jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Health
Date: 2013-02-06 00:00:00

Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act or ACHE Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support comprehensive studies on the health impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on individuals in the surrounding communities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), upon receipt of a report on study results, to publish a determination of whether such mining presents any health risks to individuals in those communities. Defines "mountaintop removal coal mining" as surface coal mining that uses blasting with explosives in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Prohibits issuance of an authorization for any mountaintop removal coal mining project (or expansion), under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, until and unless the Secretary publishes a determination that such mining does not present any health risk to individuals in the surrounding communities. Imposes requirements for continuous monitoring of air, noise, and water pollution and frequent monitoring of soil until a determination by the Secretary is made.

Directs the President, acting through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior, to assess a one-time fee upon persons that conduct such mining projects, sufficient to cover the federal cost of the health studies and pollution monitoring required by this Act.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-06-17 00:00:00

True Cost of Coal Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a $10 per ton excise tax on the extraction of coal; (2) establish in the Treasury the Coal Mitigation Trust Fund to hold revenues from such tax; and (3) extend to 50 years the recovery period, for depreciation purposes, for specified coal port property used for the export of coal.

Allows expenditures from the Coal Mitigation Trust Fund to assist states in mitigating noise, vibration, traffic delays, pollution and other threats to public health, and emergencies in connection with the transportation of coal by rail, and to provide worker adjustment assistance.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations to require all rail cars transporting coal to be covered or to incorporate a suitable alternative technology to ensure that coal and coal dust do not escape during transportation.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-09-19 00:00:00

Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment Act of 2013 or the SENSE Act of 2013 - Makes certain emission limits for hydrogen chloride and sulfur dioxide, in regulations entitled "Emission Limits for Existing EGUs," inapplicable to an electric utility steam generating unit in the subcategory "Coal-fired unit not low rank virgin coal" if the unit: (1) is in operation as of the date of enactment of this Act, (2) utilizes circulating fluidized bed technology to convert coal refuse into energy, and (3) derives at least 75 percent of its heat input from coal refuse or is a qualifying small power production or cogeneration facility as defined by the Federal Power Act.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2014-07-23 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to retire any coal preference right lease application for which an affirmative commercial quantities determination has been made, by issuing bidding rights in exchange for relinquishment of the application, including payment to the relevant state of 50% of the dollar amount of any bidding right subsequently used in lieu of any monetary payment of a bonus in a coal lease sale or of rental or royalty under a federal coal lease.

Requires the Secretary to make such payments from revenues received under federal mineral leases.

Declares such bidding rights to be fully transferable to any other person.

Terminates a bidding right five years from its date of issue, not counting any period in which exercise of the bidding right is precluded by temporary injunctive relief granted under, or administrative, legislative, or judicial suspension of, the federal coal leasing program.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Health
Date: 2013-07-30 00:00:00

Petroleum Coke Transparency and Public Health Study Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transmit to Congress, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, the results of a study, using the best available science, of petroleum coke that includes: (1) an analysis of the public health and environmental impacts of the production, transportation, storage, and use of petroleum coke; (2) an assessment of potential approaches and best practices for storing, transporting, and managing petroleum coke; and (3) a quantitative analysis of current and projected domestic petroleum coke production and utilization locations. Requires the Secretary to compile and publish on a publicly available website the results of such study.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-04-13 00:00:00

Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends subtitle D (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish a permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into landfills or surface impoundments, sand or gravel pits, quarries, or lateral expansions of the structures. The structural criteria concern: (1) design, location, and integrity; (2) financial assurance; (3) groundwater and surface water protections; (4) closure procedures; and (5) air quality with respect to fugitive dust.

In order to adopt or implement a permit program, the lead state implementing agency must maintain a program for control of hazardous waste disposal in open dumps or an authorized state hazardous waste program under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. The implementing agency must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available.

A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. A coal ash permit program implemented by the EPA shall not apply to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal ash at surface or underground coal mining and reclamation operations.

Certain uses of coal ash are not considered as receipt of such material for purposes of this bill. These include uses for engineered structural fill, storage in a manner consistent with the management of raw materials, and such beneficial uses as substitution for virgin material (in which case the use must be shown to not result in environmental releases greater than those from a material or product that would be used instead of the coal ash or exceed relevant benchmarks for human and ecological receptors).

The bill revises implementation of the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities." The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-04-15 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of that version is repeated here.)

(Sec. 1) This bill authorizes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to provide bidding credits for a coal preference right lease applicant to acquire federal mineral rights if such applicant agrees to relinquish its rights to an existing coal lease on federal land. Bidding credits, which are fully transferable, are assigned a dollar value and can be used in lieu of cash to make certain payments to the federal government. The dollar value should be equal to the estimated fair market value of the existing lease being relinquished.

The BLM is required to provide payments, equal to 50% value of any bidding credit, to any state where federal mineral rights are being acquired through the use of bidding credits. Such payments are required to be derived from revenues obtained under federal mineral leases.

 A bidding credit terminates five years from its date of issue, not counting any period in which exercise of the bidding credit is precluded by law or suspension of the federal coal leasing program.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-06-03 00:00:00

Petroleum Coke Transparency and Public Health Protection Act

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit to Congress and publish on the HHS website a report containing the results of a study concerning petroleum coke that includes: (1) an analysis of the public health and environmental impacts of the production, transportation, storage, and use of petroleum coke; (2) an assessment of potential approaches and best practices for storing, transporting, and managing petroleum coke; and (3) a quantitative analysis of current and projected domestic petroleum coke production and utilization locations.

The Environmental Protection Agency is required to promulgate rules concerning the storage and transportation of petroleum coke that ensure the protection of public and ecological health based upon the findings of such study.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-07-29 00:00:00

Coal Royalty Fairness and Communities Investment Act of 2015

This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to require the coal lease royalty to be at least 12.5% of the assessment value of federal coal (currently, 12.5% of the value of coal as defined by regulation), which value shall be established by the Department of the Interior within one year after enactment of this Act.

"Assessment value" means: (1) the price of federal coal paid by the purchaser at final sale, or (2) a price imputed by the Secretary based on the coal price index (the schedule of average market prices of federal coal at final sale).

The purchaser of federal coal shall report annually information necessary to carry out this Act. Interior may examine the records of any person engaged in the purchase, sale, transportation, or marketing of federal coal.

The bill prescribes requirements for: (1) determining and assessing royalties for the export of federal coal, (2) compiling in a transportation cost index the average costs of transporting coal, and (3) determining the amount of any applicable transportation cost deduction on the basis of such index.

The bill also establishes in the Treasury a Coal Area Economic Revitalization Fund for the annual deposit of $105 million of royalty revenues collected by the United States from coal leases. The Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce shall use certain Fund amounts to issue grants under specified programs for projects to assist communities and Indian tribes negatively impacted by changes in the coal economy. The Department of Energy shall use certain Fund amounts to provide financial assistance for the design, construction, and operation of large-scale projects to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources. Specified federal departments and agencies shall provide impacted communities with technical assistance and educational outreach to fund partnerships.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-04-20 00:00:00

Steel Industry Preservation Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the production tax credit for steel industry fuel.

(Under current law, steel industry fuel is a fuel which is: (1) produced through a process of liquefying coal waste sludge and distributing it on coal, and (2) used as a feedstock for the manufacture of coke.)

The bill modifies the tax credit for steel industry fuel to:

 extend the credit period and the placed-in-service date, revise the definition of "steel industry fuel" to allow blends of coal and petroleum coke or other coke feedstock in the fuel, set forth ownership requirements, and specify requirements for treating an owner as producing and selling steel industry fuel. A taxpayer that produces steel industry fuel may elect to accept an increased tax credit in lieu of certain deductions for expenses in connection with the production of steel industry fuel.

The bill specifies the treatment of the credit for the purpose of the alternative minimum tax. It also exempts transactions related to steel industry fuel from rules that restrict deductions and other tax benefits for activities that are not engaged in for profit or that do not have economic substance.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

Coal Cleanup Taxpayer Protection Act

This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act to prohibit the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement (OSMRE)and state regulatory authoritiesfrom accepting new self-bonds for coal reclamation.Additionally, any existing self-bonds or corporate bondsutilized for coal reclamationmust be converted to surety or collateral bonds.

The OSMRE may approve state or federal alternative coal miningbond programs thatresult in no greater risk of financial liability to the federalgovernment than a surety or collateral bond program.

The bill also requires the OSMRE to issue rules establishing limitations on surety bondsto minimize the financial liability to the federal or stategovernment.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Labor and employment
Date: 2016-07-07 00:00:00

Creating Opportunities for America's Laid-off (COAL) Miners Act of 2016

This bill allows certain states in which the coal mining and related industries have been adversely impacted by regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Department of the Interior to enter into and participate in a specified agreement with the Department of Labor.

These states shall include:

 Alabama; Illinois; Indiana; Kentucky; Ohio; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; Virginia; Wyoming; and any other state that has traditionally relied on coal mining for a substantial portion of its economy, and has experienced a significant reduction in coal mining-related activity over five years. The agreement shall require that the state's agency make payments of coal mining emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) to individuals, other than illegal aliens, who:

 have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under the state or federal law for a benefit year (excluding any benefit year that ended before enactment of this bill); have no rights to regular compensation for a week under such law or any other state unemployment compensation law or to compensation under any other federal law; are not receiving compensation for such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada; and are able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work. A state which enters such an agreement must deliver specified reemployment services and reemployment and eligibility assessment activities to each coal mining EUC recipient while the individual continues to receive such EUC.

The bill requires that, subject to specified conditions, 100% of the coal mining EUC paid to individuals by the state be reimbursed to each such state that enters into the agreement.

Funds in the extended unemployment compensation account of the Unemployment Trust Fund shall be used for making payments to these states.

This bill prescribes penalties for an individual who commits fraud resulting in overpayment of coal mining EUC.

No compensation under this bill shall be payable following 24 months after its enactment.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-11-30 00:00:00

Creating Opportunities for Rural Economies Act or the CORE Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require at least 5% of the new markets tax credit limitation to be allocated to community development entities in connection with certain investments, financial counseling, and other services in distressed coal communities.

A "distressed coal community" is any low-income community located in a county that: (1) was one of the 30 counties with the biggest employment decrease among coal operators over a specified time period; or (2) is contiguous to a county that has the required decrease in employment, is located in the same state, and contains at least one low-income community.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-11-15 00:00:00

Creating Opportunities for Rural Economic Expansion Act or the CORE Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require at least 5% of the new markets tax credit limitation to be allocated to community development entities in connection with certain investments, financial counseling, and other services in distressed coal communities.

A "distressed coal community" is any low-income community located in a county that: (1) was one of the 30 counties with the biggest employment decrease among coal operators over a specified time period; or (2) is contiguous to a county that has the required decrease in employment, is located in the same state, and contains at least one low-income community.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-04-14 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any amount received by a non-corporate taxpayer as a clean coal power grant, award, or allowance under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. To the extent that such grant, award, or allowance is related to depreciable property, the adjusted basis of such property is reduced by the amount excluded from gross income. Each non-corporate taxpayer allowed a tax exclusion under this Act must make a payment to the federal government of 1.18% of the value of the grant, award, or allowance received.

This bill is applicable to grant amounts received in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-11 00:00:00

This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal: (1) the coal and related technologies program; (2) the carbon capture research, development and demonstration program; and (3) the Clean Coal Power Initiative.

In lieu of those programs the Department of Energy (DOE) shall establish a coal technology program encompassing: (1) research and development, (2) large-scale pilot projects, and (3) demonstration projects.

 DOE must develop performance standards that include:

 ensuring reliable, low cost power from new and existing coal plants; addressing carbon dioxide emissions through high efficiency platforms and carbon capture from new and existing coal plants; support flexible baseload operations for new and existing applications of coal generation; and validate geologic storage of large volumes of anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide and the infrastructure needed to support a carbon dioxide use and storage industry.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-11 00:00:00

Coal with Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of Energy to enter into 25-year binding contracts that provide price stabilization support for electricity generated at either an electric generation unit (that uses coal-based generation technology) or carbon dioxide captured from such unit and subsequently sold to a purchaser for either crude oil recovery or other commercial market purposes.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-12 00:00:00

This bill designates the Department of Energy (DOE) as the lead agency to coordinate all federal requirements under the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Safe Drinking Water Act regarding clean coal and advanced coal technology generating projects which:

 install and operate an advanced carbon capture and storage technology or carbon capture utilization and storage technology at a new or existing steam generating unit; or increase the efficiency of converting coal to either a useful energy, or to a feedstock for the manufacture of other products. DOE is also required to establish a schedule for all federal authorizations with respect to such projects, including:

 setting binding intermediate milestones and deadlines to ensure expeditious completion of all proceedings and final action on all pertinent federal authorizations, requiring all permit decisions and related environmental reviews to be completed within one year after the date on which a complete application for each environmental review is submitted, and coordinating state permitting and environmental requirements.
Topic: Energy — Coal
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-14 00:00:00

Coal Oversight and Leasing Reform Act of 2015 or the COAL Reform Act of 2015

This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to repeal the requirement that the Department of the Interior offer under a deferred bonus lease payment system at least 50% of total acreage offered for coal leasing in any one year.

 Any independent consultants used by Interior for lease sales shall be subject to a nondisclosure agreement and any other confidentiality requirements.

Licensees must certify the accuracy of exploration data they submit.

A proposed lease sale may not be held until Interior determines, and includes in a formal appraisal report, the fair market value of the coal to be extracted.

Interior must: (1) make publicly available appraisal reports, individual and total lease sales, high bids, royalty payments, and related revenues; and (2) find that a proposed coal leasing modification would not result in revenue reduction.

The total area of coal leasing modifications is reduced from 960 to 160 acres.

Interior shall prepare, periodically revise, and maintain a coal leasing program consisting of a schedule of proposed lease sales indicating the size, timing, and location of leasing activity that will best meet national needs for the five-year period following approval or reapproval of the program.

 Annual lease rentals must be for at least $100 per acre, adjustable every 5 years.

Lease terms are reduced from 20 to 10 years. A lease which is not producing in commercial quantities shall be terminated at the end of 5 years.

The minimum lease royalty is increased from 12.5% of the value of the coal to 18.75%.

BLM shall promulgate regulations for inspections and enforcement of coal operations, including oversight of state inspection and enforcement programs by its Washington, D.C. office. BLM may also assess civil penalties for noncompliance.

There shall be a moratorium on new coal lease sales until this Act has been implemented.