118 HR 4302 IH: Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-06-22
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4302
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2023
Ms. Porter (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Huffman, and Mr. Levin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 concerned
A BILL
To provide for the accurate reporting of fossil fuel extraction and emissions by entities with leases on public land, and for other purposes.
1.

Short Title
This Act may be cited as the “Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2023”.
2.

Disclosure Requirements
(a)

Report required for an entity seeking a lease
The Secretary concerned shall require any entity seeking a lease to develop covered operations on public land or Indian land to submit to the Secretary concerned a report, at the time of submission of a bid to develop covered operations. Such report shall—
(1)
make the disclosures described in the Sustainable Accounting Standard for the Extractives and Minerals Processing Sector and the Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy Sector in effect on the date the report is filed (that is produced by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) for the covered operations developed by the entity and in effect at the date of such bid; and
(2)
disaggregate the information in paragraph (1) by State and by type of covered operation.
(b)

Report required for an entity holding a lease
The Secretary concerned shall require any entity holding a lease to develop covered operations on public land or Indian land to submit to the Secretary concerned a report annually. Such report shall—
(1)
make the disclosures described in the Sustainable Accounting Standard for the Extractives and Minerals Processing Sector and the Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy Sector in effect on the date the report is filed (that is produced by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board); and
(2)
disaggregate the information in paragraph (1) by State and by type of covered operation.
(c)

Failure To comply
If the Secretary concerned determines that an entity did not meet the requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary concerned—
(1)
may not issue to such entity a lease for a covered operation; and
(2)
may suspend a lease for a covered operation held by such entity.
3.

Online Publication of Disclosure
The Secretary concerned shall make the information reported under section 2 available to the public on an internet website in a machine readable format.
4.

Report to Congress
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall submit a report to Congress that includes—
(1)
with respect to covered operations, the annual and 2-year totals of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, water management, biodiversity impacts, production, and number of sites according to the metrics described in the Sustainable Accounting Standard for Oil and Gas Exploration and Production in effect on the date the report is filed (that is produced by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) for covered operations on public land or Indian land;
(2)
the changes in the information in paragraph (1);
(3)
the projected future changes for 5, 10, and 25 years;
(4)
for renewable energy operations, an estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from production of the same amount of energy using fossil fuels and water management, including water use, biodiversity impacts, production, number of sites, and acres including associated transmission lines;
(5)
the emission produced during the construction of solar panels and wind turbines that would be used for renewable energy operations;
(6)
a determination as to whether the materials or labor for the construction of solar panels and wind turbines used for renewable energy operations would be sourced from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China;
(7)
the environmental impacts of the decommissioning and disposal of renewable energy products and electronic waste, including batteries, solar panels, and products that have exceeded their life cycle;
(8)
with respect to lands on which covered operations occur, the annual and 2-year totals of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, water management, and biodiversity impacts of catastrophic wildfires, the number of acres identified as being at high or very high risk of wildfire, and the number of acres in need of treatment or fuels reduction activities; and
(9)
an assessment of the environmental and human rights impacts in the production of renewable energy products for the lifecycle of such products, including such impacts from source materials for and the disposal of such products.
5.

Definitions
In this Act—
(1)
the term covered operation means—
(A)
any renewable energy operations;
(B)
any fossil fuel operation; and
(C)
any operation using any right-of-way or special use permit that would cross public lands, Indian lands, or national forests that would facilitate fossil fuel development;
(2)
the term fossil fuel means oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, coal, and any derivative of these that is used for fuel;
(3)
the term Indian land has the meaning given such term in section 2601(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501(2));
(4)
the term public land means any land, interest in land, or submerged land owned by the United States;
(5)
the term renewable energy means a project carried out on public land or Indian land that uses wind, solar, geothermal, wave, current, tidal, or ocean thermal energy to generate electricity; and
(6)
the term Secretary concerned means—
(A)
the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public lands and Indian lands; and
(B)
the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System land.
6.

Effective Date
This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.