[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6671 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6671

To amend title 23, United States Code, to aid States in the deployment 
   of fueling infrastructure to increase the use of higher blends of 
                   biofuels, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2020

 Ms. Finkenauer (for herself, Ms. Craig, Mr. Marshall, and Mr. Bacon) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to aid States in the deployment 
   of fueling infrastructure to increase the use of higher blends of 
                   biofuels, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Fuels Deployment Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR DEPLOYMENT OF FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE TO INCREASE THE 
              USE OF HIGHER BLENDS OF BIOFUELS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Energy Information Administration, 
        United States fuel consumption reached a new record high in 
        2018, breaking the previous record from 2007.
            (2) Biofuels are an immediately available path toward 
        decarbonizing the transportation sector while lowering fuel 
        prices, driving economic growth, and creating jobs.
            (3) Ninety-eight percent of the gasoline sold in the United 
        States already uses a 10 percent ethanol blend, E10.
            (4) E15 has been approved since 2011 for any car or light 
        truck model year 2001 or later, and as of January 2020, it is 
        sold at 2,081 locations in 30 States primarily at independently 
        owned gas stations.
            (5) On May 30, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency 
        issued a final rule titled ``Modifications to Fuel Regulations 
        to Provide Flexibility for E15 and to Elements of the Renewable 
        Identification Number Compliance System'' to permit year-round 
        sale of E15.
            (6) E15 is dispensed using blender pumps or dedicated E15 
        pumps.
            (7) In addition to flex-fuel infrastructure to dispense 
        E85, all major United States pump manufacturers offer pumps 
        certified for blends up to 25 percent ethanol.
            (8) Pilot programs have demonstrated that public-private 
        partnerships increase the installation rate of fueling 
        infrastructure for higher blends of ethanol, with the USDA 
        Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership delivering $100,000,000 to 
        21 States to assist 1,486 stations install 4,880 pumps and 515 
        tanks.
            (9) The United States has used more than 2.6 billion 
        gallons of biomass-based diesel each year since 2016 for on-
        road transport, heating applications, and jet fuel.
            (10) Nearly all United States diesel engine original 
        equipment manufacturers approve the use of biodiesel blends up 
        to B20 and renewable diesel up to 100 percent.
            (11) Multiple States have enacted or are poised to adopt 
        requirements and incentives for blending biodiesel and 
        renewable diesel into distillate fuels for transportation and 
        heating.
            (12) The greatest barriers to biodiesel distribution are at 
        the terminal and pipeline terminal level, as well as rail to 
        reach distribution centers. Incentivizing terminals would make 
        fuel widely available and would be helpful for a larger 
        penetration of biodiesel.
            (13) Investment will accelerate the increased use of higher 
        blends of biofuels and quickly cut greenhouse gas emissions 
        while lowering gas prices and driving economic growth.

SEC. 3. CLEAN FUELS GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 219. Clean fuels grant program
    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
a grant program to award grants to eligible entities to carry out the 
activities described in subsection (d).
    ``(b) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to receive a grant 
under this subsection is--
            ``(1) a State, locality, or territory;
            ``(2) a Tribal government;
            ``(3) an authority, agency, partnership, or instrumentality 
        of an entity described in paragraph (1) or (2); or
            ``(4) a group of entities described in paragraphs (1) 
        through (3).
    ``(c) Eligibility Criteria.--In selecting entities to receive a 
grant under this section, the Secretary shall consider the extent to 
which the application of the entity proposes to--
            ``(1) convert existing pump infrastructure to deliver 
        ethanol blends with greater than 10 percent ethanol;
            ``(2) diversify the geographic area selling ethanol blends 
        with greater than 10 percent ethanol;
            ``(3) support existing or emerging biodiesel, bioheat and 
        sustainable aviation fuel markets that have existing 
        incentives;
            ``(4) increase the use of existing fuel delivery 
        infrastructure;
            ``(5) enable or accelerate the deployment of fueling 
        infrastructure that would be unlikely to be completed without 
        Federal assistance; and
            ``(6) build and retrofit traditional and pipeline terminals 
        to blend biodiesel and pipelines to carry ethanol and 
        biodiesel.
    ``(d) Eligible Use.--An entity receiving a grant under this section 
may use the grant funds--
            ``(1) to distribute to private or public entities for costs 
        related to incentivizing deployment of fueling infrastructure;
            ``(2) for the conversion of existing pump infrastructure to 
        deliver ethanol blends greater than 10 percent and biodiesel 
        blends greater than 20 percent;
            ``(3) for installation of fuel pumps and related 
        infrastructure dedicated to the distribution of higher ethanol 
        blends (including E15 and E85) and higher biodiesel blends up 
        to B100 at fueling locations, including local fueling stations, 
        convenience stores, hypermarket fueling stations, and fleet 
        facilities; and
            ``(4) to build and retrofit traditional and pipeline 
        terminals (including rail lines) to blend biodiesel and 
        pipelines to carry ethanol and biodiesel.
    ``(e) Certification Requirement.--Any infrastructure used or 
installed with funds provided under this section shall be certified by 
the Underwriters Laboratory to distribute blends with an ethanol 
content of 25 percent or greater.
    ``(f) Funding.--
            ``(1) Federal project share.--The Federal share of the 
        total cost of carrying out a project under this section shall 
        not exceed 80 percent.
            ``(2) Maximum percentage for certain activities.--An entity 
        receiving a grant under this section shall ensure that Federal 
        funds do not exceed--
                    ``(A) 75 percent of the per pump cost for--
                            ``(i) pumps that can dispense a range of 
                        ethanol blends up to and including E85 (new 
                        pumps or retrofit of existing pumps); and
                            ``(ii) dedicated E15 or E85 pumps (new 
                        pumps or retrofit of existing pumps);
                    ``(B) 50 percent of the terminal cost for terminals 
                with B100 capabilities; and
                    ``(C) 25 percent of the per tank cost for new 
                storage tanks and related equipment associated with new 
                facilities or additional capacity other than 
                replacement.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 
2026 to carry out this Act.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 2 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``219. Clean fuels grant program.''.
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