[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2884 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  2d Session

                               H. R. 2884

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To extend energy conservation programs under the Energy Policy and 
               Conservation Act through fiscal year 2003.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2884

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To extend energy conservation programs under the Energy Policy and 
               Conservation Act through fiscal year 2003.

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

SECTION 1. ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION ACT AMENDMENTS.

    The Energy Policy and Conservation Act is amended--
            (1) by amending section 166 (42 U.S.C. 6246) to read as 
        follows:

                   ``authorization of appropriations

    ``Sec. 166. There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal 
years 2000 through 2003 such sums as may be necessary to implement this 
part.'';
            (2) in section 181 (42 U.S.C. 6251) by striking ``March 31, 
        2000'' both places it appears and inserting ``September 30, 
        2003''; and
            (3) in section 281 (42 U.S.C. 6285) by striking ``March 31, 
        2000'' both places it appears and inserting ``September 30, 
        2003''.

SEC. 2. PURCHASE OF OIL FROM MARGINAL WELLS.

    (a) Purchase of Oil From Marginal Wells.--Part B of Title I of the 
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6232 et seq.) is amended 
by adding the following new section after section 168:

                 ``purchase of oil from marginal wells

    ``Sec. 169. (a) In General.--From amounts authorized under section 
166, in any case in which the price of oil decreases to an amount less 
than $15.00 per barrel (an amount equal to the annual average well head 
price per barrel for all domestic crude oil), adjusted for inflation, 
the Secretary may purchase oil from a marginal well at $15.00 per 
barrel, adjusted for inflation.
    ``(b) Definition of Marginal Well.--The term ``marginal well'' 
means a well that--
            ``(1) has an average daily production of 15 barrels or 
        less;
            ``(2) has an average daily production of 25 barrels or less 
        with produced water accounting for 95 percent or more of total 
        production; or
            ``(3) produces heavy oil with an API gravity less than 20 
        degrees.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 168 the following:

``Sec. 169. Purchase of oil from marginal wells.''.

SEC. 3. NORTHEAST HOME HEATING OIL RESERVE.

    (a) Amendment.--Title I of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 
is amended by--
            (1) redesignating part D as part E;
            (2) redesignating section 181 as section 191; and
            (3) inserting after part C the following new part D:

              ``Part D--Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve

                            ``establishment

    ``Sec. 181. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
the Secretary may establish, maintain, and operate in the Northeast a 
Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. A Reserve established under this 
part is not a component of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established 
under part B of this title. A Reserve established under this part shall 
contain no more than 2 million barrels of petroleum distillate.
    ``(b) For the purposes of this part--
            ``(1) the term `Northeast' means the States of Maine, New 
        Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
        New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; and
            ``(2) the term `petroleum distillate' includes heating oil 
        and diesel fuel.

                              ``authority

    ``Sec. 182. To the extent necessary or appropriate to carry out 
this part, the Secretary may--
            ``(1) purchase, contract for, lease, or otherwise acquire, 
        in whole or in part, storage and related facilities, and 
        storage services;
            ``(2) use, lease, maintain, sell, or otherwise dispose of 
        storage and related facilities acquired under this part;
            ``(3) acquire by purchase, exchange (including exchange of 
        petroleum product from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or 
        received as royalty from Federal lands), lease, or otherwise, 
        petroleum distillate for storage in the Northeast Home Heating 
        Oil Reserve;
            ``(4) store petroleum distillate in facilities not owned by 
        the United States;
            ``(5) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of petroleum 
        distillate from the Reserve established under this part; and
            ``(6) notwithstanding paragraph (5), on terms the Secretary 
        considers reasonable, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of 
        petroleum distillate from the Reserve established under this 
        part in order to maintain the quality or quantity of the 
        petroleum distillate in the Reserve or to maintain the 
        operational capability of the Reserve.

                     ``conditions for release; plan

    ``Sec. 183. (a) The Secretary may release petroleum distillate from 
the Reserve under section 182(5) only in the event of--
            ``(1) a severe energy supply disruption;
            ``(2) a severe price increase; or
            ``(3) another emergency affecting the Northeast,
which the President determines to merit a release from the Reserve.
    ``(b) Within 45 days of the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall transmit to the President and, if the President 
approves, to the Congress a plan describing--
            ``(1) the acquisition of storage and related facilities or 
        storage services for the Reserve;
            ``(2) the acquisition of petroleum distillate for storage 
        in the Reserve;
            ``(3) the anticipated methods of disposition of petroleum 
        distillate from the Reserve; and
            ``(4) the estimated costs of establishment, maintenance, 
        and operation of the Reserve.
The storage of petroleum distillate in a storage facility that meets 
existing environmental requirements is not a `major Federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment' as that 
term is used in section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969.

              ``northeast home heating oil reserve account

    ``Sec. 184. (a) Upon a decision of the Secretary of Energy to 
establish a Reserve under this part, the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall establish in the Treasury of the United States an account know as 
the `Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve Account' (referred to in this 
section as the `Account').
    ``(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit in the Account 
any amounts appropriated to the Account and any receipts from the sale, 
exchange, or other disposition of petroleum distillate from the 
Reserve.
    ``(c) The Secretary of Energy may obligate amounts in the Account 
to carry out activities under this part without the need for further 
appropriation, and amounts available to the Secretary of Energy for 
obligation under this section shall remain available without fiscal 
year limitation.

                              ``exemptions

    ``Sec. 185. An action taken under this part--
            ``(1) is not subject to the rulemaking requirements of 
        section 523 of this Act, section 501 of the Department of 
        Energy Organization Act, or section 553 of title 5, United 
        States Code; and
            ``(2) is not subject to laws governing the Federal 
        procurement of goods and services, including the Federal 
        Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (including the 
        Competition in Contracting Act) and the Small Business Act.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out part D of title 
I of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 12, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.