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111th Congress Climate Change Legislation
In the first session of the 1111th Congress, both the House and Senate introduced comprehensive climate legislation that would establish an economy-wide, greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade system. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), H.R. 2454, on June 26th, 2009, and was introduced in the House Energy and Commerce Committee by Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment.
Similar legislation is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate. On November 5th, 2009, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), passed the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009 (S.1733), which draws heavily from the House bill (ACES). As five other Senate committees hold jurisdiction over the legislation and have yet to consider provisions under their jurisdiction, the timing of the climate change debate within the broader Congressional agenda remains unclear.
Carbon Capture and Storage Provisions in H.R. 2454 and S. 1733
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) receives considerable attention in both bills. The provisions for CCS in H.R. 2454 and S. 1733 are similar (some sections are identical), and both bills lend to fostering the commercial development and deployment of CCS projects as an important component of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Both bills call for a national strategy to address the key legal and regulatory barriers to deployment of commercial-scale CCS. Both bills would also amend the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to require that the EPA establish a coordinated certification and permitting process for geologic sequestration sites, taking into account all relevant statutory authorities. The amended law would require regulation of geologic sequestration wells, and promulgation of regulations to protect human health and the environment by minimizing the risk of atmospheric release of carbon dioxide (CO2) injected for geologic sequestration.
Both H.R. 2454 and S. 1733 also contain provisions establishing performance standards for CO2 removal for new coal-fired power plants; however, the specifics on complying with the performance standards differ.
Each bill establishes a program to demonstrate CO2 capture and storage technologies and methods by assessing a fee on fossil fuel generation. The fees collected would be used to award grants, contracts, and financial assistance to electric utilities, academic institutions, and other eligible entities for the demonstration of CCS projects. The bills differ in how the corporation that is established to collect the fees would administer the program.
Furthermore, the bills would create a CCS Bonus Allowance program that would distribute emission allowances to qualifying electric generating plants and industrial facilities that operate CCS facilities. The chairman’s mark to S. 1733 , introduced on October 23, 2009, added an additional incentive for early deployment of CCS by authorizing the advanced distribution of the emission allowances for qualifying CCS projects.
For a more detailed analysis of both bills, please click on the link below for a CURC-drafted summary.
- Comparison of CCS Provisions in Climate Change Legislation Proposed in the 111th Congress(full document accessible to CURC members only)
The below information provides a summary and documents related to House and Senate action on H.R. 2454 and S. 1733
SENATE CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION - S. 1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (Kerry Boxer Bill)
11/5/09
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to report the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) out of committee on November 5 by a vote of 11-1, without any Republicans present. S. 1733 will now be referred to the five other Senate committees that have jurisdiction over elements of the bill.
S. 1733, Chairman's Mark
10/23/09
The Chairman’s Mark of S. 1733, the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act”, was released on October 23, 2009 and is expected to be offered as an amendment in the nature of a substitute during Committee markup of S. 1733. The new version of the “Kerry-Boxer” bill includes several changes from the version of the bill that was released on September 30, 2009 (S. 1733). With respect to the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) provisions contained in the bill, the major changes include modifications to the CCS bonus allowance program and the performance standards for new coal plants.
Supporting CURC Document: The attached side by side comparison describes in detail the changes that are included in the Chairman’s Mark as compared to S. 1733 and H.R. 2454. (full document accessible to CURC members only)
Supporting Committee Documents:
EPA Analysis Oct. 23, 2009
Key Changes in the Chairman's Mark, Oct. 23, 2009
Summary of Allowance Allocations (Allowance Fact Sheet), Oct. 23, 2009.
S. 1733 as Introduced
09/30/09
Senators Boxer and Kerry introduced "draft" climate legislation on September 30, 2009 which includes several provisions that directly or indirectly address advanced coal-based technologies and carbon capture and sequestration. It is expected that this draft will undergo significant modifications as the process for consideration continues. Importantly, while the Boxer-Kerry legislation improves some CCS-related provisions found in the bill that was passed by the House of Representatives (H.R. 2454, Waxman-Markey), there remain many shortcomings related to CCS.
Supporting CURC Documents:Summary and Assessment of Coal Provisions in Boxer-Kerry Draft Climate Bill (full document accessible to CURC members only)
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9/16/2009
On September 16, 2009, a group of coal-interested Senators submitted two letters and draft legislative language to Senator Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and to Senator Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The text sent to Chairman Boxer represents the entire “subtitle” that the group envisions for coal/CCS to be included in the larger climate bill (this includes sections dealing with legal/regulatory issues, incentives programs/bonus allowances, performance standards and treatment of coal mine methane); the legislative text sent to Senator Baucus represents two sections of the subtitle focused only on the incentive programs (the CCS bonus allowances and the wires charge program), which are considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee. The text of what was sent to Sen. Baucus is the same as the draft of those sections included in the corresponding sections sent to Sen. Boxer. Participants in the Senate coal group drafted this language based on the House passed Waxman-Markey bill (H.R. 2454). Supporting CURC Documents (full documents accessible to CURC members only): ***********************************************************************
HOUSE CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION - H.R. 2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES)
Passed on June 26, 2009
06/26/09
H.R. 2454, the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009”, was introduced by Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey. This legislation is a comprehensive approach to America's energy and climate policy. The legislation has four titles. The first “clean energy” title promotes renewable sources of energy and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, low-carbon transportation fuels, clean electric vehicles, and the smart grid and electricity transmission. Under this title, the draft includes a CCS early demonstration program, incentives for the wide-scale commercial deployment of CCS, and performance standards for new coal-fired power plants.
Supporting CURC Documents : Section by Section Summary as Reported (6/9/09)
(Full documents accessible to CURC members only)
Committee Documents: Bill text of H.R. 2454 as passed by the House on June 26, 2009
Reported Bill
05/21/09
On May 21st, the House Energy and Commerce Committee agreed to report the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) to the full House of Representatives. Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) released a discussion draft of the bill on March 31st. (Click here for an overview of the discussion draft.) During the subsequent month and a half, the sponsors engaged in intense behind-the-scene negotiations with other Committee Democrats concerned about the legislation’s potential impact on consumers, trade-exposed industries, agriculture, and the energy sector.
A substantially revised version of the bill was used as the base bill for the Committee mark-up. The new version would place a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from covered sources at 3% below 2005 emission levels starting in 2012, 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83% below 2005 levels by 2050. In addition, the bill includes a renewable electricity and energy efficiency standard that would require utilities to supply 20% of their demand from a combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency savings by 2020.
Supporting CURC Documents (full document accessible to CURC members only): CCS related issues in ACES (5/26/09)
Committee Documents:
Bill - H.R. 2454, as reported by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on June 5, 2009
Summary - Summary of H.R. 2454, as reported by Committee (on 5/21/09), June 2, 2009
05/15/2009
Click here for a summary of changes made to H.R. 2454 by the amendment in the nature of a substitute.
05/15/09
After weeks of intense negotiations, Reps. Harry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) reached compromise with a number of other Democrats on the Energy & Commerce Committee – including Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) – on key provisions of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). Mark-up will begin on May 18th. A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that other committees, including the Ways and Means Committee, will write additional sections of the climate bill.
Committee Documents:
Summary of Major Provisions of H.R. 2454, May 16, 2009 Committee Memorandum
Proposed Allowance Allocation, May 14, 2009
03/31/09
On March 31, 2009, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, unveiled a long-anticipated discussion draft of a comprehensive climate change and clean energy bill entitled the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.” The Waxman-Markey draft borrows significantly from the recommendations of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, as well as the Dingell-Boucher draft climate change bill released last October. A description of key provisions may be found here.
Supporting CURC Documents (full document accessible to CURC members only): CURC Summary of CCS Provisions (4/3/09)
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COAL UTILIZATION RESEARCH COUNCILSM Chairmen Nicholas K. Akins John Stowell Vice-Chairman Kevin Crutchfield Treasurer Marshall Mazer Executive Director Ben Yamagata 1050 Thomas Jefferson St., NW (202) 298-1850 |
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