RAHALL_House_Resource_Ctte_draft_energy_bill__018_xml.pdf
Subtitle D—Ensuring Safety of
16 Wildlife With Respect to Wind
17 Energy
18 SEC. 231. STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.
19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date
20 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through
21 the Director and after public notice and opportunity to
22 comment, shall promulgate regulations that establish min23
imum standards for siting, construction, monitoring, and
24 adaptive management that must be satisfied by all wind
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H.L.C.
1 projects to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts
2 on migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife.
3 (b) NEW WIND PROJECTS.—Such standards shall,
4 for all wind projects that have not been constructed before
5 the date of enactment of this Act, include at a minimum
6 the following:
7 (1) PRECONSTRUCTION SURVEYS.—Require8
ments for comprehensive preconstruction surveys
9 that are of sufficient duration and scope to reason10
ably evaluate the extent to which a particular site is
11 used by migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife, in12
cluding species listed as endangered species or
13 threatened species under section 4 of the Endan14
gered Species Act of 1973(16 U.S.C. 1533) and the
15 potential cumulative impact that a proposed wind
16 project would have on such wildlife in combination
17 with other existing or proposed wind projects. Such
18 requirements shall provide that surveys must be car19
ried out by scientific teams that include independent
20 scientists and that the Director may obtain reason21
able access to the proposed construction site to en22
sure that survey protocols are being properly devel23
oped and implemented.
24 (2) SITING.—Standards for siting wind projects
25 for which construction has not begun so as to avoid
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H.L.C.
1 impacts, including cumulative impacts, on birds,
2 bats, and other wildlife to the greatest extent prac3
ticable based on data gathered during
4 preconstruction surveys required under paragraph
5 (1), including—
6 (A) the avoidance of ecologically sensitive
7 areas of importance to wildlife, such as migra8
tion corridors, wetlands, and other habitats
9 where wildlife congregate; hibernation, breed10
ing, and nursery areas; and critical habitats of
11 endangered species and threatened species, and
12 (B) siting and configuring wind turbines to
13 avoid landscape and other features known to at14
tract wildlife.
15 (3) CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION.—Require16
ments for the construction and operation of wind
17 projects so that they minimize impacts on birds,
18 bats, and other wildlife to the greatest extent prac19
ticable, including by—
20 (A) incorporating the best available tech21
nology for minimizing such impacts, and
22 (B) operating such projects in a manner
23 that minimizes impacts on birds, bats, and
24 other wildlife.
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H.L.C.
1 (4) POST-CONSTRUCTION MONITORING.—Re2
quirements for thorough post-construction moni3
toring of the actual impacts, including cumulative
4 impacts, that wind projects are having on birds,
5 bats, and other wildlife, including standards and
6 protocols for transmitting all monitoring data and
7 findings to the Director for consideration of cumu8
lative impacts and dissemination to the public. Such
9 requirements shall provide that monitoring must be
10 carried out by scientific teams that include inde11
pendent scientists, and that the Director may obtain
12 access at any time to the site to ensure that moni13
toring protocols are being properly developed and
14 implemented.
15 (5) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—Requirements
16 for adaptive management of wind projects if the im17
pacts of such projects on birds, bats, and other wild18
life exceed predicted impacts, including requirements
19 that a wind project operator shall—
20 (A) take steps to reduce such impacts to
21 the levels predicted prior to operation; or
22 (B) suspend operations if such steps are
23 not, or cannot be, taken.
24 (6) OFFSET OF UNAVOIDABLE IMPACTS.—Re25
quirements that wind projects offset any unavoidable
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H.L.C.
1 impacts, including cumulative impacts, on birds,
2 bats, and other wildlife through the acquisition, con3
servation, or restoration of mitigation habitat, the
4 funding of research that will be of value in con5
serving affected wildlife, and other appropriate
6 measures.
7 (c) EXISTING PROJECTS.—Such standards shall, for
8 all wind projects that have begun operation before the date
9 of enactment of this Act, include at a minimum appro10
priate requirements for monitoring, adaptive management,
11 and offset of unavoidable impacts mitigation for adverse
12 impacts on birds, bats, and other wildlife, consistent with
13 paragraphs (4) through (6) of subsection (b).
14 SEC. 232. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.
15 (a) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—
16 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person may construct or
17 operate a wind project unless the Director has
18 issued a certification that the project will be con19
structed and operated in compliance with the stand20
ards promulgated under section 231.
21 (2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall
22 apply—
23 (A) in the case of a wind power project
24 that began operating before the date of enact25
ment of this Act, beginning at the end of the
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H.L.C.
1 180-day period beginning on the date the Direc2
tor promulgates regulations under subsection
3 (b); and
4 (B) in the case of a wind power project
5 that has not been constructed before the date of
6 enactment of this Act, beginning on such date
7 of enactment.
8 (b) APPLICATIONS.—
9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the
10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director, after
11 public notice and opportunity to comment, shall pro12
mulgate regulations that establish procedures for
13 issuing certifications under this section.
14 (2) CONTENTS.—Such regulations shall—
15 (A) include requirements for submitting an
16 application for certification under this section,
17 including requirements for the contents of such
18 applications;
19 (B) provide for advance public comment on
20 each application for certification and on the
21 conditions that should be attached to such a
22 certification; and
23 (C) require that such applications address
24 in detail how the project will be constructed and
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H.L.C.
1 operated in compliance with all applicable
2 standards promulgated under section 231.
3 (c) RENEWAL OF CERTIFICATION.—Regulations
4 under subsection (b) shall—
5 (1) require that each certification under this
6 section must be renewed at least once every three
7 years;
8 (2) establish procedures and requirements ap9
plicable to such renewal applications; and
10 (3) provide for advance public notice and com11
ment regarding each application for renewal.
12 SEC. 233. PENALTIES.
13 A person who violates this subtitle or a regulation
14 issued under this subtitle is subject to a fine of not more
15 than $50,000, or imprisonment of not more than one year,
16 or both.
17 SEC. 234. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER STATUTES.
18 Nothing in this subtitle affects the application of the
19 Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Migratory Bird
20 Treaty Act, the Bald Eagle Protection Act, the Golden
21 Eagle Protection Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act
22 of 1973, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, or
23 any other relevant Federal law to wind projects.
24 SEC. 235. DEFINITIONS.
25 As used in this subtitle:
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H.L.C.
1 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
2 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife
3 Service, or a designee of that Director.
4 (2) INDEPENDENT SCIENTIST.—The term
5 ‘‘independent scientist’’ mean a scientist who is not
6 an employee of, or regular consultant to, the wind
7 power industry.
8 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
9 the Secretary of the Interior.
10 (4) WIND PROJECT.—The term ‘‘wind project’’
11 means any project in the United States that uses
12 wind to generate electric power.
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