H.R.2454 - American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009
To create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. view all titles (12)
All Bill Titles
- Official: To create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. as introduced.
- Short: American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009 as introduced.
- Short: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 as introduced.
- Short: Safe Climate Act as introduced.
- Short: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 as reported to house.
- Short: Safe Climate Act as passed house.
- Short: Safe Climate Act as reported to house.
- Short: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 as passed house.
- Short: Global Change Research and Data Management Act of 2009 as passed house.
- Short: GREEN Act of 2009 as passed house.
- Short: Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act of 2009 as passed house.
- Short: National Climate Service Act of 2009 as passed house.
This Bill currently has no wiki content. If you would like to create a wiki entry for this bill, please Login, and then select the wiki tab to create it.
- Today: 66
- Past Seven Days: 463
- All-Time: 623,442
OpenCongress SummaryThis is the Waxman-Markey comprehensive energy bill, known for short as "ACES," that includes a cap-and-trade global warming reduction plan designed to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020. Other provisions include new renewable requirements for utilities, studies and incentives regarding new carbon capture and sequestration technologies, energy efficiency incentives for homes and buildings, and grants for green jobs, among other things.
Official SummaryAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 - Sets forth provisions concerning clean energy, energy efficiency, reducing global warming pollution, transitioning to a clean energy economy, and providing for agriculture and forestry related offsets. Includes provisions: (1) creating a comb
Official SummaryAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 - Sets forth provisions concerning clean energy, energy efficiency, reducing global warming pollution, transitioning to a clean energy economy, and providing for agriculture and forestry related offsets. Includes provisions:
(1) creating a combined energy efficiency and renewable electricity standard and requiring retail electricity suppliers to meet 20% of their demand through renewable electricity and electricity savings by 2020;
(2) setting a goal of, and requiring a strategic plan for, improving overall U.S. energy productivity by at least 2.5% per year by 2012 and maintaining that improvement rate through 2030; and
(3) establishing a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and setting goals for reducing such emissions from covered sources by 83% of 2005 levels by 2050.
(Sec. 3)Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Administrator) to report annually to Congress on whether China and India have adopted GHG emissions standards that are at least as strict as the standards under this Act. Title I: Clean Energy - Subtitle A: Combined Efficiency and Renewable Electricity Standard -
(Sec. 101)Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to establish a combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard that requires each retail electric supplier that sells more than 4 million megawatt hours of electricity to consumers for purposes other than resale to supply an increasing percentage of its demand each year (6% in 2012, 9.5% in 2014, 13% in 2016, 16.5% in 2018, and 20% in 2020-2039) from a combination of electricity savings and renewable electricity.. Defines:
(1) \"renewable electricity\" as electricity generated from a renewable energy resource or other qualifying energy resources;
(2) \"renewable energy resource\" as wind, solar, and geothermal energy, renewable biomass, biogas and biofuels derived exclusively from renewable biomass, qualified hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy; and
(3) \"other qualifying energy resource\" as landfill gas, wastewater treatment gas, coal mine methane used to generate electricity at or near the mine mouth, and qualified waste-to-energy. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in establishing regulations to implement the standard, to:
(1) incorporate best practices of existing state and tribal renewable electricity programs; and
(2) provide for the issuance, tracking, verification, and identification of renewable electricity credits (RECs). Requires each retail electric supplier to submit to FERC:
(1) an amount of RECs and demonstrated total annual electricity savings equal to the supplier's annual combined target (the product of the specified annual percentage and the supplier's base amount of electricity sold in such year); and
(2) RECs equal to at least three quarters of such target. Authorizes FERC, upon request from a state's governor, to increase the proportion of a supplier's target that may be met with electricity savings to no more than two fifths. Requires FERC to:
(1) issue to each generator of renewable electricity a REC for each megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated after December 31, 2011;
(2) issue three RECs for each megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated by an existing distributed renewable generation facility; and
(3) review the effect of issuing three RECs and to reduce such number for any given energy source or technology to ensure that such number is no higher than is necessary to make such facilities using such source or technology cost competitive with other sources of renewable electricity generation. Provides for the issuance of RECs for qualified hydropower, electricity generated from qualified waste, and electricity generated using both a renewable energy resource and a nonrenewable resource. Authorizes:
(1) the holder of a REC to sell, exchange, transfer, and bank a REC and to submit it for compliance or retirement; and
(2) a REC to be submitted for the compliance year in which it was issued or for any of the three immediately subsequent compliance years. Requires FERC to prescribe standards that:
(1) define and measure electricity savings from energy efficiency and energy conservation measures; and
(2) require third-party verification of savings. Authorizes a retail electric supplier to use electricity savings transferred through a bilateral contract from another supplier, an owner of an electric distribution facility that is not a supplier, a state, or a third-party efficiency provider to meet compliance obligations. Requires:
(1) a retail electric supplier to report to FERC on its annual electricity savings; and
(2) FERC to review such reports and exclude any savings that have not been adequately demonstrated in accordance with such standards. Provides that this Act does not limit or affect the authority of a state to require a retail electric supplier to obtain authorization or approval of a contract for transfer of savings. Authorizes suppliers to submit to the state(s) in which they are located a payment of $25 (adjusted for inflation annually) in lieu of each REC or megawatt hour of demonstrated total annual electricity savings that would otherwise be due. Requires states to use such payments exclusively for:
(1) deploying technologies that generate electricity from renewable energy resources; or
(2) implementing cost-effective energy efficiency programs to achieve electricity savings. Authorizes a central procurement state to request and assume responsibility for compliance with such retail electric supplier requirements for electricity sold in the state. Sets forth provisions concerning enforcement and judicial review of such combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard. Terminates regulations concerning such standard on December 31, 2040.
(Sec. 102)Authorizes states to set the rates for the voluntary sale of electric energy by a facility generating electric energy from renewable energy sources pursuant to a state-approved production incentive program.
(Sec. 103)Requires the President to ensure that an increasing percentage (6% in 2012, 9.5% in 2014, 13% in 2016, 16.5% in 2018, and 20% in 2020) of the total amount of electricity federal agencies consume during 2012 through 2039 is renewable electricity. Authorizes the President to modify such requirement. Requires the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to report to Congress by April 1, 2013, and annually thereafter on federal agencies' renewable electricity consumption. Authorizes a contract for the acquisition of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource for the federal government to be made for a period of no more than 20 years. Requires the Secretary, through the Federal Energy Management Program, to publish a standardized renewable energy purchase agreement that federal agencies may use to acquire renewable electricity. Subtitle B: Carbon Capture and Sequestration -
(Sec. 111)Requires the EPA Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and other relevant agencies, to report to Congress on a unified and comprehensive strategy to address the key legal, regulatory and other barriers to the commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture and sequestration.
(Sec. 112)Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the EPA Administrator to:
(1) establish a coordinated approach to certifying and permitting geologic sequestration;
(2) promulgate regulations, within two years, to protect human health and the environment by minimizing the risk of escape to the atmosphere of carbon dioxide injected for purposes of geologic sequestration;
(3) report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works every three years on geologic sequestration in the United States and in North America. Amends the Safe Water Drinking Act to require:
(1) the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations for carbon dioxide geologic sequestration wells; and
(2) such regulations to include requirements for maintaining evidence of financial responsibility, including responsibility for emergency and remedial response, well plugging, site closure, and post-injection site care.
(Sec. 113)Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a task force to study and report on the legal framework that applies to geologic sequestration sites for carbon dioxide. Requires the EPA Administrator to study and report on how the environmental statutes for which the EPA has responsibility would apply to carbon dioxide injection and geologic sequestration activities.
(Sec. 114)Authorizes qualified industry organizations to conduct a referendum among the owners or operators of distribution utilities delivering fossil fuel-based electricity for the creation of a Carbon Storage Research Corporation to:
(1) establish and administer a program to accelerate the commercial availability of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies and methods and provide grants, contracts, and financial assistance to eligible entities;
(2) collect an assessment on distribution utilities for all fossil fuel-based electricity delivered directly to retail consumers;
(3) use funds derived from assessments to issue grants and contracts to support commercial-scale demonstrations of carbon capture or storage technology projects capable of advancing the technologies to commercial readiness; and
(4) report to Congress, the Secretary, each state, and the public on its programs and allocations of resources. Requires the assessment to reflect the relative carbon dioxide emission rate of fossil fuel-based electricity, including coal, natural gas, and oil based electricity. Authorizes the Corporation to adjust the assessment so that the assessments generate not less than $1 billion and no more than $1.1 billion per year. Establishes a Technical Advisory Committee to provide independent assessment, technical evaluations, and recommendations to the Board concerning the Corporation's activities. Requires the Secretary to:
(1) issue a rule for determining the level and type of fossil fuel-based electricity delivered to retail customers by each distribution utility in the United States; and
(2) make annual determinations of the amounts and types for each such utility and publish them in the Federal Register. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress, annually, on the Corporation's activities.
(Sec. 115)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations providing for the distribution of emission allowances (established by this Act) that are allocated to support the commercial deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technologies in electric power generation and industrial operations. Establishes eligibility criteria for facilities to receive allowances based on the number of tons of carbon dioxide sequestered. Distributes allowances to electric generating units (EGUs) in two phases (phase one applies to the first six gigawatts of EGUs and phase two applies after the six gigawatt threshold is achieved). Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a bonus allowance value for each rate of carbon capture and sequestration achieved, from a minimum of $50 per ton for a 50% rate to a maximum of $90 per ton for an 85% rate. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from allocating more than 15% of the allowances that are required to be distributed for the benefit of electricity consumers to owners or operators of eligible industrial sources to support the commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technologies at such sources. Limits the total allowances for the deployment of such technologies to no more than 72 gigawatts of total cumulative generating capacity.
(Sec. 116)Amends the CAA to require a covered EGU (a utility unit that is required to have a permit under Title V of the CAA and is authorized to derive at least 30% of its annual heat input from coal, petroleum coke, or any combination of these fuels) that is initially permitted:
(1) on or after January 1, 2020, to achieve a 65% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions; and
(2) after January 1, 2009, and before January 1, 2020, to achieve a 50% reduction in such emissions. Requires the EPA Administrator, by 2025 and every five years thereafter, to review the standards for new covered EGUs and reduce the maximum carbon dioxide emission rate for new covered EGUs to a rate that reflects the degree of emission limitations achievable through the application of the best system of emission reduction that has been adequately demonstrated. Requires the EPA Administrator to report, semiannually, on the nameplate capacity of units in commercial operation equipped with carbon capture and sequestration technology in the United States. Subtitle C: Clean Transportation -
(Sec. 121)Amends PURPA to require each electric utility to develop a plan to support the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. Authorizes plans to provide for deployment of electrical charging stations or infrastructure to support such vehicles. Directs the state regulatory authority or a utility (in the case of a non-regulated utility) to:
(1) require that charging infrastructure deployment is interoperable with products of all manufactures;
(2) establish protocols and standards for integrating plug-in electric drive vehicles into an electrical distribution system and include the ability for each plug-in electric drive vehicle to be associated with its owner's electric utility account, regardless of its location, for billing purposes; and
(3) review such standards within three years. Establishes compliance provisions.
(Sec. 122)Requires the Secretary to establish:
(1) a program to deploy and integrate plug-in electric drive vehicles into the electricity grid in multiple regions; and
(2) a clearinghouse of information regarding such deployment and integration. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to states, Indian tribes, or local governments for furthering such deployment and integration.
(Sec. 123)Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide financial assistance to automobile manufacturers to facilitate the manufacture of plug-in electric drive vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance for the reconstruction or retooling of facilities for the manufacture of plug-in electric drive vehicles or batteries for such vehicles that are developed and produced in the United States. Requires the Secretary to report annually on this program to Congress.
(Sec. 124)Requires the EPA Administrator, at the direction of the Secretary, to provide emission allowances for each of 2012-2025 to:
(1) applicants, joint sponsors, and automobile manufacturers for the development and deployment of plug-in electric drive vehicles and advanced technology vehicles; and
(2) automobile manufacturers and component suppliers to pay not more than 30% of the cost of reequipping, expanding, or establishing a manufacturing facility to produce qualifying advanced technology vehicles or components and of engineering integration performed in the United States of qualifying vehicles and qualifying components.
(Sec. 125)Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to increase the total amounts of loans allowed under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program from $25 billion to $50 billion.
(Sec. 126)Amends the CAA to revise the definition of \"renewable biomass\" for purposes of the renewable fuel standard by expanding the amount of biomass from forested land that could be used to produce fuels under such standard and eliminating the requirement that feedstock crops come from previously cultivated land.
(Sec. 127)Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT Secretary) to promulgate regulations to require each light-duty automobile manufacturer's annual covered inventory to be comprised of a minimum percentage of fuel-choice enabling automobiles (an automobile that has been warranted by its manufacturer to operate on gasoline, E85, and M85) if such a requirement is a cost-effective way to achieve the nation's energy independence and environmental objectives.
(Sec. 128)Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include:
(1) American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands within the definition of \"state\" for the purposes of the diesel emissions reduction program; and
(2) the construction of pipelines for renewable fuels within the loan guarantee program.
(Sec. 130)Requires the DOT Secretary to allocate credits to federal, state, and fuel provider fleets that re-power or convert an existing vehicle so that it is capable of operating on an alternative fuel. (Sec. 130A) Requires the EPA Administrator, after an examination of scientific studies in 360 days, to report to Congress on:
(1) the contribution that light and heavy duty natural gas vehicles have made during the last decade to the reduction of GHGs and criteria pollutants under the CAA and the reduced consumption of petroleum-based fuels;
(2) the expected reductions from such vehicles between 2010 and 2020; and
(3) additional federal measures that could maximize the potential for natural gas used in both stationary and mobile sources to contribute to the reduction of GHGs and such pollutants. Subtitle D: State Energy and Environment Development Accounts -
(Sec. 131)Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a program under which a state, through its State Energy Office or other state agency, may operate a State Energy and Environment Development (SEED) account to serve as a common state-level repository for managing emission allowances provided to states designated for renewable energy and energy efficiency purposes. Requires states administering SEED accounts to:
(1) prepare annually a plan to identify the intended uses of the allowances or proceeds from the sale of allowances in its SEED account; and
(2) report biannually to the EPA Administrator on its SEED activities. Conditions a state's eligibility to receive allowances in its SEED account on its compliance with the requirements of this Act.
(Sec. 132)Requires the EPA Administrator to distribute for 2011-2049:
(1) carbon offset allowances among states; and
(2) allowances to states for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs to be deposited in and administered through the SEED accounts. Requires states to give a specified amount of allowances to certain programs. Requires states that receive allowances to report biannually to Congress on recipients of the allowances, the amount, nature, and purpose of allowances, the amount of energy savings and emission reductions, and the cost effectiveness of such program. Sets forth provisions to enforce the programs when states fail to comply with the requirements.
(Sec. 133)Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations establishing a program to distribute allowances to Indian tribes on a competitive basis for:
(1) cost-effective energy efficiency programs for end-use consumers of electricity, natural gas, home heating oil, or propane; and
(2) deployment of technologies to generate electricity from renewable energy resources. Requires the EPA Administrator to distribute to Indian tribes allowances that are set aside for such program. Subtitle E: Smart Grid Advancement -
(Sec. 142)Requires the Secretary and the EPA Administrator to:
(1) assess the potential for cost-effective integration of Smart Grid technologies and capabilities in all products that are reviewed by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the EPA for potential designation as Energy Star products;
(2) prepare an analysis of the potential energy savings, GHG emission reductions, and electricity cost savings that could accrue for the products identified in the assessment in certain optimal circumstances; and
(3) notify product manufacturers if the incorporation of Smart Grid technology in their products appears to be cost-effective.
(Sec. 143)Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), within three years, to complete a rulemaking to consider adding ENERGY GUIDE labels information on Smart Grid features of products that incorporate Smart Grid technology.
(1) each load-serving entity or state to determine and publish peak demand reduction goals for any load-serving entity that has an applicable baseline in excess of 250 megawatts;
(2) the Secretary to develop a system and rules for measurement and verification of demand reductions;
(3) such goals to provide that such entities will reduce or mitigate peak demand by a minimum percentage amount from the applicable baseline to a lower peak demand during 2012 and 2015;
(4) such goals to provide that the minimum percentage reductions established as peak demand reduction goals shall be the maximum reductions that are realistically achievable with an aggressive effort to deploy Smart Grid and peak demand reduction technologies and methods; and
(5) each load-serving entity to prepare a peak demand reduction plan that demonstrates its ability to meet applicable goals. Authorizes financial assistance to the states using emission allowances from the SEED accounts. Establishes compliance provisions.
(Sec. 145)Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to:
(1) revise the energy efficiency public information program to make it into a Smart Grid and energy efficiency program and extend such program to 2020;
(2) require the Secretary to report to Congress on such program for each year when appropriations exceed $10 million;
(3) change such program's termination date to December 31, 2020; and
(4) authorize $90 million for such program for each fiscal year through FY2020.
(Sec. 146)Revises the energy efficiency appliance rebate program to:
(1) include appliances with Smart Grid capabilities;
(2) increase funding from $50 million to $100 million; and
(3) extend the authorization of funding until FY2015. Subtitle F: Transmission Planning -
(Sec. 151)Amends the Federal Power Act to establish a federal policy for transmission planning that calls for regional electric grid planning that facilitates the deployment of renewable and other zero-carbon and low-carbon energy sources for generating electricity to reduce GHG emissions while ensuring reliability, reducing congestion, ensuring cyber-security, minimizing environmental harm, and providing for cost-effective electricity services throughout the United States. Directs FERC to:
(1) adopt, within a year, national electricity grid planning principles derived from such policy to be applied in transmission planning that may implicate interstate transmission of electricity;
(2) encourage regional planning entities to cooperate and coordinate across regions and harmonize regional electric grid planning with planning in adjacent or overlapping jurisdictions;
(3) seek to ensure that planning is consistent with the national electricity grid planning principles;
(4) require regional planning entities to submit initial regional electric grid plans within 18 months of FERC promulgating such principles and to update such plans every three years; and
(5) report to Congress within three years on the results of the initial regional grid planning process. Authorizes FERC to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity in states in the Western Interconnection for the construction or modification of a transmission facility that meets certain criteria. Requires FERC to lead efforts to coordinate environmental reviews and approvals for proposed projects in states in the Western Interconnection and requires the Department of the Interior to assume such lead with respect to federal land.
(Sec. 152)Amends PURPA to require each electric utility that sold over 4 million megawatt hours of electricity in the preceding year to offer to arrange to make interconnection and net metering available to federal government agencies, offices, or facilities.
(Sec. 153)Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide loan guarantees for the development, construction, acquisition, retrofitting, or engineering integration of a qualified advance electric transmission manufacturing plant or for the construction of a qualified high efficiency transmission property or a qualified advanced electric transmission property. Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants for up to 50% of the cost of the first project incorporating such technologies. Authorizes $100 million for FY2010 for such grants. Subtitle G: Technical Corrections to Energy Laws -
(Sec. 161)Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to revise provisions concerning energy efficiency standards for lamps, including by:
(1) establishing energy efficiency standards for general service incandescent lamps, modified spectrum general service incandescent lamps, and candelabra base incandescent lamps; and
(2) requiring the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking procedure to determine whether the standards in effect for fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps should be amended so that the standards would be applicable to additional general service fluorescent lamps and whether the exclusions for certain incandescent lamps should be discontinued;
(3) requiring the Secretary to establish new standards for general service lamps by January 1, 2017, if the Secretary determines they should be amended; and
(4) requiring the Secretary to prohibit, beginning on January 1, 2020, the manufacture of general service lamps that do not meet a minimum efficacy standard of 45 lumens per watt, if the Secretary fails to complete such rulemakings or if standards for general service lamps do not produce savings that are at least equal to the savings from a minimum efficacy standard of 45 lumens per watt. Subtitle H: Energy and Efficiency Centers and Research -
(Sec. 171)Requires the Secretary to implement a program to establish Energy Innovation Hubs by:
(1) leveraging the expertise and resources of the university and private research communities, industry, venture capital, national laboratories, and other participants in energy innovation to support cross-disciplinary research and development in areas not being served by the private sector in order to develop and transfer innovative clean energy technologies into the marketplace;
(2) expanding the knowledge base and human capital necessary to transition to a low-carbon economy; and
(3) promoting regional economic development by cultivating clusters of clean energy technology firms, private research organizations, suppliers, and other complementary groups and businesses. Requires Hubs to:
(1) support translational research activities leading to commercial application of clean energy technologies through issuance of awards to projects managed by qualifying entities; and
(2) establish an Advisory Board to review the Hubs' proposed plans, programs, project selection criteria, and projects. Sets forth provisions concerning distribution of:
(1) awards to support clean energy technology projects by Hubs; and
(2) allowances to eligible consortia to support Hubs. Requires Hubs to conduct annual audits of allowances distributed.
(Sec. 172)Requires the Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, no later than September 30, 2011, and each year thereafter through 2049, to distribute allowances on a competitive basis to institutions of higher education, companies, research foundations, trade and industry research collaborations, or consortia of such entities to achieve the goals of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy through targeted acceleration of:
(1) novel early-stage energy research with possible technology applications;
(2) development of techniques, processes, technologies, and related testing and evaluation;
(3) development of manufacturing processes for technologies; and
(4) demonstration and coordination with non-governmental entities for commercial applications of technologies and research applications.
(Sec. 173)Requires the Secretary to provide funding to institutions of higher education for Building Assessment Centers to:
(1) identify opportunities for optimizing energy efficiency and environmental performance in existing buildings;
(2) promote high-efficiency building construction techniques and material options;
(3) promote applications of emerging concepts and technologies in commercial and institutional buildings;
(4) provide training in energy-efficient design and operation; and
(5) promote research and development for the use of alternative energy sources to supply heat and power. Authorizes:
(1) such a Center to serve as a Center for Energy and Environmental Knowledge and Outreach;
(2) appropriations for FY2010 and each year thereafter for such Centers.
(Sec. 174)Requires the Secretary to establish through a competitive process no more than 10 regional Centers for Energy and Environmental Knowledge and Outreach at institutions of higher education to coordinate with and advise industrial research and assessment centers, Building Assessment Centers, and Clean Energy Application Centers located in the Centers' regions. Sets forth requirements for such Centers. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to expedite consideration of applications from eligible small business concerns for loans under the Small Business Act for loans to implement recommendations of any industrial research and assessment center, Clean Energy Application Centers, or Building Assessment Centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010 and each year thereafter to support such centers. Increases authorization of support to Clean Energy Application Centers.
(Sec. 175)Requires the Secretary to implement a multiyear, multiphase program of research, development, and technology demonstration to improve the efficiency of gas turbines used in combined cycle power generation systems and to identify the technologies that will lead to gas turbine combined cycle efficiency of 65%. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle I: Nuclear and Advanced Technologies -
(Sec. 181)Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the loan guarantee program for low-carbon energy projects. Prohibits a guarantee from being made unless:
(1) an appropriation for the cost has been made;
(2) the Secretary has received from the borrower a payment in full for the cost of the obligation and deposited it into the Treasury; or
(3) a combination of appropriations or payments has been made to cover the cost of the obligation. Establishes the Incentives for Innovative Technologies Fund for administrative expenses related to the program. Requires prevailing wages for projects that receive loan guarantees.
(Sec. 184)Establishes the Clean Energy Investment Fund for the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) that is established by this Act to provide financial assistance to clean energy projects. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Green Bonds to acquire capital stock of CEDA.
(Sec. 185)Requires the Secretary to develop recommended goals for the deployment of clean energy technologies through the credit support programs.
(Sec. 186)Establishes CEDA as an independent corporation wholly owned by the United States. Requires CEDA's Administrator to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires CEDA to have an Energy Technology Advisory Council to develop and publish a methodology for assessment of clean energy technologies for potential CEDA financial support.
(Sec. 187)Authorizes CEDA to issue direct loans, letters of credit, and loan guarantees to deploy clean energy technologies. Requires CEDA's Administrator to:
(1) establish an expected loan loss reserve; and
(2) use a portfolio investment approach to mitigate risk and diversify investments across technologies and limit to 30% the amount of financial assistance provided to any one technology. Requires projects supported by CEDA to pay prevailing wages to their workers. Prohibits CEDA from providing support to projects that receive loan guarantees under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
(Sec. 188)Authorizes CEDA's Administrator to provide credit support (direct loans, letters, of credit, loan guarantees, insurance products, and the purchase of debt instruments) to enhance the availability of private financing for clean energy technology deployment.
(Sec. 190)Establishes reporting and auditing requirements for CEDA. Subtitle J: Miscellaneous -
(Sec. 195)Requires the Department of the Interior, DOE, and the Department of the Army to:
(1) jointly update the study of the potential for increasing electric power production capability at federally owned or operated water regulation, storage, and conveyance facilities, including an update on facilities that are capable, with our without modification, of producing additional hydroelectric power; and
(2) report to specified committees on their findings.
(Sec. 196)Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to organizations to conduct business competitions that provide incentives, training, and mentorship to entrepreneurs to meet high priority economic, environmental, and energy security goals in areas to include energy efficiency, renewable energy, air quality, water quality and conservation, transportation, smart grid, green building, and waste management.
(Sec. 197)Requires the Secretary to establish a National Bioenergy Partnership to provide coordination among programs that support the institutional and physical infrastructure necessary to promote the deployment of sustainable biomass fuels and bioenergy technologies for the United States. Requires the Partnership to consist of five regions to be managed by specified entities.
(Sec. 198)Amends the Federal Power Act to establish within FERC an Office of Consumer Advocacy. Sets forth the Office's duties, including authorizing the Office to represent the interests of energy customers, and appeal on behalf of such customers, on matters concerning rates or service of public utilities and natural gas companies under FERC's jurisdiction at specified hearings. Requires the Office's Director to establish the Consumer Advocacy Advisory Committee to review rates, services, and disputes.
(Sec. 199)Requires the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, to:
(1) determine areas of the United States that lack a federal power marketing agency;
(2) develop a plan or criteria for such areas for investing in renewable energy and associated infrastructure;
(3) identify any federal agency within such an area that has, or could develop, the ability to facilitate such investment; and
(4) recommend to the House Energy and Commerce Committee the establishment of any new federal lending authority for existing federal agencies. (Sec. 199A) Requires the Secretary, by February 1, 2011, to report to Congress on the results of a study on the use of thorium-fueled nuclear reactors for national energy needs, including a response to the International Atomic Energy Agency study entitled, \"Thorium fuel cycle - potential benefits and challenges.\" Title II: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A: Building Energy Efficiency Programs -
(Sec. 201)Amends the EPCA to establish national building code energy efficiency targets to achieve:
(1) a 30% reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code, effective upon enactment of this Act;
(2) a 50% reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code by January 1, 2014, for residential buildings and by January 1, 2015, for commercial buildings;
(3) a 5% additional reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code for residential buildings by January 1, 2017, and by every three years thereafter through January 1, 2029; and
(4) a 5% additional reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code for commercial buildings by January 1, 2018, and by every three years thereafter through January 1, 2030. Defines \"baseline code\" to mean the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code for residential buildings and the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 for commercial buildings. Requires national energy efficiency building codes to be established for residential and commercial buildings so that such targets are met. Requires each national building code established to be set at the maximum level that the Secretary determines is life cycle cost-justified and technically feasible and is in accordance with specified calculations. Requires the Secretary to provide assistance to recognized developers of national energy codes and standards to develop and disseminate consensus based energy efficiency building codes. Sets forth provisions concerning training state, tribal, and local code officials and building inspectors in the implementation and enforcement of such code. Requires states, within a year after a national energy efficiency building code is established, to:
(1) review and update their building codes regarding energy efficiency to meet the national target; and
(2) certify that their energy efficiency building code provisions meet or exceed the national target. Makes the national code the applicable energy efficiency building code in states that do not have a certified code within a specified time. Provides for the enforcement of such codes. Requires the EPA Administrator, for each vintage year from 2012-2050, to distribute allowances allocated to the SEED account for costs associated with energy efficiency building codes. Authorizes sums as may be necessary to provide enforcement of a national energy efficiency building code for FY2010-FY 2020. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the status, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of building codes.
(Sec. 202)Requires the EPA Administrator:
(1) in consultation with the Secretary, to develop and implement standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for single-family and multi-family residences; and
(2) in consultation with the Secretary and the Director of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings, to develop and implement standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for nonresidential programs. Declares that:
(1) programs to implement such standards shall together be known as the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) program; and
(2) the purpose of REEP is to facilitate the retrofitting of existing buildings to achieve maximum cost-effective energy efficiency improvements and significant improvements in water use and other environmental attributes. Requires the EPA Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, to establish goals, guidelines, practices, standards, and specified program elements for accomplishing such purpose. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) consult with and coordinate with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in implementing the REEP program with regard to retrofitting of public housing and assisted housing; and
(2) establish standards to ensure that retrofits of public housing and assisted housing funded are cost-effective. Requires the EPA Administrator and the Secretary to provide assistance to state and local agencies for the establishment of revolving loan funds, loan guarantees, or other forms of financial assistance for REEP. Provides for the administration of REEP by state and local governments. Requires emission allowances to the states' SEED accounts to support the implementation through state REEP programs of alternative means of creating incentives for, or reducing financial barriers to, improved energy and environmental performance in buildings. Establishes eligible uses of such support. Requires nonresidential buildings receiving support to satisfy minimum indoor air quality standards. Requires the EPA Administrator to report annually on REEP's achievements in each state and on recommendations for program modifications. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2013 to the EPA Administrator and to the Secretary for REEP program costs.
(Sec. 203)Authorizes states to provide to the owner of a manufactured home constructed prior to 1976 a rebate to use toward the purchase of a new Energy Star qualified manufactured home that is used on a year-round basis as a primary residence. Requires the rebate to be given only if the manufactured home constructed prior to 1976 will be rendered unusable for human habitation and will be replaced, in the same general location, with an Energy Star qualified manufactured home. Directs federal support for the program to be provided through the emission allowances allocated to the states' SEED accounts. Caps rebates at $7,500 per manufactured home.
(Sec. 204)Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) establish a building energy performance labeling program with broad applicability to the residential and commercial markets to enable and encourage knowledge about building energy performance by owners and occupants and to inform efforts to reduce energy consumption nationwide;
(2) develop model building energy labels for new residential and commercial buildings; and
(3) conduct building energy performance labeling demonstration projects for different building types. Directs federal support for the program to be provided through the emission allowances allocated to the states' SEED accounts. Establishes requirements for states to follow in order to become eligible to utilize allowances to implement this program. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to create or identify model programs and resources to provide guidance to offer to states and localities for creating labeling programs consistent with the model program. Requires the EPA Administrator to report to Congress on the model labeling program. Requires the Secretary and the EPA Administrator to:
(1) use the labeling program to evaluate energy performance in DOE and EPA facilities and to encourage and support implementation efforts in other federal agencies; and
(2) establish a business and consumer education program to increase awareness about the importance of building energy efficiency and to facilitate widespread use of the labeling program. Authorizes appropriations to the EPA Administrator and the Secretary for FY2010-FY2020 for such labeling program.
(Sec. 205)Authorizes the Secretary to:
(1) provide financial, technical, and related assistance to retail power providers for the establishment or continued operation of , targeted tree-planting programs for residences and small office buildings; and
(2) create a national public recognition initiative to encourage participation in tree-planting programs by retail power providers.
(Sec. 207)Requires the Secretary of HUD to provide grants to local building code enforcement departments. Caps grants at $1 million. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for such grant program for each of FY2010-FY2014.
(Sec. 208)Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to revise the requirements for HUD community development grants by limiting the cost of any permit, license for construction, or installation of any solar energy systems that may be covered by such grants.
(Sec. 209)Requires the Secretary of HUD, in consultation with the Secretary, to issue regulations to:
(1) prohibit any private contract, lease, or other agreement from impairing the ability of a residential property owner or lessee to install, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy system on that property; and
(2) require that an application of approval for the installation or use of a solar energy system be treated in the same manner as an application for approval of an architectural modification. Subtitle B: Lighting and Appliance Energy Efficiency Programs -
(Sec. 211)Amends the EPCA to:
(1) require each outdoor luminaire manufactured on or after January 1, 2016, to have an initial luminaire efficacy of at least 50 lumens per watt and be designed to use a light source with a lumen maintenance of at least 0.6; and
(2) each outdoor luminaire manufactured on or after January 1, 2018, to have an initial luminaire efficacy of at least 70 lumens per watt and be designed to use a light source with a lumen maintenance of at least 0.6. Requires each outdoor luminaire (except those used for roadway lighting applications) manufactured on or after January 1, 2016, to have the capability of producing at least two different light levels, including 100% and 60% of full lamp output as tested with the maximum rate lamp per UL1598 or the manufacturer's maximum specified for the luminaire under test. Requires the Secretary, no later than January 1, 2022, to issue a final rule amending such standards if technologically feasible and economically justified. Requires each outdoor high light output lamp manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, to have a lighting efficiency of at least 45 lumens per watt. Establishes test procedures for outdoor lighting. Prohibits preemption of any state standard that is adopted on or before January 1, 2015, pursuant to a statutory requirement to adopt efficiency standards for reducing outdoor lighting energy use enacted prior to January 31, 2008. Requires portable light fixtures manufactured on or after January 1, 2012, to meet specified energy efficiency requirements. Requires the Secretary to:
(1) review such standards to determine if they are technologically feasible and economically justified; and
(2) publish amended standards or a determination that no amended standards are justified by January 1, 2014. Establishes technical requirements for art work light fixtures manufactured on or after January 1, 2012. Prohibits:
(1) a GU-24 base lamp from being an incandescent lamps as defined by ANSI; and
(2) GU-24 adaptors from adapting a GU-24 socket to any other line voltage socket. Establishes standards for certain incandescent reflector lamps that shall be effective on July 1, 2013. Requires the Secretary to publish a final rule:
(1) establishing standards for incandescent reflector lamps, which shall be effective on July 1, 2013; and
(2) establishing and amending standards for reflector lamps, including incandescent reflector lamps, which shall be effective no sooner than three years after the final rule's publication.
(Sec. 212)Amends the EPCA to expand the list of covered products in the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles to include bottle type water dispensers, commercial hot food holding cabinets, and portable electric spas. Requires
(1) bottle-type water dispensers designed for dispensing both hot and cold water to not have standby energy consumption greater than 1.2 kilowatt-hours;
(2) commercial hot food holding cabinets with interior volumes of 8 cubic feet or greater to have a maximum idle energy rate of 40 watts per cubic foot of interior volume; and
(3) portable electric spas to not have a normalized standby power greater than 5(V 2/3) watts where V equals the fill volume in gallons. Makes such standards effective on January 1, 2012. Requires the Secretary to review such standards to determine if they are technologically feasible and economically justified; and
(2) publish amended standards or a determination that no amended standards are justified no later than January 1, 2016. Establishes efficiency standards for commercial warm air furnaces with an input rating of 225,000 Btu per hour or more that are manufactured after January 1, 2011.
(Sec. 213)Amends the EPCA to:
(1) revise the definition of \"energy conservation standard\" to include energy efficiency for certain covered equipment, water efficiency for certain covered equipment, and both energy and water efficiency for certain equipment;
(2) allow the adoption of consensus and alternative test procedures for purposes of the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles;
(3) require the Secretary to prescribe a new test method for televisions;
(4) expand the list of criteria for prescribing new or amended energy conservation standards, including requiring Energy Guide labels to include the carbon output of each covered product;
(5) require manufacturers of covered products to submit annual reports and information to DOE regarding compliance, economic impact, annual shipments, facility energy and water use, and sales data that could support an assessment of the need for regional standards; and
(6) require state and local building codes to use appliance efficiency requirements that are no less stringent than those set by federal standards.
(Sec. 214)Requires the Secretary to establish a Best-in-Class Appliances Deployment Program to:
(1) provide bonus payments to retailers or distributors for sales of best-in-class high-efficiency household appliance models, installed building equipment, and consumer electronics;
(2) provide bounties to retailers and manufacturers for the replacement, retirement, and recycling of old, inefficient, and environmentally harmful products; and
(3) provide premium awards to manufacturers for developing and producing new Superefficient Best-in-Class Products. Requires the Secretary to:
(1) designate product models of appliances, equipment, or electronics as Best-in-Class Product models;
(2) review best-in-class standards annually; and
(3) establish monitoring and verification protocols for energy consumption tests for each product model and for sales of energy-efficient models. Authorizes for each of FY2011-FY2013 for the Program.
(Sec. 215)Establishes within the EPA a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings and landscapes, and services in order to:
(1) reduce water use;
(2) reduce the strain on water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure;
(3) conserve energy used to pump, heat, transport, and treat water; and
(4) preserve water resources through voluntary labeling of, or communications about, products, buildings and landscapes, and services that meet the highest water efficiency and performance standards. Establishes the EPA Administrator's duties for such program, including to establish performance standards so that products, buildings and landscapes, and services labeled with the WaterSense label perform as well or better than their less efficient counterparts. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 216)Requires agency heads, subject to exemptions, to procure water consuming products or services that are WaterSense labeled or designated under the Federal Energy Management Program.
(Sec. 217)Directs EPA to allocate funding to a state, local, county or tribal government, wastewater or sewage utility, municipal water authority, energy utility water utility, or other specified nonprofit organization for programs that offer financial incentives for consumer purchase and installation of residential water efficient products and services. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
(Sec. 218)Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a program to assist in the replacement of wood stoves or pellet stoves that do not meet specified standards of performance by:
(1) requiring such stoves to meet specified performance standards;
(2) requiring replaced stoves to be destroyed and recycled and prohibiting such stoves from being sold or returned into active service;
(3) providing funds to eligible entities to replace stoves. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
(Sec. 219)Requires the EPA Administrator and the Secretary to:
(1) establish and implement a rating system for products identified as Energy Star products to provide consumers with the most helpful information on a product's energy efficiency, including cost effectiveness and the relative length of time for consumers to recover costs attributable to the energy efficient features of those products;
(2) review and update the Energy Star product criteria for the ten product models in each product category with the greatest energy consumption every three years; and
(3) require periodic verification of product compliance with such criteria. Subtitle C: Transportation Efficiency -
(Sec. 221)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator, by December 31, 2010, to promulgate standards applicable to GHG emissions from new heavy-duty motor vehicles or engines, excluding such motor vehicles covered by the Tier II standards. Requires regulations issued applicable to emission of GHGs from new heavy-duty motor vehicles or engines to contain standards that reflect the greatest degree of emissions reduction achievable through the application of technology that is available, giving consideration to cost, energy, and safety factors associated with the application of such technology. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) identify those classes or categories of new nonroad vehicles or engines that contribute significantly to the total GHG emissions from such vehicles and that provide the greatest potential for significant and cost-effective reduction of such emissions; and
(2) promulgate standards applicable to GHG emissions from these engines or vehicles by December 31, 2012; and
(3) promulgate standards applicable to GHG emissions for other classes and categories of vehicles and engines as the EPA Administrator determines appropriate. Requires such standards to achieve the greatest degree of emissions reduction achievable based on the application of technology that will be available at the time the standards take effect. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to establish provisions for averaging, banking, and trading GHG emissions credits within or across classes or categories of motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines, nonroad vehicles and engines, and aircraft and aircraft engines. Requires the EPA Administrator to report to Congress on the projected amount of GHGs from the transportation sector for the years 2030 and 2050.
(Sec. 222)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator to promulgate and update regulations to establish national transportation-related GHG emissions reduction goals, standardized models and methodologies for use in developing surface transportation-related GHG emissions reduction targets, and methods for collection of data on transportation related GHG emissions. Requires the EPA Administrator, jointly with the DOT Secretary, at least every six years after promulgating final regulations, to assess progress in reducing national transportation-related GHG emissions. Requires such assessment to examine the contribution to emission reductions attributable to improvements in vehicle efficiency, GHG performance of transportation fuels, increased efficiency in utilizing transportation systems, and the effects of local and state planning. Requires each metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) and state to develop surface transportation-related GHG emission reduction targets, as well as strategies to meet such targets. Prohibits the Secretary from certifying compliance if an MPO or a state has failed to develop, submit, or publish its emission reduction targets and strategies.
(Sec. 223)Codifies provisions concerning EPA's existing SmartWay Transport Program to quantify, demonstrate, and promote the benefits of technologies, products, fuels, and operational strategies that reduce petroleum consumption, air pollution, and GHG emissions from the mobile source sector. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a SmartWay Transport Freight Partnership program with shippers and carriers of goods to promote energy-efficient, low-GHG transportation, including requiring the EPA Administrator to certify the energy and GHG gas performance of participating freight carriers, including rail, trucking, marine, and other goods movement operations. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a SmartWay Financing Program to competitively award funding to enable eligible entities to:
(1) use funds awarded to provide flexible loan and lease terms that increase approval rates or lower the costs of loans and leases; and
(2) make such loans and leases available to entities for the purpose of adopting low-GHG technologies or strategies for the mobile source sector.
(Sec. 224)Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to direct the Secretary to require that the guidance issued pursuant to the minimum federal fleet requirement applies to mandatory state fleet programs with respect to the types of alternative fueled vehicles required for compliance. Subtitle D: Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs -
(Sec. 241)Requires the Secretary to continue to support the development of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) voluntary industrial plant energy efficiency certification program, pending International Standards Organization (ISO) consensus standard 50001, and other related ANSI/ISO standards. Requires DOE to undertake complementary activities through its Industry Technologies Program that support the voluntary implementation of such standards by manufacturing firms. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the status of standards development and plans for further standards development.
(Sec. 242)Requires the Secretary to establish a program to make monetary awards to encourage the owners and operators of new and existing electric energy generation facilities or thermal energy production facilities using fossil or nuclear fuel to use innovative means of recovering thermal energy that is a potentially useful byproduct of electric power generation or other processes to:
(1) generate additional electric energy; or
(2) make sales of thermal energy not used for electric generation, in the form of steam, hot water, chilled water, or desiccant regeneration, or for other commercially valid purposes. Requires awards to be given only for the use of innovative means that achieve net energy efficiency at the facility concerned that is significantly greater than the current standard technology in use at similar facilities.
(Sec. 243)Amends the EPCA to allow those who recover waster energy to elect to receive grants from the waste energy recovery incentive grant program. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 244)Requires the Secretary to assess electric motors and the national motor market. Requires the Secretary to establish a proactive, national program targeted at motor end-users and delivered in cooperation with interested parties to increase awareness of:
(1) the energy and cost-saving opportunities in commercial and industrial facilities using higher efficiency electric motors;
(2) improvements in motor system procurement and management procedures in the selection of higher efficiency electric motors and motor-system components; and
(3) criteria for making decisions for new, replacement, or repair motor and motor system components.
(Sec. 245)Amends the EPCA to require the Secretary to establish a program, no later than January 1, 2010, to provide rebates for expenditures made by entities:
(1) for the purchase and installation of a new electric motor that has a nominal full load efficiency that is not less than the nominal load efficiency as defined in specified NEMA standards; and
(2) to replace an installed motor of the entity the specifications of which are established by the Secretary within 90 days of enactment of this section. Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2015.
(Sec. 246)Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to require the Secretary to establish a program for awarding grants to states to establish revolving loan funds to provide loans to small and medium-sized manufacturers to finance the cost of:
(1) reequipping, expanding, or establishing a manufacturing facility in the United States to produce clean energy technology products, energy efficient products, or integral component parts of such technology or products; and
(2) reducing the energy intensity or GHG production of a manufacturing facility. Requires loan recipients to:
(1) give workers prevailing wage rates; and
(2) report annually to the state and the Secretary on the impact of the loan. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2011.
(Sec. 247)Directs the Department of Commerce, under the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program, to include within the activities of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers the establishment of a clean energy manufacturing supply chain initiative to:
(1) support manufacturers in their identification of, and diversification to, new markets;
(2) help manufacturers improve their competitiveness by reducing energy intensity and GHG production;
(3) increase adoption and implementation of innovative manufacturing technologies;
(4) coordinate and leverage expertise of the National Laboratories and Technology Centers and the Industrial Assessment Centers of DOE to meet the needs of the manufacturers; and
(5) identify, assist, and certify manufacturers seeking loans from state technology programs. Renames the Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology as the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014. Subtitle E: Improvements in Energy Savings Performance Contracting -
(Sec. 251)Revises provisions concerning energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) for federal agencies by:
(1) establishing competition requirements for specific ESPC task orders;
(2) expanding the allowable types of energy transactions under ESPCs to include thermal forms of renewable energy; and
(3) making on-site renewable energy production eligible for helping agencies meet renewable energy requirements. Subtitle F: Public Institutions -
(Sec. 261)Expands the list of institutional entities eligible for energy sustainability and efficiency grants and loans to include Indian tribes, not-for profit hospitals, or not-for-profit inpatient health care facilities. Increases the authorized amount of such grants and extends the authorization of appropriations for such grants through FY2015.
(Sec. 263)Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to expand the list of communities eligible for DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Grant program to include small groups of adjacent, contiguous, or geographically proximate units of local government that reach agreement to act jointly.
(Sec. 264)Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to provide financing to businesses and projects that:
(1) improve energy efficiency;
(2) identify and develop alternative, renewable, and distributed energy supplies;
(3) provide technical assistance and promote job and business opportunities for low-income residents; and
(4) increase energy conservation in low income rural and urban communities. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2015.
(Sec. 265)Authorizes the Secretary to establish a research program to:
(1) identify the factors affecting consumer actions to conserve energy and make improvements in energy efficiency; and
(2) make grants to institutions of higher education to study the effects of consumer behavior on total energy use, the potential energy savings from changes in consumption habits, the ability to reduce GHG emissions through changes in energy consumption habits, increasing public awareness of federal climate adaptation and mitigation programs, and the potential for alterations in consumer behavior to further American energy independence. Subtitle G: Miscellaneous -
(Sec. 271)Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to repeal the current energy performance requirement for federal buildings and to require each federal agency, in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to create an implementation strategy for the purchase and use of energy efficient information and communications technologies and practices. Requires OMB to report to Congress on each agency's reduction of energy use through its implementation strategy and on new and emerging technologies that would help achieve increased energy efficiency.
(Sec. 272)Declares that U.S. energy efficiency goals are to:
(1) achieve an improvement in the overall energy productivity of the United States of at least 2.5% per year by 2012; and
(2) maintain that annual rate of improvement each year through 2030. Requires the Secretary to:
(1) develop a strategic plan to achieve such goals;
(2) update the strategic plan biennially;
(3) include the updated plan in the national energy policy plan; and
(4) report to Congress on the plans.
(Sec. 273)Requires the Secretary to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to:
(1) reduce the reliance and expenditure of each island on imported fossil fuels;
(2) increase the use by each island of indigenous, nonfossil fuel energy sources;
(3) improve the performance of the energy infrastructure of the islands;
(4) adopt research-based and public-private partnership-based approaches;
(5) stimulate economic development and job creation;
(6) enhance the federal government's engagement in international efforts to address island energy needs;
(7) provide assistance to each utility of each island to develop and implement an energy Action Plan to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels through increased efficiency and use of indigenous clean-energy resources; and
(8) report to Congress on the islands' progress in implementing their Plans and reducing their reliance. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 274)Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) study and report on the feasibility of establishing a national program for measuring, reporting, publicly disclosing, and labeling products or materials sold in the United States for their carbon content; and
(2) establish a voluntary national product carbon disclosure program for wholesale and consumer markets. Authorizes appropriations for the study and for FY2010-FY2025 for the program.
(Sec. 275)Requires the Secretary to:
(1) implement and report to Congress on a national education and awareness program to inform building, facility, and industrial plan owners and managers and decision makers, governmental leaders, and industry leaders about the large energy-saving potential of greater use of mechanical insulation and other benefits; and
(2) report to Congress on the effectiveness of the program by July 1, 2013. Authorizes appropriations for each of FY2010-FY2014. Terminates the program on December 31, 2014.
(Sec. 276)Calls on the United States to:
(1) continue to actively promote, within the International Civil Aviation Organization, the development of a global framework for the regulation of GHG emissions from civil aircraft; and
(2) work with foreign governments towards a global agreement that reconciles foreign carbon emissions reduction programs and avoids unnecessary complication for the aviation industry while achieving environmental goals. Subtitle H: Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods - Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act of 2009 or the GREEN Act of 2009 -
(Sec. 283)Requires the Secretary of HUD to establish annual energy efficiency participation incentives to encourage participants in HUD programs to achieve substantial improvements in energy efficiency.
(Sec. 284)Sets forth requirements for compliance with HUD energy efficiency standards for single family or multifamily structures, including:
(1) compliance with applicable provisions of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code;
(2) rehabilitation or improvement on existing structures reducing energy consumption by at least 20% ; and
(3) newly constructed residential structures having electrical outlets with the facility and capacity to recharge a standard electric passenger vehicle. Requires the Secretary to adopt as necessary energy efficiency requirements, standards, checklists, or rating systems applicable to nonresidential structures that are constructed or rehabilitated with HUD assistance. Sets forth enhanced energy efficiency and conservation standards and green building standards for residential or nonresidential structures for additional credit for achieving greater efficiency and conservation under certain federally assisted housing programs. Authorizes the Secretaries of HUD and Agriculture to provide for the applicability of the energy efficiency standards, or the enhanced energy efficiency and conservation standards and the green building standards, or both, with respect to any covered federally assisted housing or, respectively, any HUD or Rural Housing Service assistance.
(Sec. 285)Requires the Secretary of HUD to:
(1) implement a demonstration program of at least 50,000 dwelling units during a four-year period to demonstrate the effectiveness of funding a portion of the costs of meeting the enhanced energy efficiency standards; and
(2) report to Congress on the program and the potential to expand the program on a nationwide basis.
(Sec. 286)Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to require the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to assign more than 125% credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for certain mortgage purchase activities that comply with the original requirement goals and meet energy efficiency requirements under this Act.
(Sec. 287)Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to revise provisions concerning the duty to serve underserved markets by requiring the enterprise to develop loan products and flexible underwriting guidelines to facilitate a secondary market for energy-efficient and location-efficient mortgages on housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income families and for second and junior mortgages made for purposes of energy efficiency and/or renewable energy improvements.
(Sec. 288)Amends the National Housing Act to require the Secretary of HUD to establish a method to consider, in its underwriting standards for mortgages on single-family housing meeting the energy efficiency standards of this subtitle Act that are insured under such Act, the impact that savings on utility costs has on the income of the mortgagor. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary, in carrying out such Act, should insure at least 50,000 mortgages on single-family housing meeting the energy efficiency standards of this subtitle s by December 31, 2012.
(Sec. 289)Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to require the Secretary of HUD to:
(1) establish a commission to develop and recommend model mortgage products and underwriting guidelines that provide market-based incentives to prospective home buyers, lenders, and sellers to incorporate energy efficiency upgrades and location efficiencies in new mortgage loan transactions; and
(2) implement a public awareness, education, and outreach campaign based on its findings. Urges the Secretary of HUD to work with entities to organize and hold renewable energy expositions that enable the public to learn about renewable energy products for the home that are currently on the market. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
(Sec. 290)Amends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 to include among the mortgage loan data required to be maintained by depository institutions the number and dollar amount of loans for single-family housing and for multi-family housing that are:
(1) energy-efficient mortgages; and
(2) location-efficient mortgages.
(Sec. 291)Expresses Congress's intent that consumers shall not be denied homeowners insurance for a dwelling based solely on the fact that the dwelling is not connected to or able to receive electricity service from any wholesale or retail electric power provider.
(Sec. 292)Requires the Secretary of HUD to establish incentives:
(1) for increasing the energy efficiency of multifamily housing that is subject to a mortgage to be insured under the National Housing Act so that the housing meets the energy efficiency standards of this subtitle; and
(2) to encourage compliance of such housing with the energy efficiency, conservation, and green building standards of this subtitle.
(Sec. 293)Amends the National Housing Act to require:
(1) energy performance requirements established by the Secretary of HUD for manufactured homes to require energy star rating for wall fixtures, appliances, and equipment; and
(2) individuals accredited by the Home Energy Ratings System Council, the Residential Energy Services Network, or other appropriate national organization to certify that single or multi-family housing is energy efficient.
(Sec. 294)Requires the Secretary of HUD to develop and implement a pilot program to facilitate the financing of cost-effective capital improvements for covered assisted housing projects to improve energy efficiency and conservation. Requires the pilot program to provide that the project owner shall receive the full financial benefit from any reduction in the cost of utilities resulting from capital improvements financed with a loan made under the program.
(Sec. 295)Requires the Secretary of HUD to establish and provide incentives for developers of housing for which any HUD financial assistance is provided to enter into agreements and partnerships with tree-planting organizations, nurseries, and landscapers to certify that trees, shrubs, grasses, and other plants are planted in the proper manner, are provided adequate maintenance, and will survive for at least three years after planting or be replaced. Directs HUD to require new or substantially rehabilitated housing that receives certain financial assistance from HUD to develop a green plan that provides for:
(1) siting of housing and improvements in a manner that provides for energy efficiency and conservation;
(2) minimizing the effects of the development on the condition of existing trees;
(3) the use of indigenous plants;
(4) caring for and maintaining plantings; and
(5) establishing a goal for minimum greenspace or tree canopy cover for the housing site.
(Sec. 296)Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of HUD to make block grants to states, metropolitan cities and urban counties, Indian tribes, and insular areas to implement energy efficiency improvements in new and existing single-family and multifamily housing that complies with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) standards.
(Sec. 297)Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to require state and local housing strategies to describe the jurisdiction's strategies to encourage sustainable development for affordable housing and the jurisdiction's efforts to coordinate its housing strategy with its transportation planning strategies to ensure that residents of affordable housing have access to public transportation.
(Sec. 298)Requires the Secretary of HUD to make grants to nonprofit organizations to:
(1) train, educate, and advise eligible community development organizations or qualified youth service and conservation corps in improving energy efficiency, resource conservation and reuse, design strategies to maximize energy efficiency, installing or constructing renewable energy improvements, and effective use of existing infrastructure in affordable housing and economic development activities in low-income communities; and
(2) implement energy efficiency improvements, resource conservation and reuse, and effective use of existing infrastructure in affordable housing and economic development activities in low-income communities. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
(Sec. 299)Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit the Secretary of HUD from making a demolition, site revitalization, replacement housing, and tenant-based assistance grant to an applicant unless the applicant's proposed revitalization plan complies with the Green Communities criteria checklist. Requires such Secretary to identify rating systems and levels for green buildings that would be the most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound approach. (Sec. 299A) Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to require standards for the performance of real estate appraisals in connection with federally related transactions to include a standard that requires, in determining the value of a property, consideration of any renewable energy sources for, or energy efficiency or energy-conserving improvements or features of, the property. Requires each federal financial institution's regulatory agency to revise its standards accordingly. (Sec. 299B) Requires the Secretary of HUD to require the Housing Assistance Council to:
(1) encourage each organization that receives assistance from it to comply with energy efficiency standards; and
(2) establish incentives to encourage such organizations to provide that structures and buildings comply with energy efficiency and conservation standards and green building standards. (Sec. 299C) Requires the Secretary of HUD to:
(1) require entities that receive assistance from HUD's Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development to provide that any structures and buildings developed comply with energy efficiency standards; and
(2) establish incentives to encourage such entities to provide that structures and buildings comply with energy efficiency and conservation standards and green building standards. (Sec. 299D) Establishes in the Treasury the Alternative Energy Sources State Loan Fund for loans to states and Indian tribes to provide incentives to owners of single-family and multi-family housing, commercial properties, and public buildings to provide:
(1) renewable energy sources for such structures;
(2) energy efficiency and energy conserving improvements and features for such structures; or
(3) infrastructure related to the delivery of electricity and hot water for structures lacking such amenities. Requires the Secretary of HUD to report to Congress on the amounts of the loans and the effectiveness of the Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 299E) Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require federal banking agencies to prescribe guidelines encouraging the establishment and maintenance of green banking centers by federal-insured depository institutions to provide consumers who seek information on obtaining a mortgage, home improvement loan, home equity loan, or renewable energy lease with information about home energy ratings, energy audits, financing for energy efficiency improvements, and loan benefits that reflect energy efficiency aspects. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to require the National Credit Union Administration Board to prescribe guidelines encouraging the establishment and maintenance of green banking centers by insured credit unions to provide members who seek information on such mortgages, loans, or leases with such information. (Sec. 299F) Requires the Comptroller General to report triennially to specified congressional committees on its examinations of the impact of whether the amendments related to green resources for energy efficient neighborhoods resulted in consequences that limit the availability or affordability of mortgages in any area. (Sec. 299G) Requires the Secretary of HUD to obtain from each public housing agency and report to Congress on information regarding the energy costs for public housing administered or operated by the agency. (Sec. 299H) Requires the Secretary of HUD to establish a means of determining the residential value of a renewable energy asset such that a secondary market for residential renewable energy lease instruments may be facilitated. (Sec. 299I) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to guarantee the repayment of the portions of the principal obligations of eligible mortgages that are used to finance eligible sustainable building elements. Title III: Reducing Global Warming Pollution - Safe Climate Act - Subtitle A: Reducing Global Warming Pollution -
(Sec. 311)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations to cap and reduce GHG emissions, annually, so that GHG emissions from capped sources are reduced to 97% of 2005 levels by 2012, 83% by 2020, 58% by 2030, and 17% by 2050. Requires the EPA Administrator to set aside a specified percentage of emission allowances to be used to achieve a reduction of GHG emissions from deforestation in developing countries that have entered into and implemented agreements or arrangements relating to reduced deforestation. Requires the EPA Administrator to report to Congress by July 1, 2013, and every four years thereafter, on an analysis of:
(1) key findings based on the latest scientific information relevant to global climate change;
(2) capabilities to monitor and verify GHG reductions on a worldwide basis; and
(3) the status of worldwide efforts for reducing GHG emission, preventing dangerous atmospheric concentrations of GHGs, preventing significant irreversible consequences of climate change, and reducing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Requires the EPA Administrator to offer to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to report to Congress and the EPA Administrator by July 1, 2014, and every four years thereafter on:
(1) the latest climate change science; and
(2) an analysis of technologies to achieve reductions in GHG emissions. Requires the President to direct relevant federal agencies to use existing statutory authority to take appropriate actions and address shortfalls identified in the NAS reports by July 1, 2015, and every four years thereafter. Requires the President, if the NAS report finds that emission reduction targets are not on schedule or that global actions will not maintain safe global average surface temperature and atmospheric GHG concentration thresholds, to submit a plan by July 1, 2015, to Congress identifying domestic and international actions that will achieve necessary additional GHG reductions. Designates carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) from a chemical manufacturing process at an industrial stationary source, perfluorocarbons, and nitrogen trifluoride as GHGs and specifies a carbon dioxide equivalent value for each gas. Requires the EPA Administrator, by February 1, 2017, and every five years thereafter, to review and, if appropriate, revise such values. Establishes a process by which EPA can designate other GHGs. Allows any person to petition EPA for other manmade gases to be added as GHGs. Requires the EPA Administrator to consult with the Science Advisory Board prior to making such determinations. Prohibits any person from manufacturing, introducing into interstate commerce, or emitting a significant quantity of certain fluorinated gas that is generated as a byproduct during the production or use of another fluorinated gas. Requires the EPA Administrator to issue regulations establishing a federal GHG registry. Requires reporting entities to submit to the Administration data on:
(1) GHG emissions in the United States,
(2) the production, manufacture, and importation of fuels and products that lead to GHG emissions,
(3) deliveries of natural gas the combustion of which results in GHG emissions; and
(4) the capture and sequestration of GHGs. Requires such regulations to require reporting of electricity delivered to facilities in an energy-intensive sector. Requires reporting entities to submit:
(1) 2007-2010 data by March 31, 2011; and
(2) data for 2011 and subsequent years quarterly. Defines \"reporting entity\" to mean:
(1) a covered entity;
(2) an entity that would be covered if it had emitted, produced, imported, manufactured, or delivered in 2008 or any subsequent year more than the applicable threshold level of carbon dioxide;
(3) other entities that EPA determines will help achieve overall goals of reducing global warming pollution;
(4) any vehicle fleet with emissions of more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent on an annual basis, if its inclusion will help achieve such reduction;
(5) any entity that delivers electricity to a facility in an energy-intensive industrial sector that meets the energy or GHG intensity criteria. Includes within the definition of \"covered entity\" specified:
(1) electricity sources:
(2) stationary sources that produce, and entities that import for sale or distribution in interstate commerce, petroleum-based or coal-based liquid fuel, petroleum coke, or natural gas liquid the combustion of which would emit 25,000 or more tons of carbon dioxide equivalent;
(3) stationary sources that produce, or entities that import for sale or distribution in interstate commerce, in bulk 25,000 or more tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and specified fluorinated gases;
(4) stationary sources that have emitted 25,000 or more tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of nitrogen;
(5) geologic sequestration sites;
(6) stationary sources in the industrial sectors of adipic acid production, primary aluminum production, ammonia manufacturing, cement production (excluding grinding-only operations), hydrochlorofluorocarbon production, lime manufacturing, nitric acid production, petroleum refining, phosphoric acid production, silicon carbide production, soda ash production, titanium dioxide production, and coal-based liquid or gaseous fuel production;
(7) stationary sources in the chemical or petrochemical sector that produce acrylonitrile, carbon black, ethylene, ethylene dichloride, ethylene oxide, or methanol or that produce a chemical or petrochemical product the production of which results in annual combustion plus process emissions of 25,000 or more tons of carbon dioxide equivalent;
(8) stationary sources in the industrial sectors of ethanol production, ferroalloy production, fluorinated gas production, food processing, glass production, hydrogen production, iron and steel production, lead production, pulp and paper manufacturing, and zinc production that have emitted 25,000 or more tons of carbon dioxide equivalent;
(9) fossil fuel-fired combustion devices or groupings of such devices that are all or part of specified industrial sources and that have emitted 25,000 or more tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; and
(10) natural gas local distribution companies or groupings of such companies that in the aggregate deliver 460,000,000 cubic feet or more of natural gas and any other gas meeting the specifications for commingling with natural gas for purposes of delivery to customers that are not covered entities. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a specific quantity of emission allowances (the cap) starting in 2012. Prescribes the quantity of emission allowances for:
(1) each of 2012-2049; and
(2) 2050 and thereafter. Authorizes EPA to revise the annual caps if specified assumptions are subsequently found to be inaccurate. Provides for the establishment and distribution of compensatory allowances for:
(1) the destruction, in 2012 or later, of fluorinated gases that are GHGs if allowances or offset credits were retired for their production or importation and such gases are not required to be destroyed under any other law;
(2) the nonemissive use, in 2012 or later, of petroleum-based or coal-based liquid or gaseous fuel, petroleum coke, natural gas liquid, or natural gas as a feedstock if allowances or offset credits were retired for the GHGs that would have been emitted from their combustion; and
(3) the conversionary use, in 2012 or later, of fluorinated gases in a manufacturing process if allowances or offset credits were retired for the production or importation of such gas. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to study:
(1) the extent to which petroleum-based or coal-based liquid or gaseous fuel, petroleum coke, natural gas liquid, or natural gas are used as feedstocks in manufacturing processes to produce products; and
(2) the GHG emissions resulting from such uses. Requires the EPA Administrator to complete by March 31, 2014, an assessment of the regulation of non-HFC fluorinated gases to determine whether the most appropriate point of regulation is at the gas manufacturer or importer level or at the source of emissions downstream. Requires the EPA Administrator to change the definition of \"covered entity\" and compliance obligations with respect to non-HFC fluorinated gases and establish other requirements if the EPA Administrator determines that such emissions can best be regulated by designating downstream emission sources as covered entities. Prohibits a covered entity, on or after January 1, 2012, from emitting GHGs and having attributable GHG emissions, in combination, in excess of its allowable emissions level (number of emission allowances or offset credits or other allowances a covered entity holds as of 12:01 a.m. on April 1 or a later date established by the EPA Administrator of the following calendar year). Requires covered entities to demonstrate compliance through:
(1) holding emission allowances (including international emission or compensatory allowances) at least as great as attributable emissions (as specified); or
(2) using offset credits. Phases in compliance provisions by entity. Authorizes covered entities collectively to use offset credits to demonstrate compliance for up to a maximum of 2 billion tons of GHGs annually . Allows a covered entity to satisfy a percentage of the number of allowances required to be held to demonstrate compliance by holding 1 domestic offset credit or 1.25 international offset credits in lieu of an emission allowance. Authorizes EPA to increase the allowable percentage for international offset to up to 1.5 billion tons if it determines use of domestic offsets will not be maximized. Distributes the ability to use offset credits on a pro rata basis among covered entities. Authorizes covered entities to use non-expired term offset credits instead of domestic offset credits for purposes of temporarily demonstrating compliance. Requires covered entities to provide financial assurance to EPA to demonstrate that they have the resources to be in compliance when the term offset expires. Requires EPA to retire the held allowances after the annual deadline has passed. Sets forth penalties for noncompliance. Authorizes holders of emission allowances, compensatory allowances, or offset credits to sell, exchange, transfer, hold, or retire them. Provides that the privilege of purchasing, holding, selling, exchanging, transferring, and requesting retirement of such allowances and credits is not restricted to the owners and operators of covered entities. Prohibits allowance transfers from being effective until EPA receives written certification. Provides for the establishment of an allowance tracking system for issuing, recording, holding, and tracking allowances, offset credits, and term offset credits. Authorizes allowances and offset credits to be banked or borrowed from the future. Allows an emission allowance to be used to comply with emission requirements in the vintage year for the allowance or any subsequent calendar year. Provides that allowances, international emission allowances, offset credits, and term offset credits do not expire unless they are:
(1) retired by the EPA Administrator; or
(2) determined to be expired or to have expired by a specific date by the EPA Administrator. Allows:
(1) an emission allowance to be used to demonstrate compliance in the calendar year immediately preceding the vintage year for the allowance;
(2) covered entities to demonstrate compliance in a specific calendar year for up to 15% of its emissions by borrowing, with interest, allowances with a vintage year one to five years later than the calendar year. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) establish a strategic reserve account of a specified amount of emission allowances;
(2) auction strategic reserve allowances quarterly. Limits auctions to covered entities. Requires auctions to have a minimum reserve price, which in:
(1) 2012 will be $28 per allowance;
(2) 2013 and 2014 will be the minimum strategic reserve auction price for the previous year increased by 5% plus the rate of inflation; and
(3) 2015 and thereafter will be 60% above a rolling 36-month average of the daily closing price for that year's emission allowance vintage as reported on registered carbon trading facilities. Establishes limits on the number of emission allowances from the strategic reserve account that may be auctioned for 2012-2016 and for 2017 and thereafter. Requires:
(1) one-fourth of each year's annual strategic reserve auction limit to be made available for action in each quarter; and
(2) unsold allowances to be returned to the reserve. Limits the number of allowances that covered entities may purchase at each auction. Requires the proceeds from the auctions to be placed in the Reserve. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) use the proceeds to purchase international offset credits issued for reduced deforestation activities;
(2) retire those credits and establish a number of emission allowances equal to 80% of the number of international offset credits retired; and
(3) deposit such allowances in the Reserve. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to sell such international offsets at the auction under certain conditions. Sets forth the obligations of stationary sources under the CAA's Title V operating permit program under the new global warming and pollution reduction requirements. Requires stationary sources subject to the CAA to have permits that require the covered entity to hold a number of emission allowances at least equal to the total annual amount of carbon dioxide equivalents for its combined emissions and attributable GHG emissions. Authorizes the EPA Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to designate an international climate change program as a qualifying international program if:
(1) it is run by a national or supranational foreign government and imposes a mandatory absolute tonnage limit on GHG emissions from at least one or more foreign countries or from one or more economic sectors in such countries; and
(2) it is at least as stringent as the program established by this Act. Requires an owner or operator of an entity that holds such an allowance to certify to the EPA Administrator that the allowance has not previously been used to comply with any foreign, international, or domestic GHG regulatory program. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to limit the amount of international allowances a covered entity may use for compliance purposes. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish an Independent Offsets Integrity Advisory Board to make recommendations to the EPA Administrator for use in promulgating and revising regulations on the types of offset that should be eligible for compliance purposes and on methodologies for evaluating offset projects. Requires the Board to report to the EPA Administrator on the offset program and make recommendations on such program by January 1, 2017, and every five years thereafter. Requires the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing a program for the issuance of offset credits that:
(1) ensure that such offset credits represent verifiable and additional GHG emission reductions or avoidance, or increases in sequestration;
(2) ensure that offset credits issued for sequestration offset projects are only issued for GHG reductions that are permanent; and
(3) include as reductions in GHGs reductions achieved through the destruction of methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or other ozone depleting substances. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) establish within the allowance tracking system an Offset Registry for qualifying offset projects and credits; and
(2) assess fees payable by offset project developers to cover administrative costs; and
(3) establish a list of types of projects eligible to generate offset credits, including international offset credits. Authorizes any person to petition the EPA Administrator to modify such list. Requires the EPA Administrator to issue an offset credit to an offset project developer only if:
(1) the EPA Administrator has approved the project; and
(2) the relevant emissions reduction, avoidance, or sequestration has already occurred during the offset project's crediting period. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) assign a unique serial number to and register each offset credit issued;
(2) conduct audits of offset projects, offset credits, and practices of third-party verifiers; and
(3) review, at least once every five years, the list of eligible project types and requirements to ensure the environmental integrity and effective operation of the offset program. Directs the EPA Administrator to issue offset credits, if specific conditions are met, for offsets issued under other regulatory or voluntary offset programs. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to issue international offset credits based on activities that reduce or avoid GHG emissions, or increase sequestration of GHGs, in a developing country if:
(1) the United States is a party to a bilateral or multilateral agreement that includes the nation hosting the offset project; and
(2) the host nation is a developing country. Establishes a process through which EPA can issue international offset credits on a sectoral basis in developing nations in exchange for other international instruments. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to issue international offset credits that originate from international bodies established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a UNFCCC protocol, or a treaty that succeeds the UNFCCC. Establishes procedures and requirements regarding the issuance of international offset credits for activities that reduce deforestation. Requires the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing a program to use emission allowances set aside to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation in developing countries, with the objectives to:
(1) achieve 720 million tons of reductions in 2020 and a cumulative emission reduction of 6 billion tons by 2025,
(2) build institutional capacities in developing nations; and
(3) preserve intact, native forests. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from distributing emission allowances under this program unless the Secretary of State has concurred with such distribution. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to support activities only in a developing country that:
(1) is experiencing deforestation or forest degradation or has standing forest carbon stocks that may be at risk of deforestation or degradation; and
(2) has entered a bilateral or multilateral agreement with the United States establishing the conditions of its participation. Requires the EPA Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator of USAID, to promulgate regulations establishing:
(1) standards to ensure that supplemental emissions reductions from reduced deforestation are additional, measurable, verifiable, permanent, and monitored and account for leakage and uncertainty; and
(2) a national deforestation baseline for each country with national deforestation reduction activities. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a publicly accessible registry of the supplemental emissions. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from providing further compensation through emission allowances for any subnational deforestation reduction activities after five years, unless certain conditions are met. Requires the EPA Administrator to report to Congress by January 1, 2014, about the quantity of emission reductions under the program, a breakdown of allowances provided, and the activities supported by the supplemental reduction program. Requires the EPA Administrator and USAID to conduct a review every five years of the supplemental reduction program. Subtitle B: Disposition of Allowances -
(Sec. 321)Amends the CAA to set forth provisions governing the disposition of emission allowances, including specifying allocations:
(1) for supplemental emissions reductions from reduced deforestation;
(2) for the benefit of electricity, natural gas, and/or home heating oil and propane consumers;
(3) for auction, with proceeds for the benefit of low income consumers and worker investment;
(4) to energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries;
(5) for the deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technology;
(6) to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy;
(7) to be distributed to Energy Innovation Hubs and advanced energy research;
(8) to invest in the development and deployment of clean vehicles;
(9) to domestic petroleum refineries and small business refiners;
(10) for domestic and international adaptation;
(11) for domestic wildlife and natural resource adaptation; and
(12) for international clean technology deployment. Provides for the release of future allowances. Requires the EPA Administrator to auction off certain unused allowances and to deposit the proceeds for 2012-2025 into the Treasury and for 2026-2050 into the Climate Change Dividend Fund. Requires the President to distribute funds in the Consumer Climate Change Rebate Fund (established by this Act) to U.S. households. Requires proceeds to be used for deficit reduction, consumer rebate, low-income assistance, or a combination thereof. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to provide incentives in the form of emission allowances for activities undertaken in the agriculture sector that reduce GHG emissions or sequester carbon, including activities that prevent conversion of land that would increase emissions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide tax refunds from the Climate Change Consumer Refund Account (established by this Act) on a per capita basis to each household. Requires the EPA Administrator to issue regulations allowing any person to exchange GHG emission allowances issued before December 31, 2011, by California or for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or the Western Climate Initiative for emission allowances established by the EPA Administrator. Establishes auction formats and procedures. Requires the EPA Administrator to issue regulations setting aside a specified number of allowances that small business refiners may purchase at the average auction price. Authorizes an entity holding emission allowances or compensatory allowances to request that the EPA Administrator auction the allowances on consignment. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the results of a review of programs administered by the federal government that distribute emission allowances or funds from any federal auction of allowances. Requires the EPA Administrator to issue regulations allowing:
(1) any person to exchange instruments in the nature of offset credits issued before January 1, 2009, by an approved state or a voluntary offset program for emission allowances; and
(2) the EPA Administrator to provide compensation in the form of emission allowances for other documented early reductions or avoidance of GHG emissions or GHGs sequestered before January 1, 2009, that meet specific conditions. Subtitle C: Additional Greenhouse Gas Standards -
(Sec. 331)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator to promulgate New Source Performance Standards (NSPSs) under such Act for specified categories of stationary sources that:
(1) have uncapped GHG emissions greater than 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and are responsible for emitting at least 20% of the uncapped GHG gas emission annually; or
(2) are responsible for at least 10% of the uncapped methane emissions. Outlines the schedule for promulgating NSPSs standards for various categories. Requires the EPA Administrator, in setting the standards, to take into account projections of allowance prices. Revises the definition of \"statutory source\" by lowering the threshold for such a source from 25,000 metric tons to 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Prohibits a GHG from being listed as a criteria pollutant under the CAA on the basis of its effect on global climate change. Provides that CAA provisions concerning state plans to address endangerment of public health or welfare in other countries caused by transported air pollution do not apply to a GHG because of its climate impact. Prohibits a GHG from being added to the list of hazardous air pollutants unless such gas meets the listing criteria independent of its effects on global climate change. Provides that a GHG can not be subject to new source review provisions of Prevention of Significant Deterioration program solely on the basis of emissions of any GHG. Provides that a stationary source is not required to apply for, or operate pursuant to, a permit solely because the source emits any GHGs that are regulated solely because of their effect on global climate change.
(Sec. 332)Treats HFCs as class II substances for purposes of applying requirements relating to stratospheric ozone protection. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish two groups of class II substances. Requires the CAA list of:
(1) Class II, group I substances to include all hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs); and
(2) Class II, group II substances to include specified HFCs. Requires the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations to phase down the consumption of and regulate the production of HFCs. Specifies consumption allowances for:
(1) each of 2012-2032 (from 90% of the baseline in 2012 to 17% in 2032); and
(2) 2033 and thereafter (15% of the baseline). Requires producers and importers of any class II, group II substance to hold one consumption allowance and one production allowance, or one destruction offset credit, for each carbon dioxide equivalent ton. Provides for:
(1) the distribution, auction, banking, exchange, and international transfer of such allowances; and
(2) the issuance of offset credits for the destruction of CFCs. Requires the EPA Administrator to establish two allowance pools:
(1) a producer-importer pool with 80% of available allowances; and
(2) a secondary pool with 20% of available allowances. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) set a specified minimum bid per consumption allowance for each of vintage years 2012-2016; and
(2) offer for sale at auction specified percentages of consumption allowances in the producer-importer pool. Authorizes persons who produced or imported any class II substance during 2004-2006 to participate in the auction. Requires the EPA Administrator to offer for sale the remaining consumption allowances at a set price for 2012-2017 and at the auction clearing price thereafter. Requires the EPA Administrator to offer for sale the consumption allowances in the secondary pool at specified prices. Requires the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations to provide for the issuance of offset credits for the destruction, in 2012 or later, of CFCs in the Untied States equal to 80% of the carbon dioxide equivalent reduction achieved by the destruction. Sets forth reporting requirements for persons who produce, import, or export a class II, group II substance. Establishes the Stratospheric Ozone and Climate Protection Fund, into which the EPA Administrator shall deposit all proceeds from the sale of HFC consumption allowances. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to use the fund to:
(1) establish a program to provide incentives for the recovery, recycling, and reclamation of any Class II substance in order to reduce emissions of such substances;
(2) meet any contribution obligations of the United States to the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol or similar multilateral fund established under such multilateral agreement;
(3) implement the best-in-class appliances deployment program; and
(4) establish a program to provide financial assistance to manufacturers of products containing class II, group II substances to facilitate the transition to products that contain or utilize alternative substances with no or low carbon dioxide equivalent value and no ozone depletion potential. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing:
(1) requirements for repair of motor vehicle air conditioners prior to adding a class II, group II substance; and
(2) servicing practices and procedures for recovery of class II, group II substances from containers holding less than 20 pounds of such substances. Requires the EPA Administrator to:
(1) promulgate regulations requiring such containers to be equipped with a device or technology that limits refrigerant emissions and leaks from the container and that limits refrigerant emissions and leaks during the transfer of refrigerant from the container to the motor vehicle air conditioner; or
(2) issue a determination that such requirements are not necessary or appropriate. Prohibits persons from selling or distributing into interstate commerce on or after January 1, 2014, any motor vehicle air conditioner refrigerant in any size container unless the substance has been found acceptable for use in a motor vehicle air conditioner.
(Sec. 333)Requires the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations to reduce emissions of black carbon (light absorbing aerosols) or propose a finding that existing CAA regulations adequately regulate such emissions.
(Sec. 335)Amends the CAA to prohibit states from implementing a cap and trade program that covers any capped emissions emitted during 2012-2017. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to make grants to air pollution control agencies for the purposes of assisting in the implementation of programs to address global warming under this Act.
(Sec. 338)Requires recipients of emission allowances to provide reasonable assurances that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on projects funded directly by or assisted by the federal government pursuant to this Act will receive the prevailing wage.
(Sec. 339)Requires the EPA Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the heads of other relevant agencies to report to Congress on setting forth a unified and comprehensive strategy to address the key legal, regulatory, technological, and other barriers to maximizing the potential for sustainable biological sequestration of carbon within the United States.
(Sec. 340)Requires the EPA Administrator to report to Congress on an analysis of the effects of different carbon dioxide reduction strategies and technologies on the emissions of mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide, which cause acid rain, particulate matter, ground level ozone, mercury contamination, and other environmental problems. Subtitle D: Carbon Market Assurance -
(Sec. 341)Amends the Federal Power Act to require FERC to promulgate regulations for the establishment, operation, and oversight of markets for regulated allowances. Sets forth enforcement provisions. Requires the President to establish an interagency working group on carbon market oversight. Requires FERC, in conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to report to the President and specified congressional committees on an analysis on the functioning of the allowance derivatives market.
(Sec. 342)Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to include within the definition of \"exempt commodity\" a commodity that is not an excluded commodity, an energy commodity, or any emission allowance, compensatory allowance, offset credit, or federal renewable electricity credit established under this Act. Subtitle E: Additional Market Assurance -
(Sec. 351)Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to:
(1) require energy derivatives to be traded on a CFTC-regulated exchange unless CFTC issues an exemption;
(2) require CFTC to fix limits, with respect to energy transactions, on the aggregate number of positions which may be held by any person for each month across all markets subject to the CFTC's jurisdiction;
(3) require CFTC to convene a Position Limit Energy Advisory Group to give CFTC recommendations on such position limits;
(4) give CFTC exclusive authority to grant exemptions for bona fide hedging transactions and positions from position limits imposed on energy transactions;
(5) revise provisions concerning bona fide hedging transactions; and
(6) require CFTC to issue a rule defining and classifying index traders and swap dealers for the purposes of data reporting requirements and setting routine detailed reporting requirements for any position of such entities in contracts traded on designated contract markets, over-the-counter markets, derivatives transaction execution facilities, foreign boards of trade, and electronic trading facilities with respect to significant price discovery contracts.
(Sec. 354)Requires that over-the-counter (OTC) derivative contracts, such as swaps, to be settled and cleared through a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) registered with CFTC. Expands registration requirements for DCOs, including requiring DCOs to:
(1) disclose information about the terms and conditions of contracts, the methodology for determining margin requirements, and data regarding prices, volume, and open interest; and
(2) adopt fitness standards for directors and certain other parties.
(Sec. 356)Requires CFTC to charge and collect fees from registered clearing organizations at a rate calculated to recover the cost to the federal government of the supervision and regulation of futures markets, except those directly related to enforcement. Establishes in the Treasury the Futures and Options Transaction Fee Account and requires such fees to be deposited into the Account.
(Sec. 359)Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize FERC to issue cease-and-desist orders for violations.
(Sec. 360)Requires the President, to review the offset regulations and derivatives regulations issued pursuant to this Act and determine whether such regulations adequately protect the U.S. financial system from systematic risk. Title IV: Transitioning to a Clean Energy Economy - Subtitle A: Ensuring Real Reductions in Industrial Emissions -
(Sec. 401)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator to publish by June 30, 2011, and update by February 1, 2013, and every four years thereafter a list of eligible industrial sectors for an emission allowance rebate program, including the amount of the emission allowance rebate per unit of production that shall be provided to entities in each eligible sector. Specifies that presumptively eligible sectors include sectors that meet energy or GHG intensity criteria and trade exposure criteria, or that have very high energy or GHG intensity. Authorizes an owner or operator of an entity in an industrial sector to petition the EPA Administrator to include its subsector under the program. Provides for the distribution of the emission allowance rebates. Phases out the rebates over a ten-year period beginning in 2026, unless modified by the President. Declares that it is the policy of the United States to work proactively under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and in other appropriate fora to establish binding agreements, including sectoral agreements, committing all major GHG-emitting nations to contribute equitably to the reduction of global GHG emissions. Requires the President to notify each foreign country with non-exempted products that the United States:
(1) seeks international agreements that commit all major emitting nations to contribute equitably to reducing GHG emissions;
(2) requests the country to take appropriate measures to limit its GHG emissions, and
(3) may apply the international reserve requirements of this subpart to a covered good beginning on January 1, 2020. Sets forth U.S. negotiating objectives with respect to multilateral environmental negotiations, including reaching an internationally binding agreement in which all major GHG-emitting countries contribute equitably to the reduction of global GHG emissions. Requires the President to:
(1) report to Congress, by January 1, 2017, and biannually thereafter, on the effectiveness of the distribution of emission allowance rebates in mitigating carbon leakage in eligible industrial sectors:
(2) establish, if there is no multilateral agreement on reducing GHGs in force by January 1, 2018, an international reserve allowance program for each eligible industrial sector unless the President determines and the Congress concurs that the program, or inclusion of a sector within that program, would not be in the nation's economic or environmental interests. Requires the President, beginning June 30, 2018, and every four years thereafter, to determine, for each eligible industrial sector, whether more than 85% of U.S. imports for that sector are from countries that:
(1) are parties to international agreements requiring economy-wide binding national commitments at least as stringent as those of the United States;
(2) have annual energy or GHG intensities for the sector comparable or better than the equivalent U.S. sector; or
(3) are parties to an international or bilateral emission reduction agreement for that sector. Requires the President, if a determination is made that that 85% or less of such imports have met at least one criteria, to:
(1) assess the effectiveness of rebates and the international reserve allowance program in mitigating the carbon leakage in that sector by June 30, 2018, and every four years thereafter;
(2) modify the rebate formula; and
(3) apply or continue to apply an international reserve allowance program with respect to the imports. Prohibits the President from applying such program if a determination is made that more than 85% of such imports are produced in countries that have met one or more of such criteria. Requires the EPA Administrator, with concurrence of the Commissioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to issue regulations establishing an international reserve allowance program for the sale, exchange, purchase, transfer, and banking of international reserve allowances for covered goods with respect to the eligible industrial sector. Prohibits:
(1) the program from beginning before January 1, 2020; and
(2) international reserve allowances from being used by covered entities to comply with emission requirements. Subtitle B: Green Jobs and Worker Transition - Part 1: Green Jobs -
(Sec. 421)Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible partnerships to develop programs of study that are focused on emerging careers and jobs in clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. Requires eligible partnerships to include:
(1) at least one local agency eligible for funding under the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (PCTEA) for secondary education programs or an area career and technical education school or education service agency;
(2) at least one post-secondary institution eligible for PCTEA funding; and
(3) representatives of the community with experience in clean energy.
(Sec. 422)Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to increase funding for demonstration, pilot, multiservice, research, and multistate projects. Establishes the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Fund for such projects.
(Sec. 423)Requires the Secretary of Labor, in collaboration with the Secretary and the Secretary of Education, to develop an internet based information and resources clearinghouse to aid career and technical education and job training programs for the renewable energy sectors. (Sec. 424A) Requires the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary, to establish a Green Construction Careers demonstration project to promote middle class careers and quality employment practices in the green construction sector among targeted workers and to advance efficiency and performance on construction projects related to this Act. Part 2: Climate Change Worker Adjustment Assistance -
(Sec. 425)Authorizes a group of workers, a union or authorized representative of such workers, or employers of such workers to petition for certification of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance. Requires the petition to be filed simultaneously with the Secretary of Labor and with the governor of the state where the workers are employed. Prohibits certification from applying to a worker whose last total or partial separation from the employment site before the worker's application occurred more than a year before the date of the petition. Sets forth program benefits and penalties for fraud. Subtitle C: Consumer Assistance -
(Sec. 431)Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to formulate and administer the Energy Refund Program, under which eligible low-income households are provided cash payments to reimburse the households for the estimated loss in their purchasing power resulting from this Act. Requires the agency of each participating state which administers the state's unemployment insurance law to assume responsibility for the certification of applicant households and the issuance of refunds.
(Sec. 432)Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for individuals who work but have no qualifying children.
(Sec. 433)Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund f sums necessary to account for changes brought on by this Act. Subtitle D: Exporting Clean Technology -
(Sec. 443)Requires the Secretary of State, or such other agency head designated by the President, to distribute allowances allocated under the CAA: for international clean technology deployment. Requires the President to establish an interagency group to administer the program to provide developing countries with assistance from the United States to encourage widespread deployment of technologies that reduce GHG emissions and to encourage developing countries to adopt policies and measures that will reduce GHG emissions.
(Sec. 446)Requires the President to:
(1) designate the Secretary of the Treasury to distribute emission allowances to the Global Environment Facility; and
(2) report to specified congressional committees on assistance provided under this subtitle. Prohibits activities that receive such assistance from being issued offset credits for the GHG reductions or avoidance, or GHG sequestration, produced by such activities. Subtitle E: Adapting to Climate Change - Part 1: Domestic Adaptation - Subpart A: National Climate Change Adaptation Program - Global Change Research and Data Management Act of 2009 -
(Sec. 451)Requires the President to establish or designate an interagency committee to ensure cooperation and coordination of all federal research activities pertaining to processes of global change for the purpose of increasing the overall effectiveness and productivity of federal global change research efforts. Requires such committee to include research and program representatives of agencies conducting global change research, agencies with authority over resources likely to be affected by global change, and agencies with authority to mitigate human-induced global change. Requires the President to:
(1) establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program to improve understanding of global change, to respond to the information needs of communities and decision makers, and to provide periodic assessments of the vulnerability of the United States and other regions to global and regional climate change;
(2) develop a National Global Change Research and Assessment Plan for Program implementation; and
(3) submit to Congress an outline of the Plan within a year, a completed Plan within three years, and revised plans at least once every five years thereafter. Requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to be the lead agency for the Program. Requires the President to enter into an agreement with NAS to:
(1) evaluate the scientific content of the Plan; and
(2) recommend priorities for future global and regional climate change research and assessment. Requires the President to enter into an agreement with the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices to:
(1) evaluate the utility to state, local, and regional decision makers of each Plan and of the anticipated and actual information outputs of the Program for development of state, local, and regional policies to reduce vulnerability to global change; and
(2) recommend priorities for future global and regional climate change research and assessment. Requires the President, within a year and at least every five years thereafter, to submit to Congress a vulnerability assessment that analyzes the effects of global change, summarizes the vulnerability of different regions of the world to global change, and analyzes the implications of global change for the United States. Requires the President, within a year and at least every four years thereafter, to enter into a joint agreement with the National Academy of Public Administration and NAS to conduct a policy assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation options. Requires the President to submit annual reports with agency budget requests describing:
(1) the activities of the Global Change Research Program in the preceding year;
(2) the activities planned for the next year; and
(3) the decision makers identified as potential users of information generated by such Program and the outreach activities to these groups. Requires the President to establish or designate a Global Change Research Information Exchange to make scientific research and other information produced through or utilized by the Program that would be useful in preventing, mitigating, or adapting to the effects of global change accessible through electronic means. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enter into an arrangements with NAS to study:
(1) the current status of ice sheet melt, as caused by climate change, with implications for global sea level rise; and
(2) the current state of the science on the potential impacts of climate change on patterns of hurricane and typhoon development and the implications for hurricane-prone and typhoon-prone coastal regions. Requires NAS to report to Congress on such studies within 18 months after enactment of this Act. Requires the President to establish or designate an interagency climate and other global change data management working group to make recommendations for coordinating federal climate and other global data management and archiving activities. Requires such group, within a year and every four years thereafter, to submit to Congress a report that: identifies gaps in data and recommends actions to fill those gaps; proposes a coordinated strategy for funding and allocating responsibilities among federal agencies for climate and other global change data collection, management, and retention; recommends a federal capital investment strategy; and evaluates optimal design of observation system components to ensure a cost-effective, adequate set of observations detecting and tracking global change.
(Sec. 452)National Climate Service Act of 2009 - Requires the President to:
(1) initiate a process through the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council, led by the Director of OSTP, to evaluate alternative structures to support a collaborative, interagency research and operational program to meet the needs of decision makers for information related to climate variability and change;
(2) provide a plan to establish such a program; and
(3) within three years after enactment of this Act, establish a National Climate Service to accomplish the program goal. Requires the OSTP Director to:
(1) report to Congress on current climate products provided by federal agencies and on the needs of users and stakeholders for new climate products and services; and
(2) report to Congress and the President on the National Climate Service proposal of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce to:
(1) establish a Climate Service Program, a Climate Service Office, a Climate Service Advisory Committee, and a Summer Institutes Program at the Regional Climate Centers for interaction with and training of students and educators on weather and climate sciences;
(2) operate the Climate Service Program;
(3) maintain a network of six Regional Climate Centers to work cooperatively with the State Climate Offices on data collection and exchange, research support, and state and local adaptation and response planning on climate;
(4) maintain a network of offices as part of the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program;
(5) ensure that the core functions and missions of the National Weather Service, the National Integrated Drought Information System, and any other programs within NOAA are not diminished or neglected by the establishment of the Climate Service Program or the duties imposed on such offices or programs;
(6) report to Congress on the need for climate services;
(7) prepare a plan for creating a Climate Service Program in NOAA and delivering climate products and services to NOAA users and stakeholders; and
(8) establish and maintain a clearinghouse of federal climate service products and links to agencies providing climate services. Requires the Climate Service Office to:
(1) coordinate NOAA programs to ensure the production and distribution of data on climate variability and change over all time scales;
(2) ensure operational quality control of all Climate Service Program products; and
(3) ensure a level of high-quality data collected through a national observation and monitoring infrastructure. Requires the Climate Service Program to:
(1) analyze the effects of weather and climate on communities;
(2) carry out observations, data collection, and monitoring of atmospheric and oceanic conditions;
(3) provide information and technical support to governmental efforts to assess and respond to climate variability and change;
(4) develop systems for the management and dissemination of data;
(5) conduct research to improve forecasting and understanding of weather and climate variability and change and its effects on communities; and
(6) develop tools to facilitate the use of climate information by local and regional stakeholders. Requires the Climate Service Advisory Committee to provide advice on:
(1) climate service product development;
(2) delivery of services to stakeholders;
(3) infrastructure to support observations and monitoring; and
(4) computation and modeling needs, research needs, and other resources needed to develop, distribute, and ensure the utility of climate data, products, and services. Establishes Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Teams to contribute to NOAA's efforts to deliver climate services in U.S. regions.
(Sec. 453)Requires the EPA Administrator or other federal agency heads designated by the President, by September 30 of each year from 2011-2049, to distribute allowances for the subsequent calendar year to states and tribes for projects to build resilience to impacts of climate change. Provides for the allocation and enforcement of allowances. Requires allowances to be sold within a year and proceeds to be deposited in the SEED Fund. Requires a state, in order to receive allowances, to gain approval of its climate adaptation plan within two years after enactment of this Act. Subpart B: Public Health and Climate Change -
(Sec. 463)Requires the Secretary of HHS to:
(1) publish a strategic action plan to assist health professionals in preparing for and responding to the impacts of climate change on public health within two years after enactment of this Act; and
(2) revise the plan by 2014 and every four years thereafter. Requires the Secretary of HHS, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies, to:
(1) assist health care professionals in preparing for and responding effectively and efficiently to the health effects of climate change; and
(2) provide funding for research on such effects and preparedness planning to respond to or reduce the burden of such effects.
(Sec. 464)Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish a permanent science advisory board to provide scientific and technical advice to the Secretary on domestic and international impacts of climate change on human health.
(Sec. 465)Requires the Secretary of HHS to seek to enter into an agreement with the National Research Council and the Institute of Medline to complete a report that:
(1) assesses the needs for health professionals to prepare for and respond to climate change impacts on public health; and
(2) recommends programs to meet those needs.
(Sec. 467)Establishes in the Treasury the Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Fund for the implementation of health and climate change provisions. Subpart C: Natural Resource Adaptation -
(Sec. 472)Declares that it is federal policy to use all practicable means and measures to protect, restore, and conserve natural resources to enable them to become more resilient, adapt to, and withstand the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.
(Sec. 474)Requires the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to:
(1) advise the President on implementation and development of a Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and federal natural resource agency adaptation plans;
(2) serve as Chair of the Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel; and
(3) coordinate such strategies and activities.
(Sec. 475)Requires the President to:
(1) establish the Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel to serve as a forum for interagency consultation on and the coordination of the development and implementation of a Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; and
(2) develop such Strategy to protect, restore, and conserve natural resources to enable them to become more resilient to, adapt to, and withstand the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification and to identify opportunities to mitigate those impacts. Outlines the Strategy's content. Requires the Strategy to be revised every five years. Requires agencies with representation on the Panel to consider the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification and integrate the elements of the Strategy into agency plans, environmental reviews, programs, and activities related to the conservation, restoration, and management of natural resources.
(Sec. 477)Requires the Secretary of Commerce, acting through NOAA, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), to assess and address the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on natural resources. Requires the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to undertake, every five years, a climate change and ocean acidification impact survey that:
(1) identifies natural resources considered likely to be adversely affected by climate change and ocean acidification;
(2) includes baseline monitoring and ongoing trend analysis;
(3) identifies and prioritizes needed monitoring and research; and
(4) identifies decision tools necessary to develop strategies for assisting natural resources in becoming more resilient and adapting to and withstanding the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National Climate Change Wildlife Science Center within USGS to:
(1) assess current physical and biological knowledge and prioritize scientific gaps in such knowledge to forecast the ecological impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife at the ecosystem, habitat, community, population, and species levels;
(2) develop and improve tools to identify, evaluate, and link scientific approaches and models for forecasting impacts of climate change;
(3) develop and evaluate tools to adaptively manage and monitor climate change impacts; and
(4) develop capacities for sharing such data. Requires the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to establish a Science Advisory Board to:
(1) advise the Secretaries on science regarding such impacts and strategies for protecting, restoring, and conservation natural resources; and
(2) identify and recommend priorities for research on such issues.
(Sec. 478)Requires each federal agency represented on the Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel to complete a Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Plan within a year after enactment of this Act. Requires such plans to be submitted to Congress within 30 days after approval by the President.
(Sec. 479)Requires each state to prepare a natural resources adaptation plan detailing the state's current and projected efforts to address the potential impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on natural resources and coastal areas in order to be eligible for funds under this subpart.
(Sec. 480)Requires 100% of emission allowances made available for this subpart to be provided to states for natural resource adaptation activities under such state plans. Establishes the Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Fund in the Treasury. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to allocate specified percentages of amounts made available each year under this subpart for various activities and programs of the Department of the Interior, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Forest Service, the Department of Commerce, EPA, and the Corps of Engineers.
(Sec. 481)Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a National Fish and Wildlife Habitat and Corridors Information Program to support states and Indian tribes in developing a geographic information system of fish and wildlife habitat and corridors for information and modeling of climate change impacts and adaptation and to enhance state wildlife action plans. Requires the Secretary to develop a Habitat and Corridors Information System that includes maps and data on fish and wildlife habitat corridors and that identifies, prioritizes, and describes key parcels of non-federal land located within the boundaries of specified types of public land that are critical to maintenance of wildlife habitat and migration corridors. Part 2: International Climate Change Adaptation Program -
(Sec. 491)Requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of USAID, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the EPA Administrator, to establish an International Climate Change Adaptation Program. Provides for the distribution of international adaptation emission allowances under the CAA under such Program. Subtitle F: Deficit Neutral Budgetary Treatment -
(1) the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Fund, the Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Fund, and the Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Fund to be treated as separate accounts in the Treasury; and
(2) amounts appropriated to such Funds to be only available for the purposes set forth under this Act. Title V: Agricultural and Forestry Related Offsets - Subtitle A: Offset Credit Program From Domestic Agricultural and Forestry Sources -
(Sec. 502)Requires the Secretary to establish a program governing the generation of offset credits from domestic agricultural and forestry sources to ensure that:
(1) offset credits represent verifiable and additional GHG emission reductions or avoidance, or increased sequestration; and
(2) offset credits issued for sequestration offset projects are only issued for GHG reductions that result in a permanent net reduction in atmospheric GHGs.
(Sec. 503)Requires the Secretary to publish a list of domestic agricultural and forestry practice types that are eligible to generate offset credits. Requires the initial list to include specified practices, including:
(1) agricultural, grassland, and rangeland sequestration and management practices;
(2) changes in carbon stocks attributed to land use change and forestry activities; and
(3) manure management and disposal. Requires the Secretary to:
(1) add to and revise the list every two years;
(2) consider petitions to add practices to the list;
(3) establish methodologies for the offset practices listed;
(4) establish requirements to account for and address offset reversals; and
(5) establish a crediting period for each offset practice type within an offset project.
(Sec. 505)Requires an offset project developer to submit to the Secretary of Agriculture an offset project plan for approval. Describes the process by which an offset project developer seeks approval for a particular offset project.
(Sec. 506)Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish requirements to verify:
(1) that offset practices in an approved offset project plan have been implemented; and
(2) the quantity of GHG reductions or avoidance, or sequestration of GHGs, resulting from such a practice. Requires such regulations to direct developers to submit a report prepared by a third-party verifier.
(Sec. 507)Describes the process by which an offset credit is certified. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to:
(1) issue an offset credit to an offset project developer for each ton of carbon dioxide equivalent that has been reduced, avoided, or sequestered; and
(2) obtain from EPA a unique serial number to register each offset credit.
(Sec. 508)Authorizes an offset credit from domestic agricultural and forestry sources to be sold, traded, or transferred, unless it has expired or has been retired.
(Sec. 509)Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to review the offset program once every five years.
(Sec. 510)Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, if he or she lists forestry practices as eligible offset practice types, to promulgate regulations for the selection and use of species in forestry and other relevant land management-related offset practices to:
(1) ensure that native species are given primary consideration in such practices;
(2) encourage the conservation of biological diversity; and
(3) prohibit the use noxious weeds or invasive plants.
(Sec. 511)Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct random audits of offset projects, offset credits, and the practices of third-party verifiers. Subtitle B: USDA Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Sequestration Advisory Committee -
(Sec. 531)Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an independent USDA Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Sequestration Advisory Committee to provide scientific and technical advice on establishing, implementing, and ensuring the overall environmental integrity of an offset program for domestic agriculture and forestry practices that reduce or avoid GHG emissions or sequester GHGs. Requires the Committee, by January 1, 2017, and every five years thereafter, to provide an analysis to the Secretary of Agriculture and the public of the agricultural and forestry offset program. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous -
(Sec. 551)Amends the CAA to exclude from requirements regarding lifecycle GHG emissions indirect land use changes outside the renewable fuel's feedstock's country of origin for purposes of determining whether a fuel meets renewable fuel requirements. Requires the EPA Administrator and the Secretary of Agriculture to:
(1) arrange for NAS to review and report on issues related to indirect GHG emissions related to transportation fuels, including a study on whether models exist or can be developed to adequately predict international indirect land use change from biofuels; and
(2) determine, within five years, whether methodologies can be developed to predict these changes and, if so, promulgate new regulations on determining those emissions. Requires such regulations to take effect within six years.
(Sec. 552)Amends the CAA to require the EPA Administrator to promulgate regulations exempting from the lifecycle GHG requirements up to the greater of 1 billion gallons or the volume mandate adopted pursuant to the renewable fuel program of biomass-based diesel annually from facilities that commenced construction before enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 553)Requires the EPA Administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, and FERC to jointly arrange for NAS to evaluate how sources of renewable biomass contribute to the goals of increasing America's energy independence, protecting the environment, and reducing global warming pollution. Authorizes the EPA Administrator and FERC, after reviewing the NAS evaluation, to independently modify the non-federal lands portion of the definition of \"renewable biomass\" under the renewable fuel program to advance such goals. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the EPA Administrator to conduct a scientific review of how sources of biomass from federal lands could contribute to such goals. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the EPA Administrator to modify the definition of \"renewable biomass,\" as it applies to federal lands, to advance such goals.
...Read the Rest
Organizations Supporting H.R.2454
- Sierra Club
- Union of Concerned Scientists
- One Sky
- Clean Water Action
- American Rivers
- Environmental Defense Fund
- ...and 55 more. See all.
Organizations Opposing H.R.2454
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- Friends of the Earth
- Rainforest Action Network
- Public Citizen
- Murray Energy Corporation
- ...and 12 more. See all.
Latest Letters to Congress
H.R.2454 American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009
November 03, 2011
I am writing as your constituent in the 4th Congressional district of Indiana. I am writing as your constituent in the 4th Congressional district of Indiana. I support H.R.2454 - American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.
H.R.2454 American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009
November 02, 2011
I am writing as your constituent in the 4th Congressional district of Kentucky. I support H.R.2454 - American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.