Draft2:USE IT Act

The Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act (USE IT Act) was signed into law In 2020. It, among other things, extends the 45Q tax credit for CCUS for two years and supports carbon utilization and direct air capture research.

The USE IT Act clarifies that Carbon capture and storage (CCUS) projects and Carbon dioxide (CO₂) pipelines are now eligible for streamlined permitting under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act).

The law directs the White House Council on Environmental Quality to create guidance to increase CCUS deployment.

It was included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Official Site - congress.gov

DOE relevance

Permitting Task Forces

On October 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote cooperative efforts between CEQ and DOE to establish, maintain, and manage two carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) Permitting Task Forces and clarify the agencies’ respective roles in administering the Task Forces. In accordance with the MOU, the two Task Forces were established pursuant to the USE IT Act. The purpose of each Task Force is the same, but the scope differs by geographical area – one Task Force focuses on Federal lands and the Outer Continental Shelf, and the other focuses on non-Federal lands.

The USE IT Act outlines the following purpose of the Task Forces:

1. to identify permitting and other challenges and successes that permitting authorities and project developers and operators face in permitting projects in an efficient, orderly, and responsible manner; and  
2. to improve the performance of the permitting process and regional coordination for the purpose of promoting the efficient, orderly, and responsible development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines.  

Consistent with the MOU, DOE is responsible for the administration and technical support of the CCUS Permitting Task Forces, which includes the responsibility to support the Task Forces as federal advisory committees, in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).