Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2023
This bill sets forth provisions regarding development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy on public lands.
The Department of the Interior shall establish priority areas on its land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects, consistent with the principles of multiple use and the renewable energy permitting goal.
Among applications for a given renewable energy source, proposed projects located in priority areas for that renewable energy source shall
The bill provides for the disposition of revenues from the development of wind or solar energy.
The bill establishes the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to make funds available to federal, state, and tribal agencies for distribution in regions in which renewable energy projects are located on federal land for (1) restoring and protecting natural water bodies and fish and wildlife habitat and corridors, and (2) preserving and improving recreational access to federal land and water in an affected region.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 178 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 178
To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 2023
Mr. Levin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, 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 promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Public Land Renewable Energy
Development Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Land use planning; updates to programmatic environmental impact
statements.
Sec. 5. Limited grandfathering.
Sec. 6. Disposition of revenues.
Sec. 7. Savings.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means land
that is--
(A) Federal lands administered by the Secretary;
and
(B) not excluded from the development of
geothermal, solar, or wind energy under--
(i) a land use plan; or
(ii) other Federal law.
(2) Exclusion area.--The term ``exclusion area'' means
covered land that is identified by the Bureau of Land
Management as not suitable for development of renewable energy
projects.
(3) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
(A) public lands; and
(B) lands of the National Forest System as
described in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.
1609(a)).
(4) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Renewable Energy
Resource Conservation Fund established by section 6(c)(1).
(5) Land use plan.--The term ``land use plan'' means--
(A) in regard to Federal land, a land use plan
established under the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(B) in regard to National Forest System lands, a
land management plan approved, amended, or revised
under section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).
(6) Priority area.--The term ``priority area'' means
covered land identified by the land use planning process of the
Bureau of Land Management as being a preferred location for a
renewable energy project, including a designated leasing area
(as defined in section 2801.5(b) of title 43, Code of Federal
Regulations (or a successor regulation)) that is identified
under the rule of the Bureau of Land Management entitled
``Competitive Processes, Terms, and Conditions for Leasing
Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy Development and
Technical Changes and Corrections'' (81 Fed. Reg. 92122
(December 19, 2016)) (or a successor regulation).
(7) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the
meaning given that term in section 103 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
(8) Renewable energy project.--The term ``renewable energy
project'' means a project carried out on covered land that uses
wind, solar, or geothermal energy to generate energy.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(10) Variance area.--The term ``variance area'' means
covered land that is--
(A) not an exclusion area;
(B) not a priority area; and
(C) identified by the Secretary as potentially
available for renewable energy development and could be
approved without a plan amendment, consistent with the
principles of multiple use (as defined in the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701
et seq.)).
SEC. 4. LAND USE PLANNING; UPDATES TO PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
STATEMENTS.
(a) Priority Areas.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy, shall establish priority areas on covered
land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects,
consistent with the principles of multiple use (as defined in
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1701 et seq.)) and the renewable energy permitting goal enacted
by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Public Law 116-
260). Among applications for a given renewable energy source,
proposed projects located in priority areas for that renewable
energy source shall--
(A) be given the highest priority for incentivizing
deployment thereon; and
(B) be offered the opportunity to participate in
any regional mitigation plan developed for the relevant
priority areas.
(2) Establishing priority areas.--
(A) Geothermal energy.--For geothermal energy, the
Secretary shall establish priority areas as soon as
practicable, but not later than 5 years, after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(B) Solar energy.--For solar energy--
(i) solar designated leasing areas
(including the solar energy zones established
by Bureau of Land Management Solar Energy
Program, established in October 2012), and any
subsequent land use plan amendments, shall be
considered to be priority areas for solar
energy projects; and
(ii) the Secretary shall complete a process
to consider establishing additional solar
priority areas as soon as practicable, but not
later than 3 years, after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(C) Wind energy.--For wind energy, the Secretary
shall complete a process to consider establishing
additional wind priority areas as soon as practicable,
but not later than 3 years, after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Variance Areas.--Variance areas shall be considered for
renewable energy project development, consistent with the principles of
multiple use (as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) and the renewable energy permitting
goal enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Public Law
116-260), and applications for a given renewable energy source located
in those variance areas shall be timely processed in order to assist in
meeting that goal.
(c) Review and Modification.--
(1) In general.--Not less than once every 10 years, the
Secretary shall--
(A) review the adequacy of land allocations for
geothermal, solar, and wind energy priority, exclusion,
and variance areas for the purpose of encouraging and
facilitating new renewable energy development
opportunities; and
(B) based on the review carried out under
subparagraph (A), add, modify, or eliminate priority,
variance, and exclusion areas.
(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the
renewable energy land use planning published in the Desert
Renewable Energy Conservation Plan developed by the California
Energy Commission, the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service until January 1, 2030.
(d) Compliance With the National Environmental Policy Act.--For
purposes of this section, compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be accomplished--
(1) for geothermal energy, by updating the document
entitled ``Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
for Geothermal Leasing in the Western United States'', dated
October 2008, and incorporating any additional regional
analyses that have been completed by Federal agencies since
that programmatic environmental impact statement was finalized;
(2) for solar energy, by updating the document entitled
``Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for
Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States'', dated
July 2012, and incorporating any additional regional analyses
that have been completed by Federal agencies since that
programmatic environmental impact statement was finalized; and
(3) for wind energy, by updating the document entitled
``Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Wind
Energy Development on BLM-Administered Lands in the Western
United States'', dated July 2005, and incorporating any
additional regional analyses that have been completed by
Federal agencies since the programmatic environmental impact
statement was finalized.
(e) No Effect on Processing Site Specific Applications.--Site
specific environmental review and processing of permits for proposed
projects shall proceed during preparation of an updated programmatic
environmental impact statement, resource management plan, or resource
management plan amendment.
(f) Coordination.--In developing updates required by this section,
the Secretary shall coordinate, on an ongoing basis, with appropriate
State, Tribal, and local governments, transmission infrastructure
owners and operators, developers, and other appropriate entities to
ensure that priority areas identified by the Secretary are--
(1) economically viable (including having access to
existing and planned transmission lines);
(2) likely to avoid or minimize impacts to habitat for
animals and plants, recreation, cultural resources, and other
uses of covered land; and
(3) consistent with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), including
subsection (c)(9) of that section (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)(9)).
SEC. 5. LIMITED GRANDFATHERING.
(a) Definition of Project.--In this section, the term ``project''
means a system described in section 2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act).
(b) Requirement To Pay Rents and Fees.--Unless otherwise agreed to
by the owner of a project, the owner of a project that applied for a
right-of-way under section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) on or before December 19, 2016,
shall be obligated to pay with respect to the right-of-way all rents
and fees in effect before the effective date of the rule of the Bureau
of Land Management entitled ``Competitive Processes, Terms, and
Conditions for Leasing Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy
Development and Technical Changes and Corrections'' (81 Fed. Reg. 92122
(December 19, 2016)).
SEC. 6. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.
(a) Disposition of Revenues.--
(1) Availability.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
beginning on January 1, 2024, of amounts collected from a wind
or solar project as bonus bids, rentals, fees, or other
payments under a right-of-way, permit, lease, or other
authorization the following shall be made available, without
further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, as follows:
(A) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the
Secretary of the Treasury to the State within the
boundaries of which the revenue is derived.
(B) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the
Secretary of the Treasury to the one or more counties
within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived,
to be allocated among the counties based on the
percentage of land from which the revenue is derived.
(C) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in the
Treasury and be made available to the Secretary to
carry out the program established under this Act,
including the transfer of the funds by the Bureau of
Land Management to other Federal agencies and State
agencies to facilitate the processing of renewable
energy permits on Federal land, with priority given to
using the amounts, to the maximum extent practicable
without detrimental impacts to emerging markets, to
expediting the issuance of permits required for the
development of renewable energy projects in the States
from which the revenues are derived.
(D) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in the
Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund established
by subsection (c).
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the
following:
(A) Amounts collected under section 504(g) of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1764(g)).
(B) Amounts deposited into the National Parks and
Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund under section
200402(b) of title 54, United States Code.
(b) Payments to States and Counties.--
(1) In general.--Amounts paid to States and counties under
subsection (a)(1) shall be used consistent with section 35 of
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191).
(2) Payments in lieu of taxes.--A payment to a county under
paragraph (1) shall be in addition to a payment in lieu of
taxes received by the county under chapter 69 of title 31,
United States Code.
(c) Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund.--
(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury a
fund to be known as the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation
Fund, which shall be administered by the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.
(2) Use of funds.--The Secretary may make amounts in the
Fund available to Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies to
be distributed in regions in which renewable energy projects
are located on Federal land. Such amounts may be used to--
(A) restore and protect--
(i) fish and wildlife habitat for affected
species;
(ii) fish and wildlife corridors for
affected species; and
(iii) wetlands, streams, rivers, and other
natural water bodies in areas affected by wind,
geothermal, or solar energy development; and
(B) preserve and improve recreational access to
Federal land and water in an affected region through an
easement, right-of-way, or other instrument from
willing landowners for the purpose of enhancing public
access to existing Federal land and water that is
inaccessible or restricted.
(3) Partnerships.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative
agreements with State and Tribal agencies, nonprofit
organizations, and other appropriate entities to carry out the
activities described in paragraph (2).
(4) Investment of fund.--
(A) In general.--Amounts deposited in the Fund
shall earn interest in an amount determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current
average market yield on outstanding marketable
obligations of the United States of comparable
maturities.
(B) Use.--Interest earned under subparagraph (A)
may be expended in accordance with this subsection.
(5) Report to congress.--At the end of each fiscal year,
the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate that includes a
description of--
(A) the amount collected as described in subsection
(a), by source, during that fiscal year;
(B) the amount and purpose of payments during that
fiscal year to each Federal, State, local, and Tribal
agency under paragraph (2); and
(C) the amount remaining in the Fund at the end of
the fiscal year.
(6) Intent of congress.--It is the intent of Congress that
the revenues deposited and used in the Fund shall supplement
(and not supplant) annual appropriations for activities
described in paragraph (2).
SEC. 7. SAVINGS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary
shall continue to manage public lands under the principles of multiple
use and sustained yield in accordance with title I of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or the
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as applicable, including due consideration of
mineral and nonrenewable energy-related projects and other nonrenewable
energy uses, for the purposes of land use planning, permit processing,
and conducting environmental reviews.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
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