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Title II — Improvement of permitting process for carbon dioxide capture and infrastructure projects

S. 383 · 116th Congress · Feb 7, 2019 · Lineage

II Improvement of permitting process for carbon dioxide capture and infrastructure projects

Sec. 201 Inclusion of carbon capture infrastructure projects

Section 41001(6) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)) is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (A)—
(A)
in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “carbon capture,” after “manufacturing,”;
(B)
in clause (i)(III), by striking “or” at the end;
(C)
by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
(D)
by inserting after clause (i) the following:

“(ii) is covered by a programmatic plan or environmental review developed for the primary purpose of facilitating development of carbon dioxide pipelines; or”

(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(C) Inclusion—For purposes of subparagraph (A), construction of infrastructure for carbon capture includes construction of—

“(i) any facility, technology, or system that captures, utilizes, or sequesters carbon dioxide emissions, including projects for direct air capture (as defined in paragraph (6)(B)(i) of section 103(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7403(g)); and

“(ii) carbon dioxide pipelines.”

Sec. 202 Development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration report, permitting guidance, and regional permitting task force

(a)
Definitions— In this section:
(1)
Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects— The term carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects includes projects for direct air capture (as defined in paragraph (6)(B)(i) of section 103(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7403(g))).
(2)
Efficient, orderly, and responsible— The term efficient, orderly, and responsible means, with respect to development or the permitting process for carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, a process that is completed in an expeditious manner while maintaining environmental, health, and safety protections.
(b)
Report—
(1)
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (referred to in this section as the “Chair”), in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Council, and the head of any other relevant Federal agency (as determined by the President), shall prepare a report that—
(A)
compiles all existing relevant Federal permitting and review information and resources for project applicants, agencies, and other stakeholders interested in the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, including—
(i)
the appropriate points of interaction with Federal agencies;
(ii)
clarification of the permitting responsibilities and authorities among Federal agencies; and
(iii)
best practices and templates for permitting;
(B)
inventories current or emerging activities that transform captured carbon dioxide into a product of commercial value, or as an input to products of commercial value;
(C)
inventories existing initiatives and recent publications that analyze or identify priority carbon dioxide pipelines needed to enable efficient, orderly, and responsible development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects at increased scale;
(D)
identifies gaps in the current Federal regulatory framework for the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines; and
(E)
identifies Federal financing mechanisms available to project developers.
(2)
Submission; publication— The Chair shall—
(A)
submit the report under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
(B)
as soon as practicable, make the report publicly available.
(c)
Guidance—
(1)
In general— After submission of the report under subsection (b)(2), but not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall submit guidance consistent with that report to all relevant Federal agencies that—
(A)
facilitates reviews associated with the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines; and
(B)
supports the efficient, orderly, and responsible development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines.
(2)
Requirements—
(A)
In general— The guidance under paragraph (1) shall address requirements under—
(i)
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
(ii)
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
(iii)
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
(iv)
the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);
(v)
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
(vi)
division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code (formerly known as the “National Historic Preservation Act”);
(vii)
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.);
(viii)
the Act of June 8, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.) (commonly known as the “Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act”); and
(ix)
any other Federal law that the Chair determines to be appropriate.
(B)
Environmental reviews— The guidance under paragraph (1) shall include direction to States and other interested parties for the development of programmatic environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines.
(C)
Public involvement— The guidance under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the public notice, comment, and solicitation of information procedures under section 1506.6 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
(3)
Submission; publication— The Chair shall—
(A)
submit the guidance under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
(B)
as soon as practicable, make the guidance publicly available.
(4)
Evaluation— The Chair shall—
(A)
periodically evaluate the reports of the task forces under subsection (d)(5) and, as necessary, revise the guidance under paragraph (1); and
(B)
each year, submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and relevant Federal agencies a report that describes any recommendations for legislation, rules, revisions to rules, or other policies that would address the issues identified by the task forces under subsection (d)(5).
(d)
Task force—
(1)
Establishment— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall establish not less than 2 task forces, which shall each cover a different geographical area with differing demographic, land use, or geological issues—
(A)
to identify permitting and other challenges and successes that permitting authorities and project developers and operators face; and
(B)
to improve the performance of the permitting process and regional coordination for the purpose of promoting the efficient, orderly, and responsible development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines.
(2)
Members and selection—
(A)
In general— The Chair shall—
(i)
develop criteria for the selection of members to each task force; and
(ii)
select members for each task force in accordance with clause (i) and subparagraph (B).
(B)
Members— Each task force—
(i)
shall include not less than 1 representative of each of—
(I)
the Environmental Protection Agency;
(II)
the Department of Energy;
(III)
the Department of the Interior;
(IV)
any other Federal agency the Chair determines to be appropriate;
(V)
any State that requests participation in the geographical area covered by the task force;
(VI)
developers or operators of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects or carbon dioxide pipelines; and
(VII)
nongovernmental membership organizations, the primary mission of which concerns protection of the environment; and
(ii)
at the request of a Tribal or local government, may include a representative of—
(I)
not less than 1 local government in the geographical area covered by the task force; and
(II)
not less than 1 Tribal government in the geographical area covered by the task force.
(3)
Meetings—
(A)
In general— Each task force shall meet not less than twice each year.
(B)
Joint meeting— To the maximum extent practicable, the task forces shall meet collectively not less than once each year.
(4)
Duties— Each task force shall—
(A)
inventory existing or potential Federal and State approaches to facilitate reviews associated with the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, including best practices that—
(i)
avoid duplicative reviews;
(ii)
engage stakeholders early in the permitting process; and
(iii)
make the permitting process efficient, orderly, and responsible;
(B)
develop common models for State-level carbon dioxide pipeline regulation and oversight guidelines that can be shared with States in the geographical area covered by the task force;
(C)
provide technical assistance to States in the geographical area covered by the task force in implementing regulatory requirements and any models developed under subparagraph (B);
(D)
inventory current or emerging activities that transform captured carbon dioxide into a product of commercial value, or as an input to products of commercial value;
(E)
identify any priority carbon dioxide pipelines needed to enable efficient, orderly, and responsible development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects at increased scale;
(F)
identify gaps in the current Federal and State regulatory framework and in existing data for the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines;
(G)
identify Federal and State financing mechanisms available to project developers; and
(H)
develop recommendations for relevant Federal agencies on how to develop and research technologies that—
(i)
can capture carbon dioxide; and
(ii)
would be able to be deployed within the region covered by the task force, including any projects that have received technical or financial assistance for research under paragraph (6) of section 103(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7403(g)).
(5)
Report— Each year, each task force shall prepare and submit to the Chair and to the other task forces a report that includes—
(A)
any recommendations for improvements in efficient, orderly, and responsible issuance or administration of Federal permits and other Federal authorizations required under a law described in subsection (c)(2)(A); and
(B)
any other nationally relevant information that the task force has collected in carrying out the duties under paragraph (4).
(6)
Evaluation— Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall—
(A)
reevaluate the need for the task forces; and
(B)
submit to Congress a recommendation as to whether the task forces should continue.