Nitrogen

Judgment of the Court of 1 October 1991.#Commission of the European Communities v French Republic.#Failure to fulfil obligations - Air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide.#Case C-14/90.

European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 1 October 1991

Unterrichtung der EG-Kommission gemäß Artikel 7 der Richtlinie über Luftqualitätsnormen für Stickstoffdioxid über Grenzwertüberschreitungen durch die Bundesregierung (G-SIG: 12041265)

Germany · German Bundestag · 13 September 1991

PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ON ACCESSION BY THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY TO THE PROTOCOL TO THE GENEVA CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION ON THE REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS OF NITROGEN OXIDES OR THEIR TRANSBOUNDARY FLUXES

European Union · European Commission · 23 July 1991

Joined opinion of Mr Advocate General Lenz delivered on 11 July 1991. # Commission of the European Communities v French Republic. # Failure to fulfil obligations - Limit value for lead in the air. # Case C-13/90. # Commission of the European Communities v French Republic. # Failure to fulfil obligations - Air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide. # Case C-14/90. # Commission of the European Communities v French Republic. # Failure to fulfil obligations - Air quality limit values and guide values for sulphur dioxide. # Case C-64/90.

European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 11 July 1991

National Energy Security Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

National Energy Security Act of 1991 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Subtitle A: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the energy efficiency and development purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Goals, Least-Cost Energy Strategy, and Director of Climate Protection - Enumerates the goals of this Act, including establishment in 1992 of an international framework convention on global climate change and international commitment to such convention. Requires the first National Energy Policy Plan submitted by the President to the Congress to include a least-cost energy strategy prepared by the Secretary of Energy according to specified guidelines. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Director of Climate Protection, who shall participate annually in the formulation of such strategy. Title II: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Title III: Corporate Average Fuel Economy - Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1991 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks manufactured in model years 1996 through 2001, and for those manufactured in model years 2002 and thereafter. Requires such Secretary to determine the maximum feasible average fuel economy achievable according to prescribed formulas for passenger automobiles, light trucks, or classes of light trucks manufactured during such model years. Provides that credits for exceeding average fuel economy standards may be transferred among manufacturers and among vehicle classes of a manufacturer. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules implementing such a credit trading system. Grants average fuel economy credits for small passenger automobiles manufactured with airbags for either driver seating position only, or for both the driver and front seat outboard seating positions. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and an additional number if requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to assess an excessive fuel consumption fee upon a manufacturer whose average fuel economy does not meet certain statutory standards. Replaces civil penalties for such non-compliance with the excessive fuel consumption fee according to prescribed guidelines. Establishes the Excessive Fuel Consumption Fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make payments from the Fund for purposes of: (1) providing financial assistance to State programs encouraging voluntary removal from the marketplace of pre-1980 model-year automobiles; and (2) funding other energy conservation programs. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress regarding the Fund's financial condition and operations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to adopt rules necessary to review and approve State programs that qualify for financial assistance for the older vehicle scrappage program. Mandates that as a prerequisite to Federal assistance at least 50 percent of scrappage program costs be paid from non-Federal funds. Title IV: Fleets and Alternative Fuels - Subtitle A: Alternative Fuel Fleets - Sets forth a schedule according to which Federal agencies, when buying, leasing, or otherwise acquiring vehicles for a Federal fleet, must increase the percentage of alternative fuel vehicles in such fleet from ten percent in 1995 up to 90 percent in 2000 and each year following. Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to work with the Administrator of General Services and each Federal agency head to plan effective coordination of such acquisitions. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates State acquisition of alternative fuel vehicles according to the same schedule if specified circumstances prevail. Sets forth a different schedule for private and municipal fleets, rising from 30 percent in 1998 to 70 percent in 2000 and after. Provides for exemptions from such requirements in specified circumstances. Requires the Secretary to allocate credits to States or private persons for any vehicles acquired in excess of requirements. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this subtitle. Authorizes the Secretary to request the Attorney General to bring civil actions to enforce it. Authorizes the Secretary to delegate administration and enforcement of this subtitle within any State to its Governor if a State program exists. Authorizes appropriations to provide financial assistance to States to which the Secretary delegates such authority. Subtitle B: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration, Infrastructure, Development, and Conforming Amendments - Part A: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration - Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary to conduct a program to demonstrate electric vehicles, electric-hybrid vehicles, and their assorted equipment. Provides for solicitation and selection of proposals to negotiate up to ten cooperative agreements to receive financial assistance to conduct such demonstrations. Provides for discount payments to reimburse proposers for giving discounts to vehicle purchasers or lessees. Requires 50 percent of the costs of a cooperative agreement to be provided from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Infrastructure Development - Electric Vehicle and Electric-Hybrid Infrastructure Development Act - Directs the Secretary to establish a program for the collection and dissemination of information and data which would be useful to persons seeking to manufacture, sell, lease, own or operate electric and electric-hybrid vehicles. Requires the Secretary to issue guidelines for States and local governmental entities to use in developing comprehensive infrastructure plans to support the deployment of such vehicles. Requires the Secretary to offer State Governors the opportunity to request and receive technical and financial assistance in formulating comprehensive State infrastructure plans. Directs the Secretary to undertake cooperative agreements with non-Federal persons, including fleet operators, to provide the infrastructure necessary to support the use of such vehicles. Requires at least 50 percent of costs to be provided from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Amendment to the Alternative Motor Fuels Act - Makes conforming amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Subtitle C: Alternative Fuels - Replacement and Alternative Fuels Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to establish a program to promote the development and use of domestically produced replacement and alternative fuels (including liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, "neat" alcohol, hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, and electricity) to replace conventional petroleum motor fuels. Requires the Secretary to study and determine the feasibility of domestically producing enough such fuels by the year 2010 to replace at least 30 percent of the projected consumption of motor fuel in the United States for that year. Requires annual demand estimates of the number and geographic distribution and the amount of each type of alternative fuel vehicle. Requires the Secretary to obtain voluntary commitments from providers of domestic replacement and alternative fuels to produce and offer for public sale sufficient amounts of such fuels to meet demand. Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify the Congress if the amount of such fuels in any area of the United States is insufficient to meet demand; and (2) submit a plan of action to require such providers to make adequate supplies available. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Mass Transit and Training - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with local or regional transit authorities in urban areas of over 100,000 population to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of using natural gas or other alterative fuels for mass transit. Mandates that as a prerequisite to such a cooperative agreement or joint venture at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs be borne by the local or regional transit authority. Authorizes the Secretary to grant priority to any entity that demonstrates that the use of alternative fuels for mass transit would have a significant effect on the ability of an air quality region to comply with regulations governing ambient air quality. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Department of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program for the vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles to run solely on alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: CORECT and COEECT - Amends the EPCA to name certain interagency working groups the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) and the Committee on Energy Efficiency Commerce and Trade (COEECT). Requires: (1) CORECT to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of renewable energy resource products and technologies that promote the use of hybrid fossil-renewable energy systems; (2) COEECT to promote the development and application in such countries of energy efficiency resource products and technologies; and (3) both to provide in-country technical training and financial assistance. Authorizes CORECT and COEECT to establish renewable energy and energy efficiency industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of developing countries. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Renewable Energy Initiatives - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (REEETCA) to direct the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for joint ventures with respect to: (1) oil and diesel fuel displacement using specified renewable energy sources; and (2) training individuals from developing countries in the United States in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy equipment and of energy efficiency equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for at least one joint venture for a utility-scale photovoltaic project of at least ten megawatts. Amends REEETCA to direct the Secretary to enter into buy-down agreements with private lenders to pay the Federal share of the interest on loans to certain qualified borrowers to finance the manufacture, construction, or acquisition of equipment that principally utilizes a renewable energy technology. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees an evaluation of opportunities to minimize waste from processes in the U.S. industries. Establishes certain facilities and equipment located at Keahole Point, Hawaii as the Spark M. Matsunaga Renewable Energy and Ocean Technology Center to carry out research, development, and technology transfer activities on solar and renewable energy, energy storage, and related matters. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a program to reward outstanding achievements in specified renewable energy technologies with awards of up to $5,000,000; and (2) a milestone for technical achievement for the year 2010 for each such technology. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Hydropower - Amends the Federal Power Act to eliminate certain mandatory conditioning powers of Federal land mangers with respect to Government dams. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to give hydroelectric license applicants earliest practicable notice of studies that will be required to accompany a license application. Provides for a single consolidated review of project licensing under the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 (NEPA). Makes FERC the lead agency for NEPA compliance activities associated with hydroelectric licensing. Grants States exclusive authority to license hydropower projects of five megawatts or less, under certain conditions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to certain congressional committees on cost-effective opportunities to increase hydropower production at existing federally-owned or -operated water regulations, storage, and conveyance facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and implement water use efficiency measures at Federal reclamation projects in order to increase hydropower production, make more efficient use of project power, and provide more water for fish and wildlife. Removes Federal licensing jurisdiction over: (1) hydroelectric projects on fresh waters in Hawaii; and (2) two specified hydroelectric projects in Alaska. Extends the time for project development for two specified hydropower projects in Arkansas. Title VI: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A: Industrial, Commercial and Residential - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) to require the Secretary of Energy to issue a Federal building code to assure that all new Federal buildings and buildings receiving Federal mortgages include energy efficiency measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified. Requires the Secretary to support the upgrading of an industry voluntary building energy code for new residential and commercial buildings. Directs the Secretary to provide incentive funding to States which adopt building energy codes at least as stringent as those of the industry voluntary building codes. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary to issue voluntary guidelines for use by States, local organizations and others to develop energy rating systems for residential buildings. Requires the Secretary to provide technical assistance to State and local organizations to encourage adoption of residential energy efficiency rating systems based on such guidelines. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for notifying homebuyers of the availability of energy efficient mortgages providing financial incentives for the purchase of energy efficient homes at the time of mortgage application. Requires the Secretary to assess the energy performance of manufactured housing and make recommendations to the National Commission on Manufactured Housing about thermal insulation and technically feasible and economically justified energy efficiency improvements applicable to such housing. Requires the Commission to make its own recommendations to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Requires the Secretary of Energy to test the performance and cost-effectiveness of manufactured housing built to established energy efficiency standards. Directs the Secretary to pursue a research and development program and a joint venture program to improve efficiency in energy-intensive industries and industrial processes. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to make triennial reports to the Congress evaluating energy efficiency policy options and their potential to decrease overall U.S. energy use and oil consumption per unit of GNP. Directs the Secretary to establish voluntary guidelines for the conduct of energy audits and the installation of insulation to achieve cost-effective increases in energy efficiency in industrial facilities. Authorizes appropriations for a program of education and technical assistance to promote the use of such guidelines. Requires the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national window rating program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows and window systems. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of data collection under the National Energy Information System in order to improve the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies and programs. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support voluntary development of a national energy efficiency rating program for lamps and luminaires. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for them. Authorizes appropriations. Adds lamps, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and utility distribution transformers to the appliance efficiency program. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the practicability and cost-effectiveness of upgrading utility distribution transformers at the time of their routine maintenance. Directs: (1) the Secretary to support the development of a voluntary labeling system for commercial office equipment; or (2) the Federal Trade Commission to develop such a program if one is not developed voluntarily within two years. Authorizes appropriations. Amends EPCA to establish a specified standard for showerheads manufactured after July 1, 1992, unless the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) publishes a different standard before March 1, 1992, in which case the ANSI standard shall apply. Preempts State and local showerhead flow rate standards and labeling requirements. Subtitle B: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to prescribe energy management requirements for energy conservation and efficiency in Federal buildings. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration: (1) to conduct an analysis of significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule; and (2) to develop a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to consider fuel efficiency and cost savings when evaluating bids for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light trucks. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) the funding of Federal energy efficiency projects; and (2) a biennially updated demonstration plan for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in federally-owned facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program, not to exceed $5,000 per award, to reward facility energy managers for outstanding energy savings in Federal agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for demonstrating in Federal facilities, or by Federal agencies, energy efficiency technologies that have received Federal assistance for research and development and are now ready for commercialization. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the potential of using Federal purchasing power to encourage the development and commercialization of new energy efficiency products. Subtitle C: Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to permit State-regulated electric utilities to charge rates that will make their investments in energy efficiency and conservation measures as profitable as their investments in new facilities construction. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) the extent to which State-regulated electric utility rates reflect least-cost planning; (2) specified effects of least-cost planning; and (3) the extent to which ratemaking methodologies implementing least-cost planning take into account the impact of such measures upon electric utilities' rate of return on investment. Prescribes guidelines for conservation grants to State regulatory authorities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Southwestern Power Administration and the Southeastern Power Administration (known collectively as PMAs) to consider, as a condition of any future power contract with a nonregulated utility customer, requiring such a customer to implement integrated resource planning. Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to employ integrated resource planning in exercising its functions. Subtitle D: Used Oil Energy Production - Amends EPCA to prescribe market incentive guidelines for the reuse of used oil. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of the recycled oil program. Subtitle E: State, Local Insular, and Tribal Energy Assistance - Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance to Insular Area governments for renewable energy and energy and energy efficiency measures to reduce their dependence on imported fuels. Amends EPCA to authorize the Secretary to provide up to $1,000,000 to States to capitalize a State revolving fund to undertake energy efficiency projects in State and local government buildings in those States which have demonstrated a commitment to improve building energy codes. Authorizes the Secretary to provide supplemental grants to Weatherization Program grant recipients to cover: (1) the costs of arranging private sector contributions to the program; and (2) the costs of training and education activities between program grant recipients (technical transfer grants). Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes existing State Energy Conservation Programs to use Federal funds to assist in training building designers and contractors in energy system, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technologies. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive supplemental grants under the existing State Energy Conservation Programs to increase public understanding of energy issues or to provide teacher training in energy education. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to grant financial assistance to tribal governments to plan and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Requires State Energy Conservation Plans to provide for vehicles to turn left from a one-way street into a one-way street at a red light as a condition for receipt of Federal funding. Subtitle F: LIHEAP Options Pilot Program - Energy Options Study Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study and report to the Congress on the advantages and disadvantages of using futures and options contracts for fuel as a means of protecting funds under the Low-Income Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (LIHEAP funds) from large price increases in fuels. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct: (1) a pilot program in cooperation with one or more governmental or tribal fund recipients in which the recipient uses futures and futures options in its fuel assistance program; and (2) a pilot program to educate governmental entities and consumer cooperatives on the prudent and effective use of such futures and futures options to increase their protection against unexpected fuel price surges. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Subtitle A: Statement of Purpose and Policy and Definitions - Declares that it is the congressional purpose to: (1) authorize competitive oil and gas leasing development on the Arctic Coastal Plain in a manner consistent with environmental and wildlife protection; and (2) provide a new funding source of energy-related projects to enhance energy security and reduce dependence on imported oil. Subtitle B: Congressional Determination of Compatibility - Declares that it is congressional policy that oil and gas activities on the Coastal Plain which are conducted with no significant adverse impact upon fish, wildlife, and the environment shall be deemed compatible with the purpose of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and that no further compatibility findings by the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) are required under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. Subtitle C: Coastal Plain Competitive Leasing Program - Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound program for Coastal Plain resources exploration, development, and production. Declares that this title is the sole authority for leasing on the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations to implement this title. Declares that the Congress finds that the "Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement" (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain satisfies the legal requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Sets forth the administrative parameters for: (1) lease sales and lease terms; (2) antitrust review by the Attorney General; (3) exploration and development and production plans; (4) plan approval; (5) bonding, surety, or other financial arrangement requirements; and (6) lease suspension and cancellation. Allows the Secretary to cancel leases in any areas of particular environmental sensitivity. Requires the Secretary's consent for lease assignments or subletting. Mandates that lessees unite to the greatest extent practicable in collectively adopting and operating under a cooperative or unit plan for oil pools and gas fields. Provides for the confidentiality of privileged or proprietary information regarding development activities which must be furnished to the Secretary. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title. Provides for adjudication of lease controversies. Sets forth joint, several, and strict liability for environmental damages and removal costs resulting from oil pollution or the discharge of hazardous substances. Provides for judicial review of complaints regarding regulations issued by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding the leasing program under this Act. Repeals certain limitations applicable to subsurface interests owned by the Inupiat Eskimo people. Provides for expedited judicial consideration of any claims for relief by certain Alaskan corporations. Subtitle D: Coastal Plain Environmental Protection - Directs the Secretary to promulgate environmental protection regulations which ensure that Coastal Plain activities will result in no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment. Requires site-specific assessment and mitigation. Designates the Sadlerochit Spring area as a special area for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude such area from leasing and to designate other Coastal Plain areas as special areas requiring protection. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically update a facilities construction and siting plan for oil and gas development and transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain in a manner that does not adversely affect fish, wildlife, and the environment. Requires the Secretary to conduct additional studies to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations providing for bi-annual facility inspections for compliance with environmental and safety regulations. Provides funding for a ten-year period for environmental monitoring and enforcement on the Coastal Plain. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) consult with the Department of Transportation and the State of Alaska about the State's role in monitoring and enforcing the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and (2) report annually to the Congress regarding the environmental monitoring activities. Subtitle E: Land Reclamation and Reclamation Liability Fund - Makes leaseholders fully responsible and liable for land reclamation within the Coastal Plain and other Federal lands adversely affected by lease activities. Requires establishment of the Coastal Plain Liability and Reclamation Fund within six months of a commercial discovery within the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to collect fees based upon the crude oil volume entering the trans-Alaska pipeline. Prescribes revenue collection and expenditure procedures. Subtitle F: Disposition of Oil and Gas Revenues - Sets forth an allocation schedule for revenue distribution related to oil and gas leasing within the Arctic National Refuge, Alaska. Mandates that revenues distributed to the United States from such oil and gas leases be deposited into the Energy Security Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make such funds directly available to the Secretary of Energy for specified energy projects transmitted to the Congress following the initial deposit of funds in the Energy Security Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations from the Energy Security Fund, for a period of five fiscal years, of up to a certain amount annually to fund high priority Arctic research projects and programs related to understanding the long- and short-term effects of energy development and production activities on the Arctic environment. Directs the Chairman of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee to prepare a list of eligible projects and programs for inclusion in the President's budget. Subtitle G: Export Restrictions - Prohibits the export of crude oil produced from Coastal Plain lands except in specified circumstances. Subtitle H: Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Moratorium - Prohibits the Secretary from preparing or conducting any preleasing or leasing activity under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to the areas seaward from California and from New Jersey until after January 1, 2000. Title VIII: Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization - Civilian Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a comprehensive advanced nuclear reactor research, development, and demonstration program that will lead to commercialization of advanced reactor technologies after 1996. Requires the Secretary of Energy to submit to the Congress a detailed five-year plan to carry out such program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a program of technical and financial assistance to encourage the development and submission for certification of advanced light water reactor designs which can be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the end of 1995. Provides for cooperative and cost-sharing agreements with private parties seeking such certification. Requires annual progress reports to the Congress from the Secretary and the NRC. Requires the Secretary to solicit proposals to carry out the preliminary engineering design of one or more prototype advanced nuclear reactor technologies (other than an advanced light water reactor) necessary to support a decision on whether to recommend construction of a full-scale prototype demonstration using such a technology. Requires the Secretary to make a recommendation by January 31, 1996, on whether to build such a prototype demonstration reactor. Authorizes the Secretary to solicit proposals to implement such recommendation after 180 days following it submission to the Congress. Title IX: Nuclear Reactor Licensing - Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require the NRC to hold a hearing before granting a combined license to construct and operate a nuclear reactor. Requires a combined license to set forth all the inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria necessary to establish that the plant, once built, is safe to operate. Requires the NRC to ensure that all such requirements are satisfied. Provides for post-construction hearings on combined licenses to determine whether requirements have been met. Authorizes the NRC to allow a plant to operate under a combined license pending a post-construction hearing unless it appears unsafe to do so. Requires post-construction hearings to be informal unless the NRC determines formal proceedings are necessary to resolve factual disputes. Authorizes the NRC to amend a combined license and permit a plant to operate pending a hearing on the amended license if the amendment does not raise significant safety issues. Title X: Uranium - Subtitle A: Uranium Enrichment - Uranium Enrichment Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the existing statutory contracting requirements applicable to uranium enrichment enterprises. Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Sets forth the Corporation's corporate office and powers and vests its management in an Administrator (appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Grants the Secretary of Energy general supervision over such Administrator only with respect to national security and health and environmental concerns. Establishes a Corporate Board whose members shall be appointed by the President, and who shall advise the Administrator and the Secretary regarding Corporation matters. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Corporation personnel; (2) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy; (3) the Corporation's capital structure; and (4) Corporation pricing policies, including user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to make annual status reports to certain congressional committees, the President, and the Secretary. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by specified dates regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommission and decontamination expenses. Applies Federal environmental and occupational safety and health law to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Exempts the Corporation from sequestration because the maximum deficit amount has been exceeded under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1991 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1991 receipts. Subtitle B: Uranium - Part 1: Short Title, Findings and Purpose, Definitions - Uranium Security and Tailings Reclamation Act of 1991 - Sets forth findings, purposes, and definitions of this title. Part 2: Uranium Revitalization - Directs the Corporation to establish for a minimum five-year period a voluntary overfeeding program to be made available to its enrichment services customers. ("Overfeeding" means the use of uranium in the enrichment process in excess of the amount required at the transactional tails assay, thus reducing customers' power costs). Provides that the resultant savings shall be credited to such customers. Establishes the National Strategic Uranium Reserve, consisting of 50,000,000 pounds of natural uranium, to be restricted to military purposes and Government research under the control of the Secretary. Confers continuing responsibility upon the Secretary for promotion of the domestic uranium industry, but without using any supervisory authority over the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop recommendations and implement Government programs promoting domestic uranium exports. Restricts all uranium purchases by Federal entities to uranium purchased from domestic producers. Exempts the TVA from such restriction. Part 3: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Provides that remedial action costs such as decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation at an active uranium or thorium processing site shall be borne by specified licensees for any activity resulting in byproduct material. Sets forth a reimbursement schedule for: (1) individual active site uranium licenses; (2) all active site uranium licensees; and (3) thorium licensees. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing such reimbursement. Authorizes appropriations. Part 4: Import of Uranium, Enriched Uranium, and Uranium Enrichment Services - Directs the United States International Trade Commission to investigate and report to the President and the Congress on whether non-market economy countries are exporting uranium, enriched uranium, or offering uranium enrichment services at prices below the cost of production or provision. Requires the President, if the investigation results are positive, to report to the Congress on what actions the Federal Government is taking to discourage or end such pricing practices. Requires the owner or operator of any civilian nuclear power reactor to report annually to the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, on the country of origin and the seller of any uranium, enriched uranium, or enrichment services the owner or operator has imported or purchased during the previous fiscal year. Requires such information to be made available to specified congressional committees. Directs the Secretary to encourage States and utility regulatory authorities to consider the objectives of this part, including the national need to avoid dependence on imports, when considering whether to allow electric power plant owners or operators to recover in customer rates and charges any cost of domestic uranium, enriched uranium, or enrichment services from a non-affiliated seller greater than the cost of such items from non-domestic sources. Authorizes the Secretary or the United States Enrichment Corporation to buy enriched uranium from other sources of enriched uranium at prices below, respectively, Department of Energy or Corporation production costs if such purchases are necessary to reduce production costs and maintain competitive prices. Title XI: Natural Gas - Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize an optional certificate (OC) of public convenience and necessity procedure for the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines. Directs FERC to issue OCs without a hearing if applicants are willing to accept terms and conditions attached to the certificate, including a prohibition on the recovery of OC facility costs in the rates for other facilities or services. Replaces the ordinary rate review procedure with a special complaint procedure in such instances. Requires FERC to conduct a hearing on the record about a proposed OC construction if such construction would result in the displacement of sales or transportation services being provided by a local distribution company (LDC). Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to authorize FERC to permit: (1) any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas; and (2) the construction of natural gas transportation facilities for interstate commerce. Outlines administrative procedures for FERC compliance with the requirements of the NEPA with respect to natural gas transportation. Requires FERC to conduct a hearing on the record about a proposed OC construction if such construction would result in the displacement of sales or transportation services being provided by an LDC. Declares that FERC issuance of a construction certificate is the only Federal action that may be considered a major Federal action requiring a detailed environmental impact statement (EIS). Requires FERC to permit contractors or consultants selected from a FERC-approved list and paid by the certificate applicant to prepare such required EISs and related documents. Sets forth administrative procedures for rates and charges, utilization of rulemaking procedures, and review of FERC orders. Declares that the formation or operation of an independent producer cooperative shall only be an illegal antitrust law violation if anticompetitive effects substantially outweigh the procompetitive effects. Declares that certain activities related to the sale and distribution of vehicular natural gas (VNG) shall not subject currently exempt entities to the jurisdiction of the Natural Gas Act. Provides that persons not otherwise public utilities may sell or transport VNG without becoming subject to the jurisdiction of State laws in effect before January 1, 1989. States that the VNG activities alone shall not subject a company to regulation under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) or change the status of companies already registered as gas utility companies. Provides for streamlining of the certificate issuance procedure, especially with respect to repair and replacement facilities, unopposed applications, evidence of need, and phased consideration of need and certificate applications. Authorizes FERC to order an interstate pipeline to interconnect with a production or gathering facility, or an intrastate or OC pipeline in the production area. Authorizes FERC, after a hearing, to exempt the natural gas cost component of a pipeline's rates from regulation after finding that the pipeline provided comparable transportation service and served a competitive market. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to provide that general policy discussions by all members of FERC do not constitute a meeting for Sunshine Act purposes. Title XII: Outer Continental Shelf - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to add a new title: the "Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Act". Establishes the Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund, to be funded by a specified percentage of all new revenue attributable to an Outer Continental Shelf lease any part of which is within 200 geographical miles of the coast line. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to annually transmit impact assistance from such Fund to coastal States according to prescribed guidelines. Requires a recipient coastal State to prioritize allocation of such revenues among its subdivisions which are socially or economically impacted by Outer Continental Shelf mineral development. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on the availability of Outer Continental Shelf areas for oil and gas leasing, development and production. Title XIII: Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercialization Activities - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish priorities according to prescribed criteria for energy research and development and commercialization; and (2) submit to the Congress an accompanying management plan which shall be revised biennially. Requires the Secretary to implement a program: (1) promoting the development and commercialization of new and advanced natural gas utilization technologies; (2) of research and development to increase the recoverable natural gas resource base; (3) of research, development, and commercialization of specified high efficiency heat engines; (4) of research and development of oil shale; (5) of research on extracting oil from western oil shales (including, if appropriate, establishment of at least one field testing center); and (6) of research, development, and demonstration of a high-temperature superconducting electric power system. Authorizes appropriations. Amends REEETCA to repeal the authorization limitations for: (1) renewable energy research and development programs; and (2) energy efficiency research and development programs. Directs the Secretary to expand or institute programs of research, development, and demonstration for: (1) natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings; (2) fusion energy that leads to electricity production after the year 2010; (3) techniques related to improving electric vehicles, electric-hybrid vehicles, and battery technology; and (4) increased economic recoverability of domestic oil resources including both advanced secondary oil recovery and tertiary oil recovery. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the development potential of domestic tar sands sources; (2) the potential costs and benefits of telecommuting; (3) the potential for minimizing the volume and toxic lifetime of nuclear waste; and (4) the adequacy of current programs and plans of nuclear waste management. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with qualified entities to provide post-secondary science and mathematics education programs for low-income and first generation college students. Authorizes appropriations. Title XIV: Coal, Coal Technology, and Electricity - Subtitle A: Coal and Coal Technology - Requires the Secretary to conduct: (1) an advanced coal-based technology research and development program aimed at controlling sulfur and nitrogen oxides at greater proficiency levels (and report periodically to the Congress on the program's status); (2) a research and development program on technologies for non-fuel use of coal (after first submitting a plan to the Congress); (3) a research, development, demonstration, and commercialization program for coal refining technologies; (4) a research, development, and demonstration program for underground coal gasification technology for in-situ conversion of coal to a cleaner burning, easily transportable gaseous fuel; (5) a low-rank coal research and development program; (6) a proof-of-concept program in magnetohydrodynamics; and (7) a research, development, and demonstration program for using ultra-clean coal-water slurry in diesel locomotive engines. Requires the Secretary to submit to certain congressional committees a plan for the export of U.S. coal. Establishes the Clean Coal Technology Export Coordinating Council (Council) to: (1) expand the export and use of clean coal technologies (especially in lesser developed countries); and (2) develop a comprehensive data base and information dissemination system regarding their potential need and availability. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of technologies for combining coal with other materials. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national clearinghouse for the exchange and dissemination of technical information on technology relating to coal and coal-derived fuels; and (2) study and report to the Congress on the institutional, legal, and regulatory barriers to increased use of coal combustion byproducts by potential governmental and commercial users. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a data base containing all transportation rates for specified modes of transporting domestic coal for a certain period; (2) study the rates and distribution patterns of domestic coal to determine the impact of Federal policies upon such patterns; and (3) report the data base and study results to the Congress. Subtitle B: Electricity - Declares that for purposes of the Clean Air Act certain physical or operational changes to an electric utility steam generating unit undertaken for purposes of pollution control shall not be treated as a modification if the change does not increase the maximum hourly emissions of any pollutant regulated under such Act above the maximum hourly emissions achievable at that unit during the last five years of operation before the change. Sets conditions for finding such a unit in compliance with technology requirements with respect to nitrogen oxide emissions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on physical impediments to the transfer of excess electrical energy from regions with surplus electrical energy to regions experiencing shortages. Declares that State regulatory authorities are not required to base calculations of avoided cost, under the Public Utility Policies Act (PURPA), on the rates for or the costs of demonstration projects under the Federal clean coal technology program. Directs FERC to complete a rulemaking to establish a demonstration program for regulatory incentives to promote the development of clean coal technologies and other innovative control technologies that limit power plant emissions. Requires FERC to establish a process for negotiating with potential developers of such technology projects to agree upon cost caps for future projects and preapproval of project expenses if they fall within the agreed-upon cap. Encourages States to provide additional incentives for the implementation of clean coal technologies, and requires FERC to give priority in incentive rate treatment to units located in States with incentive programs. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on progress in encouraging State regulatory authorities to provide such incentives. Title XV: Public Utility Holding Company Act Reform - Defines an "exempt wholesale generator" (EWG) as a corporate entity: (1) engaged exclusively in the business of owning or operating all or part of one or more eligible facilities and selling electric energy at wholesale; and (2) exempt from corporate organizational restrictions under PUHCA. Permits registered utility holding companies, exempt utility holding companies, non-utilities, and other companies not currently subject to PUHCA to own EWGs without limitation. Declares that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shall continue to have jurisdiction over: (1) the issuance of securities by a registered utility holding company in order to finance the acquisition of an EWG; (2) the guarantee of securities of an EWG by such a holding company; and (3) service, sales and construction contracts between an EWG and such a holding company, including the creation or maintenance of any other relationship (except ownership). Prohibits FERC from approving a rate or charge for the sale of electricity by EWGs: (1) where a State commission would use the purchase of such electricity as the basis for not permitting recovery of existing capital investment by the purchasing utility (stranded investment); or (2) where the wholesale purchaser is merely a broker interposed for purposes of making an indirect sale to an industrial or other retail customer (sham wholesale transaction, also known as "cherry picking"). Declares that any rate or charge for the wholesale sale of electricity in interstate commerce by an EWG shall not be considered just and reasonable if it allows the EWG to receive undue advantage resulting from the fact that the purchaser is an affiliate or associate company of the EWG. Amends the Federal Power Act to grant State commissions in accordance with State law the authority to review the prudence of wholesale electricity purchases by utilities under their jurisdiction, except in certain instances involving allocation of power costs within registered utility holding company systems. Extends such authority even within such systems in instances involving purchase of power from EWGs. Amends PURPA to require State commissions to analyze the effects on reliability and utility purchasers of the use of leveraged capital structures by wholesale sellers of power (including EWGs) and the adequacy of fuel supplies employed by such sellers. Requires State commissions to consider reflecting the results of such analysis in approving or disapproving wholesale electricity purchases. Requires EWGs to make their books and records available to State commissions. Title XVI: Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Amends EPCA to add the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Enhancement Act of 1991. Directs the President to enlarge the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to 1,000,000,000 barrels as rapidly as possible. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to create a 10,000,000 barrel Defense Petroleum Inventory (DPI). Authorizes the President, acting through the Secretary, to: (1) acquire petroleum products for storage in the SPR or the DPI from foreign governments without competitive procurement; and (2) contract, without regard to certain provisions of EPCA and other Federal law, for storage in the SPR or the DPI of petroleum products owned by foreign governments.

Coastal Protection Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1991

Coastal Protection Act of 1991 - States that it is U.S. policy to restore and protect the integrity of the marine environment so that the values of such environment are not impaired by pollution. Title I: Marine Monitoring Programs - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a program to measure the environmental quality of marine ecosystems. Requires the program to be located at the Environmental Research Laboratory, Narragansett, Rhode Island. Directs the Administrator to establish: (1) a program for identifying indicators of marine ecosystem quality; and (2) a system for designing and reviewing methods for monitoring marine ecosystems. Requires the Administrator to submit to the Congress a Comprehensive Implementation Strategy identifying activities to implement a comprehensive marine ecosystem monitoring program. Directs the Administrator to enter into memoranda of understanding with appropriate Federal agencies to coordinate Federal marine monitoring programs. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on the condition of the nation's marine ecosystems. Directs the Administrator to establish: (1) a Marine Environment Information Program to compile and disseminate information on issues related to the marine environment; and (2) a program of research and monitoring to determine the effects of atmospheric pollutants on degradation of the marine environment. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Coastal Water Quality Protection Programs - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator to submit to the Congress a Coastal Environment Toxics Release Strategy. Requires the Administrator to prepare an annual assessment of the industrial categories discharging pollutants required to be reported pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 into coastal waters and into publicly owned treatment works which discharge into such waters. Provides that the assessment shall identify: (1) categories which discharge the greatest amounts of pollutants; and (2) geographical areas receiving the greatest amount of pollutant discharges. Directs the Administrator to use the assessment to: (1) verify permit information; (2) improve individual control strategies for toxic pollutants; (3) identify other regulatory programs and adopt measures to assure that toxics data is incorporated into those programs; (4) identify pollutants for which water quality criteria have not been published; and (5) target compliance and enforcement actions. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the National Estuary Program. Adds Casco Bay, Maine, and Tampa Bay and Lower St. Johns River, Florida, to the list of areas to be given priority consideration for management conferences under the National Estuary Program. Prohibits the Administrator from convening a management conference for any estuary which is not designated as a priority marine water body under this Act. Authorizes (currently, requires) the Administrator to carry out specified environmental monitoring and research programs in estuaries. Directs the Administrator to designate all marine water bodies which do not assure the protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife and allow for recreational activities in and on the water. Requires the Administrator, in the designation of such water bodies, to give priority to water bodies which: (1) function as ecological systems; and (2) exhibit a range of degradation problems and are degraded by various pollution sources. Sets forth specific requirements for such water bodies with respect to point source discharges, permits for discharges of storm water, restrictions on disposal sites and discharges of sewage from vessels, pretreatment of industrial wastes, and management programs for watersheds. Requires publicly owned treatment works which serve industrial users and discharge to a designated water body to establish or revise a pretreatment program to include requirements for: (1) permits for industrial discharges into the treatment works; (2) local limits to control the discharge of toxic pollutants into the treatment works; (3) random sampling and inspection of industrial users; (4) development of enforcement response plans; (5) notification by industrial users of any discharge into the treatment works of a waste listed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and (6) notification by industrial users in advance of changes in the volume or character of pollutants in their discharge. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop and test guidelines for publicly owned treatment works to reduce and control the sources of toxic pollutants found in waste waters; and (2) establish a data base of such sources. Requires local governments to provide State certifications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to show that requirements for construction in the 100-year marine flood plain are adequate to assure that such construction will not violate State water quality standards. Directs FEMA to suspend any community failing to provide such certification from the flood insurance program. Requires the Administrator to establish a national program of outreach information and technical assistance for owners of marine land. Directs the Administrator to provide such owners with specified information concerning land management and environmental protection. Authorizes the delegation of the operation of such programs to States. Requires the Administrator to provide technical assistance to the Secretary of Agriculture to reduce agricultural and related sources of nonpoint source pollution to coastal waters. Directs the Administrator to: (1) identify those lands which, if enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, would contribute to protection of the coastal environment by reducing nonpoint source pollution; and (2) furnish the list of such lands to the Secretary to assist the Secretary in establishing priorities for expenditures under the Conservation Reserve Program. Requires the Administrator to prohibit the discharge from a vessel of sewage into any designated water body. Directs the Administrator to: (1) study the availability of adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from vessels operating on coastal waters; and (2) report and make recommendations to the Congress on such study to assure that such facilities are reasonably available. Requires the Administrator to submit to specified congressional committees a five-year plan and schedule for the development, review, and revision of criteria for pollutants found in marine waters and sediment. Provides that the plan shall: (1) give priority to pollutants which pose the greatest threat to the marine environment; and (2) provide for biological toxicity criteria for marine waters and sediments. Permits persons to petition the Administrator to develop such criteria. Requires the Administrator to approve a petition if the pollutant is preventing the attainment of a balanced, indigenous population of fish, shellfish, and wildlife or preventing recreation in and on marine waters. Provides for the revision of such criteria, as necessary. Directs each State bordering on marine waters to promulgate numerical marine water and sediment quality standards for pollutants for which criteria have been published under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Requires such standards to assure the protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife and provide for recreational activities in and on the water. Directs the Administrator to establish standards for States which fail to do so and for areas of the marine environment not under State control. Provides that State standards shall take precedence over Federal standards, unless the Federal standard is more stringent or protective of human health and the environment. Authorizes State Governors to petition the Administrator for less stringent standards if proven that such standards will assure an equal degree of protection of human health and the environment and are appropriate because of significant differences in the biological, physical, and chemical characteristics of the waters in question and U.S. marine waters and sediments. Prohibits the issuance of permits for discharges into the territorial sea, the waters of the contiguous zone, or the oceans if the Administrator determines that a discharge is expected to: (1) prevent the protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of fish and wildlife and recreational activities in and on the water; or (2) prevent the attainment of standards established pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to apply specified ocean discharge criteria in considering permit requests for discharges in estuarine waters. Deems regulations creating exemptions to ocean discharge requirements to be invalid. Requires the Administrator, in assessing the effects of a proposed discharge to marine waters, to consider an applicant's demonstration of the need to discharge based on a showing of measures to eliminate or minimize the discharge. Directs the Administrator to publish guidance describing pollution prevention methods and the EPA's expectations with regard to such demonstrations. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Program. Title III: Marine Sediment Contamination - National Sediment Contamination Survey Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the Administrator to: (1) conduct a survey of, and report to the Congress on, sediment contamination in U.S. coastal waters; and (2) compile information on the quantity, chemical and physical makeup, and geographic location of contaminated sediments, the source of contamination, and the environmental and human health effects of contamination. Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act to prohibit the issuance of permits or dumping authorizations for dumping material which contains contaminants in excess of water or sediment quality standards or criteria adopted pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Provides for special permits (currently, waivers of requirements) for the disposition of dredged material which would result in noncompliance with dumping criteria or restrictions. Requires the Administrator (currently, authorizes) to designate sites or times for ocean dumping. Directs the Administrator to develop and implement site management plans for designated ocean dumping sites. Prohibits the designation of, and the issuance of permits or dumping authorizations for, a site unless a site management plan has been developed. Provides for public comment on, and periodic review of, site designation actions and management plans. Revises general permit provisions for ocean dumping. Limits such permits to a period of three years. Expands the scope of penalties for ocean dumping violations. Title IV: Other Provisions - Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct research and monitoring to identify unregulated pollutants in the estuarine zone, coastal waters, and the Great Lakes not currently addressed in requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (2) report to the Congress on such pollutants and provide a plan for integrating these contaminants into the pollution control authorities of such Act. Provides for studies and reports on pollution in coastal waters. Requires the Administrator to: (1) study the activities of Federal agencies that may result in degradation of coastal waters; and (2) report to the Congress on the study and recommendations to reduce such degradation. Directs Federal agencies to minimize degradation of coastal waters and preserve the natural values served by such waters in carrying out responsibilities. Requires the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study and report to specified congressional committees on the nature of the relationship between contact with marine pollutants and shellfish consumption with the incidence of human illnesses. Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the economic impacts caused by marine degradation; and (2) the impact that enhanced nitrogen levels in the marine environment may have on stimulating toxic algal blooms. Requires the EPA Administrator to report on the potential use of microorganisms to degrade pollutants such as organic material or chemical pollutants in municipal or industrial wastes both before and after disposal in the marine environment and the Great Lakes.

National Energy Efficiency and Development Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1991

National Energy Efficiency and Development Act of 1991 - Title I: Energy Policy Initiatives - Subtitle A: National Energy Strategy - Requires the first National Energy Policy Plan submitted by the President to the Congress after enactment of this Act to include a least-cost energy strategy prepared by the Secretary of Energy (Secretary). Requires such strategy to contain: (1) a comprehensive inventory of available energy and energy efficiency resources and their costs; (2) a proposed two-year program for assuring adequate supplies of such resources, along with identification of actions possible under existing Federal law; and (3) recommendations for any new Federal authority needed to achieve the purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Director of Climate Protection - Directs the Secretary to appoint a Director of Climate Protection to: (1) serve as the Secretary's representative for interagency and multilateral policy discussions of global climate change; (2) monitor domestic and international policies for their effects on the generation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; and (3) have the authority to participate in departmental planning activities. Title II: Measures to Improve the Energy Efficiency of the United States Economy - Subtitle A: Research and Development - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (REEETCA) to authorize appropriations for energy efficiency research and development. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress triennially on energy efficiency policy options. Subtitle B: Industrial Energy Efficiency - Directs the Secretary to pursue a research and development program and enter into cost-shared joint ventures to improve efficiency in energy intensive industries (such as steel, chemicals, glass, paper, and aluminum). Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to develop, directly or by contract, a voluntary national program to devise standards for energy audits and the installation of insulation in industrial facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish (and report to the Congress on): (1) a reporting system for industry to supply annual energy use and energy intensity information; and (2) voluntary energy efficiency improvement targets for energy-intensive industries. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of the data it collects on energy use in the United States; and (2) report annually to the Congress on such data. Subtitle C: Efficiency in Commercial and Residential Buildings and Other Products - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary to establish a program to provide technical assistance to States and localities in updating energy efficiency provisions of residential and commercial building codes. Requires each State or locality, by four years after enactment of this Act, to certify that it has reviewed and updated such codes so that they meet or exceed the requirements of the Council of American Building Officials' Model Energy Code (CABO-MEC). Requires each State or locality, by three years after such certification, to further certify that all new residential commercial buildings built during such period meet updated code requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to promulgate procedural guidelines for, and provide technical assistance to, States which adopt residential energy efficiency rating systems. Requires all residential buildings, by five years after enactment of this Act, to have numerical energy efficiency ratings. Requires disclosure to potential purchasers of such ratings. Makes any residential building which fails to meet CABO-MEC standards ineligible for Federal mortgage financing programs. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to advise the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on energy standards for manufactured housing; and (2) test the performance and cost-effectiveness of manufactured housing built to such standards. Creates in the Treasury the State Energy Efficiency Project Fund to provide for grants to States to undertake energy efficiency projects in State- and locally-owned buildings. Requires an annual report to the Congress on Fund activities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national window rating program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows and window systems. Requires the Secretary to establish such a system if no voluntary program succeeds within two years after enactment of this Act. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe labeling rules for such rating system, unless labeling is not technologically or economically feasible or is not likely to help consumers make purchasing decisions. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to set minimum energy efficiency standards for certain types of lamps, appliance motors, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, utility distribution transformers, showerheads, and commercial office equipment. Requires: (1) the FTC to prescribe labeling for such products; and (2) manufacturers to provide labeling meeting FTC requirements. Provides for enforcement of such labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish, for a five-year period, a program to train and certify energy efficiency contractors. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to require all Federal agencies to install all energy conservation measures which are cost-effective on a ten-year life-cycle cost basis. Permits such agencies to accept gas or electric utility incentives designed to encourage cost-effective energy demand management or energy conservation. Requires the Secretary to develop a simplified method of contracting for shared energy savings contract services that will reduce the administrative effort and cost on the part of the government as well as the private customers. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration to analyze significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule and develop and implement a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for the transfer of up to $1,000,000 per project to encourage Federal agencies to undertake energy efficiency projects in federally owned facilities. Requires annual reports to the Congress on such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program to reward outstanding facility energy managers in Federal agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the President to promulgate rules prohibiting each executive agency from acquiring any automobile with a fuel economy that is not greater than the average fuel economy for that particular model type for the previous model year. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress, and update every two years, a plan for demonstrating energy efficiency and renewable energy resource technologies in federally owned facilities. Amends REEETCA to require the Secretary to finance at least one joint venture for the demonstration of fuel cell technology in Federal facilities in order to accelerate commercial application of such cells. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the use of Federal purchasing power to encourage the development of more energy efficient products. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Utility Energy Efficiency - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to direct States to require State-regulated utilities to employ a planning and selection process for new energy resources that evaluates the full range of existing and incremental resources in order to meet expected future demand at the lowest possible cost to society. Declares that the rates allowed to be charged by a State-regulated utility shall be such that: (1) the utility's investments in and expenditures for energy conservation, energy efficiency resources, and other demand-side management resources are at least as profitable as those for the construction of new generating equipment or the acquisition of other new supply-side resources; and (2) the utility is encouraged to make investments and expenditures for all cost-effective improvements in the energy efficiency of power generation and supply. States that the full cost of an energy resource shall include specified external costs associated with its use. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress and certify which States have complied with such requirements. Declares that, beginning four years after enactment of this Act, energy efficiency measures shall be considered as "qualifying facilities" eligible for certain PURPA programs in States that have not adopted procedures to meet the requirements of this Act. Directs the Western, Southwestern, and Southeastern Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) to ensure that they and their customer utilities acquire all cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. Requires each long-term firm power contract between a PMA and a customer utility to require the utility to develop and implement an energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Requires such PMAs to implement programs directly to acquire cost-effective conservation and renewable energy resources in the region in conjunction with such utility programs. Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to: (1) develop a similar least-cost plan; and (2) execute similar long-term firm contracts with its customer utilities. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to: (1) develop an office of energy efficiency to coordinate FERC's energy conservation and efficiency activities; and (2) establish procedures for expedited review of any interstate power sales conducted in accordance with the purchasing utility's least-cost energy plan. Subtitle F: Used Oil Energy Production Act of 1991 - Used Oil Energy Production Act of 1991 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require a producer or importer of 100,000 gallons or more per year of lubricating oil to increase annually the percentage (set by the Secretary) of recycled oil either: (1) by refining, rerefining, or reprocessing it into petroleum products (including fuels); or (2) by purchasing certain oil recycling credits. Exempts certain facilities from such requirements. Requires annual reports to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to list or identify used oil as a hazardous waste for certain purposes. Subtitle G: Tire Recycling Incentives - Tire Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require tire producers or importers to increase annually the percentage (set by the EPA Administrator) of scrap tires recycled either: (1) by retreading or processing new tire products; or (2) by purchasing certain tire recycling credits. Requires the EPA Administrator to report to the Congress on scrap tire recycling. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this subtitle. Directs the EPA Administrator to: (1) publish in the Federal Register minimum requirements for State scrap tire management and procedures under which such requirements shall be incorporated into State solid waste management plans; (2) provide for expedited review of State plans which include specified scrap tire recycling measures; and (3) establish standards to minimize health and environmental damages from the improper disposal and storage of tires. Requires such standards to provide for: (1) bans on the disposal of tires in land disposal facilities and on the intentional infliction of damage on tire casings to preclude casings from being used in retreading; (2) State inventories of scrap tire collection facilities, tire advisory boards, and scrap tire abatement plans; (3) agreements between facilities which distribute more than 1,000 tires annually and licensed tire haulers for the exclusive hauling of scrap tires by licensed haulers; and (4) prohibitions on the transportation of scrap tires by transporters without transportation identification numbers. Specifies exceptions. Directs the Administrator to publish guidelines for States for the issuance of permits to scrap tire collection facilities. Requires the Administrator to promulgate guidelines for States for facility emergency plans. Requires facility owners or operators to notify the State immediately in the event of an emergency with potential offsite impacts. Requires all regulated facilities to have appropriate financial responsibility or insurance to maintain the facility for at least five years after closure. Exempts specified persons from permit requirements. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the State to use to issue permits to scrap tire recycling facilities. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, together with the heads of agencies responsible for public lands or military installations, to implement a plan to remediate tire piles. Directs the Administrator to develop a guideline for procuring items that make use of scrap or used tires. Requires Federal departments, if the Administrator fails to promulgate such guideline, to procure items containing at least 75 percent of post-consumer scrap rubber from scrap tires if the rubber is available within a reasonable time at a reasonable price and meets performance standards. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to publish standards to determine the life-cycle costs and benefits of items that make use of rubber from scrap or used tires as compared with items that make use of rubber other than from scrap or used tires. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress on: (1) direct worker environmental health effects relating to asphalt made from crumb rubber from scrap tires; (2) the recyclability of asphalt road surfaces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires; and (3) the estimated life of existing asphalt road surfaces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires. Permits States to: (1) enter into consent agreements with owners and operators of scrap tire collection facilities for proper management and abatement of scrap tires; and (2) levy fines on facilities for noncompliance. Imposes fines on tire facilities and landfills for specified violations of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: Insular Areas Energy Assistance - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to grant financial assistance to Insular area governments to carry out energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Measures to Promote the Use of Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: Renewable Energy Technology Transfers - Amends REEETCA to authorize appropriations for: (1) renewable energy research and development programs; (2) State conservation programs; (3) State research and applied technology transfer programs; (4) Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory information and publications; (5) four pilot programs to demonstrate model technology transfer and design assistance programs; (6) an advanced research and development information computer network; and (7) at least ten photovoltaic demonstration projects of at least ten megawatts in size to supply electric power to a power grid. Directs the Secretary to develop a Strategic Technology Transfer Implementation Plan for the national and international transfer of renewable energy and energy efficiency technology information. Amends the Federal Power Act and PURPA to: (1) make small biomass and hydropower production facilities specifically "eligible facilities" under such Act; and (2) define "alternative power production facility." Subtitle B: Amendments to the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of specified renewable energy and energy efficiency resource technologies. Authorizes CORECT to establish renewable energy industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the range of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of lesser-developed countries. Authorizes appropriations. Earmarks funds to assist U.S. manufacturers of renewable energy and energy efficient technology in exporting their products to lesser-developed countries. Title IV: Measures to Promote the Use of Alternative Motor Vehicles and Fuels - Subtitle A: Alternative Transportation Fuels - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures to demonstrate the feasibility (including safety of specific vehicle design) of using natural gas or other alternative fuels for mass transit. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide financial assistance to encourage the development and commercialization of natural gas and other alternative fuel use in passenger fleets, light duty, and heavy duty trucks. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a training and certification program for technicians who are responsible for vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fuel vehicles to the capability to run on natural gas or other alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of research, development, and demonstration on techniques related to improving natural gas and other alternative fuel vehicle technology. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) institute an awareness program to educate potential purchasers of the costs, emission characteristics, and other features of alternative fuels; (2) report to the Congress on Federal purchasing policies which inhibit Federal purchase of alternative-fuel vehicles; (3) report to the Congress on how Federal, State, and local traffic control measures could promote the use of alternative-fuel vehicles; and (4) develop a plan for establishment of Federal and State trust funds to provide loans to convert vehicles to operate on alternative fuels or purchase alternative-fuel vehicles. Amends the Natural Gas Act to exclude the sale of natural gas as a vehicle fuel from the price regulation jurisdiction of FERC. Declares that a company shall not be considered a natural gas company under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 solely because it distributes or sells natural gas as a motor vehicle fuel. Exempts from State regulation as a public utility (unless otherwise primarily engaged in business as such) any person or entity transporting or selling alternative vehicle fuels. Directs the Secretary to establish a fund to provide 50 percent of the cost of establishing offices of alternative fuels in State governments, as well as alternative fuel programs launched by such offices. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to study whether the use of alternative fuels in nonroad vehicles and engines would contribute substantially to reduced reliance on imported energy sources. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations requiring, where feasible, nonroad vehicles and engines to use alternative fuels if such study concludes that such use could reduce reliance on imported energy sources by ten percent nationwide within a ten-year period. Subtitle B: Alternative Fuel Fleet Requirement - Requires every person who owns, operates, leases, or otherwise controls a motor vehicle fleet of specified composition in a metropolitan statistical area of over 250,000 population which is also an EPA-classified nonattainment area to increase the percentage of alternative-fueled vehicles in such fleet by specified increments annually until it reaches 90 percent in the year 2000. Directs the Secretary to allocate credits to covered persons who exceed the required quota of alternative-fueled vehicles. Establishes administrative and civil penalties (together with appropriate enforcement procedures) for violations of the requirements or prohibitions of this subtitle. Subtitle C: Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration - Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to identify EPA-classified nonattainment areas in the United States in which the use of conventionally fueled vehicles contributes significantly to that nonattainment and in which the use of electric vehicles could contribute to attainment of applicable National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Directs the Secretary, after identifying such areas, to request applications from, and eventually select, manufacturers to develop, demonstrate, certify, manufacture, sell, warranty, and service electric vehicles in one or more of them. Requires: (1) the selected manufacturers to offer electric vehicle purchasers certain discounts; and (2) the Secretary to reimburse them the amount of such discounts. Requires annual reports to the Congress on such program. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Transportation and Energy Efficiency - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to establish average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and automobiles other than passenger automobiles (light trucks) for model years 1996 and thereafter. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to modify such standards, in response to a petition, according to a specified procedure. Requires the EPA Administrator to report annually to specified congressional committees on a study which: (1) examines the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles and light trucks; and (2) assesses the extent to which fuel economy deteriorates during the lifetime of such vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and additional numbers if requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide for a review and report to the Congress by the National Academy of Sciences on the current state of research and development in light truck fuel economy and passenger automobile fuel economy and an assessment of the potential for improving the fuel efficiency and reducing the energy consumption of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Requires the Secretary of Energy to study and report to the Congress on the future options for regulating the fuel efficiency of such vehicles beyond 2001. Provides for the judicial review of average fuel economy standards (including modifications thereof) established under this Act. Doubles the civil penalty for repeated violations of the fuel economy standard. Requires such penalty to be adjusted for inflation. Title VI: Measures to Displace Petroleum as a Vehicle Fuel - Replacement Fuels and Alternative Fuels Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to: (1) establish a program to promote the development and use of domestic-produced replacement and alternative fuels; and (2) prescribe the minimum percentage of domestic-produced replacement and alternative fuels, on an energy equivalent basis, to be sold in calendar years 1996 and 1997 by any refiner for use as a motor fuel. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to authorize the Secretary of Transportation, if the average fuel economy standard for passenger automobiles is increased above 27.5 miles per gallon for any model year, to increase the maximum increase in average fuel economy for a manufacturer attributable to dual energy and natural gas dual energy automobiles until alternative and replacement motor fuel sales indicate that such fuels are displacing conventional petroleum as a motor fuel. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act and a procedure for appealing such penalties. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Measures to Promote the Use of Natural Gas - Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to conduct a program of research, development, and demonstration of cofiring (of natural gas and pulverized coal), including gas reburn technologies (which reduce nitrogen oxide emissions), in electric utility units and large industrial boilers in order to determine optimal natural gas injection levels for both environmental and operational benefits. Provides for financial assistance to or cooperative agreements with public or private entities under such program. Sets the Federal shares of costs at 50 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to expand the program for research, development, and demonstration for natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Natural Gas Act to direct FERC to develop an incentive formula for rates and charges for the sale or transportation of natural gas. Sets as the development goals for such formula: (1) allowing natural gas companies to earn a fair rate of return; (2) providing proper price signals to the marketplace; and (3) rewarding pipeline efficiency. Repeals FERC's authority to delay decision-making on ratemaking orders beyond the 30-day rehearing requirement without cause. Requires FERC to take final action on a rehearing application within 60 days after it is filed. Permits natural gas companies to file for FERC approval joint rates negotiated by them for the transportation of natural gas through each of their pipelines in sequence on the way to market. Exempts such rates from coverage under specified antitrust law. Declares that, in the setting of natural gas company rates, a plant shall be recognized so long as it is used and useful in discharging the company's utility business (even if it is already completely depreciated). Declares that pipeline sales rates shall be presumed just and reasonable if workably competitive alternatives exist for such sales. Sets forth conditions under which new natural gas company services (where competitive, certified services already exist) do not need a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Amends the Natural Gas Act to provide automatic abandonment of the sales obligation upon contract expiration, subject to a pipeline's right to extend. Declares that any fixed charge paid by an interstate pipeline to a first seller for gas supply security shall be recoverable on an "as-billed basis" in the pipeline's demand charges, unless FERC determines, after a hearing, that the pipeline does not offer a reasonably competitive alternative to its sales service. Requires the Secretary to condition the approval of any natural gas import application upon FERC action to redress any anti-competitive impacts on U.S. gas producers, including competitive disparities resulting from different rate designs applied to the transportation of domestic gas and imported supplies. Directs the Secretary to expand and continue, through joint ventures, a program of research, development, and demonstration on techniques to increase: (1) intensive recovery of natural gas in place in discovered reservoirs or formations; and (2) economic recovery from nonconventional sources, including tight formation, Devonian shales, and geopressurized brines. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1968 to exempt from Natural Gas Act coverage and FERC jurisdiction the construction or operation of any facilities if the natural gas company constructing such facilities: (1) holds a certificate pursuant to which it has agreed to provide open access transportation service; and (2) the company agrees that such certificate shall apply to any transportation service through the new facilities. Requires all such facilities to be constructed in accordance with applicable environmental protection and safety laws and regulations, except the National Environmental Policy Act of 1978 (NEPA). Directs FERC to create an environmental review process under NEPA providing that pipeline construction projects which are confined to existing utility or highway corridors, and do not involve construction in high value wetland areas, shall be afforded a rebuttable presumption of no significant impact. Makes FERC the lead agency with primary authority for compliance with NEPA in any case where FERC authorization of the construction or operation of facilities or projects under the Natural Gas Act may be deemed a major Federal action. Amends the Natural Gas Act to grant FERC the power to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity in a two-phase process: (1) the first phase, which shall constitute a final order, involving all matters requiring FERC review and approval except environmental matters; and (2) the second phase, addressing required environmental matters only. Directs FERC to revise its environmental review procedures to allow pipelines to submit Environmental Assessments (EAs) at the time of filing for approval of proposed facilities, using general standards specified by FERC. Requires the revised procedures to presume EAs valid subject to FERC review for compliance with its own standards. Requires FERC to permit a certificate applicant to elect a contractor, consultant or other FERC designee to prepare the environmental impact statement at the applicant's expense. Requires FERC to develop procedures to ensure against conflicts of interest in such contracting. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the global trends of production, usage, and transportation of natural gas and the ways in which these trends can affect domestic energy policy and the U.S. natural gas industry; and (2) State and locally imposed institutional and regulatory barriers to increase national natural gas usage. Title VIII: Tax Treatment of Energy Resources - Subtitle A: Renewable Energy Production Incentive - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a renewable energy production credit for electric power plants that operate on solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Sets the credit at two cents (inflation-adjusted annually) per kilowatt hour produced and sold by the taxpayer to an unrelated person. Applies such credit only to facilities built during taxable years 1991 through 1996. Sets forth decreasing credit allowances for 1997 through 2001. Sets the credit for geothermal properties at half the credit for other renewable energy properties. Subtitle B: Transportation - Limits the exclusion from gross income of parking provided by the taxpayer's employer to parking located on the employer's premises only. (Currently the parking may be located on or near the premises.) Requires the employer to operate such facility and restrict substantially all its use to employees. Expands the working condition fringe exclusion from gross income to include up to $75 per month of any van pooling or reimbursement for public mass transit use provided by the taxpayer's employer. Subtitle C: Buildings and Housing Tax Credits - Allows an individual a tax credit of up to $100 of qualified oil retrofit conservation expenditures ($50 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return) for the taxpayer's principal residence. Defines oil retrofit component to include: (1) flame retention burners; (2) insulation measures and water-heater wraps; (3) automatic thermostat controls; and (4) window insulation measures. Subtitle D: Utilities - Excludes from gross income the amount (if in cash) or value (if in kind) of any subsidy (rebate) provided by a public utility to a customer in connection with the purchase, installation, use, or maintenance of any energy or water conservation measure or for energy savings delivered by such measures. Denies any deduction or credit to the extent of any such subsidy excluded from gross income. Declares that this tax exclusion does not apply to any payment to a qualified cogeneration facility or qualifying small power production facility under PURPA. Subtitle E: Automobiles and Trucks - Safe and Efficient Vehicles Incentives Act of 1991 - Establishes: (1) taxes on the sale of each new motor vehicle whose fuel economy is less, or whose composite safety factor is less, than the respective sales-weighted average fuel economy or average composite safety factor of all new motor vehicles within the same class; and (2) rebates for the purchase of each new motor vehicle whose fuel economy is greater, or whose composite safety factor is greater, than the respective sales-weighted average fuel economy or composite safety factor of all new motor vehicles within the same class. Sets forth formulae for the calculation of such taxes and rebates. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to publish in the Federal Register and notify each manufacturer or importer of such formulae annually. Requires labeling boldly displaying such taxes and rebates on all vehicles for sale. Provides for collection of taxes and disbursement of rebates. Sets forth formulae for the calculation of sales-weighted average fuel economies and composite safety factors. Subtitle F: Domestic Oil and Gas Production Incentives - Removes the net income limitation on the percentage depletion allowance deduction for oil and gas wells. Allows a tax credit for up to ten percent of the qualified cost of each barrel of crude oil produced from an economically marginal well (including certain stripper wells) or recovered through a tertiary recovery method. Provides for carryback or carryforward of unused credit. Allows a tax credit for specified percentages of the taxpayer's qualified investment in crude oil and natural gas exploration and development wells. Eliminates intangible drilling costs as tax preference items. Allows deduction of specified drilling costs from the Alternative Minimum Tax calculation. Repeals the taxable income limitation on the percentage depletion allowance. Allows the carryforward of excess depletion allowances. Repeals a specified Revenue Ruling with respect to mineral sharing arrangements. Allows the nonconventional source fuels credit to offset the Alternative Minimum Tax liability. Repeals the January 1, 1993, termination date for such credit, thus making it permanent.

National Energy Efficiency and Development Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1991

National Energy Efficiency and Development Act of 1991 - Title I: Energy Policy Initiatives - Subtitle A: National Energy Strategy - Requires the first National Energy Policy Plan submitted by the President to the Congress after enactment of this Act to include a least-cost energy strategy prepared by the Secretary of Energy (Secretary). Requires such strategy to contain: (1) a comprehensive inventory of available energy and energy efficiency resources and their costs; (2) a proposed two-year program for assuring adequate supplies of such resources, along with identification of actions possible under existing Federal law; and (3) recommendations for any new Federal authority needed to achieve the purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Director of Climate Protection - Directs the Secretary to appoint a Director of Climate Protection to: (1) serve as the Secretary's representative for interagency and multilateral policy discussions of global climate change; (2) monitor domestic and international policies for their effects on the generation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; and (3) have the authority to participate in departmental planning activities. Title II: Measures to Improve the Energy Efficiency of the United States Economy - Subtitle A: Research and Development - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (REEETCA) to authorize appropriations for energy efficiency research and development. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress triennially on energy efficiency policy options. Subtitle B: Industrial Energy Efficiency - Directs the Secretary to pursue a research and development program and enter into cost-shared joint ventures to improve efficiency in energy intensive industries (such as steel, chemicals, glass, paper, and aluminum). Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to develop, directly or by contract, a voluntary national program to devise standards for energy audits and the installation of insulation in industrial facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish (and report to the Congress on): (1) a reporting system for industry to supply annual energy use and energy intensity information; and (2) voluntary energy efficiency improvement targets for energy-intensive industries. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of the data it collects on energy use in the United States; and (2) report annually to the Congress on such data. Subtitle C: Efficiency in Commercial and Residential Buildings and Other Products - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary to establish a program to provide technical assistance to States and localities in updating energy efficiency provisions of residential and commercial building codes. Requires each State or locality, by four years after enactment of this Act, to certify that it has reviewed and updated such codes so that they meet or exceed the requirements of the Council of American Building Officials' Model Energy Code (CABO-MEC). Requires each State or locality, by three years after such certification, to further certify that all new residential commercial buildings built during such period meet updated code requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to promulgate procedural guidelines for, and provide technical assistance to, States which adopt residential energy efficiency rating systems. Requires all residential buildings, by five years after enactment of this Act, to have numerical energy efficiency ratings. Requires disclosure to potential purchasers of such ratings. Makes any residential building which fails to meet CABO-MEC standards ineligible for Federal mortgage financing programs. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to advise the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on energy standards for manufactured housing; and (2) test the performance and cost-effectiveness of manufactured housing built to such standards. Creates in the Treasury the State Energy Efficiency Project Fund to provide for grants to States to undertake energy efficiency projects in State- and locally-owned buildings. Requires an annual report to the Congress on Fund activities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national window rating program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows and window systems. Requires the Secretary to establish such a system if no voluntary program succeeds within two years after enactment of this Act. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe labeling rules for such rating system, unless labeling is not technologically or economically feasible, or is not likely to help consumers make purchasing decisions. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to set minimum energy efficiency standards for certain types of lamps, appliance motors, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, utility distribution transformers, showerheads, and commercial office equipment. Requires: (1) the FTC to prescribe labeling for such products; and (2) manufacturers to provide labeling meeting FTC requirements. Provides for enforcement of such labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish, for a five-year period, a program to train and certify energy efficiency contractors. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to require all Federal agencies to install all energy conservation measures which are cost-effective on a ten-year life-cycle cost basis. Permits such agencies to accept gas or electric utility incentives designed to encourage cost-effective energy demand management or energy conservation. Requires the Secretary to develop a simplified method of contracting for shared energy savings contract services that will reduce the administrative effort and cost on the part of the government as well as the private customers. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration to analyze significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule and develop and implement a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for the transfer of up to $1,000,000 per project to encourage Federal agencies to undertake energy efficiency projects in federally owned facilities. Requires annual reports to the Congress on such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program to reward outstanding facility energy managers in Federal agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the President to promulgate rules prohibiting each executive agency from acquiring any automobile with a fuel economy that is not greater than the average fuel economy for that particular model type for the previous model year. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress, and update every two years, a plan for demonstrating energy efficiency and renewable energy resource technologies in federally owned facilities. Amends REEETCA to require the Secretary to finance at least one joint venture for the demonstration of fuel cell technology in Federal facilities in order to accelerate commercial application of such cells. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the use of Federal purchasing power to encourage the development of more energy efficient products. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Utility Energy Efficiency - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to direct States to require State-regulated utilities to employ a planning and selection process for new energy resources that evaluates the full range of existing and incremental resources in order to meet expected future demand at the lowest possible cost to society. Declares that the rates allowed to be charged by a State-regulated utility shall be such that: (1) the utility's investments in and expenditures for energy conservation, energy efficiency resources, and other demand-side management resources are at least as profitable as those for the construction of new generating equipment or the acquisition of other new supply-side resources; and (2) the utility is encouraged to make investments and expenditures for all cost-effective improvements in the energy efficiency of power generation and supply. States that the full cost of an energy resource shall include specified external costs associated with its use. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress and certify which States have complied with such requirements. Declares that, beginning four years after enactment of this Act, energy efficiency measures shall be considered as "qualifying facilities" eligible for certain PURPA programs in States that have not adopted procedures to meet the requirements of this Act. Directs the Western, Southwestern, and Southeastern Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) to ensure that they and their customer utilities acquire all cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. Requires each long-term firm power contract between a PMA and a customer utility to require the utility to develop and implement an energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Requires such PMAs to implement programs directly to acquire cost-effective conservation and renewable energy resources in the region in conjunction with such utility programs. Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to: (1) develop a similar least-cost plan; and (2) execute similar long-term firm contracts with its customer utilities. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to: (1) develop an office of energy efficiency to coordinate FERC's energy conservation and efficiency activities; and (2) establish procedures for expedited review of any interstate power sales conducted in accordance with the purchasing utility's least-cost energy plan. Subtitle F: Used Oil Energy Production Act of 1991 - Used Oil Energy Production Act of 1991 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require a producer or importer of 100,000 gallons or more per year of lubricating oil to increase annually the percentage (set by the Secretary) of recycled oil either: (1) by refining, rerefining, or reprocessing it into petroleum products (including fuels); or (2) by purchasing certain oil recycling credits. Exempts certain facilities from such requirements. Requires annual reports to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to list or identify used oil as a hazardous waste for certain purposes. Subtitle G: Tire Recycling Incentives - Tire Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require tire producers or importers to increase annually the percentage (set by the EPA Administrator) of scrap tires recycled either: (1) by retreading or processing new tire products; or (2) by purchasing certain tire recycling credits. Requires the EPA Administrator to report to the Congress on scrap tire recycling. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this subtitle. Directs the EPA Administrator to: (1) publish in the Federal Register minimum requirements for State scrap tire management and procedures under which such requirements shall be incorporated into State solid waste management plans; (2) provide for expedited review of State plans which include specified scrap tire recycling measures; and (3) establish standards to minimize health and environmental damages from the improper disposal and storage of tires. Requires such standards to provide for: (1) bans on the disposal of tires in land disposal facilities and on the intentional infliction of damage on tire casings to preclude casings from being used in retreading; (2) State inventories of scrap tire collection facilities, tire advisory boards, and scrap tire abatement plans; (3) agreements between facilities which distribute more than 1,000 tires annually and licensed tire haulers for the exclusive hauling of scrap tires by licensed haulers; and (4) prohibitions on the transportation of scrap tires by transporters without transportation identification numbers, with specified exceptions. Directs the Administrator to publish guidelines for States for the issuance of permits to scrap tire collection facilities. Requires the Administrator to promulgate guidelines for States for facility emergency plans. Requires facility owners or operators to notify the State immediately in the event of an emergency with potential offsite impacts. Requires all regulated facilities to have appropriate financial responsibility or insurance to maintain the facility for at least five years after closure. Exempts specified persons from permit requirements. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the State to use to issue permits to scrap tire recycling facilities. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, together with the heads of agencies responsible for public lands or military installations, to implement a plan to remediate tire piles. Directs the Administrator to develop a guideline for procuring items that make use of scrap or used tires. Requires Federal departments, if the Administrator fails to promulgate such guideline, to procure items containing at least 75 percent of post-consumer scrap rubber from scrap tires if the rubber is available within a reasonable amount of time at a reasonable price and meets performance standards. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to publish standards to determine the life-cycle costs and benefits of items that make use of rubber from scrap or used tires as compared with items that make use of rubber from other sources. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to determine and report to the Congress on: (1) direct worker environmental health effects relating to asphalt made from crumb rubber from scrap tires; (2) the recyclability of asphalt road surfaces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires; and (3) the estimated life of existing asphalt road surfaces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires. Permits States to: (1) enter into consent agreements with owners and operators of scrap tire collection facilities for proper management and abatement of scrap tires; and (2) levy fines on facilities for noncompliance. Imposes fines on tire facilities and landfills for specified violations of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: Insular Areas Energy Assistance - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to grant financial assistance to Insular area governments to carry out energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Measures to Promote the Use of Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: Renewable Energy Technology Transfers - Amends REEETCA to authorize appropriations for: (1) renewable energy research and development programs; (2) State conservation programs; (3) State research and applied technology transfer programs; (4) Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory information and publications; (5) four pilot programs to demonstrate model technology transfer and design assistance programs; (6) an advanced research and development information computer network; and (7) at least ten photovoltaic demonstration projects of at least ten megawatts in size to supply electric power to a power grid. Directs the Secretary to develop a Strategic Technology Transfer Implementation Plan for the national and international transfer of renewable energy and energy efficiency technology information. Amends the Federal Power Act and PURPA to: (1) make small biomass and hydropower production facilities specifically "eligible facilities" under such Act; and (2) define "alternative power production facility." Subtitle B: Amendments to the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of specified renewable energy and energy efficiency resource technologies. Authorizes CORECT to establish renewable energy industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the range of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of lesser-developed countries. Authorizes appropriations. Earmarks funds to assist U.S. manufacturers of renewable energy and energy efficient technology in exporting their products to lesser-developed countries. Title IV: Measures to Promote the Use of Alternative Motor Vehicles and Fuels - Subtitle A: Alternative Transportation Fuels - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures to demonstrate the feasibility (including safety of specific vehicle design) of using natural gas or other alternative fuels for mass transit. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide financial assistance to encourage the development and commercialization of natural gas and other alternative fuel use in passenger fleets, light duty trucks, and heavy duty trucks. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a training and certification program for technicians who are responsible for vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles to the capability to run on natural gas or other alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of research, development, and demonstration on techniques related to improving natural gas and other alternative fueled vehicle technology. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) institute an awareness program to educate potential purchasers of the costs, emission characteristics, and other features of alternative fuels; (2) report to the Congress on Federal purchasing policies which inhibit Federal purchase of alternative-fueled vehicles; (3) report to the Congress on how Federal, State, and local traffic control measures could promote the use of alternative-fueled vehicles; and (4) develop a plan for establishment of Federal and State trust funds to provide loans to convert vehicles to operate on alternative fuels or purchase alternative-fueled vehicles. Amends the Natural Gas Act to exclude the sale of natural gas as a vehicle fuel from the price regulation jurisdiction of FERC. Declares that a company shall not be considered a natural gas company under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 solely because it distributes or sells natural gas as a motor vehicle fuel. Exempts from State regulation as a public utility (unless otherwise primarily engaged in business as such) any person or entity transporting or selling alternative vehicle fuels. Directs the Secretary to establish a fund to provide 50 percent of the cost of establishing offices of alternative fuels in State governments, as well as alternative fuel programs launched by such offices. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to study whether the use of alternative fuels in nonroad vehicles and engines would contribute substantially to reduced reliance on imported energy sources. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations requiring, where feasible, nonroad vehicles and engines to use alternative fuels if such study concludes that such use could reduce reliance on imported energy sources by ten percent nationwide within a ten-year period. Subtitle B: Alternative Fuel Fleet Requirement - Requires every person who owns, operates, leases, or otherwise controls a motor vehicle fleet of specified composition in a metropolitan statistical area of over 250,000 population which is also an EPA-classified nonattainment area to increase the percentage of alternative-fueled vehicles in such fleet by specified increments annually until it reaches 90 percent in the year 2000. Directs the Secretary to allocate credits to covered persons who exceed the required quota of alternative-fueled vehicles. Establishes administrative and civil penalties (together with appropriate enforcement procedures) for violations of this subtitle. Subtitle C: Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration - Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to identify EPA-classified nonattainment areas in the United States in which the use of conventionally fueled vehicles contributes significantly to that nonattainment and in which the use of electric vehicles could contribute to attainment of applicable National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Directs the Secretary, after identifying such areas, to select manufacturers to sell and service electric vehicles in such areas. Requires: (1) the selected manufacturers to offer electric vehicle purchasers certain discounts; and (2) the Secretary to reimburse them the amount of such discounts. Requires annual reports to the Congress on such program. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Transportation and Energy Efficiency - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to establish average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 1996 and thereafter. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to modify such standards, according to a specified procedure. Requires the EPA Administrator to report annually to specified congressional committees on a study which: (1) examines the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles and light trucks; and (2) assesses the extent to which fuel economy deteriorates during the lifetime of such vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and additional numbers if requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide for a review and report to the Congress by the National Academy of Sciences on the current state of research and development in light truck fuel economy and passenger automobile fuel economy and an assessment of the potential for improving the fuel efficiency and reducing the energy consumption of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Requires the Secretary of Energy to study and report to the Congress on the future options for regulating the fuel efficiency of such vehicles beyond 2001. Provides for the judicial review of average fuel economy standards (including modifications thereof) established under this Act. Doubles the civil penalty for repeated violations of the fuel economy standard. Requires such penalty to be adjusted for inflation. Title VI: Measures to Displace Petroleum as a Vehicle Fuel - Replacement Fuels and Alternative Fuels Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to: (1) establish a program to promote the development and use of domestic-produced replacement and alternative fuels; and (2) prescribe the minimum percentage of domestic-produced replacement and alternative fuels on an energy equivalent basis, to be sold in calendar years 1996 and 1997 by any refiner for use as a motor fuel. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to authorize the Secretary of Transportation, if the average fuel economy standard for passenger automobiles is increased above 27.5 miles per gallon for any model year, to increase the maximum increase in average fuel economy for a manufacturer attributable to dual energy and natural gas dual energy automobiles until alternative and replacement motor fuel sales indicate that such fuels are displacing conventional petroleum as a motor fuel. Sets forth civil penalties for violation of this Act and a procedure for appealing such penalties. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Measures to Promote the Use of Natural Gas - Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to conduct a program of research, development, and demonstration of cofiring (of natural gas and pulverized coal), including gas reburn technologies (which reduce nitrogen oxide emissions), in electric utility units and large industrial boilers in order to determine optimal natural gas injection levels for both environmental and operational benefits. Provides for financial assistance to or cooperative agreements with public or private entities under such program. Sets the Federal shares of costs at 50 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to expand the program for research, development, and demonstration for natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Natural Gas Act to direct FERC to develop an incentive formula for rates and charges for the sale or transportation of natural gas. Sets as the development goals for such formula: (1) allowing natural gas companies to earn a fair rate of return; (2) providing proper price signals to the marketplace; and (3) rewarding pipeline efficiency. Repeals FERC's authority to delay decision-making on ratemaking orders beyond the 30-day rehearing requirement without cause. Requires FERC to take final action on a rehearing application within 60 days after it is filed. Permits natural gas companies to file for FERC approval joint rates negotiated by them for the transportation of natural gas through each of their pipelines in sequence on the way to market. Exempts such rates from coverage under specified antitrust law. Declares that pipeline sales rates shall be presumed just and reasonable if workably competitive alternatives exist for such sales. Sets forth conditions under which new natural gas company services (where competitive, certified services already exist) do not need a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Amends the Natural Gas Act to provide automatic abandonment of the sales obligation upon contract expiration, subject to a pipeline's right to extend. Declares that any fixed charge paid by an interstate pipeline to a first seller for gas supply security shall be recoverable on an "as-billed basis" in the pipeline's demand charges, unless FERC determines, after a hearing, that the pipeline does not offer a reasonably competitive alternative to its sales service. Requires the Secretary to condition the approval of any natural gas import application upon FERC action to redress any anti-competitive impacts on U.S. gas producers, including competitive disparities resulting from different rate designs applied to the transportation of domestic gas and imported supplies. Directs the Secretary to expand and continue, through joint ventures, a program of research, development, and demonstration on techniques to increase: (1) intensive recovery of natural gas in place in discovered reservoirs or formations; and (2) economic recovery from nonconventional sources, including tight formation, Devonian shales, and geopressurized brines. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1968 to exempt from Natural Gas Act coverage and FERC jurisdiction the construction or operation of any facilities if the natural gas company constructing such facilities: (1) holds a certificate pursuant to which it has agreed to provide open access transportation service; and (2) the company agrees that such certificate shall apply to any transportation service through the new facilities. Requires all such facilities to be constructed in accordance with applicable environmental protection and safety laws and regulations, except the National Environmental Policy Act of 1978 (NEPA). Directs FERC to create an environmental review process under NEPA providing that pipeline construction projects which are confined to existing utility or highway corridors, and do not involve construction in high value wetland areas, shall be afforded a rebuttable presumption of no significant impact. Makes FERC the lead agency with primary authority for compliance with NEPA in any case where FERC authorization of the construction or operation of facilities or projects under the Natural Gas Act may be deemed a major Federal action. Amends the Natural Gas Act to grant FERC the power to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity in a two-phase process: (1) the first phase, which shall constitute a final order, involving all matters requiring FERC review and approval except environmental matters; and (2) the second phase, addressing required environmental matters only. Directs FERC to revise its environmental review procedures to allow pipelines to submit Environmental Assessments (EAs) at the time of filing for approval of proposed facilities, using general standards specified by FERC. Requires the revised procedures to presume EAs valid subject to FERC review for compliance with its own standards. Requires FERC to permit a certificate applicant to elect a contractor, consultant or other FERC designee to prepare the environmental impact statement at the applicant's expense. Requires FERC to develop procedures to ensure against conflicts of interest in such contracting. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the global trends of production, usage, and transportation of natural gas and the ways in which these trends can affect domestic energy policy and the U.S. natural gas industry; and (2) State and locally imposed institutional and regulatory barriers to increase national natural gas usage.

A bill to increase the use of natural gas in the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1991

Declares that for purposes of the Natural Gas Act: (1) any sale of natural gas for ultimate use as a motor vehicle fuel (VNG) shall be deemed "ultimately consumed" within the State in which its physical delivery occurs regardless of its physical combustion in another State; (2) certification from a State commission to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it has regulatory jurisdiction over a person who receives natural gas which is ultimately consumed within such State shall constitute conclusive evidence of such jurisdiction; (3) sales for resale of VNG by the holder of a service area determination shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State commission in the State in which physical delivery of such VNG occurs; (4) transportation of VNG by the holder of a service area determination shall deem the VNG to be consumed within the State in which physical delivery occurs; and (5) the sale for resale, or transportation of VNG by the holder of a service area determination shall be deemed subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State commission of the State in which such activity occurred. Requires the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) institute a government-sponsored public education program regarding alternative fuel costs and characteristics; (2) report to the Congress on Federal purchasing policies regarding alternative-fueled vehicles and on the promotion of such vehicles through preferential treatment under Federal, State and local traffic control measures; and (3) develop a plan for the establishment of a trust fund for loans to convert vehicles to use of alternative-fuels or to purchase vehicles that already use them. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with governmental or regional transit authorities in certain-sized urban areas to demonstrate the feasibility of using alternative fuels for mass transit. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance and implement a program to encourage commercialization of alternative fuels for passenger fleets, light-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program with respect to the conversion and maintenance of alternative-fueled vehicles. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to implement a research and demonstration program with respect to: (1) improved alternative-fueled vehicle technology; (2) cofiring of natural gas and pulverized coal in electric utility units and large industrial boilers in order to determine optimal natural gas injection levels for both environmental and operational benefits; (3) techniques to increase the availability of natural gas from specified sources; and (4) natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies in residential and commercial buildings. Authorizes appropriations. Declares that for purposes of the Clean Air Act physical or operational changes in electric utility steam generating units undertaken for pollution control purposes shall not be treated as modifications for a specific regulated pollutant if such changes do not increase the potential emissions of such pollutant from such units above the potential emissions before the change. Outlines nitrogen oxide control requirements at an existing electric utility steam generating unit for purposes of the Clean Air Act. Amends the Natural Gas Act to set forth a statutory incentive scheme to expand natural gas production, pipelines and services. Deems rates to be just and reasonable if they meet one of three specified criteria, including falling within a FERC-prescribed zone of reasonableness whose upper limit shall be the rates yielded by incorporating a current market valuation of the natural gas company's investment, and whose lower limit shall provide for the minimum return on investment necessary to attract and retain capital. Sets forth a 60-day deadline within which FERC must take final action on rehearing applications. Prohibits FERC from deferring action on the merits of an application through issuance of an order during such period. Exempts from antitrust liability joint natural gas transportation rates negotiated by natural gas companies pursuant to FERC approval. Mandates that pipeline rates include investments made by a natural gas company which are used in rendering service. Sets forth FERC criteria under which any amount charged for a sale for resale by an interstate pipeline shall be deemed just and reasonable. Sets forth conditions under which certain new natural gas services shall either: (1) be authorized by the acceptance of tariff sheets and not require a certificate of public convenience and necessity; or (2) be exempt from the tariff and rate review provisions of the Natural Gas Act. Permits a natural gas company to abandon without FERC approval jurisdictional sales services to customers upon expiration of the underlying sales contract. Requires FERC approval of any such abandonment if the customer has previously converted jurisdictional sales services to jurisdictional transportation services and pays the just and reasonable non-discriminatory rate. Provides that fixed charges paid by an interstate pipeline to a first seller for gas supply security shall be recoverable on an "as-billed basis" in the pipeline's demand charges unless FERC determines that the pipeline does not offer reasonably competitive alternatives to its sales service. States that action by FERC to redress any anticompetitive impacts upon domestic gas producers shall be a prerequisite to the approval of an import application. Declares that the Natural Gas and FERC jurisdiction do not apply to a facility constructed by a natural gas company which would otherwise be subject to FERC jurisdiction by virtue of such construction if that company meets specified criteria. Declares that for purposes of required environmental review of natural gas pipeline projects there shall be a rebuttable presumption of a finding of no significant impact for any natural gas pipeline construction project which either utilizes existing utility or highway corridors, or does not involve construction in high value wetland areas. Makes FERC the lead agency for preparation of environmental assessments and environmental impact statements regarding interstate natural gas facilities. Sets forth a two-phase certification process the first phase of which shall involve all matters requiring FERC review over non-environmental matters, and the second phase of which shall address only required environmental matters. Makes FERC approval pursuant to each phase a final order on such matters. Outlines expedited procedures for Environmental Assessments submitted by pipelines. States such Assessments shall be presumptively valid if they use a FERC-prescribed format. Allows a certificate applicant to pay an outside environmental contractor, approved by FERC, to conduct an environmental review. Requires the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the impact of global natural gas production, usage and transportation trends upon domestic energy policy and the United States natural gas industry; and (2) State and local regulatory barriers to increased natural gas usage. Requires the Office to make recommendations on the establishment of a uniform national policy to enhance natural gas usage.

National Energy Security Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991

National Energy Security Act of 1991 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the energy efficiency and development purposes of this Act. Title II: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Title III: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A: Industrial, Commercial, and Residential - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) to mandate that the construction of new public housing units comply with energy efficiency performance standards. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) promulgate guidelines for State government procedures that would enable the assignment of energy efficiency ratings to residential buildings; (2) establish a technical assistance program for State or local organizations adopting residential energy efficiency rating systems; and (3) undertake joint ventures to encourage commercialization of technologies developed in a research and development program intended to improve energy efficiency and productivity in energy intensive industries and industrial processes. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report triennially to the Congress on energy efficiency policy options that would decrease domestic oil and energy consumption by specified percentages. Amends the Energy Security Act to repeal provisions regarding energy targets. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish voluntary guidelines for energy efficiency audits of industrial facilities and insulation in such facilities; (2) conduct an education and technical assistance program to promote the use of such guidelines; and (3) report on them annually. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of certain energy efficiency data and to report on it annually to the Congress. Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide financial and technical assistance to support voluntary development of a national energy efficiency rating program for lamps and luminaries. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for them. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to direct the Secretary to report to the Congress concerning evaluations of: (1) electric lights and utility distribution transformers; and (2) minimum energy efficiency performance standards of electric motors and pumps. Subtitle B: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to prescribe energy management requirements for energy conservation and efficiency in Federal buildings. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration: (1) to conduct an analysis of significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule; and (2) to develop a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to consider fuel efficiency and cost savings when evaluating bids for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light trucks. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) the funding of Federal energy efficiency projects; and (2) a biennially updated demonstration plan for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Federally-owned facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to permit State-regulated electric utilities to charge rates that will make their investments in energy efficiency and conservation measures as profitable as their investments in new facilities construction. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) the extent to which State-regulated electric utility rates reflect least-cost planning; (2) specified effects of least-cost planning; and (3) the extent to which ratemaking methodologies implementing least-cost planning take into account the impact of such measures upon electric utilities' rate of return on investment. Prescribes guidelines for conservation grants to State regulatory authorities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Used Oil Energy Production - Amends EPCA to prescribe market incentive guidelines for the reuse of used oil. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of the recycled oil program. Subtitle E: Insular Areas Energy Assistance - Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance to Insular area governments for renewable energy and energy efficiency measures to reduce their dependence on imported fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: CORECT - Amends the EPCA to name a certain interagency working group the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT). Requires CORECT: (1) to promote the export of United States renewable energy and energy efficiency products and technologies; (2) to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of renewable energy and energy efficiency resource technologies; and (3) to provide in-country technical training and financial assistance. Authorizes CORECT to establish renewable energy industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of developing countries. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Renewable Energy Initiatives - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 to direct the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for joint ventures with respect to: (1) oil and diesel fuel displacement using specified renewable energy sources; and (2) training individuals from developing countries in the United States in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy equipment and of energy efficiency equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees an evaluation of opportunities to minimize waste from processes in the U.S. industries. Subtitle C: Hydropower - Prohibits any State or interstate water pollution control agency from making as a prerequisite to certification any requirements not needed to ensure that discharges resulting from a hydroelectric project will comply with statutory requirements. Amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Power Commission, when issuing a hydroelectric power project licenses, to consider the recommendations of the Secretary under whose supervision the project reservation falls concerning its adequate protection and utilization. Exempts from application of the Federal Power Act any project with a power production capacity of 1500 kilowatts or less. Requires the Secretary to study and report to certain congressional committees on cost-effective opportunities to increase hydropower production at existing federally-owned or operated water regulation, storage, and conveyance facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Coal Technology and Electricity - Subtitle A: Coal and Coal Technology - Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct an advanced coal-based technology research and development program aimed at controlling sulfur and nitrogen oxides at greater proficiency levels; (2) periodically report to the Congress on the program's status; (3) conduct a research and development plan with respect to technologies for non-fuel use of coal; and (4) submit to certain congressional committees a plan for the export of U.S. coal. Establishes the Clean Coal Technology Export Coordinating Council (Council) to: (1) expand the export and use of clean coal technologies (especially in lesser developed countries); and (2) develop a comprehensive data base and information dissemination system regarding their potential need and availability. Requires the Secretary to: (1) report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of technologies for combining coal with other materials; and (2) conduct a research, development, and demonstration program for utilizing "ultra-clean coal-water slurry" in diesel locomotive engines. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a data base containing all transportation rates for specified modes of transporting domestic coal for a certain period; (2) study the rates and distribution patterns of domestic coal to determine the impact of Federal policies upon such patterns; and (3) report the data base and study results to the Congress. Subtitle B: Electricity - Declares that for purposes of the Clean Air Act certain physical or operational changes to an electric utility steam generating unit undertaken for purposes of pollution control shall not be treated as a modification if the change does not increase the potential emission of the specific regulated pollutant above the pre-existing potential. Sets conditions for finding such a unit in compliance with technology requirements regarding nitrogen oxide emissions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on physical impediments to the transfer of excess electrical energy from regions with surplus electrical energy to those experiencing shortages. Title VI: Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercialization Activities - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish priorities according to prescribed criteria for energy research and development and commercialization; and (2) submit to the Congress an accompanying management plan which shall be revised biennially. Requires the Secretary to implement a program: (1) promoting the development and commercialization of new and advanced natural gas utilization technologies; (2) of research and development to increase the recoverable natural gas resource base; and (3) of research, development, and commercialization of specified high efficiency heat engines. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Amends the EPCA to direct the Secretary to implement a program for ensuring that: (1) crude oil stored at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be increased at a specified daily rate; and (2) the petroleum product needs of the Department of Defense will be met by requiring importers to provide petroleum products according to prescribed percentage guidelines. Title VIII: Outer Continental Shelf - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to add a new title: the "Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Act". Establishes the Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund, to be funded by a specified percentage of all new revenue attributable to an Outer Continental Shelf lease any part of which is within 200 geographical miles of the coast line. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transmit impact assistance from such Fund annually to coastal States according to prescribed guidelines. Requires a recipient coastal State to prioritize allocation of such revenue among its subdivisions which are socially or economically impacted by Outer Continental Shelf mineral development. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on the availability of Outer Continental Shelf areas for oil and gas leasing, development and production. Title IX: Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Subtitle A: Statement of Purpose and Policy and Definitions - Declares that it is the congressional purpose to: (1) authorize competitive oil and gas leasing development on the Arctic Coastal Plain in a manner consistent with environmental and wildlife protection; and (2) provide a new funding source for energy-related projects to enhance energy security and reduce dependence on imported oil. Subtitle B: Congressional Determination of Compatibility - Declares that it is congressional policy that oil and gas activities on the Coastal Plain which are conducted with no significant adverse impact upon fish, wildlife, and the environment shall be deemed compatible with the purpose of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and that no further compatibility findings by the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) are required under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. Subtitle C: Coastal Plain Competitive Leasing Program - Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound program for Coastal Plain resources exploration, development, and production. Declares that this title is the sole authority for leasing on the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations to implement this title. Declares that the Congress finds that the "Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement" (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain satisfies the legal requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Sets forth the administrative parameters for: (1) lease sales and lease terms; (2) antitrust review by the Attorney General; (3) exploration and development and production plans; (4) plan approval; (5) bonding requirements; and (6) lease suspension and cancellation. Allows the Secretary to cancel leases in any areas of particular environmental sensitivity. Requires the Secretary's consent for lease assignments or subletting. Mandates that lessees unite to the greatest extent practicable in collectively adopting and operating under a cooperative or unit plan for oil pools and gas fields. Provides for the confidentiality of privileged or proprietary information regarding development activities which must be furnished to the Secretary. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title. Provides for adjudication of lease controversies. Sets forth joint, several, and strict liability for environmental damages and removal costs resulting from oil pollution or the discharge of hazardous substances. Provides for judicial review of complaints regarding regulations issued by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding the leasing program under this Act. Repeals certain limitations applicable to subsurface interests owned by the Inupiat Eskimo people. Provides for expedited judicial consideration of any claims for relief by certain Alaskan corporations. Subtitle D: Coastal Plain Environmental Protection - Directs the Secretary to promulgate environmental protection regulations which ensure that Coastal Plain activities will result in no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment. Requires site-specific assessment and mitigation. Designates the Sadlerochit Spring area as a special area for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude such area from leasing and to designate other Coastal Plain areas as special areas requiring protection. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically update a facilities construction and siting plan for oil and gas development and transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain in a manner that does not adversely affect fish, wildlife, and the environment. Requires the Secretary to conduct additional studies to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations providing for bi-annual facility inspections for compliance with environmental and safety regulations. Provides funding for a ten-year period for environmental monitoring and enforcement on the Coastal Plain. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) consult with the Department of Transportation and the State of Alaska about the State's role in monitoring and enforcing the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and (2) report annually to the Congress regarding the environmental monitoring activities. Subtitle E: Land Reclamation and Reclamation Liability Fund - Makes leaseholders fully responsible and liable for land reclamation within the Coastal Plain and other Federal lands adversely affected by lease activities. Requires establishment of the Coastal Plain Liability and Reclamation Fund within six months of a commercial discovery within the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to collect fees based upon the crude oil volume entering the trans-Alaska pipeline. Prescribes revenue collection and expenditure procedures. Subtitle F: Disposition of Oil and Gas Revenues - Sets forth an allocation schedule for revenue distribution related to oil and gas leasing within the Arctic National Refuge, Alaska. Mandates that revenues distributed to the United States from such oil and gas leases be deposited into the Energy Security Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make such funds directly available to the Secretary of Energy for a list of specified energy projects transmitted to the Congress as part of the first budget submitted by the President following the initial deposit of funds in the Energy Security Fund. Subtitle G: Export Restrictions - Prohibits the export of crude oil produced from Coastal Plain lands except in specified circumstances. Title X: Natural Gas - Provides that for purposes of the Natural Gas Act a certificate of public convenience and necessity is not required for the construction of a transportation service facility. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for such transportation service immediately upon initiation of transportation service rendered by such a facility. Prescribes administrative procedures for rate schedules, accounts and records, and rate base treatment. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to authorize FERC to permit: (1) any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas; and (2) the construction of natural gas transportation facilities for interstate commerce. Outlines administrative procedures for FERC compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with respect to natural gas transportation. Declares FERC the lead agency for NEPA compliance purposes. Sets forth administrative procedures for rates and charges, utilization of rulemaking procedures, and review of FERC orders. Declares that the formation or operation of an independent producer cooperative shall only be an illegal antitrust law violation if anticompetitive effects substantially outweigh the procompetitve effects. Outlines the scope of State jurisdiction over persons with service area determinations with respect to vehicular natural gas sales for resale and for transportation. Title XI: Transportation and Alternative Fuels - Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Corporation Average Fuel Economy - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks manufactured in model years 1996 through 2001, and for those manufactured in model years 2002 and thereafter. Requires such Secretary to determine the maximum feasible average fuel economy achievable according to prescribed formulas for passenger automobiles, light trucks, or class of light trucks manufactured during such model years. Provides that credits for exceeding average fuel economy standards may be transferred among manufacturers and among vehicle classes of a manufacturer. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules implementing such a credit trading system. Grants average fuel economy credits for small passenger automobiles manufactured with airbags for either driver seating position only, or for both the driver and front seat outboard seating positions. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and an additional number if requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to assess an excessive fuel consumption fee upon a manufacturer whose average fuel economy does not meet certain statutory standards. Replaces civil penalties for such non-compliance with the excessive fuel consumption fee according to prescribed guidelines. Establishes the Excessive Fuel Consumption Fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make payments from the Fund for purposes of: (1) providing financial assistance to State programs encouraging voluntary removal from the marketplace of pre-1980 model-year automobiles; and (2) funding other energy conservation programs. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress regarding the Fund's financial condition and operations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to adopt rules necessary to review and approve State programs that qualify for financial assistance for the older vehicle scrappage program. Mandates that as a prerequisite to Federal assistance at least 50 percent of scrappage program costs be paid from non-Federal funds. Subtitle B: Alternative Fuels - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with local or regional transit authorities in urban areas of over 100,000 population to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of using natural gas or other alternative fuels for mass transit. Mandates that as a prerequisite to such a cooperative agreement or joint venture at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs be borne by the local or regional transit authority. Authorizes the Secretary to grant priority to any entity that demonstrates that the use of alternative fuels for mass transit would have a signficant effect on the ability of an air quality region to comply with regulations governing ambient air quality. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Department of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program for the vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles to run solely on alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration - Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) identify by a specified deadline the nonattainment areas in which conventionally fueled vehicles contribute significantly to that nonattainment and in which the use of electric vehicles could contribute to attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; (2) designate nonattainment areas eligible to participate in a specified electric vehicle research and demonstration program; (3) solicit applications from manufacturers to sell, warranty, and service electric vehicles in eligible nonattainment areas; and (4) report to the Congress on the program's status. Authorizes appropriations. Title XII: Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization - Civilian Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a comprehensive program to encourage the deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies according to specified guidelines, including appropriate steps for development and submission for certification by the Nuclear Regulatory Commision (NRC) of completed standard designs for commercial nuclear reactors (or their components). Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on progress in certifying standard designs and setting forth certification program plans. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the results of public meetings implemented to develop information upon which to base decisions with respect to the commercialization of advanced nuclear reactor technologies. Outlines the parameters within which the Secretary must: (1) encourage siting, financing, licensing, construction, and operation of facilities for the generation of commercial electric power from nuclear fission in regions where a need for additional electric generating capacity exists; and (2) commercialize promising advanced nuclear reactor technologies for commercial electric power generation. Authorizes appropriations. Restricts appropriations to those specifically set forth under this Act. Requires the NRC to recommend to the Congress legislative changes found necessary for timely licensing consistent with public safety of commercial nuclear power reactors. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) his assessment of commercial nuclear reactor technologies in use or under development in other nations; and (2) the annual status of the advanced nuclear reactor commercialization program. Title XIII: Nuclear Reactor Licensing - Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require the NRC to hold a hearing before granting a combined license to construct and operate a nuclear reactor. Title XIV: Uranium - Subtitle A: Uranium Enrichment - Uranium Enrichment Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the existing statutory contracting requirements applicable to uranium enrichment enterprises. Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Sets forth the Corporation's corporate office and powers and vests its management in an Administrator (appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Grants the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) general supervision over such Administrator only with respect to national security and health and environmental concerns. Establishes a Corporate Board whose members shall be appointed by the President, and who shall advise the Administrator and the Secretary regarding Corporation matters. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Corporation personnel; (2) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy; (3) the Corporation's capital structure; and (4) Corporation pricing policies, including user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to make annual status reports to certain congressional committees, the President, and the Secretary. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by specified dates regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommissioning and decontamination expenses. Applies Federal environmental and occupational safety and health law to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Exempts the Corporation from sequestration because the maximum deficit amount has been exceeded under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1991 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1991 receipts. Subtitle B: Uranium - Uranium Security and Tailings Reclamation Act of 1991 - Sets forth findings, purposes, and definitions of this title. Directs the Corporation to establish for a minimum five-year period a voluntary overfeeding program to be made available to its enrichment services customers. ("Overfeeding" means the use of uranium in the enrichment process in excess of the amount required at the transactional tails assay, thus reducing customers' power costs). Provides that the resultant savings shall be credited to such customers. Establishes the National Strategic Uranium Reserve, consisting of 50,000,000 pounds of natural uranium, to be restricted to military purposes and Government research under the control of the Secretary. Confers continuing responsibility upon the Secretary for promotion of the domestic uranium industry, but without using any supervisory authority over the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop recommendations and implement Government programs promoting domestic uranium exports. Restricts all uranium purchases by Federal entities to uranium purchased from domestic producers. Exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority from such restriction. Subtitle C: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Provides that remedial action costs such as decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation at an active uranium or thorium processing site shall be borne by specified licensees for any activity resulting in byproduct material. Sets forth a reimbursement schedule for: (1) individual active site uranium licensees; (2) all active site uranium licensees; and (3) thorium licensees. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing such reimbursement. Authorizes appropriations. Title XV: Public Utility Holding Company Act Reform - Defines an "exempt wholesale generator" (EWG) as a corporate entity engaged exclusively in the business of selling electric energy at wholesale (including ownership or operation of electric energy production facilities). Requires approval of certain rates or charges by the State commission having jurisdiction over them with respect to rates or charges for facility construction or electric production. Declares that an EWG shall not be considered an "electric utility company" under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) (thus exempting it from coverage by such Act). Permits holding companies that are exempt under PUHCA to: (1) own and maintain an interest in one or more EWGs; and (2) acquire and hold securities in one or more EWGs. Retains Securities and Exchange Commission jurisdiction over specified securities activities by a registered holding company with respect to EWGs. Declares that ownership of one or more EWGs shall not result in the owner's being considered as primarily engaged in the sale of generation of electric power under the Federal Power Act (thus ensuring that a non-utility company which acquires an EWG is not required to divest itself of certain business interests in "qualifying facilities" - small power production facilities or cogeneration facilities). Permits the filing of a declaration by an electric utility company that it intends to avoid purchasing electric energy from EWGs. Makes such declaration irrevocable for up to a ten-year period. Prohibits such company from: (1) purchasing electric energy from any EWG during such period; (2) acquiring or owning an interest in the business of an EWG during such period; or (3) offering to sell electric energy from an EWG in whose business it would acquire or own an interest after such declaration expires.