II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1231 

To require congressional notification for certain Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

operations and to determine options available for the continued operation 

of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require congressional notification for certain Strategic 

Petroleum Reserve operations and to determine options 

available for the continued operation of the Strategic 

Petroleum Reserve. 

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 ‘‘Strategic Petroleum 

5 Reserve Modernization Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE TEST DRAW2 DOWN AND SALE NOTIFICATION. 

3 Section 161(g) of the Energy Policy and Conserva4 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6241(g)) is amended by striking para5 graph (8) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(8) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) PRIOR NOTICE.—Not less than 30 

8 days before the date on which a test is carried 

9 out under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

10 notify both Houses of Congress of the test. 

11 ‘‘(B) DETAILED DESCRIPTION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

13 180 days after the date on which a test is 

14 completed under this subsection, the Sec15 retary shall submit to both Houses of Con16 gress a detailed description of the test. 

17 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—A detailed description 

18 submitted under clause (i) may be included 

19 as part of a report made to the President 

20 and Congress under section 165.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE STUDY. 

22 (a) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the date of 

23 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy (referred 

24 to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct a study 

25 that— 


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1 (1) evaluates the international obligations that 

2 gave rise to the establishment and maintenance of 

3 the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established under 

4 part B of title I of the Energy Policy and Conserva5 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.); 

6 (2) analyzes changes that have occurred in en7 ergy security infrastructure since the establishment 

8 of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, including 

9 changes in the distribution infrastructure and the in10 tegrity of the salt caverns associated with the Stra11 tegic Petroleum Reserve; 

12 (3) estimates the costs of completing deferred 

13 maintenance for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; 

14 (4) estimates the costs of life extension spend15 ing that is required for Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

16 infrastructure that is nearing the end of the design 

17 life of the infrastructure; and 

18 (5) evaluates the size of the Strategic Petro19 leum Reserve as of the date of the study, based on 

20 current and projected supply and demand for oil. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

23 the appropriate committees of Congress a report that de24 scribes— 


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1 (1) the results of the study under subsection 

2 (a); 

3 (2) the costs associated with maintaining the 

4 Strategic Petroleum Reserve; 

5 (3) the costs associated with extending the op6 erating life of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and 

7 (4) cost-effective options for, alternatives to, or 

8 structural modifications of the Strategic Petroleum 

9 Reserve that would adhere to, and account for, the 

10 international obligations evaluated under subsection 

11 (a)(1). 

Æ 


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