117 HR 8337 IH: Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act U.S. House of Representatives 2022-07-12 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I117th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 8337IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJuly 12, 2022Mr. Lucas (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Westerman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concernedA BILLTo require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a carbon sequestration research initiative, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act.

2.

Carbon sequestration research initiative

(a)

In general

The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish an initiative to evaluate terrestrial carbon sequestration and carbon sequestration in geologic formations to—(1)enhance the scientific understanding of, and reduce uncertainties associated with, the long- and short-term behavior and potential environmental effects of sequestered carbon;(2)inform improved risk-assessment methods, risk-management practices, and standards with respect to the sequestration of carbon on large and small scales; and(3)provide reference data needed for the development and demonstration of new carbon sequestration technologies.(b)

Initiative components

In carrying out the initiative under subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall—(1)identify scientific challenges for widespread adoption of terrestrial carbon sequestration and carbon sequestration in geological formations, including in shallow formations and sites not used for enhanced oil recovery;(2)develop, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies’ research efforts, a long-term strategic and prioritized research agenda to address such scientific challenges; and(3)leverage for the advancement of modeling and analysis the collective body of knowledge and data, including experience and resources from existing carbon utilization and sequestration research, entities, and demonstrations, from—(A)the United States Geological Survey, the Agricultural Research Service, and the national Carbon Utilization Research Center;(B)the Department of Energy, including the Office of Science; and(C)other Federal agencies, research communities, and users of the reference data referred to in subsection (a)(3), including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, the Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.(c)

Priorities

In carrying out the initiative under subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy shall prioritize joint research with relevant Federal agencies, including the agencies specified in subsection (b)(3)(C), to achieve the following objectives:(1)Increasing the understanding and development of permanent terrestrial carbon sequestration, including through organic soil carbon sequestration, soil carbon mineralization, artificial reforestation, and carbon mineralization utilizing mine tailings.(2)Developing computational tools and data sharing practices to assess and manage potential environmental impacts at geologic formations and terrestrial carbon storage sites across a variety of ecosystems.(3)Collecting, identifying, and utilizing data needed to increase the understanding of terrestrial carbon sequestration, in particular carbon sequestered through agricultural practices and conservation agriculture, such as rangeland and grazing management, soil cover, and crop rotations.(4)Advancing the commercialization of new and existing sequestration technologies or methods.(d)

Coordination

The Secretary of Energy shall carry out the initiative under subsection (a) with and avoid unnecessary duplication of the following:(1)Other research entities of the Department of Energy, including the National Laboratories and the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy.(2)Research entities, services, and partnerships of the Department of Agriculture, including the Agricultural Research Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Forest Service.(3)Research entities of the Department of the Interior.(e)

Research plan

Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate the long-term strategic and prioritized research agenda required pursuant to subsection (b)(2).(f)

Definitions

In this section:(1)

Terrestrial carbon sequestration

The term terrestrial carbon sequestration means carbon sequestration methods or technologies engineered by humans and targeted at rangelands, agricultural lands, or fallow lands to increase soil organic carbon levels or sequester carbon through plant and root biomass, including through soil additives, geochemical approaches, and other engineered solutions that can increase the storage of produced carbon in inorganic or mineral forms, such as biochar and carbon mineralization utilizing mine tailings.(2)

Carbon sequestration in geologic formations

The term carbon sequestration in geologic formations means carbon sequestration methods or technologies utilizing existing permeable or porous formations in geologic basins.