[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5435 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5435
To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of the United
States Forest Service to meet certain targets for the reduction of the
emission of greenhouse gases, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 16, 2019
Mr. Grijalva (for himself, Ms. Haaland, Mr. Levin of California, Mr.
Sablan, Ms. DeGette, Mr. McEachin, and Mr. Lowenthal) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and
Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of the United
States Forest Service to meet certain targets for the reduction of the
emission of greenhouse gases, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``American Public
Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act of 2019''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is the
following:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Public lands energy and climate policy.
Sec. 3. Public lands greenhouse gas reduction targets and requirements.
Sec. 4. Online publication of greenhouse gas emissions.
Sec. 5. Public lands greenhouse gas reduction strategic plan.
Sec. 6. Revenues for transition assistance.
Sec. 7. Economic revitalization for fossil fuel dependent communities.
Sec. 8. Office of Climate Change Mitigation and Planning.
Sec. 9. Definitions.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC LANDS ENERGY AND CLIMATE POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States that--
(1) the United States should aggressively reduce greenhouse
gas emissions from United States public lands and oceans and
strive to achieve net-zero emissions as soon as possible;
(2) public lands should be managed to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and co-pollutant emissions and to respond to
unavoidable impacts of climate change through increased
resilience of ecosystems and wildlife habitats in accordance
with the principles of multiple use and sustained yield;
(3) the protection of ocean ecosystems is vital to
promoting ocean health and increasing resilience to climate
change, and conservation of United States marine resources is
one of the best ways to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere;
(4) energy development decisions on public lands and oceans
should be guided by the goals of--
(A) protecting human well-being, biodiversity, and
the environment;
(B) avoiding the most harmful impacts of climate
change; and
(C) promoting a rapid, sustainable, just, and
equitable transition to a clean energy economy; and
(5) environmental justice communities are more vulnerable
to the effects of emissions from public lands and oceans and
often have the least resources to respond; thus, they should be
meaningfully engaged in government decision making as our
Nation reduces emissions from public lands and oceans and
builds its climate resilience against the effects of those
emissions.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC LANDS GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION TARGETS AND REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Fossil Fuel Leasing Pause.--Notwithstanding other mineral
leasing laws, the Secretary shall not hold new lease sales for coal,
oil, or gas for one year after enactment of this Act, and until the
Secretary--
(1) certifies, in accordance with all applicable laws, that
additional fossil fuel leasing on public lands is not
inconsistent with achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
from public lands by 2040; and
(2) releases the first Public Lands Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Strategic Plan as required under section 5.
(b) Emission Reduction Targets.--The Secretary and the Chief shall
reduce net emissions associated with the extraction and end-use
combustion of fossil fuels produced from public lands in the United
States to meet the following targets:
(1) A reduction of net emissions of not less than 35
percent of the baseline identified in subsection (c) by January
1, 2025.
(2) A reduction of net emissions of not less than 60
percent of the baseline identified in subsection (c) by January
1, 2030.
(3) A reduction of net emissions of not less than 80
percent of the baseline identified in subsection (c) by January
1, 2035.
(4) Net-zero emissions by January 1, 2040.
(c) Baseline Inventory of Public Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and
Sinks.--The Secretary and the Chief shall use the 2014 estimate of
greenhouse gas emissions and sinks as identified by the United States
Geological Survey in Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5131,
``Federal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequestration in the
United States: Estimates for 2005-14'', published on November 23, 2018,
as the baseline when acting to meet the targets established in
subsection (b).
(d) Study Examining Avoided Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon
Sequestration.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make appropriate
arrangements with the National Academies under which the
National Academies shall conduct a study that examines how the
executive branch, including the Department of the Interior, the
Department of Agriculture, the United States Forest Service,
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the
Executive Office of the President can meet the net emission
reduction targets under subsection (b) by--
(A) reducing total emissions;
(B) deploying renewable energy projects on public
lands;
(C) increasing carbon capture, storage,
utilization, and sequestration on public lands through
both nature-based and technological solutions, except
the National Academies shall not consider ocean
fertilization or climate engineering actions that
involve increasing carbon storage of ocean ecosystems
through technological means;
(D) increasing carbon storage of federally managed
wetlands, mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass
meadows; and
(E) any other technically feasible actions.
(2) Deadline.--The National Academies shall complete such
study not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(3) Recommendations.--Following completion of such study,
the National Academies shall provide recommendations for
administrative actions and legislation that can help meet the
net emission reduction targets established under subsection
(b).
(e) Verification.--
(1) Requirements.--The Director of the United States
Geological Survey shall, in consultation with the National
Academies, establish the methodology for verification of the
reduction in net emissions.
(2) Determination.--By June 1 of each year following a
target year specified in subsection (b)--
(A) the Director of the United States Geological
Survey shall determine if the Secretary and the Chief
have met the emission reduction targets identified in
subsection (b); and
(B) shall make such determination and any data
supporting such determination available on the public
online dashboard required by section 5(g).
(f) Enforcement.--
(1) No new fossil fuel permits or lease sales.--If the
Director of the United States Geological Survey determines that
net emissions from public lands have exceeded the targets in
the Strategy, the Secretary shall not approve new fossil fuel
permits and shall not hold new fossil fuel lease sales until a
certification and public notice by such Director that net
emissions are below the target level for the most recent
calendar year.
(2) Certification.--The Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Senate and the
Committee on Natural Resources in the House of Representatives
a certification within 30 days of each statutory deadline for
the required emission reductions. Notice of the certification
shall be published in the Federal Register on or before the
date the certification is due to Congress.
(3) Judicial enforcement.--Any interested party can seek
judicial review in Federal district court for failure to
complete the required certification by the statutory deadline.
(g) Environmental Justice Communities.--
(1) In general.--When taking any action to meet the
emission reduction targets established in subsection (b), the
Secretary and the Chief shall--
(A) prioritize reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions and co-pollutants that will affect an
environmental justice community; and
(B) ensure that such action does not result in a
net increase of co-pollutant emissions or otherwise
have a disparate impact on an environmental justice
community.
(2) Identification of environmental justice communities.--
The Secretary, in consultation with other relevant agencies,
shall establish by regulation criteria for identifying
environmental justice communities for the purposes of paragraph
(1).
SEC. 4. ONLINE PUBLICATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make freely available on a
public website, with respect to the previous year--
(1) information that describes for each fossil fuel
operation that is subject to the mineral leasing laws or title
III or V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
(30 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), regardless of size, including
production, storage, gathering, processing, transportation, and
handling operations--
(A) the aggregate amount of each fossil fuel, by
type and by State, produced on Federal leases; and
(B) for gas reported, the portion and source of
such amount that was released or disposed of by each of
venting, flaring, and fugitive release; and
(2) information that describes the amount and sources of
energy, in delivered megawatt hours, produced from operating
solar, wind, and geothermal projects on public lands under
lease for the production of renewable energy.
(b) Format.--Information made available under this section shall be
presented in a format that--
(1) translates such amounts and portions into emissions of
metric tons of greenhouse gases expressed in carbon dioxide
equivalent using both the 20-year and 100-year Global Warming
Potential-weighted emission values;
(2) for energy produced from solar, wind, and geothermal
projects, includes an estimate of the net emissions that would
result from production of the same amount of energy from new
fossil fuel-fired facilities; and
(3) can be downloaded in a machine readable format.
(c) Data Publication Frequency.--The data made available under this
section shall be updated at least annually.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC LANDS GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION STRATEGIC PLAN.
(a) Requirement To Publish Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy.--The
Secretary and the Chief, working with the heads of other Federal
agencies as the Secretary and Chief determine appropriate, shall
jointly develop and publish once every 4 years a Public Lands
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy. Each Strategy shall include--
(1) actions designed to reduce net emissions to meet the
targets described in section 3(b); and
(2) annual net emission reduction targets for intervening
years.
(b) Public Comment Period.--At least 6 months before the date of
publication of the Strategy, the Secretary and the Chief shall jointly
publish a draft Strategy which shall be open for public comment for 60
days.
(c) Updates to Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy.--The Secretary
and the Chief may jointly update the Strategy at any time between 4-
year periods if the changes include modifications to the targets
described in section 3(b) that the Secretary and the Chief jointly
determine will result in lower net emissions compared to the original
such targets.
(d) Consultations Required.--In developing the Strategy, the
Secretary and the Chief shall consult with--
(1) the Secretary of Energy with regard to energy
transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure in the
United States, technology deployment, and the renewable energy
resource potential on public lands;
(2) the Director of the United States Geological Survey
with regard to the estimated net emissions associated with the
extraction and end-use combustion of fossil fuels produced from
public lands, the source of the emissions, and the carbon
sequestration potential of those lands;
(3) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency with regard to--
(A) carbon capture and geologic storage; and
(B) the implications for and the impacts on
environmental justice communities; and
(4) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration with regard to strategies to protect
and strengthen the carbon sequestration potential of ocean and
coastal ecosystems.
(e) Input.--In developing the Strategy, the Secretary and the Chief
shall solicit the input of--
(1) State and local governments and federally recognized
Indian Tribes; and
(2) scientists and technical experts within the United
States Global Change Research Program and other government and
independent science and policy experts.
(f) Considerations.--In developing the Strategy, the Secretary and
the Chief shall consider the following:
(1) The recommendations proposed by the National Academies
pursuant to section 3(d).
(2) The relative resiliency of United States communities,
including the proportion of State budgets directly derived from
Federal energy revenues, and if available, any plans to replace
such lost revenue, to the phase out of fossil fuels and the
varying abilities of communities to cope with any changes that
would be mandated by this Strategy.
(3) Ways to support workers in the fossil fuel sector and
related industries that rely on the fossil fuel supply-chain
for economic and job security.
(4) The need to stop current, prevent future, and repair
historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of
color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities,
depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers,
women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities,
LGBTQ people, and youth.
(5) How achieving the net emission reduction targets may
help meet other policy priorities and goals of both the
Department of the Interior and other departments and agencies,
including increasing economic competitiveness, increasing the
number of high-quality jobs in the United States, strengthening
national security, and creating a Nation resilient to impacts
of climate change.
(6) The impacts of climate change on resources managed by
the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service,
including the National Park System, wildlife habitat, ocean and
marine ecosystems, and water supplies.
(7) The impacts of climate change on recreation on public
lands and the outdoor recreation economy.
(8) Impacts on United States communities where fossil fuel-
fired generating facilities and fossil fuel processing
facilities are located and are likely to shutdown.
(9) Actions and steps that can be taken to mitigate
projected unavoidable impacts of climate change.
(10) How improvements to Federal oil and gas permitting and
leasing procedures may result in a reduction of net emissions
from public lands.
(11) The potential net emission reduction and climate
resilience benefits of reclaiming abandoned mine land, plugging
and properly abandoning orphaned wells, and conducting other
land reclamation and natural resource restoration activities.
(12) How the remediation and decommissioning of Forest
Service roads can increase the health and carbon sequestration
potential of ecosystems and increase the resilience of public
lands to climate change.
(13) The co-benefits of natural carbon sequestration
projects, including increases in shade, green space, and
healthy wetlands, and the importance of prioritizing these
projects in environmental justice communities.
(g) Publication of Contents of Final Strategy on Online
Dashboard.--The Secretary shall publish the contents of each final
Strategy on an online public dashboard, which shall include--
(1) the progress made toward meeting the greenhouse gas
reduction targets established in section 3;
(2) the annual net emission reduction targets identified by
the Secretary and the Chief under subsection (a)(2), and any
subsequent updates made to such annual targets;
(3) the actions the Secretary and the Chief have taken and
intend to take to achieve the net emission reduction targets;
(4) all public comments received during the 60-day comment
period required by subsection (b); and
(5) responses from the Secretary and the Chief to all
comments from State or Tribal governments received during such
comment period, including an explanation of why any such
recommendations received by the Secretary were not implemented.
SEC. 6. REVENUES FOR TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.
(a) Mineral Leasing Revenue.--The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.
181 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 7, by striking ``12 \1/2\'' and inserting
``18.75'';
(2) in section 17--
(A) by striking ``12.5'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``18.75''; and
(B) by striking ``12 \1/2\'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``18.75'';
(3) in section 31(e), by striking ``16\2/3\'' each place
such term appears and inserting ``25'';
(4) in section 17, by striking ``Lease sales shall be held
for each State where eligible lands are available at least
quarterly and more frequently if the Secretary of the Interior
determines such sales are necessary.''; and
(5) in section 35--
(A) by striking ``All'' and inserting ``(1) All'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any funds collected as
a result of the amendments made by section 6(a) of the American
Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act of 2019 shall be
distributed consistent with the manner provided in section 6(d)
of such Act.''.
(b) Conservation of Resources Fees.--There is established a
Conservation of Resources Fee of $4 per acre per year on producing
Federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leases.
(c) Speculative Leasing Fee.--There is established a Speculative
Leasing Fee of $6 per acre per year for Federal oil and gas
nonproducing leases on and offshore.
(d) Deposit.--
(1) All funds collected pursuant to subsections (b) and (c)
shall be deposited in the Federal Energy Transition Economic
Development Assistance Fund established in section 7.
(2) Fifty percent of funds collected as a result of the
amendments made by this section shall be deposited in the
Federal Energy Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund
established in section 7.
(3) Fifty percent of funds collected as a result of the
amendments made by this section shall be returned to the States
where production occurred.
(e) Adjustment for Inflation.--The Secretary shall, by regulation
at least once every four years, adjust each fee created by this section
to reflect any change in the Consumer Price Index (all items, United
States city average) as prepared by the Department of Labor.
SEC. 7. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES.
(a) Establishment of Federal Energy Transition Economic Development
Assistance Fund.--There is established in the Treasury of the United
States a fund, to be known as the ``Federal Energy Transition Economic
Development Assistance Fund''. Such fund consists of amounts deposited
under section 6.
(b) Distribution of Funds.--Of the amounts deposited into the
Fund--
(1) 35 percent shall be distributed by the Secretary to
States in which extraction of fossil fuels occurs on public
lands, based on a formula reflecting existing production and
extraction in each such State;
(2) 35 percent shall be distributed by the Secretary to
States based on a formula reflecting the quantity of fossil
fuels historically produced and extracted in each such State on
public lands before the date of enactment of this Act; and
(3) 30 percent shall be allocated to a competitive grant
program pursuant to subsection (d).
(c) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Funds distributed by the Secretary to
States under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) may be
used for--
(A) environmental remediation of lands and waters
impacted by fossil fuel extraction and mining;
(B) building partnerships to attract and invest in
the economic future of historically fossil fuel
dependent communities;
(C) increasing capacity and other technical
assistance fostering long-term economic growth and
opportunity in historically fossil fuel dependent
communities;
(D) guaranteeing pensions and retirement security
and providing a bridge of wage support until a
displaced worker either finds new employment or reaches
retirement;
(E) severance payments for displaced workers; or
(F) carbon sequestration projects in natural
systems on public lands and private agricultural lands.
(d) Competitive Grant Program.--The Secretary shall establish a
competitive grant program to provide funds to eligible entities for the
purposes described in paragraph (2).
(1) Eligible entities.--Local, State, and Tribal
governments, development districts (as such term is defined in
section 382E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
(7 U.S.C. 2009aa-4)), nonprofits, labor unions, and
institutions of higher education (as such term is defined in
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001)).
(2) Eligible use of funds.--The Secretary may award grants
from amounts in the Fund for the purposes listed in subsection
(c) and for--
(A) existing job retraining and apprenticeship
programs for impacted workers or for programs designed
to promote economic development in communities affected
by a downturn in fossil fuel extraction and mining;
(B) developing projects that diversify local and
regional economies, create jobs in new or existing non-
fossil fuel industries, attract new sources of job-
creating investment, and provide a range of workforce
services and skills training; and
(C) the development and support of a clean energy--
(i) certificate program at a labor
organization; or
(ii) a major or minor program at an
institution of higher education, as such term
is defined in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(3) Priority to displaced workers.--In awarding grants
under this subsection, the Secretary shall place a priority on
assisting displaced workers in the fossil fuel mining and
extraction industries.
(e) Just Transition Advisory Committee.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an
advisory committee to be known as the ``Just Transition
Advisory Committee''.
(2) Chair.--The Director of the Office of Climate Change
Mitigation and Planning, established in section 8, shall Chair
the Advisory Committee.
(3) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall--
(A) advise, assist, and support the Secretary in
the management and allocation of funds available under
subsection (b) and in the establishment and
administration of the Competitive Grant Program under
subsection (d); and
(B) develop procedures to ensure that States and
applicants eligible to participate in the competitive
grant program established pursuant to subsection (d)
are notified of availability of Federal funds pursuant
to this Act.
(4) Membership.--The total membership of the Advisory
Committee shall not exceed 24 members and the Advisory
Committee shall be composed of the following members appointed
by the Director of the Office of Climate Change Mitigation and
Planning:
(A) A representative of the Assistant Secretary of
Commerce for Economic Development.
(B) A representative of the Secretary of Labor.
(C) A representative of the Under Secretary for
Rural Development.
(D) Two individuals with professional economic
development or workforce retraining experience.
(E) An equal number of representatives from each of
the following:
(i) Labor unions.
(ii) Nonprofit environmental organizations.
(iii) Environmental justice organizations.
(iv) Fossil fuel transition communities.
(v) Public interest groups.
(vi) Indian Tribes.
(5) Termination.--The Just Transition Advisory Committee
shall not terminate except by an Act of Congress.
(f) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
(1) Administrative costs.--Not more than 7 percent of the
amounts in the Fund may be used for administrative costs
incurred in implementing this Act.
(2) Limitation on funds to a single entity.--Not more than
5 percent of the amounts in the Fund may be awarded to a single
eligible entity.
(3) Calendar year limitation.--At least 15 percent of the
amount in the Fund must be spent in each calendar year.
(g) Wage Rate Requirements.--The Secretary shall require each
recipient of funds under this section to meet the prevailing wage
requirements under chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of
title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Davis-Bacon
Act''), with respect to any laborer or mechanic employed using such
funds, including those employed by contractors or subcontractors.
(h) Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods.--None of
the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be
used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or
repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron,
steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the
United States unless such manufactured good is not produced in the
United States.
(i) Submission to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Appropriations and Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate and to the Committees on Appropriations and Natural Resources in
the House of Representatives, with the annual budget submission of the
President, a list of projects, including a description of each project,
that received funding under this section in the previous calendar year.
SEC. 8. OFFICE OF CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND PLANNING.
(a) Establishment of Office of Climate Change Mitigation and
Planning.--The Secretary shall establish an Office of Climate Change
Mitigation and Planning (referred to in this section as the
``Office''), which shall oversee implementation of this Act. The Office
shall be under the direction of the Director of Climate Change
Mitigation and Planning (referred to in this section as the
``Director'') who shall report directly to the Secretary.
(b) Director of Climate Change Mitigation and Planning.--
(1) Appointment.--The Director shall be appointed by the
President to administer the provisions of this Act.
(2) Compensation.--The Director shall be paid at a rate
determined by the Secretary to be appropriate for the position,
but not less than the rate provided for Level V of the
Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States
Code.
(c) Functions.--The duties of the Office are to implement this Act
and to--
(1) oversee the tracking of all greenhouse gas emission
sources and sinks on public lands;
(2) coordinate across the Federal Government to ensure the
net emission targets are met; and
(3) oversee and manage the distribution of funds as
required by section 7.
(d) Staff and Consultants.--
(1) Staff.--The Director may employ such staff as the
Director determines appropriate. The Director may request staff
assistance from within the Department of the Interior and any
office or Bureau thereof as the Director deems necessary.
(2) Contracts.--To the extent and in such amounts as may be
provided in advance by appropriations Acts, the Director may
enter into contracts and other arrangements with public
agencies and with private persons and organizations for
consulting services and make such payments as necessary to
carry out the provisions of this section.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advisory committee.--The term ``Advisory Committee''
means the Just Transition Advisory Committee established by
section 7.
(2) Chief.--The term ``Chief'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture acting through the Chief of the United States
Forest Service.
(3) Co-pollutant.--The term ``co-pollutant'' means air
pollutants, as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency,
including volatile organic compounds and hazardous air
pollutants that may be commingled and coemitted with greenhouse
gases.
(4) Environmental justice community.--The term
``environmental justice community'' means a geographically
distinct community with significant representation of
communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and
indigenous communities that experience or are at risk of
experiencing significantly higher and more adverse human health
or environmental effects.
(5) Disparate impact.--The term ``disparate impact'' means
an impact that, though appearing neutral, actually has the
effect of subjecting persons to discrimination because of their
race, color, or national origin.
(6) Displaced worker.--The term ``displaced worker'' means
an individual who, due to efforts to reduce net emissions from
public lands or as a result of a downturn in fossil fuel
mining, extraction, or production, has suffered a reduction in
employment or economic opportunities.
(7) Flaring.--The term ``flaring'' means the intentional
and controlled burning of gas that occurs in the course of oil
and gas or coal operations.
(8) Fossil fuel.--The term ``fossil fuel'' means coal,
petroleum, natural gas, tar sands, oil shale, or any derivative
of coal, petroleum, or natural gas.
(9) Fossil fuel transition communities.--The term ``fossil
fuel transition communities'' means communities in which the
economic contribution of fossil fuel mining, extraction, or
production-related activity on public lands has significantly
declined or that have historically relied on fossil fuel
mining, extraction, or production-related activity on public
lands for a substantial portion of its economy.
(10) Fugitive release.--The term ``fugitive release'' means
the unintentional and uncontrolled release of gas into the
atmosphere in the course of oil and gas or coal operations.
(11) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Federal Energy
Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund.
(12) Global warming potential-weighted emission.--The term
``Global Warming Potential-weighted emission'' means the ratio
of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous
release of 1 kilogram of a trace substance relative to that of
1 kilogram of carbon dioxide, measured in metric tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent for each greenhouse gas according to the
most recent, and any subsequent, decisions by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regarding global
warming potentials.
(13) Greenhouse gas.--The term ``greenhouse gas'' means--
(A) carbon dioxide;
(B) methane;
(C) nitrous oxide;
(D) hydrofluorocarbons;
(E) perfluorocarbons;
(F) sulfur hexafluoride; or
(G) any other anthropogenically emitted gas that is
determined by the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, after notice and comment, to
contribute to global warming to a non-negligible
degree.
(14) LGBTQ.--The term ``LGBTQ'' means lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning.
(15) Multiple use.--The term ``multiple use'' has the same
meaning given such term in section 103 of the Federal Land and
Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
(16) National academies.--The term ``National Academies''
means the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine.
(17) Net biome productivity.--The term ``net biome
productivity'' means the absolute change in carbon stored
within terrestrial ecosystems on an annual basis. The net biome
productivity is determined by subtracting terrestrial ecosystem
carbon losses associated with land use and land-use change and
disturbance from the net ecosystem productivity as described in
United States Geological Survey Scientific Investigations
Report 2018-5131.
(18) Net emissions.--The term ``net emissions'' means the
total greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction
and end-use combustion of fossil fuels produced from United
States public lands in a year as measured by the United States
Geological Survey and reduced in the same year by--
(A) the total avoided emissions from generation of
renewable energy on public lands as determined by using
the Environmental Protection Agency's AVoided Emissions
and geneRation Tool, or a similar Environmental
Protection Agency calculation for the national average
of carbon dioxide equivalent associated with United
States electricity generation as of January 1, 2020;
(B) the net biome productivity of public lands at
the end of each target year;
(C) the total amount of new geologically
sequestered carbon on public lands in each target year;
and
(D) other carbon captured by negative emissions
technologies and sequestered, as determined by the
Secretary and Chief in each target year.
(19) Nonproducing lease.--The term ``nonproducing lease''
means any lease where oil or natural gas is produced for less
than 90 days in a calendar year.
(20) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means any land
and interest in land owned by the United States within the
several States and administered by the Secretary or the Chief,
without regard to how the United States acquired ownership,
including lands located on the Outer Continental Shelf but
excluding lands held in trust for an Indian or Indian Tribe.
(21) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, unless the context requires otherwise.
(22) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the Federal
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy required to be developed and
published under section 3.
(23) Sustained yield.--The term ``sustained yield'' has the
same meaning given such term in section 103 of the Federal Land
and Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
(24) Venting.--The term ``venting'' means the intentional
and controlled release of gas into the atmosphere in the course
of oil, gas, or coal operations.
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