§13554 Tar Sands

Summary

The United States must encourage developing and producing tar sands, but only using methods that are safe, make economic sense, and protect the environment. "Tar sands" here means rock (not coal, oil shale, or gilsonite) that either holds hydrocarbon material with a gas-free viscosity over 10,000 centipoise at the original reservoir temperature or is produced by mining or quarrying. This meaning applies only for this part of the law and does not change other federal definitions. Within one year after October 24, 1992, the Secretary, working with the Secretary of the Interior, must send a study to the House of Representatives and to the Senate committee that handles energy and natural resources. The study must find and assess U.S. tar sand sources, review ways to extract oil from them (including existing waste tailings), and look at environmental benefits and the potential to recover minerals and metals. Money may be provided as needed for fiscal years 1993 and 1994 to do this work.