i) to ensure that each board member,
officer, or employee of the program consor-
tium who is in a decisionmaking capacity
under subsection (f)(3) shall disclose to the
Secretary any financial interests in, or fi-
nancial relationships with, applicants for or
recipients of awards under this section, in-
cluding those of his or her spouse or minor
child, unless such relationships or interests
would be considered to be remote or incon-
sequential; and
(ii) to require any board member, offi-
cer, or employee with a financial relation-
ship or interest disclosed under clause (i)
to recuse himself or herself from any over-
sight under subsection (f)(4) with respect
to such applicant or recipient.
(B) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The Secretary
may disqualify an application or revoke an
award under this section if a board member, of-
ficer, or employee has failed to comply with pro-
cedures required under subparagraph (A)(ii).
(d) SELECTION OF THE PROGRAM CONSORTIUM.—
484
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select
the program consortium through an open, competi-
tive process.
(2) MEMBERS.—The program consortium may
include corporations, trade associations, institutions
of higher education, National Laboratories, or other
research institutions. After submitting a proposal
under paragraph (4), the program consortium may
not add members without the consent of the Sec-
retary.
(3) REQUIREMENT OF SECTION 501(c)(3) STA-
TUS.—The Secretary shall not select a consortium
under this section unless such consortium is an or-
ganization described in section 501(c)(3) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax
under such section 501(a) of such Code.
(4) SCHEDULE.—Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall solicit proposals from eligible consortia to per-
form the duties in subsection (c)(1), which shall be
submitted not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall select the
program consortium not later than 270 days after
such date of enactment.