§13412 Oil shale

Summary

Run a five-year research program on getting oil from oil shale, covering both eastern and western shales. The program must work on making fuel from oil shale that is affordable and less harmful to the environment. It must also study safe waste handling, the chemistry and timing of retorting, engineering and scale-up problems, better mining methods, and cooperation with universities and private companies. The program must include applied research on eastern oil shale done with universities and private partners, and the Secretary must consider including groups already working on eastern retorting as of October 24, 1992. That eastern work should be cost-shared as much as possible. For western shales, the program may set up and use at least one field test center to try and improve technology, choosing sites with existing mining and processing facilities. The Secretary must send Congress a report 60 days before opening any such center. Congress may fund $5,250,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1994.