[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1979 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1979

 To provide for the establishment of a strategic refinery reserve, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 9, 2005

   Mr. Kohl introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the establishment of a strategic refinery reserve, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. STRATEGIC REFINERY RESERVE.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish 
        and operate a Strategic Refinery Reserve (referred to in this 
        section as the ``Reserve'') in the United States.
            (2) Authorities.--To carry out this subsection, the 
        Secretary of Energy may contract for--
                    (A) the construction or operation of new 
                refineries; or
                    (B) the acquisition or reopening of closed 
                refineries.
    (b) Operation.--The Secretary of Energy shall operate the Reserve--
            (1) to provide petroleum products to--
                    (A) the Federal Government (including the 
                Department of Defense); and
                    (B) any State governments and political 
                subdivisions of States that opt to purchase refined 
                petroleum products from the Reserve; and
            (2) to provide petroleum products to the general public 
        during any period described in subsection (c).
    (c) Emergency Periods.--The Secretary of Energy shall make 
petroleum products from the Reserve available under subsection (b)(2) 
only if the President determines that--
            (1) there is a severe energy supply interruption within the 
        meaning of the term under section 3 of the Energy Policy and 
        Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6202); or
            (2)(A) there is a regional petroleum product supply 
        shortage of significant scope and duration; and
            (B) action taken under subsection (b)(2) would directly and 
        significantly assist in reducing the adverse impact of the 
        shortage.
    (d) Locations.--In determining the location of a refinery for 
inclusion in the Reserve, the Secretary of Energy shall take into 
account--
            (1) the impact of the refinery on the local community, as 
        determined after requesting and reviewing any comments from 
        State and local governments and the public;
            (2) regional vulnerability to--
                    (A) natural disasters; and
                    (B) terrorist attacks;
            (3) the proximity of the refinery to the Strategic 
        Petroleum Reserve;
            (4) the accessibility of the refinery to energy 
        infrastructure and Federal facilities (including facilities 
        under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense);
            (5) the need to minimize adverse public health and 
        environmental impacts; and
            (6) the energy needs of the Federal Government (including 
        the Department of Defense).
    (e) Increased Capacity.--The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that 
refineries in the Reserve are designed to provide a rapid increase in 
production capacity during periods described in subsection (c).
    (f) Implementation Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit 
        to Congress a plan for the establishment and operation of the 
        Reserve under this section.
            (2) Requirements.--The plan required under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A)(i)(I) provide for, within 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, a capacity within the 
                Reserve equal to 5 percent of the total United States 
                daily demand for gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel; 
                and
                    (II) provide for a capacity within the Reserve such 
                that not less than 75 percent of the gasoline and 
                diesel fuel produced by the Reserve contain an average 
                of 10 percent renewable fuel (as that term is defined 
                in 211(o)(1)(C) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
                7545(o)(1)(C)); or
                    (ii) if the Secretary of Energy finds that 
                achieving the capacity described in either subclause 
                (I) or (II) of clause (i) is not feasible within 2 
                years, include--
                            (I) an explanation from the Secretary of 
                        Energy of the reasons why achieving the 
                        capacity within the timeframe is not feasible; 
                        and
                            (II) provisions for achieving the required 
                        capacity as soon as practicable; and
                    (B) provide for adequate delivery systems capable 
                of providing Reserve product to the entities described 
                in subsection (b)(1).
    (g) Coordination.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out this 
section in coordination with the Secretary of Defense.
    (h) Compliance With Federal Environmental Requirements.--Nothing in 
this section affects any requirement to comply with Federal or State 
environmental or other laws.

SEC. 2. REPORTS ON REFINERY CLOSURES.

    (a) Reports to Secretary of Energy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days before permanently 
        closing a refinery in the United States, the owner or operator 
        of the refinery shall provide to the Secretary of Energy notice 
        of the closing.
            (2) Requirements.--The notice required under paragraph (1) 
        with respect to a refinery to be closed shall include an 
        explanation of the reasons for the closing of the refinery.
    (b) Reports to Congress.--The Secretary of Energy shall, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission and 
as soon as practicable after receipt of a report under subsection (a), 
submit to Congress--
            (1) the report; and
            (2) an analysis of the effects of the proposed closing 
        covered by the report on--
                    (A) in accordance with the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
                7401 et seq.), supplies of clean fuel;
                    (B) petroleum product prices;
                    (C) competition in the refining industry;
                    (D) the national economy;
                    (E) regional economies;
                    (F) regional supplies of refined petroleum 
                products;
                    (G) the supply of fuel to the Department of 
                Defense; and
                    (H) energy security.
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