Sec. 104. Interagency working group for marine carbon dioxide removal
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There is established an interagency working group for marine carbon dioxide removal under the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council. The interagency working group shall be composed of one or more representatives from each of the following: The Army Corps of Engineers. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Department of Energy. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The United States Geological Survey. The Department of State. The Environmental Protection Agency. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The National Science Foundation. The Smithsonian Institution. The Office of Naval Research. The Department of the Navy. The Coast Guard. The Department of Agriculture. The Council on Environmental Quality. The Office of Science and Technology Policy.
One or more representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and one or more representatives from the Department of Energy shall serve as co-chairs of the interagency working group. The interagency working group shall meet not less frequently than once each year, at the call of the co-chairs. The interagency working group shall— not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish a plan to coordinate Federal research on marine carbon dioxide removal in accordance with subsection (f); not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act— establish a code of conduct in accordance with subsection (g); and standardize the implementation of that code of conduct; coordinate efforts among Federal agencies to support compliance with existing law; support research and development of safe and effective marine carbon dioxide removal; coordinate Federal funding opportunities in a manner that avoids duplication of funding and research efforts and maximizes funding for marine carbon dioxide removal; as appropriate, provide recommendations to— support the transition from research to operations of safe and effective marine carbon dioxide removal; and integrate marine carbon dioxide removal into voluntary carbon markets; publish and submit the biennial report required by section 105; not later than 90 days after the date on which the interagency working group receives the inventory submitted under section 103(c), review the inventory and provide recommendations to the Secretary for the selection of research areas; ensure the public availability of and public access to the results of marine carbon dioxide removal research in accordance with subsection (h); and take other actions, as the interagency working group considers necessary, to coordinate Federal support for safe and effective marine carbon dioxide removal.
In carrying out subsection (e)(1), the interagency working group may adopt one or more research plans prepared by agencies represented on the interagency working group or through other interagency efforts. Not later than 5 years after the date on which the plan described in subsection (e)(1) is established, and every 5 years thereafter, the interagency working group shall update the plan. The plan described in subsection (e)(1) shall— prioritize public engagement and ecosystem impacts; and further the objectives and focal areas described in section 101(b).
The interagency working group shall, after publication and an opportunity for public comment in the Federal Register, establish a code of conduct for research relating to marine carbon dioxide removal (in this subsection referred to as the code of conduct ). The agencies represented on the interagency working group shall adopt the code of conduct. Each grantee under this Act conducting activities in the field and each user of a research area designated or established under section 103 shall abide by the code of conduct.
The code of conduct shall, at minimum, require— open access to research data, findings, codes of conduct, mitigation plans, and scientific publications arising from the research; that open-water testing is preceded and informed by laboratory, mesocosm, and modeling research; public disclosure of funding sources; educational materials and community learning opportunities to increase awareness and literacy of proposed research activities, findings, risks, uncertainties, potential benefits, and the distribution of anticipated benefits and harms; opportunities for interested stakeholders to provide input on research design; where applicable, solicitation and incorporation of local and traditional knowledge into research design and decisions; reasonable efforts to deconflict research with existing commercial and human uses; for each experiment, a mitigation plan that describes— potential ecosystem responses; potential social outcomes, including to health and safety; any measures taken to minimize harm; and liability and guidelines for remediation of adverse impacts, including environmental degradation, resulting from research; compliance with all applicable domestic and international laws and policies; and other requirements or best practices, as the interagency working group determines necessary, to assess and communicate positive and negative social and environmental impacts and uncertainties.
In fulfilling the requirements described in paragraph (4), grantees and users described in paragraph
(3)shall maximize participation of and consultation with, at minimum— State, local, and Indian tribal governments with jurisdiction over any part of the area in which field research relating to marine carbon dioxide removal is conducted; members of communities proximate to the area, including relevant recreational and commercial users, academic institutions, Native American individuals or entities, and nongovernmental organizations; and other stakeholders as the head of the Federal agency providing resources for the grantee or user considers necessary to ensure full and fair engagement with potentially impacted community members. Not less frequently than once each year for the first 5 years following the date of the enactment of this Act, and once every 5 years thereafter, the interagency working group shall review, and, as appropriate update, the code of conduct to ensure that it remains timely and relevant. Subject to contracts protecting confidential proprietary data, the interagency working group may make research papers and other results generated under this Act available to the public at no cost and with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, citing, adapting, or otherwise using such papers or results. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the interagency working group shall establish a new portal or designate an existing information portal to ensure, while protecting sensitive proprietary information, that data and information on marine carbon dioxide removal generated under this Act, or by other Federal programs and relevant stakeholders, is easily, digitally accessible, including information that would be useful to policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders for advancing research or evaluating the deployment of marine carbon dioxide removal. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the members of the interagency working group shall enter into a memorandum of agreement to implement this Act.