H.R. 3794 — what changed

Covered land— The term covered land means land that is—

public lands administered by the Secretary; and

not excluded from the development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy under—

a land use plan established under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or

other Federal law.

Exclusion area— The term exclusion area means covered land that is identified by the Bureau of Land Management as not suitable for development of renewable energy projects.

Federal land— The term Federal land means—

land of the National Forest System (as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); or

public lands.

Fund— The term Fund means the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund established by section 10(c)(1).

Public lands— The term public lands has the meaning given that term in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).

Renewable energy project— The term renewable energy project means a project carried out on covered land that uses wind, solar, or geothermal energy to generate energy.

Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

Variance area— The term variance area means covered land that is—

not an exclusion area;

not a priority area; and

identified by the Secretary as potentially available for renewable energy development and could be approved without a plan amendment, consistent with the principles of multiple use (as that term is defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)).

Geothermal energy— For geothermal energy, the Secretary shall establish priority areas as soon as practicable, but not later than 5 years, after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Solar energy— For solar energy, solar Designated Leasing Areas, including the solar energy zones established by the 2012 western solar plan of the Bureau of Land Management and any subsequent land use plan amendments, shall be considered to be priority areas for solar energy projects. The Secretary shall establish additional solar priority areas as soon as practicable, but not later than 3 years, after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Wind energy— For wind energy, the Secretary shall establish additional wind priority areas as soon as practicable, but not later than 3 years, after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Variance areas— To the maximum extent practicable, variance areas shall be considered for renewable energy project development, consistent with the principles of multiple use (as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)).

Review and modification— Not less than once every 5 years, the Secretary shall—

review the adequacy of land allocations for geothermal, solar, and wind energy priority and variance areas for the purpose of encouraging new renewable energy development opportunities; and

based on the review carried out under paragraph (1), add, modify, or eliminate priority, variance, and exclusion areas.

Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act— For purposes of this section, compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be accomplished—

for geothermal energy, by supplementing the October 2008 final programmatic environmental impact statement for geothermal leasing in the Western United States and incorporating any additional regional analyses that have been completed by Federal agencies since the programmatic environmental impact statement was finalized;

for solar energy, by supplementing the July 2012 final programmatic environmental impact statement for solar energy development and incorporating any additional regional analyses that have been completed by Federal agencies since the programmatic environmental impact statement was finalized; and

for wind energy, by supplementing the July 2005 final programmatic environmental impact statement for wind energy development and incorporating any additional regional analyses that have been completed by Federal agencies since the programmatic environmental impact statement was finalized.

No effect on processing applications— Any requirements to prepare a supplement to a programmatic environmental impact statement under this section shall not result in any delay in processing a pending application for a renewable energy project.

Coordination— In developing a supplement required by this section, the Secretary shall coordinate, on an ongoing basis, with appropriate State, Tribal, and local governments, transmission infrastructure owners and operators, developers, and other appropriate entities to ensure that priority areas identified by the Secretary are—

consistent with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), including subsection (c)(9) of that section (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)(9)).

Additional environmental review— If the Secretary determines that additional environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is necessary for a proposed renewable energy project, the Secretary shall rely on the analysis in the programmatic environmental impact statement conducted under section 4(d), to the maximum extent practicable when analyzing the potential impacts of the project.

Relationship to other law— Nothing in this section modifies or supersedes any requirement under applicable law.

Establishment— The Secretary shall establish a national Renewable Energy Coordination Office and State, district, or field offices with responsibility to establish and implement a program to improve Federal permit coordination with respect to renewable energy projects on covered land and other activities deemed necessary by the Secretary. In carrying out the program, the Secretary may temporarily assign qualified staff to Renewable Energy Coordination Offices to expedite the permitting of renewable energy projects.

In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for purposes of this section, including to specifically expedite the environmental analysis of applications for projects proposed in a variance area or a priority area, with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Agriculture.

In general— Not later than 30 days after the date on which the memorandum of understanding under subsection (b) is executed, all Federal signatories, as appropriate, shall identify for each of the Bureau of Land Management Renewable Energy Coordination Offices one or more employees who have expertise in the regulatory issues relating to the office in which the employee is employed, including, as applicable, particular expertise in—

consultation regarding, and preparation of, biological opinions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536);

permits under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);

regulatory matters under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);

the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.);

the preparation of analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);

implementation of the requirements of section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (formerly known as section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act);

Duties— Each employee assigned under paragraph (1) shall—

be responsible for addressing all issues relating to the jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the employee; and

participate as part of the team of personnel working on proposed energy projects, planning, monitoring, inspection, enforcement, and environmental analyses.

Additional personnel— The Secretary may assign such additional personnel for the Bureau of Land Management Renewable Energy Coordination Offices as are necessary to ensure the effective implementation of any programs administered by the offices in accordance with the multiple use mandate of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

Clarification of existing authority— Under section 307 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737), the Bureau of Land Management may—

accept donations for the purposes of public lands management; and

accept donations from renewable energy companies working on public lands to help cover the costs of environmental reviews.

In general— Not later than February 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each February 1 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing the progress made under the program established under subsection (a) during the preceding year.

Inclusions— Each report under this subsection shall include—

projections for renewable energy production and capacity installations; and

a description of any problems relating to leasing, permitting, siting, or production.

Definition of project— In this section, the term project means a system described in section 2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act).

Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived.

Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the one or more counties within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived, to be allocated among the counties based on the percentage of land from which the revenue is derived.

Fifteen percent shall be deposited in the Treasury and be made available to the Secretary to carry out the program established under this Act, including the transfer of the funds by the Bureau of Land Management to other Federal agencies and State agencies to facilitate the processing of renewable energy permits on Federal land, with priority given to using the amounts, to the maximum extent practicable without detrimental impacts to emerging markets, to expediting the issuance of permits required for the development of renewable energy projects in the States from which the revenues are derived.

Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund established by subsection (c).

The remainder shall be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury for purposes of reducing the annual Federal budget deficit.

In general— Amounts paid to States and counties under subsection (a) shall be used consistent with section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191).

Payments in lieu of taxes— A payment to a county under paragraph (1) shall be in addition to a payment in lieu of taxes received by the county under chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code.

In general— There is established in the Treasury a fund to be known as the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund, which shall be administered by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.

restoring and protecting—

fish and wildlife habitat for affected species;

fish and wildlife corridors for affected species; and

preserving and improving recreational access to Federal land and water in an affected region through an easement, right-of-way, or other instrument from willing landowners for the purpose of enhancing public access to existing Federal land and water that is inaccessible or restricted.

Restriction on use of funds— No funds made available under this subsection may be used for the purchase of real property unless in fulfillment of paragraph (2)(B).

Partnerships— The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with State and Tribal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2).

In general— Any amounts deposited in the Fund shall earn interest in an amount determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities.

Use— Any interest earned under subparagraph (A) may be expended in accordance with this subsection.

Report to Congress— At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate—

the amount collected as described in subsection (a), by source, during that fiscal year;

the amount remaining in the Fund at the end of the fiscal year.

Intent of Congress— It is the intent of Congress that the revenues deposited and used in the Fund shall supplement (and not supplant) annual appropriations for activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2).

Authorization— Section 234(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(b)) is amended—

by striking “Amounts” and inserting the following:

by adding at the end the following: