Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act
Bill: H.R.8337 | Sponsor: Rep. Lucas, Frank D. (R-OK)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act
This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a research initiative to evaluate carbon sequestration.

To require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a carbon sequestration 
              research initiative, 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 ``Carbon Sequestration Collaboration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CARBON SEQUESTRATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall 
establish an initiative to evaluate terrestrial carbon sequestration 
and carbon sequestration in geologic formations to--
            (1) enhance the scientific understanding of, and reduce 
        uncertainties associated with, the long- and short-term 
        behavior and potential environmental effects of sequestered 
        carbon;
            (2) inform improved risk-assessment methods, risk-
        management practices, and standards with respect to the 
        sequestration of carbon on large and small scales; and
            (3) provide reference data needed for the development and 
        demonstration of new carbon sequestration technologies.
    (b) Initiative Components.--In carrying out the initiative under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall--
            (1) identify scientific challenges for widespread adoption 
        of terrestrial carbon sequestration and carbon sequestration in 
        geological formations, including in shallow formations and 
        sites not used for enhanced oil recovery;
            (2) develop, in coordination with relevant Federal 
        agencies' research efforts, a long-term strategic and 
        prioritized research agenda to address such scientific 
        challenges; and
            (3) leverage for the advancement of modeling and analysis 
        the collective body of knowledge and data, including experience 
        and resources from existing carbon utilization and 
        sequestration research, entities, and demonstrations, from--
                    (A) the United States Geological Survey, the 
                Agricultural Research Service, and the national Carbon 
                Utilization Research Center;
                    (B) the Department of Energy, including the Office 
                of Science; and
                    (C) other Federal agencies, research communities, 
                and users of the reference data referred to in 
                subsection (a)(3), including the National Institute of 
                Food and Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, 
                the Forest Service, and the Natural Resources 
                Conservation Service.
    (c) Priorities.--In carrying out the initiative under subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Energy shall prioritize joint research with 
relevant Federal agencies, including the agencies specified in 
subsection (b)(3)(C), to achieve the following objectives:
            (1) Increasing the understanding and development of 
        permanent terrestrial carbon sequestration, including through 
        organic soil carbon sequestration, soil carbon mineralization, 
        artificial reforestation, and carbon mineralization utilizing 
        mine tailings.
            (2) Developing computational tools and data sharing 
        practices to assess and manage potential environmental impacts 
        at geologic formations and terrestrial carbon storage sites 
        across a variety of ecosystems.
            (3) Collecting, identifying, and utilizing data needed to 
        increase the understanding of terrestrial carbon sequestration, 
        in particular carbon sequestered through agricultural practices 
        and conservation agriculture, such as rangeland and grazing 
        management, soil cover, and crop rotations.
            (4) Advancing the commercialization of new and existing 
        sequestration technologies or methods.
    (d) Coordination.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out the 
initiative under subsection (a) with and avoid unnecessary duplication 
of the following:
            (1) Other research entities of the Department of Energy, 
        including the National Laboratories and the Advanced Research 
        Projects Agency--Energy.
            (2) Research entities, services, and partnerships of the 
        Department of Agriculture, including the Agricultural Research 
        Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the 
        Forest Service.
            (3) Research entities of the Department of the Interior.
    (e) Research Plan.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Energy 
shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 
the Senate the long-term strategic and prioritized research agenda 
required pursuant to subsection (b)(2).
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Terrestrial carbon sequestration.--The term 
        ``terrestrial carbon sequestration'' means carbon sequestration 
        methods or technologies engineered by humans and targeted at 
        rangelands, agricultural lands, or fallow lands to increase 
        soil organic carbon levels or sequester carbon through plant 
        and root biomass, including through soil additives, geochemical 
        approaches, and other engineered solutions that can increase 
        the storage of produced carbon in inorganic or mineral forms, 
        such as biochar and carbon mineralization utilizing mine 
        tailings.
            (2) Carbon sequestration in geologic formations.--The term 
        ``carbon sequestration in geologic formations'' means carbon 
        sequestration methods or technologies utilizing existing 
        permeable or porous formations in geologic basins.
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