Nick Rahall: “Mr. Chairman, to follow on my previous comments and to respond to many of the comments made on the minority side, there…”

“Mr. Chairman, to follow on my previous comments and to respond to many of the comments made on the minority side, there are those on the majority side representing coal fields of this country that recognize that we must as a Nation aggressively pursue strategies and technologies to capture and store the carbon dioxide that results from coal combustion. There are three provisions in the natural resources title which seek to accomplish that goal. The first is a national assessment of the geological capacity for carbon storage, focusing on deep saline formations, unmineable coal seams or oil and gas reservoirs capable of accommodating industrial carbon dioxide. The second initiative directs the Interior Department to devise a regulatory framework for conducting geological carbon sequestration activities on Federal lands. This is extremely important considering future actions this Congress may take in this area. In the event a suitable geological formation is identified on Federal lands, there currently exists no clear-cut authority to allow that activity to go forward. The third is the biomass utilization program established by this title. One of the purposes of this program is to develop biomass utilization for energy, including through combustion with other fuels such as coal, to achieve cleaner emissions.”