H.R. 2780 — what changed
Insular Area Climate Change Act
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 5 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 101 Insular Area Climate Change Interagency Task Force
Establishment of task force— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the following shall jointly establish the “Insular Area Climate Change Interagency Task Force” (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Task Force”):
The Secretary of the Interior.
The Secretary of Energy.
The Secretary of State.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
The Secretary of Agriculture.
The Secretary of Commerce.
The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Chairperson— The Task Force shall be chaired by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Duties— The Task Force shall—
evaluate all Federal programs regarding ways to provide greater access to Federal programs and equitable baseline funding in relation to States, to territories for climate change planning, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience;
identify statutory barriers to providing territories greater access to Federal programs and equitable baseline funding; and
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provide recommendations related to climate change in Insular Areas.Areas, in consultation with local governments and non-governmental organizations in Insular Areas with expertise on climate change.
Comprehensive report— Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the Task Force, the Task Force, in consultation with Insular Areas governments, shall issue a comprehensive report that—
identifies Federal programs that have an impact on climate change planning, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, but exclude territories in regard to eligibility, funding, and assistance, or do not provide equitable baseline funding in relation to States; and
provides advice and recommendations related to climate change in Insular Areas, such as new suggested Federal programs or initiatives.
Publication; public availability— The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall ensure that the report required under subsection (d) is—
submitted to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;
published in the Federal Register for public comment for a period of at least 60 days; and
made available on a public website along with any comments received during the public comment period required under paragraph (2).
Sec. 303 National Weather Service technical assistance and grants
Technical assistance—
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In general— The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, acting through the Director of the National Weather Service, shall provide technical assistance and outreach to Insular Areas through the San Juan, Tiyan, and Pago Pago Weather Forecast Offices of the National Weather Service. For the purposes of this section, the Administrator may also employ other agency entities as the Administrator deems necessary, in order to improve weather data collection, produce more accurate tropical weather forecasts, collection and provide science, data, information, and impact-based decision support services to reduce hurricane, typhoon, droughts, tsunamis, tides, and sea level rise impacts in the Insular Areas.
Authorization of appropriations— To carry out this subsection there is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Grants—
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In general— The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may provide grants to academic, nonprofit, and local entities to conduct climate change research to improve weather data collection, produce more accurate tropical weather forecasts, collection and provide science, data, information, and impact-based decision support services to reduce hurricane, typhoon, droughts, tsunamis, tides, and sea level rise impacts in the Insular Areas.
Authorization of appropriations— To carry out this subsection there is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Sec. 304 Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act
Section 12204 of the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 3503) is amended—
in paragraph (12) by striking “and”;
in paragraph (13) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
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“(14) The study of Insular Areas and the effects of climate change”change.”
Sec. 401 Office of Insular Area Energy Policy and Programs
In general— Title II of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“218. Office of insular area energy policy and programs
“(a) Establishment—There is established within the Department an Office of Insular Area Energy Policy and Programs (referred to in this section as the “Office”). The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary and compensated at a rate equal to that of level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
“(b) Duties—The Office shall—
“(1) direct, coordinate, implement, and monitor energy planning, education, management, conservation, and delivery programs of the Department to—
“(A) assist Insular Areas in developing comprehensive energy plans;
“(B) expand renewable energy and energy efficiency in Insular Areas;
“(C) reduce or stabilize energy costs in Insular Areas;
“(D) enhance and strengthen energy infrastructure in Insular Areas to withstand natural disasters; and
“(E) work with Insular Areas to develop improved regulatory and oversight conditions; and
“(2) centralize and align all ongoing Department of Energy efforts in the Insular Areas.
“(c) Annual report—The Director shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate on the status of all projects undertaken and grants approved by the Office.
“(d) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
“(e) Non-Federal Cost-Share waiver—Any funding made available to Insular Areas by the Office of Insular Area Energy Policy and Programs under this or any other Federal law shall not be subject to a non-Federal share funding requirement.”
Conforming amendments—
Table of contents— The table of contents of the Department of Energy Organization Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 217 the following:
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Positions at level iv— Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item related relating to the Director, Office of Science, Department of Energy the following new item: “Director, Office of Insular Area Energy Policy and Programs, Department of Energy.”.item:
Sec. 405 Offshore wind for the territories
Application of outer continental shelf lands act with respect to territories of the united states—
In general— Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended—
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in subsection (a) by inserting “or lying within the exclusive economic zone of the United States and the Outer Continental Shelf adjacent to any territory or possession of the United States, except that such term shall not include any area conveyed by Congress to a territorial government for administration” after “control”;
in subsection (p), by striking “and” after the semicolon at the end;
in subsection (q), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(r) The term State means the several States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
Exclusions— Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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“(i) This section shall not apply to the scheduling of lease sales in the Outer Continental Shelf adjacent to the Territories and possessions of the United States.”
Wind lease sales for areas of outer continental shelf— The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“33. Wind lease sales for areas of Outer Continental Shelf
“(a) Authorization—The Secretary may conduct wind lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf.
“(b) Wind lease sale procedure—Any wind lease sale conducted under this section shall be considered a lease under section 8(p).
“(c) Wind lease sales off coasts of territories of the United States
“(1) Study on feasibility of conducting wind lease sales
“(A) In general—The Secretary shall conduct a study on the feasibility, including the technological and long-term economic feasibility, and the potential environmental effects of, conducting wind lease sales on an area of the Outer Continental Shelf within the territorial jurisdiction of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
“(B) Consultation—In conducting the study required in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consult—
“(i) the National Laboratories, that term is defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005;
“(ii) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service; and
“(iii) the Governor of each of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
“(C) Publication—The study required in subparagraph (A) shall be published in the Federal Register for public comment for a period of not fewer than 60 days.
“(D) Submission of results—Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit the results of the study conducted under subparagraph (A) to—
“(i) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;
“(ii) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and
“(iii) each Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the House of Representatives from American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
“(E) Public availability—The Secretary shall publish the study required under subparagraph (A) and results submitted under subparagraph (D) on a public website.
“(2) Call for information and nominations—The Secretary shall issue a call for information and nominations for proposed wind lease sales for areas determined to be feasible under the study conducted under paragraph (1).
“(3) Conditional wind lease sales
“(A) In general—For each territory, the Secretary shall conduct not less than 1 wind lease sale on an area of the Outer Continental Shelf within the territorial jurisdiction of such territory that meets each of the following criteria:
“(i) The study required under paragraph (1)(A) concluded that a wind lease sale on the area is feasible.
“(ii) The Secretary has determined that the call for information has generated sufficient interest for the area.
“(iii) The Secretary has consulted with the Secretary of Defense and other relevant Federal agencies regarding such a sale.
“(iv) The Secretary has consulted with the Governor of the territory regarding the suitability of the area for wind energy development.
“(B) Exception—If no area of the Outer Continental Shelf within the territorial jurisdiction of a territory meets each of the criteria in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A), the requirement under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to such territory.”