Healthy Forests, Healthy Planet Act of 2008

Bill: 110-hr-6830
Sponsor: Rep. Shuler, Heath [D-NC-11]
Introduced: 2008-08-01 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Alternative and renewable resources
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Ecology
Electric power generation and transmission
Executive agency funding and structure
Forests, forestry, trees
Income tax credits
Land use and conservation
Performance measurement
Public-private cooperation

Summary:
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: 
Healthy Forests, Healthy Planet Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to the National Forest System, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to other federal land, or both Secretaries acting jointly when a Carbon Cooperative Zone will include multiple types of federal land, to: (1) establish Carbon Cooperative Zones consisting of forested federal land and forested land in the same contiguous geographical area in private ownership or owned by a state or local government or Indian tribe; and (2) establish, for each Zone, a Carbon Cooperative and Partnership Council that is comprised of a Carbon Cooperative and a Carbon and Biomass Partnership. 

Declares the purpose of such Zones to be: (1) identification of viable biofuels and carbon storage market areas from forested land within a contiguous geographic area; (2) management of effects on forest ecosystems from potential activities that drive carbon storage and biofuels markets; (3) management of effects of potential leakage, permanence, and other market distortions in a carbon trading system; and (4) management of the forest carbon registry. 

Sets forth the duties of the Council, Cooperative, and Partnership, including requiring the Council to: (1) coordinate the land ownership plans of partnering entities in the corresponding Cooperative in order to sustain forest ecosystems in the Zone while developing the biomass and carbon storage markets of the Zone; (2) administer the Forest Carbon Registry for the Zone; and (3) establish the forest carbon baseline for the Zone and determine all credits due to partnering entities in the Cooperative.

Establishes an Environmental Services Standards Board to develop consistent performance standards for quantifying carbon storage credits to facilitate the development of credit markets for conservation and land management activities that are forest based. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Agriculture to serve as the Board's chairperson; and (2) such Board to promulgate rules for tradable forest carbon credits and a forest carbon replacement reserve.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions concerning credits for energy produced within such Zones and credits for forest biomass producers.

Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make grants for small energy generation facilities where the output is expected to be used within a single Zone.

Requires biomass production from federal lands to be generated through forest activities that enhance ecosystem services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Introduced in House