Title: Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2020
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2020
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. The disclosures are those described in the Sustainability Accounting Standard for the Renewable Resources & Alternative Energy Sector or the Extractives & Mineral Processing Sector.
Every two years, the Department of the Interior must submit a report to Congress that includes, among other things (1) for fossil fuel operations on public lands, the annual and two-year totals of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, water management, biodiversity impacts, production, and the number of sites according to the metrics specified in the Sustainability Accounting Standard for Oil & Gas - Exploration & Production; and (2) for renewable energy operations on public lands, greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the production of the same amount of energy using fossil fuels.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5636 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5636

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2020

Mr. Lowenthal (for himself, Mr. Deutch, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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 2020''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report Required for an Entity Seeking a Lease.--The Secretary 
shall require any entity seeking a lease to develop covered operations 
on public land to submit to the Secretary 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 
shall require any entity holding a lease to develop covered operations 
on public land to submit to the Secretary 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 determines that an entity 
did not meet the requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary--
            (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 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 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; and
            (2) the changes in the information in paragraph 1;
            (3) the projected future changes for 5, 10, and 25 years; 
        and
            (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.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered operation.--The term ``covered operation'' 
        means--
                    (A) any renewable energy operations; and
                    (B) fossil fuel operations that are subject to the 
                mineral leasing laws or title V of the Federal Land 
                Policy and Management Act of 1976 (30 U.S.C. 1761 et 
                seq.).
            (2) Fossil fuel.--The term ``fossil fuel'' means oil, 
        natural gas, natural gas liquids, and coal.
            (3) Public land.--The term ``public land'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
            (4) Renewable energy.--The term ``renewable energy'' means 
        a project carried out on public land that uses wind, solar, 
        geothermal, wave, current, tidal, or ocean thermal energy to 
        generate electricity.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
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