Utilizing America's Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act
Latest action · Dec 1, 2011 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 200.
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.
- IntroducedJun 14, 2011
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Utilizing America's Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act - Exempts projects determined by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the Forest Service to be meteorological site testing and monitoring projects from environmental impact statement requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
Defines a "meteorological site testing and monitoring project" as a project that is carried out on land administered by BLM or the Forest Service to test or monitor weather using towers or other devices, that is decommissioned within five years of its commencement, that provides meteorological information to such agencies, that causes less than one acre of soil or vegetation disruption at the location of each meteorological tower or other device and no more than five acres of soil or disruption within the proposed right-of-way for the project, and that is installed: (1) using existing access roads, (2) in a manner that does not require off-road motorized access other than one installation activity and one decommissioning activity along an identified off-road route approved by the BLM Director or the Chief of the Forest Service, (3) without construction of new roads other than upgrading of existing minor drainage crossings for safety purposes, and (4) without the use of digging or drilling equipment vehicles other than rubber-tired vehicles with gross weight ratings under 8,500 pounds.
Requires the BLM Director or Chief of the Forest Service: (1) to decide whether to issue a permit for such a project within 30 days after receiving an application for such permit; (2) during such period, to provide an opportunity for public comments and to consult with the heads of agencies that would be affected by issuance of the permit; and (3) to provide to the applicant reasons why an application is denied and an opportunity to remedy any deficiencies.
Requires BLM and the Forest Service to treat the meteorological information provided under this Act as proprietary information and to protect it against disclosure.
Cosponsors 11
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 14, 2011 to Jul 13, 2011; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WA | Doc Hastings | Original | Jun 14, 2011 |
| R-CO | Doug Lamborn | Original | Jun 14, 2011 |
| R-TN | John J. Duncan, Jr. | Original | Jun 14, 2011 |
| R-GA | Paul C. Broun | Original | Jun 14, 2011 |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Original | Jun 14, 2011 |
| R-TX | Bill Flores | Jul 7, 2011 | |
| R-SC | Jeff Duncan | Jul 7, 2011 | |
| R-LA | Jeffrey M. Landry | Jul 7, 2011 | |
| R-ID | Raul R. Labrador | Jul 7, 2011 | |
| R-CA | Tom McClintock | Jul 7, 2011 | |
| R-FL | Steve Southerland II | Jul 13, 2011 |
Committees 2
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 Jun 14, 2011Markup Jul 13, 2011Reported Dec 1, 2011 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Jun 16, 2011Hearings Jun 23, 2011Discharged Jul 13, 2011 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jun 14, 2011Discharged Dec 1, 2011 |
| Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee | Referred Jun 27, 2011 |
Actions 11
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 1, 2011Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 112-300, Part I.
- Dec 1, 2011Committee on Agriculture discharged.
- Dec 1, 2011Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 200.
- Jul 13, 2011Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 13, 2011Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged.
- Jul 13, 2011Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 26 - 16.
- Jun 27, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry.
- Jun 23, 2011Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Jun 16, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Jun 14, 2011Introduced in House
- Jun 14, 2011Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Aug 2, 2011H.R. 2172, Utilizing America's Federal Lands for Wind Energy ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 13, 2011
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H4186.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 112-45 | H.R. 2170, H.R. 2171, H.R. 2172 AND H.R. 217377 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Jun 23, 2011 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2173 | Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act | Related bill | Oct 14, 2011 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To facilitate the development of wind energy resources on Federal lands.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Utilizing America's Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Utilizing America's Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
- Administrative remedies
- Alternative and renewable resources
- Atmospheric science and weather
- Department of the Interior
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental regulatory procedures
- Forests, forestry, trees
- Land use and conservation
- Licensing and registrations
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 1, 2011Reported in House
- Jun 14, 2011Introduced 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.
