Title: To require that until a comprehensive study is completed, the volume of cellulosic biofuel mandated under the renewable fuel program be limited to what is commercially available, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit the total volume of cellulosic biofuel in transportation fuel under the renewable fuel standard to what is commercially available until the EPA submits to Congress a comprehensive study on cellulosic biofuel and the environmental and economic impacts of producing such fuel.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 776 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 776

To require that until a comprehensive study is completed, the volume of 
cellulosic biofuel mandated under the renewable fuel program be limited 
       to what is commercially available, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2017

Mr. Sensenbrenner introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
  on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require that until a comprehensive study is completed, the volume of 
cellulosic biofuel mandated under the renewable fuel program be limited 
       to what is commercially available, 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. MANDATE FOR CELLULOSIC BIOFUEL LIMITED TO COMMERCIAL 
              AVAILABILITY UNTIL COMPLETION OF COMPREHENSIVE STUDY.

    (a) Limitation.--Until the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency submits to Congress a report on the study described 
in subsection (b), and notwithstanding section 211(o) of the Clean Air 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)), the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency may not require, for any calendar year, that 
transportation fuel sold or introduced into commerce in the United 
States contain more than a total volume of cellulosic biofuel than the 
total volume of cellulosic biofuel that was commercially available for 
the most recent calendar year for which such total volume is known.
    (b) Parameters of the Study.--The Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall enter into an arrangement with 
the National Academies for a comprehensive study on--
            (1) the production capacity for cellulosic biofuel at the 
        time of the study in gallons per year;
            (2) the resources needed to ensure that transportation fuel 
        sold or introduced into commerce in the United States contains 
        at least 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel in calendar 
        year 2022, in accordance with section 211(o) of the Clean Air 
        Act, including--
                    (A) the number of cellulosic ethanol facilities to 
                be constructed;
                    (B) the acres of land to be used; and
                    (C) the total capital investment needed;
            (3) the energy produced by the combustion of 16 billion 
        gallons of cellulosic biofuel in comparison to the energy 
        required to produce such amount of cellulosic biofuel;
            (4) the environmental impacts of producing cellulosic 
        biofuel, including the net effect on global life-cycle 
        greenhouse gas emissions;
            (5) the processes being developed to produce cellulosic 
        biofuel, including the technology needed to make cellulosic 
        biofuel commercially viable; and
            (6) the economics of a cellulosic ethanol facility, 
        including--
                    (A) the cost of feedstock acquisition;
                    (B) the typical facility size;
                    (C) the relative economics of a corn ethanol 
                facility compared to a cellulosic biofuel facility; and
                    (D) the price per gallon of transportation fuel 
                that contains cellulosic biofuel required for such fuel 
                to be profitable.
    (c) Exclusions for Purposes of Study.--For purposes of the study 
described in subsection (b), the term ``cellulosic biofuel'' does not 
include any compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, or 
electricity used to power electric vehicles that is produced from 
biogas from--
            (1) a landfill;
            (2) a municipal wastewater treatment facility digester;
            (3) a separated municipal solid waste digester; or
            (4) an agricultural digester.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act, and this Act shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 
made available for science and technology, including research and 
development activities, at the Environmental Protection Agency.
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