42 U.S.C. § 15855 — Grants to improve the commercial value

Page 8719 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 15855 (2) Amount of rebate Rebates provided under the program estab- lished under paragraph (1) shall be in an amount not to exceed the lesser of— (A) 25 percent of the expenditures described in paragraph (1) made by the consumer; or (B) $3,000. (3) Definition For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘renew- able energy system’’ has the meaning given that term in section 6865(c)(6)(A) of this title. (4) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for carrying out this section, to re- main available until expended— (A) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; (B) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; (C) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; (D) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and (E) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. (Pub. L. 109–58, title II, § 206(c), Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 655.) § 15854. Sugar Cane Ethanol Program (a) Definition of program In this section, the term ‘‘program’’ means the Sugar Cane Ethanol Program established by subsection (b). (b) Establishment There is established within the Environmental Protection Agency a program to be known as the ‘‘Sugar Cane Ethanol Program’’. (c) Project (1) In general Subject to the availability of appropriations under subsection (d), in carrying out the pro- gram, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall establish a project that is— (A) carried out in multiple States— (i) in each of which is produced cane sugar that is eligible for loans under sec- tion 7272 of title 7, or a similar subsequent authority; and (ii) at the option of each such State, that have an incentive program that requires the use of ethanol in the State; and (B) designed to study the production of ethanol from cane sugar, sugarcane, and sug- arcane byproducts. (2) Requirements A project described in paragraph (1) shall— (A) be limited to sugar producers and the production of ethanol in the States of Flor- ida, Louisiana, Texas, and Hawaii, divided equally among the States, to demonstrate that the process may be applicable to cane sugar, sugarcane, and sugarcane byproducts; (B) include information on the ways in which the scale of production may be rep- licated once the sugar cane industry has lo- cated sites for, and constructed, ethanol pro- duction facilities; and (C) not last more than 3 years. (d) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $36,000,000, to remain available until expended. (Pub. L. 109–58, title II, § 208, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 656.) § 15855. Grants to improve the commercial value of forest biomass for electric energy, useful heat, transportation fuels, and other com- mercial purposes (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Biomass The term ‘‘biomass’’ means nonmerchant- able materials or precommercial thinnings that are byproducts of preventive treatments, such as trees, wood, brush, thinnings, chips, and slash, that are removed— (A) to reduce hazardous fuels; (B) to reduce or contain disease or insect infestation; or (C) to restore forest health. (2) Indian tribe The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning given the term in section 5304(e) of title 25. (3) Nonmerchantable For purposes of subsection (b), the term ‘‘nonmerchantable’’ means that portion of the byproducts of preventive treatments that would not otherwise be used for higher value products. (4) Person The term ‘‘person’’ includes— (A) an individual; (B) a community (as determined by the Secretary concerned); (C) an Indian tribe; (D) a small business or a corporation that is incorporated in the United States; and (E) a nonprofit organization. (5) Preferred community The term ‘‘preferred community’’ means— (A) any Indian tribe; (B) any town, township, municipality, or other similar unit of local government (as determined by the Secretary concerned) that— (i) has a population of not more than 50,000 individuals; and (ii) the Secretary concerned, in the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, de- termines contains or is located near Fed- eral or Indian land, the condition of which is at significant risk of catastrophic wild- fire, disease, or insect infestation or which suffers from disease or insect infestation; or (C) any county that— (i) is not contained within a metropoli- tan statistical area; and (ii) the Secretary concerned, in the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, de- termines contains or is located near Fed- eral or Indian land, the condition of which is at significant risk of catastrophic wild- fire, disease, or insect infestation or which suffers from disease or insect infestation. (6) Secretary concerned The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior. Page 8720 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 15871 (b) Biomass commercial use grant program (1) In general The Secretary concerned may make grants to any person in a preferred community that owns or operates a facility that uses biomass as a raw material to produce electric energy, sensible heat, or transportation fuels to offset the costs incurred to purchase biomass for use by such facility. (2) Grant amounts A grant under this subsection may not ex- ceed $20 per green ton of biomass delivered. (3) Monitoring of grant recipient activities As a condition of a grant under this sub- section, the grant recipient shall keep such records as the Secretary concerned may re- quire to fully and correctly disclose the use of the grant funds and all transactions involved in the purchase of biomass. Upon notice by a representative of the Secretary concerned, the grant recipient shall afford the representative reasonable access to the facility that pur- chases or uses biomass and an opportunity to examine the inventory and records of the fa- cility. (c) Improved biomass use grant program (1) In general The Secretary concerned may make grants to persons to offset the cost of projects to de- velop or research opportunities to improve the use of, or add value to, biomass. In making such grants, the Secretary concerned shall give preference to persons in preferred commu- nities. (2) Selection The Secretary concerned shall select a grant recipient under paragraph (1) after giving con- sideration to— (A) the anticipated public benefits of the project, including the potential to develop thermal or electric energy resources or af- fordable energy; (B) opportunities for the creation or ex- pansion of small businesses and micro-busi- nesses; (C) the potential for new job creation; (D) the potential for the project to im- prove efficiency or develop cleaner tech- nologies for biomass utilization; and (E) the potential for the project to reduce the hazardous fuels from the areas in great- est need of treatment. (3) Grant amount A grant under this subsection may not ex- ceed $500,000. (d) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2016 to carry out this section. (e) Report Not later than October 1, 2010, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Com- mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and the Committee on Resources, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, a report describing the results of the grant programs authorized by this sec- tion. The report shall include the following: (1) An identification of the size, type, and use of biomass by persons that receive grants under this section. (2) The distance between the land from which the biomass was removed and the facil- ity that used the biomass. (3) The economic impacts, particularly new job creation, resulting from the grants to and operation of the eligible operations. (Pub. L. 109–58, title II, § 210, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 658; Pub. L. 109–375, § 6, Dec. 1, 2006, 120 Stat. 2658.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2006—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–375 substituted ‘‘$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2016’’ for ‘‘$50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2016’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Resources of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hun- dred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007. PART B—GEOTHERMAL ENERGY § 15871. Coordination of geothermal leasing and permitting on Federal lands (a) In general Not later than 180 days after August 8, 2005, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into and submit to Congress a memorandum of understanding in ac- cordance with this section, the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (as amended by this Act) [30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.], and other applicable laws, regarding coordination of leasing and permit- ting for geothermal development of public lands and National Forest System lands under their respective jurisdictions. (b) Lease and permit applications The memorandum of understanding shall— (1) establish an administrative procedure for processing geothermal lease applications, in- cluding lines of authority, steps in application processing, and time limits for application procession; (2) establish a 5-year program for geo- thermal leasing of lands in the National For- est System, and a process for updating that program every 5 years; and (3) establish a program for reducing the backlog of geothermal lease application pend- ing on January 1, 2005, by 90 percent within the 5-year period beginning on August 8, 2005, including, as necessary, by issuing leases, re- jecting lease applications for failure to comply with the provisions of the regulations under