I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2256 

To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to improve 

the coordination of refinery outages, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2013 

Mr. WALZ (for himself, Mr. NOLAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. ELLISON, and Mr. 

PETERSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

2007 to improve the coordination of refinery outages, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gas Price and Refinery 

5 Capacity Relief Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF REFINERY OUTAGES. 

7 Section 804 of the Energy Independence and Security 

8 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17283) is amended to read as 

9 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 804. COORDINATION OF REFINERY OUTAGES. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis4 trator’ means the Administrator of the Energy In5 formation Administration. 

6 ‘‘(2) PLANNED REFINERY OUTAGE.—The term 

7 ‘planned refinery outage’ means a removal, sched8 uled before the date on which the removal occurs, of 

9 a refinery, or any unit of a refinery, from service for 

10 maintenance, repair, or modification. 

11 ‘‘(3) REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCT.—The 

12 term ‘refined petroleum product’ means any gaso13 line, diesel fuel, fuel oil, lubricating oil, liquid petro14 leum gas, or other petroleum distillate that is pro15 duced through the refining or processing of crude oil 

16 or an oil derived from tar sands, shale, or coal. 

17 ‘‘(4) REFINERY.—The term ‘refinery’ means a 

18 facility used in the production of a refined petroleum 

19 product through distillation, cracking, or any other 

20 process. 

21 ‘‘(5) UNPLANNED REFINERY OUTAGE.—The 

22 ‘unplanned refinery outage’ means the removal of a 

23 refinery, or any unit of a refinery, from service that 

24 is not scheduled in advance. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The owner or op2 erator of a refinery shall submit to the Administrator in3 formation describing— 

4 ‘‘(1) the schedule of the refinery for any 

5 planned refinery outage, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) the dates for the planned refinery 

7 outage at least 1 year in advance of the date of 

8 the expected outage or the date the outage is 

9 scheduled; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the estimated inventories and produc11 tion of refined petroleum products during the 

12 period described in subparagraph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(2) any unplanned refinery outages as soon as 

14 practicable 

15 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF AVAILABLE INFOR16 MATION.—The Administrator shall, on an ongoing basis— 

17 ‘‘(1) review information on planned refinery 

18 outages and unplanned refinery outages— 

19 ‘‘(A) reported by refineries under sub20 section (b); and 

21 ‘‘(B) that is available from commercial re22 porting services; 

23 ‘‘(2) analyze that information to determine 

24 whether the scheduling of a planned refinery outage 

25 or an unplanned refinery outage may nationally or 


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1 regionally substantially affect the price or supply of 

2 any refined petroleum product by— 

3 ‘‘(A) decreasing the production of the re4 fined petroleum product; and 

5 ‘‘(B) causing or contributing to a retail or 

6 wholesale supply shortage or disruption; and 

7 ‘‘(3) alert the Secretary of any refinery outage 

8 that the Administrator determines may nationally or 

9 regionally substantially affect the price or supply of 

10 a refined petroleum product. 

11 ‘‘(d) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—On a determination 

12 by the Secretary that a refinery outage may affect the 

13 price or supply of a refined petroleum product, the Sec14 retary shall make available to refinery operators informa15 tion on planned refinery outages or unplanned refinery 

16 outages to prevent significant market disruptions. 

17 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) alters any existing legal obligation or re19 sponsibility of a refinery operator; 

20 ‘‘(2) creates any legal right of action; or 

21 ‘‘(3) authorizes the Secretary— 

22 ‘‘(A) to prohibit a refinery operator from 

23 conducting a planned refinery outage; or 

24 ‘‘(B) to require a refinery operator to con25 tinue to operate a refinery. 


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1 ‘‘(f) STUDY ON NATIONAL STRATEGIC REFINED PE2 TROLEUM PRODUCTS RESERVE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

5 Secretary shall study and submit to Congress a re6 port on the costs and benefits of creating a national 

7 strategic refined petroleum products reserve for re8 fined petroleum products. 

9 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—The report required 

10 under paragraph (1) shall include information on— 

11 ‘‘(A) the days of existing storage capabili12 ties within the different petroleum administra13 tion defense districts based on normal usage of 

14 refined petroleum products; 

15 ‘‘(B) the feasibility of increasing storage 

16 capacity for refined petroleum products on a re17 gional basis; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the impact additional storage capacity 

19 would have on the retail price of refined petro20 leum products for consumers in the event of a 

21 supply shortage or market disruption from a 

22 natural disaster or refinery outage.’’. 

Æ 


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