Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1506 | Sponsor: Rep. Lowenthal, Alan S. (D-CA)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2021
This bill requires certain disclosures by entities seeking a lease or holding a lease to develop renewable energy operations or fossil fuel operations on public lands or Indian lands or any operation using any right-of-way or special use permit that would cross public lands, Indian lands, or national forests that would facilitate fossil fuel development. The disclosures are those described in the Sustainability Accounting Standard for the Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy Sector or the Extractives and Mineral Processing Sector.
Every two years, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress on such operations, including greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, water management, biodiversity impacts, production, and the number of sites. For renewable energy operations on public lands or Indian lands, the report must include greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the production of the same amount of energy using fossil fuels.

To provide for the accurate reporting of fossil fuel extraction and 
    emissions by entities with leases on public land, and for other 
                               purposes.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency in Energy Production 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report Required for an Entity Seeking a Lease.--The Secretary 
concerned shall require any entity seeking a lease to develop covered 
operations on public land or Indian land to submit to the Secretary 
concerned a report, at the time of submission of a bid to develop 
covered operations. Such report shall--
            (1) make the disclosures described in the Sustainable 
        Accounting Standard for the Extractives and Minerals Processing 
        Sector and the Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy 
        Sector in effect on the date the report is filed (that is 
        produced by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) for 
        the covered operations developed by the entity and in effect at 
        the date of such bid; and
            (2) disaggregate the information in paragraph (1) by State 
        and by type of covered operation.
    (b) Report Required for an Entity Holding a Lease.--The Secretary 
concerned shall require any entity holding a lease to develop covered 
operations on public land or Indian land to submit to the Secretary 
concerned a report annually. Such report shall--
            (1) make the disclosures described in the Sustainable 
        Accounting Standard for the Extractives and Minerals Processing 
        Sector and the Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy 
        Sector in effect on the date the report is filed (that is 
        produced by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board); and
            (2) disaggregate the information in paragraph (1) by State 
        and by type of covered operation.
    (c) Failure To Comply.--If the Secretary concerned determines that 
an entity did not meet the requirements of subsection (a), the 
Secretary concerned--
            (1) may not issue to such entity a lease for a covered 
        operation; and
            (2) may suspend a lease for a covered operation held by 
        such entity.

SEC. 3. ONLINE PUBLICATION OF DISCLOSURE.

    The Secretary concerned shall make the information reported under 
section 2 available to the public on an internet website in a machine 
readable format.

SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall submit a 
report to Congress that includes--
            (1) with respect to covered operations, the annual and 2-
        year totals of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, water 
        management, biodiversity impacts, production, and number of 
        sites according to the metrics described in the Sustainable 
        Accounting Standard for Oil and Gas Exploration and Production 
        in effect on the date the report is filed (that is produced by 
        the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) for covered 
        operations on public land or Indian land; and
            (2) the changes in the information in paragraph (1);
            (3) the projected future changes for 5, 10, and 25 years;
            (4) for renewable energy operations, an estimate of the 
        greenhouse gas emissions that would result from production of 
        the same amount of energy using fossil fuels and water 
        management, including water use, biodiversity impacts, 
        production, number of sites, and acres including associated 
        transmission lines;
            (5) the emission produced during the construction of solar 
        panels and wind turbines that would be used for renewable 
        energy operations;
            (6) a determination as to whether the materials or labor 
        for the construction of solar panels and wind turbines used for 
        renewable energy operations would be sourced from the Xinjiang 
        Autonomous Region in China;
            (7) the environmental impacts of the decommissioning and 
        disposal of renewable energy products and electronic waste, 
        including batteries, solar panels, and products that have 
        exceeded their life cycle;
            (8) with respect to lands on which covered operations 
        occur, the annual and 2-year totals of greenhouse gas 
        emissions, air quality, water management, and biodiversity 
        impacts of catastrophic wildfires, the number of acres 
        identified as being at high or very high risk of wildfire, and 
        the number of acres in need of treatment or fuels reduction 
        activities; and
            (9) an assessment of the environmental and human rights 
        impacts in the production of renewable energy products for the 
        lifecycle of such products, including such impacts from source 
        materials for and the disposal of such products.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``covered operation'' means--
                    (A) any renewable energy operations;
                    (B) any fossil fuel operation; and
                    (C) any operation using any right-of-way or special 
                use permit that would cross public lands, Indian lands, 
                or national forests that would facilitate fossil fuel 
                development;
            (2) the term ``fossil fuel'' means oil, natural gas, 
        natural gas liquids, coal, and any derivative of these that is 
        used for fuel;
            (3) the term ``Indian land'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 2601(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 
        U.S.C. 3501(2));
            (4) the term ``public land'' means any land, interest in 
        land, or submerged land owned by the United States;
            (5) the term ``renewable energy'' means a project carried 
        out on public land or Indian land that uses wind, solar, 
        geothermal, wave, current, tidal, or ocean thermal energy to 
        generate electricity; and
            (6) the term ``Secretary concerned'' means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                public lands and Indian lands; and
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                National Forest System land.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 454

117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1506

                      [Report No. 117-631, Part I]

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