Title: Super Pollutants Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Super Pollutants Act
This bill generally provides for the reduction of emissions of black carbon, methane, and certain hydrofluorocarbons (also referred to as short-lived climate pollutants) through policy initiatives of specified federal agencies. The bill also requires the President to establish the Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Mitigation.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2325 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2325

 To establish a task force to review policies and measures to promote, 
  and to develop best practices for, reduction of short-lived climate 
                  pollutants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2019

Mr. Murphy (for himself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a task force to review policies and measures to promote, 
  and to develop best practices for, reduction of short-lived climate 
                  pollutants, 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 ``Super Pollutants Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) short-lived climate pollutants account for 40 percent 
        of near-term global warming impacting the atmosphere, even 
        though those pollutants account for a much smaller percentage 
        of warming agents by weight;
            (2) reducing short-lived climate pollutant emissions 
        could--
                    (A) cut the rate of sea-level rise by 25 percent, 
                according to the National Center for Atmospheric 
                Research and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; 
                and
                    (B) according to the United Nations Environment 
                Programme--
                            (i) prevent more than 2,000,000 premature 
                        deaths each year;
                            (ii) prevent more than 30,000,000 tons of 
                        crop losses each year;
                            (iii) cut the rate of warming by up to 0.6 
                        degrees Celsius by 2050; and
                            (iv) significantly contribute toward the 
                        overall global target of holding increased 
                        warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius;
            (3) the United States--
                    (A) is one of the largest consumers of 
                hydrofluorocarbons in the world;
                    (B) provides significant innovation in the 
                development and commercialization of low-global warming 
                potential alternatives that are already penetrating 
                markets worldwide; and
                    (C) could serve as a leader and exemplar of 
                responsibly phasing down hydrofluorocarbon production 
                and consumption, with strong support from industries 
                that formerly used hydrofluorocarbons but are 
                transitioning quickly to lower-global warming potential 
                alternatives;
            (4) the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the 
        Ozone Layer has been an extraordinarily successful model for--
                    (A) protecting the stratospheric ozone layer; and
                    (B) achieving significant climate protection 
                cobenefits;
            (5) since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987, there 
        has been an elimination of more than 95 percent of ozone-
        depleting substances;
            (6) on full implementation of the Montreal Protocol, the 
        ozone layer should return to pre-1980 levels by 2050; and
            (7) the Interagency Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, 
        released in March 2014, outlines a proactive agenda for 
        reducing methane leakage and waste throughout the United States 
        economy.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate.
            (3) High-GWP hfc.--The term ``high-GWP HFC'' means newly 
        manufactured hydrofluorocarbons with a global warming potential 
        calculated over a 100-year period of greater than 150, as 
        described in the Fifth Assessment Report of the 
        Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
            (4) Relevant federal agency.--The term ``relevant Federal 
        agency'' ``relevant Federal agency'' means the Department of 
        Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of 
        Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and 
        Human Services, the Department of the Interior, the Department 
        of State, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, the Council on Environmental Quality, the 
        United States Agency for International Development, and any 
        other Federal agency the President determines appropriate.
            (5) Short-lived climate pollutant.--The term ``short-lived 
        climate pollutant'' means--
                    (A) black carbon;
                    (B) methane; and
                    (C) high-GWP HFC.
            (6) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the 
        Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant 
        Mitigation established under section 4(a).

SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANT 
              MITIGATION.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the President shall establish a task force, to 
be known as the Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant 
Mitigation.
    (b) Membership.--The members of the Task Force shall include the 
head (or a designee thereof) of each relevant Federal agency.
    (c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report that includes specific plans of each relevant Federal 
        agency--
                    (A) to purchase cleaner alternatives to high-GWP 
                HFC whenever feasible; and
                    (B) to transition over time to equipment that uses 
                safer and more sustainable alternatives to high-GWP 
                HFC;
            (2) review the policy recommendations made by--
                    (A) the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;
                    (B) the United States Climate Alliance;
                    (C) the Interagency Strategy to Reduce Methane 
                Emissions;
                    (D) the Council on Climate Preparedness and 
                Resilience; and
                    (E) the Clean Cooking Alliance;
            (3) develop an action plan to reduce short-lived climate 
        pollutants that incorporates any appropriate proposals or 
        recommendations made by the entities referred to in paragraph 
        (2) that are relevant to short-lived climate pollutants;
            (4) identify any Federal program that is, or could be, 
        relevant to reducing short-lived climate pollutants--
                    (A) in the United States; or
                    (B) worldwide;
            (5) identify overlapping and duplicative Federal programs 
        addressing short-lived climate pollutants that would benefit 
        from consolidation and streamlining;
            (6) identify gaps and serious deficiencies in Federal 
        programs targeted at short-lived climate pollutants, including 
        gaps and deficiencies that can be addressed through a 
        combination of assessment, scientific research, monitoring, and 
        technological development activities, with an emphasis on--
                    (A) industry standards; and
                    (B) public-private partnerships;
            (7) in developing recommendations, consult with affected 
        stakeholders in private industry; and
            (8) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report describing the findings and recommendations resulting 
        from the activities described in paragraphs (2) through (7).

SEC. 5. REDUCTION OF BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS.

    (a) Comprehensive Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Consistent with strategies adopted by the 
        International Maritime Organization to reduce greenhouse gas 
        emissions from ships, the Secretary of State, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of 
        Commerce, the Administrator, and the Commandant of the Coast 
        Guard, shall develop a comprehensive plan to reduce black 
        carbon emissions from ships based on appropriate emissions data 
        from oceangoing vessels. The plan shall provide for such 
        reduction through--
                    (A) a clean freight partnership;
                    (B) limits on black carbon emissions; and
                    (C) efforts that include protection of access to 
                critical fuel shipments and emergency needs of coastal 
                communities.
            (2) Roadmap.--A principal objective of the plan developed 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be the establishment, in 
        coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, of a roadmap 
        for helping countries to reduce fine-particle (PM2.5) and black 
        carbon emissions in the shipping sector through--
                    (A) the installation of advanced emissions 
                controls;
                    (B) the reduction of sulfur content in fuels; and
                    (C) the adoption of black carbon control policies.
    (b) Black Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals.--The Secretary of 
State, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, shall--
            (1) lead an effort to reduce black carbon through an 
        Arctic-wide aspirational black carbon goal; and
            (2) encourage observers of the Arctic Council (including 
        India and China) to adopt mitigation plans consistent with the 
        findings and recommendations of the Arctic Council's Framework 
        for Action on Black Carbon and Methane.
    (c) Climate and Clean Air Coalition.--The Secretary of State is 
encouraged to work with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition To Reduce 
Short-Lived Climate Pollutants to craft specific financing mechanisms 
for the incremental cost of international black carbon mitigation 
activities.
    (d) Black Carbon Mitigation Activities.--
            (1) Prioritization.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development, in cooperation with the 
        Administrator, shall--
                    (A) encourage black carbon mitigation activities as 
                part of official development assistance and 
                programmatic activities;
                    (B) give special emphasis to projects that produce 
                substantial environmental, gender, livelihood, and 
                public health benefits, including support for clean-
                burning cookstoves and fuels; and
                    (C) work with the Global Alliance for Clean 
                Cookstoves to help developing nations establish 
                thriving markets for clean and efficient cooking 
                solutions.
            (2) Emissions reductions.--The Secretary of State, in 
        collaboration with the Administrator and the Secretary of 
        Transportation, shall provide aid to international efforts to 
        reduce black carbon emissions from diesel trucks and ships, 2-
        stroke engines, diesel generators, and industrial processes by 
        providing technical assistance--
                    (A) to help developing nations lower the sulfur 
                content of diesel fuels;
                    (B) to expand access to diesel particulate filters;
                    (C) to provide vehicle manufacturers with low-
                emission engine designs;
                    (D) to develop other mitigation activities, 
                including energy efficiency alternatives for generators 
                and industrial processes; and
                    (E) to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture.

SEC. 6. GLOBAL REDUCTIONS IN HIGH-GWP FLUORINATED GASES.

    (a) Sense of Congress Regarding Energy Star.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
Energy, should consider modifications to the Energy Star program 
established under section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) to include refrigerant systems that--
            (1) achieve best-in-class energy efficiency savings; and
            (2) use next generation technologies for refrigerants and 
        foam-blowing agents.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the National Academies of Sciences, 
        Engineering, and Medicine, in collaboration with the 
        Administrator, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of 
        Transportation, and the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology, shall submit to the Congress and publish a report 
        that--
                    (A) identifies and evaluates substitute 
                technologies, products, practices, and processes for 
                fluorinated compounds on a sector-by-sector basis for 
                the sectors described in paragraph (2);
                    (B) identifies and describes the legal, regulatory, 
                technical, and other barriers to the development and 
                broader deployment of substitutes for fluorinated 
                compounds within the sectors described in paragraph (2) 
                and subsectors therein in which such fluorinated 
                compounds are produced, used, and emitted;
                    (C) includes recommendations regarding any changes 
                in Federal law, regulation, guidance, and practice that 
                can lower, avoid, or eliminate the barriers identified 
                in subparagraph (B); and
                    (D) includes the earliest possible dates, or date 
                ranges, by which each sector described in paragraph (2) 
                can cease producing, using, and emitting fluorinated 
                compounds and transition to substitute technologies, 
                products, practices, and processes, taking into account 
                technological feasibility, safety, availability, 
                environmental protection, and other relevant factors, 
                including, where applicable, the life-cycle climate 
                performance of fluorinated compounds and their 
                substitutes.
            (2) Sectors described.--The sectors described in this 
        paragraph are the following sectors:
                    (A) Natural resource extraction and refining.
                    (B) Power generation and transmission.
                    (C) Transportation.
                    (D) Solid waste.
                    (E) Chemical production, and chemical industrial 
                and commercial uses.
                    (F) Agriculture.
                    (G) Wastewater.
                    (H) Buildings.
                    (I) Any other sector or subsector that the National 
                Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 
                determines relevant.
    (c) Sense of Senate Regarding Leadership and Support.--It is the 
sense of the Senate that United States should provide leadership and 
full support of the amendment agreed to on October 15, 2016, by the 
parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone 
Layer, done at Montreal September 16, 1987, which ensures a smooth, 
technically feasible global transition away from high-GWP HFC.
    (d) Reclaimed Refrigerants.--
            (1) Requirement.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), a refrigerant that is recovered shall be reclaimed 
                before the refrigerant is sold or transferred to a new 
                owner.
                    (B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in 
                any case in which a recovered refrigerant is sold or 
                transferred to a new owner solely for the purpose of 
                being reclaimed or destroyed.
            (2) Promoting use in public buildings.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
                General Services shall issue guidance relating to the 
                procurement of reclaimed refrigerants to service 
                existing equipment in public buildings.
                    (B) Preference.--The guidance issued under 
                subparagraph (A) shall give preference to the use of 
                reclaimed refrigerants if--
                            (i) the refrigerant was reclaimed by an 
                        individual or entity that is certified under 
                        the laboratory certification program of the Air 
                        Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration 
                        Institute; and
                            (ii) the price of the reclaimed refrigerant 
                        does not exceed the price of a newly 
                        manufactured refrigerant.

SEC. 7. REDUCTION OF METHANE EMISSIONS.

    (a) Technical Guidance.--The Administrator, the Secretary of 
Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of State shall--
            (1) provide to foreign countries technical guidance 
        regarding containment of emissions from gas drilling, 
        landfills, coal mining, and agriculture, including through 
        trade delegations and international initiatives such as--
                    (A) the Global Shale Gas Initiative of the 
                Department of State; and
                    (B) the Global Methane Initiative; and
            (2) collaborate with--
                    (A) the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership of 
                the World Bank; and
                    (B) the Global Methane Initiative, the Natural Gas 
                STAR Program, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Oil 
                and Gas Methane Partnership, and other voluntary 
                reduction programs of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency.
    (b) Methane Targets.--
            (1) Codifying final nsps rule.--The amendments to the Code 
        of Federal Regulations made pursuant to the final rule of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, titled ``Oil and Natural Gas 
        Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified 
        Sources'', and published in the Federal Register on June 3, 
        2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 35824 et seq.), shall have the same force 
        and effect of law as if such amendments had been enacted by an 
        Act of Congress, except that the Administrator may revise such 
        provisions, consistent with the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 
        et seq.), if such revision would result in a net reduction in 
        methane or other greenhouse gas emissions.
            (2) Sense of congress regarding methane reductions from 
        existing facilities.--It is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) oil and gas operations should reduce methane 
                emissions from oil and gas by 40 to 45 percent below 
                2012 levels by 2025;
                    (B) voluntary efforts by select members of the oil 
                and gas industry, such as the Oil and Gas Climate 
                Initiative, which has pledged to reduce the methane 
                intensity of upstream gas and oil operations to less 
                than 0.25 percent by calendar year 2025, should be 
                adopted by the industry as a whole; and
                    (C) if the results of voluntary efforts fail to 
                yield significant emissions reductions, as described in 
                subparagraph (A), pursuant to section 111(d) of the 
                Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411(d)), the Administrator 
                should--
                            (i) not later than 1 year after the date of 
                        enactment of this Act, propose standards of 
                        performance for methane emissions from existing 
                        oil and gas operations; and
                            (ii) not later than 1 year after the 
                        deadline described in clause (i), finalize the 
                        standards described in that clause.
    (c) Senses of Congress.--
            (1) United states leadership.--It is the sense of Congress 
        that United States leadership supports the guiding principles 
        on ``Reducing methane emissions across the national gas value 
        chain'' published in November 2017.
            (2) Financing conditions.--It is the sense of Congress 
        that, in evaluating gas and oil-related projects for financial 
        support, the United States Export-Import Bank and the Overseas 
        Private Investment Corporation should condition financing for 
        those projects on--
                    (A) the deployment of the best technology, methods, 
                and management practices for detecting and repairing 
                leaks of methane throughout the oil and gas production, 
                processing, transportation, and distribution system;
                    (B) the minimization of venting and inefficient or 
                unnecessary flaring; and
                    (C) the deployment of best technology, methods, and 
                management practices for reducing emissions of other 
                air pollution, especially--
                            (i) volatile organic compounds; and
                            (ii) hazardous air pollutants.
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