To authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to improve the commercial value of forest biomass for electric energy, useful heat, transportation fuels, petroleum-based product substitutes, and other commercial purposes.

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to improve the commercial value of forest biomass for electric energy, useful heat, transportation fuels, petroleum-based product substitutes, and other commercial purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. GRANTS TO IMPROVE THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FOREST BIOMASS FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY, USEFUL HEAT, TRANSPORTATION FUELS, PETROLEUM-BASED PRODUCT SUBSTITUTES, AND OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds the following:

(1) Thousands of communities in the United States, many located near Federal lands, are at risk to wildfire. Approximately 190,000,000 acres of land managed by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior are at risk of catastrophic fire in the near future. The accumulation of heavy forest fuel loads continues to increase as a result of disease, insect infestations, and drought, further raising the risk of fire each year.

(2) In addition, more than 70,000,000 acres across all land ownerships are at risk to higher than normal mortality over the next 15 years from insect infestation and disease. High levels of tree mortality from insects and disease result in increased fire risk, loss of old growth, degraded watershed conditions, and changes in species diversity and productivity, as well as diminished fish and wildlife habitat and decreased timber values.

(3) Preventive treatments such as removing fuel loading, ladder fuels, and hazard trees, planting proper species mix and restoring and protecting early successional habitat, and other specific restoration treatments designed to reduce the susceptibility of forest land, woodland, and rangeland to insect outbreaks, disease, and catastrophic fire present the greatest opportunity for long-term forest health by creating a mosaic of species-mix and age distribution. Such prevention treatments are widely acknowledged to be more successful and cost effective than suppression treatments in the case of insects, disease, and fire.

(4) The by-products of preventive treatment (wood, brush, thinnings, chips, slash, and other hazardous fuels) removed from forest lands, woodlands and rangelands represent an abundant supply of biomass for biomass-to-energy facilities and raw material for business. There are currently few markets for the extraordinary volumes of by-products being generated as a result of the necessary large-scale preventive treatment activities.

(5) The United States should--

(A) promote economic and entrepreneurial opportunities in using by-products removed through preventive treatment activities related to hazardous fuels reduction, disease, and insect infestation; and

(B) develop and expand markets for traditionally underused wood and biomass as an outlet for by-products of preventive treatment activities.

(b) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

(1) BIOMASS- The term `biomass' means trees and woody plants, including limbs, tops, needles, and other woody parts, and by-products of preventive treatment, such as wood, brush, thinnings, chips, and slash, that are removed--

(A) to reduce hazardous fuels; or

(B) to reduce the risk of or to contain disease or insect infestation.

(2) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).

(3) PERSON- The term `person' includes--

(A) an individual;

(B) a community (as determined by the Secretary concerned);

(C) an Indian tribe;

(D) a small business, micro-business, or a corporation that is incorporated in the United States; and

(E) a nonprofit organization.

(4) PREFERRED COMMUNITY- The term `preferred community' means--

(A) any town, township, municipality, or other similar unit of local government (as determined by the Secretary concerned) that--

(i) has a population of not more than 50,000 individuals; and

(ii) the Secretary concerned, in the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, determines contains or is located near land, the condition of which is at significant risk of catastrophic wildfire, disease, or insect infestation or which suffers from disease or insect infestation; or

(B) any county that--

(i) is not contained within a metropolitan statistical area; and

(ii) the Secretary concerned, in the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, determines contains or is located near land, the condition of which is at significant risk of catastrophic wildfire, disease, or insect infestation or which suffers from disease or insect infestation.

(5) SECRETARY CONCERNED- The term `Secretary concerned' means--

(A) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National Forest System lands; and

(B) the Secretary of the Interior with respect to Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior and Indian lands.

(c) BIOMASS COMMERCIAL USE GRANT PROGRAM-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary concerned may make grants to any person that owns or operates a facility that uses biomass as a raw material to produce electric energy, sensible heat, transportation fuels, or substitutes for petroleum-based products to offset the costs incurred to purchase biomass for use by such facility.

(2) GRANT AMOUNTS- A grant under this subsection may not exceed $20 per green ton of biomass delivered.

(3) MONITORING OF GRANT RECIPIENT ACTIVITIES- As a condition of a grant under this subsection, the grant recipient shall keep such records as the Secretary concerned may require to fully and correctly disclose the use of the grant funds and all transactions involved in the purchase of biomass. Upon notice by a representative of the Secretary concerned, the grant recipient shall afford the representative reasonable access to the facility that purchases or uses biomass and an opportunity to examine the inventory and records of the facility.

(d) IMPROVED BIOMASS USE GRANT PROGRAM-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary concerned may make grants to persons to offset the cost of projects to develop or research opportunities to improve the use of, or add value to, biomass. In making such grants, the Secretary concerned shall give preference to persons in preferred communities.

(2) SELECTION- The Secretary concerned shall select a grant recipient under paragraph (1) after giving consideration to the anticipated public benefits of the project, including the potential to develop thermal or electric energy resources or affordable energy, opportunities for the creation or expansion of small businesses and micro-businesses, and the potential for new job creation.

(3) GRANT AMOUNT- A grant under this subsection may not exceed $100,000.

(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2014 to carry out this section.

(f) REPORT- Not later than October 1, 2010, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report describing the results of the grant programs authorized by this section. The report shall include the following:

(1) An identification of the size, type, and the use of biomass by persons that receive grants under this section.

(2) The distance between the land from which the biomass was removed and the facility that used the biomass.

(3) The economic impacts, particularly new job creation, resulting from the grants to and operation of the eligible operations.