[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 523 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 523

   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish pilot project 
  offices to improve Federal permit coordination for renewable energy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 4, 2009

 Mr. Tester (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish pilot project 
  offices to improve Federal permit coordination for renewable energy.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PILOT PROJECT OFFICE TO IMPROVE FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATION 
              FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY.

    (a) In General.--Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 15924) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
    ``(j) Pilot Project Office To Improve Federal Permit Coordination 
for Renewable Energy.--
            ``(1) Definition of renewable energy.--In this subsection, 
        the term `renewable energy' means energy derived from a wind, 
        solar, renewable biomass, ocean (including tidal, wave, 
        current, and thermal), geothermal, or hydroelectric source.
            ``(2) Field and district offices.--As part of the Pilot 
        Project, the Secretary shall designate 1 field or district 
        office of the Bureau of Land Management in each of the 
        following States to serve as Renewable Energy Pilot Project 
        Offices for coordination of Federal permits for renewable 
        energy projects and transmission lines to integrate renewable 
        energy:
                    ``(A) Arizona.
                    ``(B) California.
                    ``(C) New Mexico.
                    ``(D) Nevada.
                    ``(E) Montana.
                    ``(F) Wyoming.
            ``(3) Memorandum of understanding.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary 
                shall enter into an amended memorandum of understanding 
                under subsection (b) to provide for the inclusion of 
                the additional Renewable Energy Pilot Project Offices 
                in the Pilot Project.
                    ``(B) Secretary of energy.--The Secretary of Energy 
                shall be a signatory of the amended memorandum of 
                understanding.
                    ``(C) Signatures by governors.--The Secretary may 
                request that the Governors of each of the States 
                described in paragraph (2) be signatories to the 
                amended memorandum of understanding.
            ``(4) Designation of qualified staff.--Not later than 30 
        days after the date of the signing of the amended memorandum of 
        understanding, all Federal signatory parties shall, if 
        appropriate, assign to each Renewable Energy Pilot Project 
        Offices designated under paragraph (2) an employee described in 
        subsection (c) to carry out duties described in that 
        subsection.
            ``(5) Additional personnel.--The Secretary shall assign to 
        each Renewable Energy Pilot Project Office additional personnel 
        under subsection (f).''.
    (b) Permit Processing Improvement Fund.--Section 35(c)(3) of the 
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(c)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``use authorizations'' and inserting ``and 
        renewable energy use authorizations''; and
            (2) by striking ``section 365(d)'' and inserting 
        ``subsections (d) and (j)(2) of section 365''.
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