[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 849 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 849
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
conduct a study on black carbon emissions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 2009
Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Kerry)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
conduct a study on black carbon emissions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) black carbon--
(A) is a component of ambient particulate matter,
the mixture of which has been found to harm public
health by causing serious respiratory and
cardiovascular effects in developed and developing
countries;
(B) plays a role in climate change by--
(i) absorbing solar radiation; and
(ii) reducing the reflectivity of snow and
ice; and
(C) is emitted from incomplete combustion of fossil
fuels, biomass, and biofuels;
(2) recent studies have shown that, in the United States,
old diesel engines are a major contributor of black carbon;
(3)(A) the United States has made great progress in
reducing black carbon emissions through regulations on new
vehicles and engines and a voluntary national diesel retrofit
program; but
(B) there remain in the United States more than 11,000,000
diesel engines lacking the latest diesel emission control
technology; and
(4) the collection of information relating to, and research
regarding, black carbon would be useful to identify cost-
effective methods of reducing black carbon emissions in ways
and from sources that would have beneficial effects on the
public health and the climate.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Black carbon.--The term ``black carbon'' means any
light-absorbing graphitic (such as elemental) particle produced
by incomplete combustion.
SEC. 3. STUDY OF BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS.
(a) Study.--The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary
of Energy, the Secretary of State, and the heads of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, the United States Agency for International
Development, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and other relevant Federal departments and
agencies and representatives of appropriate industry and environmental
groups, shall conduct a 4-phase study of black carbon emissions, the
phases of which shall be the following:
(1) Phase i-universal definition.--The Administrator shall
conduct phase I of the study under this subsection to carry out
measures to establish for the scientific community standard
definitions of the terms--
(A) black carbon; and
(B) organic carbon.
(2) Phase ii-sources and technologies.--The Administrator
shall conduct phase II of the study under this subsection to
summarize the available scientific and technical information
concerning--
(A) the identification of the major sources of
black carbon emissions in the United States and
throughout the world;
(B) an estimate of--
(i) the quantity of current and projected
future black carbon emissions from those
sources; and
(ii) the net climate effects of the
emissions;
(C) the most recent scientific data relevant to the
public health- and climate-related impacts of black
carbon emissions and associated emissions of organic
carbon, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides from the
sources identified under subparagraph (A);
(D) the most effective control strategies for
additional domestic and international reductions in
black carbon emissions, taking into consideration
lifecycle analysis, cost-effectiveness, and the net
climate impact of technologies, operations, and
strategies, such as--
(i) diesel particulate filters on existing
diesel on- and off-road engines; and
(ii) particulate emission reduction
measures for marine vessels;
(E) carbon dioxide equivalency factors, global or
regional modeling, or other metrics to compare the
global warming and other climate effects of black
carbon emissions with carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gas emissions; and
(F) the health benefits associated with additional
black carbon emission reductions.
(3) Phase iii-international funding.--The Administrator
shall conduct phase III of the study under this subsection--
(A) to summarize the amount, type, and direction of
all actual and potential financial, technical, and
related assistance provided by the United States to
foreign countries to reduce, mitigate, or otherwise
abate--
(i) black carbon emissions; and
(ii) any health, environmental, and
economic impacts associated with those
emissions; and
(B) to identify opportunities, including action
under existing authority, to achieve significant black
carbon emission reductions in foreign countries through
the provision of technical assistance or other
approaches.
(4) Phase iv-research and development opportunities.--The
Administrator conduct phase IV of the study under this
subsection for the purpose of providing to Congress
recommendations regarding--
(A) areas of focus for additional research for
cost-effective technologies, operations, and strategies
with the highest potential to reduce black carbon
emissions and protect public health in the United
States and internationally; and
(B) actions that the Federal Government could take
to encourage or require additional black carbon
emission reductions.
(b) Reports.--The Administrator shall submit to Congress--
(1) by not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, a report describing the results of phases I and II
of the study under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a);
(2) by not later than 270 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, a report describing the results of phase III of
the study under subsection (a)(3); and
(3) by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, a report describing the recommendations developed for
phase IV of the study under subsection (a)(4).
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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