[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1795 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1795

   To provide for the establishment of an Offsets Integrity Advisory 
                     Board, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 30, 2009

 Mr. Matheson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the establishment of an Offsets Integrity Advisory 
                     Board, 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. OFFSETS INTEGRITY ADVISORY BOARD.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish an independent 
Offsets Integrity Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall make 
recommendations to the Administrator for use in promulgating and 
revising regulations on offsets, and for ensuring the overall 
environmental integrity of the offset program.
    (b) Membership.--The Advisory Board shall be comprised of nine 
members with relevant expertise. At least six members of the Advisory 
Board shall be scientists, and at least one member shall be a member of 
the National Academy of Sciences. The Administrator shall appoint a 
chair and vice-chair of the Advisory Board, and membership terms shall 
be 5 years for all Advisory Board members.
    (c) Activities.--The Advisory Board established pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) provide recommendations, not later than 90 days after 
        the Advisory Board's establishment and periodically thereafter, 
        to the Administrator regarding offset project types that should 
        be considered for eligibility, taking into consideration 
        relevant scientific and other issues, including--
                    (A) the potential for accurate quantification of 
                greenhouse gas reduction, avoidance, or sequestration 
                for an offset project type;
                    (B) the potential level of scientific and 
                measurement uncertainty associated with an offset 
                project type; and
                    (C) any beneficial or adverse environmental, public 
                health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects 
                associated with an offset project type;
            (2) provide recommendations to the Administrator regarding 
        offset methodologies that should be considered under the 
        offsets regulations, including methodologies to address the 
        issues of additionality, activity baselines, performance, 
        leakage, uncertainty, and permanence;
            (3) advise the Administrator, and other relevant Federal 
        agencies, regarding scientific, technical, and methodological 
        issues specific to the issuance of international offset 
        credits;
            (4) advise the Administrator of areas in which further 
        knowledge is required to appraise the adequacy of existing, 
        revised, or proposed methodologies for offsets, and describe 
        the research efforts necessary to provide the required 
        information; and
            (5) advise the Administrator on other ways to improve or 
        safeguard the environmental integrity of the offsets program.
    (d) Scientific Review of Offset Programs.--Not later than January 
1, 2017, and at five-year intervals thereafter, the Advisory Board 
shall submit to the Administrator and make available to the public an 
analysis of relevant scientific and technical information related to 
the offsets program. The Advisory Board shall review approved and 
potential offset methodologies, scientific studies, offset project 
monitoring, offset project verification reports, and audits, and 
evaluate the net emissions effects of implemented offset projects. The 
Advisory Board shall recommend changes to offset methodologies, 
protocols, or project types, or to the overall offset program, in order 
to ensure that offset credits issued by the Administrator do not 
compromise the integrity of the emissions cap, and to avoid or minimize 
any adverse effects to human health or the environment.

SEC. 2. PROGRAM REVIEW AND REVISION.

    At least once every 5 years, the Administrator shall review and, 
based on new information and taking into consideration the 
recommendations of the Advisory Board, revise--
            (1) the methodologies established;
            (2) the reversal policies and mechanisms established;
            (3) measures to improve the accountability of the offsets 
        program; and
            (4) any other requirements established to ensure the 
        environmental integrity and effective operation of the offsets 
        program.
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