1.This Act may be cited as the
National Strategic Gasoline Reserve
for Purposes of National Security Act of 2009
.
2.Strategic
Gasoline Reserve
(a)
(1)The
Secretary of Energy shall establish a Strategic Gasoline Reserve system (in
this section referred to as the Gasoline Reserve
) with a total
capacity of 10,000,000 barrels of regular unleaded gasoline.
(2)No later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall determine strategic locations for no less than
three and no more than five Gasoline Reserve sites, each located in a different
geographical region of the United States. When determining site locations, the
Secretary shall consider all factors, including seasonal and regional
variations in gasoline, cost, regional population, accessibility for
distribution, and the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters and acts of
terrorism. The Secretary shall endeavor to find the most affordable method for
storage and, when possible, should consult the methodology used for the
creation of the Home Heating Oil Reserve and the Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
Such reserve site locations shall be operational within 2 years after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(3)In establishing the Gasoline Reserve under this
section, the Secretary shall confer with the Secretary of Transportation and
the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to physical structures’
security, the transportation security, and operational security.
(b)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Energy shall transmit to the Congress, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and
the Governor of each State in which a Gasoline Reserve will be sited a plan for
the transportation of the contents of the Gasoline Reserve under this section
to wholesale or retail markets in the event of an emergency sale under
subsection (d).
(c)The
Secretary of Energy shall complete the process of filling the Gasoline Reserve
to a minimum of 90 percent within 2 years of submitting a transportation plan
to the Congress.
(d)The Secretary shall conduct an annual review of the
gasoline supply to ensure the reserves in the Gasoline Reserve do not exceed
their shelf life. The Secretary shall have in place within 2 years of enactment
of this Act a plan for assuring that the inventory is sold and replaced in a
manner that assures the integrity of the product at all times. The Secretary
shall have the authority to exchange an aging supply of reserve gasoline
through private sales or by utilizing the fuel for military or government use.
The Secretary shall seek the best means to minimize transaction expense.
(e)Requests for
Emergency Sale AuthorizationThe Secretary of Energy shall sell
gasoline from the Gasoline Reserve if—
(1)the Governor of an
affected State submits a written request that—
(A)provides
sufficient evidence that the sale or supply of gasoline in the region in which
such State is located has been severely disrupted, caused by, but not limited
to, an interruption in the normal distribution or availability of gasoline
which dramatically affects the price of gasoline; and
(B)provides
sufficient evidence that the State would experience further adverse effects
without the sale of gasoline from the Gasoline Reserve; and
(2)the President
issues an Executive order requiring immediate release from any or all Gasoline
Reserves at any time that the President determines that the conditions
specified in paragraph (1)(A) are satisfied.
(f)
(1)The Secretary of Energy shall respond to a request
transmitted under subsection (e) within 7 days of receipt of a request through
a written response, regardless of the decision.
(2)The Secretary may request additional information if
the Secretary concludes there are insufficient reasons provided for the sale of
gasoline from the Gasoline Reserve system.
(g)The
Secretary of Energy is authorized to conduct purchases and sales of gasoline at
wholesale for maintenance of the Gasoline Reserve system. In conducting these
transactions, the Secretary shall—
(1)ensure that the
overall supply returns to a minimum 90 percent capacity in a timely manner
following a sizeable depletion due to an emergency; and
(2)assess market
conditions to avoid, to the extent possible, when prices appear to be at higher
levels unlikely to be sustained, or when purchases of gasoline are likely to
significantly raise gasoline prices in the market served by a particular
Gasoline Reserve for purchases consistent with the need for timely
replenishment of the Reserve after emergency or nonemergency sales.
(h)At a specified date as determined by the Secretary of
Energy, the Secretary shall submit to the President, the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the status of the Strategic
Gasoline Reserve outlining the Reserve’s current capacity, emergency sales from
the previous year, any security threats in the previous year, and the current
condition of the storage facilities. The Secretary shall also in the report
include any recommendations for improvements in the efficiency of the purchase,
transportation, sale, and storage of gasoline in the Gasoline Reserves.
(i)Authorization of
AppropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of Energy such sums as may be necessary for construction and
operation of the Gasoline Reserve system for fiscal years 2009 through
2015.