What This Bill Does
This bill promotes the development of wind, solar and geothermal energy projects on federal public lands. The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish priority areas where renewable energy development should be encouraged and to update environmental review documents for these projects. It also sets up a fund to use money collected from renewable energy projects to protect wildlife habitat and improve public access to federal lands.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, companies developing renewable energy projects, states, counties, federal agencies, tribal governments, local governments and wildlife conservation organizations.
Key Provisions
* The Secretary of the Interior must establish priority areas for geothermal energy projects within 5 years and consider establishing additional priority areas for solar and wind energy projects within 3 years (Sec. 4(a)(2))
* The Secretary must update three environmental impact statements (existing analyses from 2005, 2008 and 2012) to comply with federal environmental law (Sec. 4(d))
* Beginning January 1, 2024, money collected from wind and solar projects must be split four ways: 25% to the state, 25% to affected counties, 25% to help the federal government process permits faster, and 25% to a new conservation fund (Sec. 6(a)(1))
* A new Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund will receive 25% of revenues and must be used to restore wildlife habitat, protect wildlife corridors and improve public access to federal lands (Sec. 6(c))
* The Secretary must review whether priority and exclusion areas are adequate at least once every 10 years and can add, modify or eliminate these areas based on the review (Sec. 4(c)(1))
What Changes
Federal land management will shift to prioritize renewable energy development in designated priority areas while maintaining the existing approach called "multiple use" (balancing different uses of public lands). Money flowing to states and counties from renewable energy projects will increase starting January 1, 2024. A new federal fund will be created to pay for wildlife and recreation projects in areas affected by renewable energy development.
Important Definitions
* "Covered land" means federal lands that are not already excluded from renewable energy development by land use plans or other federal law (Sec. 3(1))
* "Priority area" means land identified as a preferred location for renewable energy projects (Sec. 3(6))
* "Variance area" means land that could potentially be approved for renewable energy development without changing existing land use plans (Sec. 3(10))
* "Exclusion area" means land identified by the Bureau of Land Management as not suitable for renewable energy projects (Sec. 3(2))
* "Renewable energy project" means a project on federal land using wind, solar or geothermal energy (Sec. 3(8))
Effective Date
The revenue sharing provisions begin on January 1, 2024 (Sec. 6(a)(1)). Other provisions take effect upon enactment. Not specified in bill text for other sections.
I
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 Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Land Renew-
4
able Energy Development Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
6
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
7
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
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•HR 178 IH
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.
1
In this Act:
2
(1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’
3
means land that is—
4
(A) Federal lands administered by the Sec-
5
retary; and
6
(B) not excluded from the development of
7
geothermal, solar, or wind energy under—
8
(i) a land use plan; or
9
(ii) other Federal law.
10
(2) EXCLUSION
AREA.—The term ‘‘exclusion
11
area’’ means covered land that is identified by the
12
Bureau of Land Management as not suitable for de-
13
velopment of renewable energy projects.
14
(3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’
15
means—
16
(A) public lands; and
17
(B) lands of the National Forest System
18
as described in section 11(a) of the Forest and
19
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act
20
of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
21
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(4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Re-
1
newable Energy Resource Conservation Fund estab-
2
lished by section 6(c)(1).
3
(5) LAND
USE
PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use
4
plan’’ means—
5
(A) in regard to Federal land, a land use
6
plan established under the Federal Land Policy
7
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701
8
et seq.); and
9
(B) in regard to National Forest System
10
lands, a land management plan approved,
11
amended, or revised under section 6 of the For-
12
est and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan-
13
ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).
14
(6) PRIORITY AREA.—The term ‘‘priority area’’
15
means covered land identified by the land use plan-
16
ning process of the Bureau of Land Management as
17
being a preferred location for a renewable energy
18
project, including a designated leasing area (as de-
19
fined in section 2801.5(b) of title 43, Code of Fed-
20
eral Regulations (or a successor regulation)) that is
21
identified under the rule of the Bureau of Land
22
Management
entitled
‘‘Competitive
Processes,
23
Terms, and Conditions for Leasing Public Lands for
24
Solar and Wind Energy Development and Technical
25
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•HR 178 IH
Changes and Corrections’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 92122
1
(December 19, 2016)) (or a successor regulation).
2
(7) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’
3
has the meaning given that term in section 103 of
4
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
5
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
6
(8) RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT.—The term
7
‘‘renewable energy project’’ means a project carried
8
out on covered land that uses wind, solar, or geo-
9
thermal energy to generate energy.
10
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
11
the Secretary of the Interior.
12
(10) VARIANCE
AREA.—The term ‘‘variance
13
area’’ means covered land that is—
14
(A) not an exclusion area;
15
(B) not a priority area; and
16
(C) identified by the Secretary as poten-
17
tially available for renewable energy develop-
18
ment and could be approved without a plan
19
amendment, consistent with the principles of
20
multiple use (as defined in the Federal Land
21
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
22
1701 et seq.)).
23
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•HR 178 IH
SEC.
4.
LAND
USE
PLANNING;
UPDATES
TO
PRO-
1
GRAMMATIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
2
STATEMENTS.
3
(a) PRIORITY AREAS.—
4
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
5
tion with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish
6
priority areas on covered land for geothermal, solar,
7
and wind energy projects, consistent with the prin-
8
ciples of multiple use (as defined in the Federal
9
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
10
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) and the renewable energy per-
11
mitting goal enacted by the Consolidated Appropria-
12
tions Act of 2021 (Public Law 116–260). Among
13
applications for a given renewable energy source,
14
proposed projects located in priority areas for that
15
renewable energy source shall—
16
(A) be given the highest priority for
17
incentivizing deployment thereon; and
18
(B) be offered the opportunity to partici-
19
pate in any regional mitigation plan developed
20
for the relevant priority areas.
21
(2) ESTABLISHING PRIORITY AREAS.—
22
(A) GEOTHERMAL
ENERGY.—For geo-
23
thermal energy, the Secretary shall establish
24
priority areas as soon as practicable, but not
25
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•HR 178 IH
later than 5 years, after the date of the enact-
1
ment of this Act.
2
(B) SOLAR ENERGY.—For solar energy—
3
(i) solar designated leasing areas (in-
4
cluding the solar energy zones established
5
by Bureau of Land Management Solar En-
6
ergy Program, established in October
7
2012), and any subsequent land use plan
8
amendments, shall be considered to be pri-
9
ority areas for solar energy projects; and
10
(ii) the Secretary shall complete a
11
process to consider establishing additional
12
solar priority areas as soon as practicable,
13
but not later than 3 years, after the date
14
of the enactment of this Act.
15
(C) WIND ENERGY.—For wind energy, the
16
Secretary shall complete a process to consider
17
establishing additional wind priority areas as
18
soon as practicable, but not later than 3 years,
19
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
20
(b) VARIANCE AREAS.—Variance areas shall be con-
21
sidered for renewable energy project development, con-
22
sistent with the principles of multiple use (as defined in
23
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
24
(43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) and the renewable energy per-
25
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•HR 178 IH
mitting goal enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations
1
Act of 2021 (Public Law 116–260), and applications for
2
a given renewable energy source located in those variance
3
areas shall be timely processed in order to assist in meet-
4
ing that goal.
5
(c) REVIEW AND MODIFICATION.—
6
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once every 10
7
years, the Secretary shall—
8
(A) review the adequacy of land allocations
9
for geothermal, solar, and wind energy priority,
10
exclusion, and variance areas for the purpose of
11
encouraging and facilitating new renewable en-
12
ergy development opportunities; and
13
(B) based on the review carried out under
14
subparagraph (A), add, modify, or eliminate
15
priority, variance, and exclusion areas.
16
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not
17
apply to the renewable energy land use planning
18
published in the Desert Renewable Energy Con-
19
servation Plan developed by the California Energy
20
Commission, the California Department of Fish and
21
Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, and the
22
United States Fish and Wildlife Service until Janu-
23
ary 1, 2030.
24
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•HR 178 IH
(d) COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRON-
1
MENTAL POLICY ACT.—For purposes of this section, com-
2
pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
3
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be accomplished—
4
(1) for geothermal energy, by updating the doc-
5
ument entitled ‘‘Final Programmatic Environmental
6
Impact Statement for Geothermal Leasing in the
7
Western United States’’, dated October 2008, and
8
incorporating any additional regional analyses that
9
have been completed by Federal agencies since that
10
programmatic environmental impact statement was
11
finalized;
12
(2) for solar energy, by updating the document
13
entitled ‘‘Final Programmatic Environmental Impact
14
Statement (PEIS) for Solar Energy Development in
15
Six Southwestern States’’, dated July 2012, and in-
16
corporating any additional regional analyses that
17
have been completed by Federal agencies since that
18
programmatic environmental impact statement was
19
finalized; and
20
(3) for wind energy, by updating the document
21
entitled ‘‘Final Programmatic Environmental Impact
22
Statement on Wind Energy Development on BLM–
23
Administered Lands in the Western United States’’,
24
dated July 2005, and incorporating any additional
25
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•HR 178 IH
regional analyses that have been completed by Fed-
1
eral agencies since the programmatic environmental
2
impact statement was finalized.
3
(e) NO EFFECT ON PROCESSING SITE SPECIFIC AP-
4
PLICATIONS.—Site specific environmental review and
5
processing of permits for proposed projects shall proceed
6
during preparation of an updated programmatic environ-
7
mental impact statement, resource management plan, or
8
resource management plan amendment.
9
(f) COORDINATION.—In developing updates required
10
by this section, the Secretary shall coordinate, on an ongo-
11
ing basis, with appropriate State, Tribal, and local govern-
12
ments, transmission infrastructure owners and operators,
13
developers, and other appropriate entities to ensure that
14
priority areas identified by the Secretary are—
15
(1) economically viable (including having access
16
to existing and planned transmission lines);
17
(2) likely to avoid or minimize impacts to habi-
18
tat for animals and plants, recreation, cultural re-
19
sources, and other uses of covered land; and
20
(3) consistent with section 202 of the Federal
21
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
22
U.S.C. 1712), including subsection (c)(9) of that
23
section (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)(9)).
24
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•HR 178 IH
SEC. 5. LIMITED GRANDFATHERING.
1
(a) DEFINITION OF PROJECT.—In this section, the
2
term ‘‘project’’ means a system described in section
3
2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as
4
in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act).
5
(b) REQUIREMENT TO PAY RENTS AND FEES.—Un-
6
less otherwise agreed to by the owner of a project, the
7
owner of a project that applied for a right-of-way under
8
section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
9
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) on or before December 19,
10
2016, shall be obligated to pay with respect to the right-
11
of-way all rents and fees in effect before the effective date
12
of the rule of the Bureau of Land Management entitled
13
‘‘Competitive Processes, Terms, and Conditions for Leas-
14
ing Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy Development
15
and Technical Changes and Corrections’’ (81 Fed. Reg.
16
92122 (December 19, 2016)).
17
SEC. 6. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.
18
(a) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—
19
(1) AVAILABILITY.—Except as provided in
20
paragraph (2), beginning on January 1, 2024, of
21
amounts collected from a wind or solar project as
22
bonus bids, rentals, fees, or other payments under a
23
right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authorization
24
the following shall be made available, without fur-
25
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•HR 178 IH
ther appropriation or fiscal year limitation, as fol-
1
lows:
2
(A) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by
3
the Secretary of the Treasury to the State with-
4
in the boundaries of which the revenue is de-
5
rived.
6
(B) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by
7
the Secretary of the Treasury to the one or
8
more counties within the boundaries of which
9
the revenue is derived, to be allocated among
10
the counties based on the percentage of land
11
from which the revenue is derived.
12
(C) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited
13
in the Treasury and be made available to the
14
Secretary to carry out the program established
15
under this Act, including the transfer of the
16
funds by the Bureau of Land Management to
17
other Federal agencies and State agencies to fa-
18
cilitate the processing of renewable energy per-
19
mits on Federal land, with priority given to
20
using the amounts, to the maximum extent
21
practicable without detrimental impacts to
22
emerging markets, to expediting the issuance of
23
permits required for the development of renew-
24
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•HR 178 IH
able energy projects in the States from which
1
the revenues are derived.
2
(D) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited
3
in the Renewable Energy Resource Conserva-
4
tion Fund established by subsection (c).
5
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not
6
apply to the following:
7
(A)
Amounts
collected
under
section
8
504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
9
ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)).
10
(B) Amounts deposited into the National
11
Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration
12
Fund under section 200402(b) of title 54,
13
United States Code.
14
(b) PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.—
15
(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid to States and
16
counties under subsection (a)(1) shall be used con-
17
sistent with section 35 of t
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]