Removing and Sequestering Carbon Unleashed in the Environment and Oceans Act

Short title— This Act may be cited as the “Removing and Sequestering Carbon Unleashed in the Environment and Oceans Act” or the “ReSCUE Oceans Act”.

Table of contents— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Carbon removal credit— The term carbon removal credit means 1 metric tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent (tCOe) that—

Coastal waters— The term coastal waters has the meaning given the term in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453).

Contiguous zone— The term contiguous zone has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362).

Exclusive economic zone— The term exclusive economic zone has the meaning given the term in section 3532 of the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 8001).

Indian— The term Indian has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

Indian tribe— The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

Indian tribal government— The term Indian Tribal government means the recognized governing body of any Indian Tribe or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of the enactment of this Act pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).

Interagency working group— The term interagency working group means the interagency working group established under section 104.

Internal waters— The term internal waters means the waters shoreward of the baseline of the territorial seas, which is normally the mean low water line along the coast of the United States.

Marine carbon dioxide removal— The term marine carbon dioxide removal means an intentional intervention in the marine environment that results in the net removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as measured on a life-cycle basis, taking into account all greenhouse gasses measured in carbon dioxide equivalents.

National sea grant college program— The term national sea grant college program means the program maintained under section 204(a) of the National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(a)).

Native american— The term Native American means—

Native hawaiian— The term Native Hawaiian has the meaning given the term in section 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517).

Native hawaiian organization— The term Native Hawaiian organization—

Program— The term Program means the program established and maintained under section 101.

Protocol— The term protocol means a systematic approach for generating a carbon removal credit that follows a transparent and thorough science-based methodology—

Regional ocean partnership— The term Regional Ocean Partnership means a Regional Ocean Partnership designated under section 10102(b)(3) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (16 U.S.C. 1468(b)(3)).

Relevant congressional committees— The term relevant congressional committees means—

Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.

Standard— The term standard means a broad principle or set of criteria established to ensure the credibility and integrity of a carbon removal credit or marine carbon dioxide removal by providing guidance on measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas removals.

State— The term State means any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Territorial seas— The term territorial seas has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362).

Tribal lands— The term Tribal lands has the meaning given the term in section 905(a) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 1705(a)).

Tribal organization— The term Tribal organization has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

Voluntary carbon market— The term voluntary carbon market means a voluntary market through which carbon removal credits may be bought or sold.

to support research, development, and field trials of safe and responsible marine carbon dioxide removal;

to ensure robust monitoring and protection of coastal and marine ecosystems;

to coordinate Federal actions on marine carbon dioxide removal; and

to support meaningful engagement with affected coastal communities and engagement and consultation, as appropriate, with Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, regarding marine carbon dioxide removal research, monitoring, and demonstration activities.