[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7797 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7797

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot program on ocean 
 fertilization and restoration research and development, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 2024

Mr. Carter of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
           to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot program on ocean 
 fertilization and restoration research and development, 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 ``Ocean Restoration Research and 
Development Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Rising greenhouse gas concentrations has been linked to 
        a number of adverse environmental conditions and threatens the 
        health of the global environment.
            (2) Emissions reductions and natural carbon sequestration 
        methods to stabilize and decrease global greenhouse gas 
        concentrations should be pursued.
            (3) The oceans have the capacity to hold 50 times more 
        carbon than the terrestrial systems and atmosphere.
            (4) The National Academies has recognized the potential 
        benefits of methodologies that enhance ocean-based carbon 
        dioxide removal (marine CDR) and called for more research to 
        assess their potential to mitigate the impacts of climate 
        change.
            (5) Ocean iron fertilization and other marine CDR 
        techniques hold great potential to efficiently accelerate 
        carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere.
            (6) Ocean iron fertilization and replenishment mimics 
        natural processes such as the influx of aeolian dust and 
        volcanic ash that provide iron supplements to iron-limited open 
        oceans.
            (7) Ocean iron fertilization also stimulates ocean 
        productivity, phytoplankton growth, and fish populations.
            (8) Several national and international climate strategies 
        include specifications that methods to restore or enhance ocean 
        photosynthesis are accepted as valid and will produce 
        measurable and significant carbon capture and sequestration or 
        storage referred to as a form of blue carbon.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that 
conducting pilot projects for research and development of ocean iron 
fertilization and other marine CDR techniques is urgent and in the 
Nation's vital interest to better understand and advance climate 
restoration and should be a priority for the Secretary.

SEC. 3. OCEAN FERTILIZATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish a pilot 
program for the research and development of ocean iron fertilization 
and other marine CDR techniques that have the potential to achieve 
regional-to-global scale carbon dioxide removal, ocean restoration, 
enhancement of fisheries, or conservation of marine mammals.
    (b) Requirements.--The pilot program established under subsection 
(a) shall include--
            (1) an applied research and development incentive program, 
        including monitoring of effects on ecosystems;
            (2) demonstration projects, including commercial scale by 
        private industry;
            (3) engineering, design, environmental and economic 
        analysis;
            (4) an assessment of the efficacy of ocean iron 
        fertilization and other marine CDR replenishment techniques 
        to--
                    (A) absorb and sequester greenhouse gasses and 
                restore marine ecosystems;
                    (B) replicate those practices under varying 
                conditions; and
                    (C) assess secondary environmental impacts and 
                associated verification methodologies; and
            (5) a data management plan to include access and archive 
        functions to allow for interagency scientific discovery.
    (c) Consultation.--In carrying out the pilot program established 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult and collaborate 
with--
            (1) the heads of other relevant Federal departments and 
        agencies, including--
                    (A) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration;
                    (B) the Secretary of the Treasury;
                    (C) the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency;
                    (D) the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
                Management; and
                    (E) the Director of the National Science 
                Foundation;
            (2) institutions of higher education;
            (3) the National Oceanographic Partnership Program; and
            (4) representatives from other relevant private and public 
        sector organizations.
    (d) Program Goals and Objectives.--In consultation with the 
entities described in subsection (c), the Secretary shall within 1 year 
of enactment of this Act develop goals and objectives for the pilot 
program established under subsection (a), taking into consideration--
            (1) the acceleration of the development of ocean iron 
        fertilization technologies and other marine CDR practices that 
        have transformational ocean restoration, carbon removal, and 
        carbon storage characteristics;
            (2) the utilization of, to the maximum extent practicable, 
        environmental data collected by--
                    (A) the entities described in subsection (c);
                    (B) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 
                through the Ocean of Things program;
                    (C) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration through the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, 
                ocean Ecosystem mission;
                    (D) NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System and 
                Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, and 
                data available from the National Centers for 
                Environmental Information;
                    (E) the Integrated Ocean Observing System of the 
                National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
                    (F) the United States Navy, through the Marine 
                Mammal Program;
            (3) support for sites for safe testing and demonstration;
            (4) the need to enter into cooperative agreements to carry 
        out and expedite meso-scale demonstration projects;
            (5) compliance with relevant international laws and 
        treaties, if applicable;
            (6) any benefits or barriers to the commercial deployment 
        of any such technologies and practices; and
            (7) the need for adequate data sharing and management 
        protocols among all participants to ensure that the data and 
        information collected from the pilot project is available to 
        the science community and the public.
    (e) Eligible Entities.--In carrying out the pilot program 
established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall have the 
authority to contract with private or public entities provided that--
            (1) the entity has demonstrated experience with ocean iron 
        fertilization, other marine CDR techniques, or expertise in 
        oceanography;
            (2) at least 51 percent of project costs are to be provided 
        by sources of funding other than Federal funds; and
            (3) certain data collected from such projects is made 
        available to the Secretary to demonstrate efficacy of ocean 
        iron fertilization or other marine CDR techniques, subject to 
        the protection of all proprietary data.
    (f) State and Tribal Involvement.--In consultation with the 
Secretary, States and Tribes may enter into contracts with private and 
public entities to advance ocean iron fertilization for carbon 
sequestration or fisheries restoration.
    (g) Priorities.--In carrying out the pilot program established 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable, prioritize activities that--
            (1) take place in pelagic waters;
            (2) will not cause or accelerate harmful algal blooms in 
        coastal waters; and
            (3) restores ocean primary productivity.
    (h) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
describing--
            (1) the program goals and objectives adopted under 
        subsection (d);
            (2) improving and enhancing techniques for ocean iron 
        fertilization and other marine CDR techniques;
            (3) any results, successes, and related co-benefits to 
        marine mammals and fisheries, and any direct, indirect, and 
        cumulative impacts to the environment carrying out the pilot 
        program established under subsection (a);
            (4) the potential to undertake large-scale projects and 
        utilize international waters for demonstration projects;
            (5) applicability of Research and Development tax credits 
        and other means to incentivize private investment;
            (6) any policies or permitting recommendations for work 
        conducted in United States and international waters; and
            (7) any other information the Secretary considers relevant.
    (i) Symposium.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall convene a symposium, bringing together 
experts from academia, industry and government to assess the status of 
deployment, best practices, innovation and technologies, and ongoing 
research and development related to iron fertilization and other marine 
CDR techniques for ocean restoration.
    (j) Waiver.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary shall have the authority to waive any other legal 
requirements the Secretary, in the Secretary's sole discretion, 
determines necessary to ensure expeditious development and 
implementation of the pilot projects under this section. Any such 
decision by the Secretary shall be effective upon being published in 
the Federal Register.
    (k) Federal Court Review.--The district courts of the United States 
shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes or claims arising 
from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary 
pursuant to subsection (j). A cause of action or claim may only be 
brought alleging a violation of the Constitution of the United States. 
The court shall not have jurisdiction to hear any claim not specified 
in this subsection.
    (l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $33,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2030.
    (m) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Coastal waters.--The term ``coastal waters'' means the 
        land and sea areas bordering the shoreline where hypoxic 
        conditions exist or are likely to occur due to excess 
        nutrients.
            (2) Ocean restoration.--The term ``ocean restoration'' 
        includes the research and development of technologies and 
        techniques that support the addition of trace elements or 
        nutrients to the upper layers of the ocean for the purpose of 
        stimulating phytoplankton activity.
            (3) Pelagic waters.--The term ``pelagic waters'' means the 
        part of the open sea or ocean other than coastal waters.
            (4) Ocean iron fertilization.--The term ``ocean iron 
        fertilization'' means introduction of low concentrations of 
        iron to high nutrient, low chlorophyll regions of the ocean 
        surface to stimulate phytoplankton production.
            (5) Marine cdr techniques.--In addition to ocean iron 
        fertilization, other marine CDR techniques include, but are not 
        limited to, ocean alkalinity enhancement, electrochemical 
        approaches, and kelp and seaweed cultivation.
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