Sec. 5. Helium resource assessment and helium–3 separation
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Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall— in coordination with appropriate heads of State geological surveys— complete a national helium gas assessment that identifies and quantifies the quantity of helium, including the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir, including assessments of the constituent gases found in each helium resource, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and natural gas; and make available the modern seismic and geophysical log data for characterization of the Bush Dome Reservoir; in coordination with appropriate international agencies and the global geology community, complete a global helium gas assessment that identifies and quantifies the quantity of the helium, including the isotope helium-3, in each reservoir; in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, complete— an assessment of trends in global demand for helium, including the isotope helium-3; a 10-year forecast of domestic demand for helium across all sectors, including scientific and medical research, commercial, manufacturing, space technologies, cryogenics, and national defense; and an inventory of medical, research, scientific, industrial, commercial, and other uses of helium in the United States, including Federal and commercial helium uses, that identifies the nature of the helium use, the amounts required, the technical and commercial viability of helium recapture and recycling in that use, and the availability of material substitutes wherever possible; complete an assessment of options for ensuring a domestic helium supply in the future, including— an analysis of how the Federal Helium Reserve has influenced domestic and global helium supply and prices historically; and an assessment of options for how the Federal Helium Reserve could promote the long term availability and security of domestic helium supplies; and submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report describing the results of the assessments required under this subsection.
The Secretary of the Interior shall cooperate with the Secretary of Energy, or a designee of the Secretary of Energy, on any assessment or research relating to the extraction and refining of the isotope helium-3 from crude helium at the Federal Helium Reserve (as that term is defined in the amendments made by section 2) or along the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline system, including— gas analysis; infrastructure studies; and cooperation with private helium refiners. The Secretary of the Interior shall assess the feasibility of establishing a facility to separate the isotope helium-3 from crude helium at— the Federal Helium Reserve; or an existing helium separation or purification facility connected to the Federal Helium Reserve pipeline system.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that contains a description of the results of the assessments conducted under this subsection.