Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009
Latest action · Jun 15, 2010 Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 7, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009 - Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct resources assessments that collect and synthesize interagency and state data to quantify: (1) invasive plant species and excess biomass (plant matter targeted for removal from public land to promote ecosystem health) in the form of dangerous fuel loads on public land that can be used for feedstock (plant matter or materials that serve as the raw material for the production of biochar and bioenergy); (2) estimated carbon content in that feedstock; (3) estimated potential biochar (charcoal or black carbon derived from organic matter through pyrolysis) and bioenergy (hydrocarbons derived from organic matter through pyrolysis) producible from that feedstock; and (4) potential water savings resulting from removal of invasive plant species and excess biomass on public land, by watershed.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to each: (1) establish a program to provide guarantees of loans by private institutions to develop and optimize commercially and technologically viable biochar production units, to produce, respectively, four and two units for deployment to remote landscapes, and for the construction or acquisition of biochar production facilities, provided the loan applicants will be dedicated primarily to contract restoration work with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, or Forest Service using pinyon pine and juniper feedstock in the Great Basin, tamarisk feedstock in the Mojave Desert, or excess biomass feedstock, such as trees killed by bark beetle infestations in the Intermountain West; and (2) initiate three-year programs to employ such biochar production units in pilot applications in various U.S. climates and ecosystems.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide competitive grants to conduct research and analysis: (1) to identify attributes and composition profiles of biochar and bioenergy for various uses; (2) to identify potential uses and markets for biochar and bioenergy; (3) relating to environmental benefits and impacts of biochar and bioenergy use; and (4) regarding potential uses of biochar in landscape restoration.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Oct 7, 2009.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Oct 7, 2009 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Oct 7, 2009 |
| Federal Lands Subcommittee | Referred Oct 13, 2009 | |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Oct 13, 2009 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Oct 7, 2009 |
| Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee | Referred Jun 15, 2010 | |
| House | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Referred Oct 7, 2009 |
| Energy Subcommittee | Referred Oct 13, 2009 |
Actions 9
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 15, 2010Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research.
- Oct 13, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
- Oct 13, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Oct 13, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.
- Oct 7, 2009Introduced in House
- Oct 7, 2009Referred to House Natural Resources
- Oct 7, 2009Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Science and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Oct 7, 2009Referred to House Agriculture
- Oct 7, 2009Referred to House Science and Technology
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1713 | Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009 | Identical bill | Sep 24, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To establish loan guarantee programs to develop biochar technology using excess plant biomass, to establish biochar demonstration projects on public land, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Energy.
- Agricultural marketing and promotion
- Agricultural research
- Alternative and renewable resources
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- Ecology
- Energy
- Energy research
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental technology
- Forests, forestry, trees
- Government lending and loan guarantees
- Horticulture and plants
- Hydrology and hydrography
- Land use and conservation
- Water use and supply
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 7, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
