I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 245
To provide for the establishment of a Natural Gas Reserve.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 30, 2001
Mr. HALL of Ohio (for himself and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of a Natural Gas Reserve.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Natural Gas Reserve
Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. NATURAL GAS RESERVE.
Title I of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
is amended by—
(1) redesignating part E as part F;
(2) redesignating section 191 as section 198;
and
(3) inserting after part D the following new
part E:
‘‘PART E—NATURAL GAS RESERVE
‘‘ESTABLISHMENT
‘‘SEC. 191. (a) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Act, the Secretary may establish,
maintain, and operate a Natural Gas Reserve. The Re-
serve established under this part is not a component of
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established under part B
of this title.
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this part, the
term ‘natural gas’ has the meaning given that term in sec-
tion 2(1) of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (15
U.S.C. 3301(1)).
‘‘AUTHORITY
‘‘SEC. 192. 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 fa-
cilities, and storage services;
‘‘(2) use, lease, maintain, sell, or otherwise dis-
pose of storage and related facilities acquired under
this part;
‘‘(3) acquire by purchase, exchange (including
exchange of petroleum products from the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve or received as royalty from Fed-
eral lands), lease, or otherwise, natural gas for stor-
age in the Natural Gas Reserve;
‘‘(4) store natural gas in facilities not owned by
the United States; and
‘‘(5) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of nat-
ural gas from the Natural Gas Reserve, including to
maintain the quality or quantity of the natural gas
in the Reserve or to maintain the operational capa-
bility of the Reserve.
‘‘CONDITIONS FOR RELEASE; PLAN
‘‘SEC. 193. (a) FINDING.—The Secretary may sell
products from the Natural Gas Reserve upon a finding
that there is a natural gas supply shortage.
‘‘(b) RELEASE OF NATURAL GAS.—After consulta-
tion with the natural gas industry, the Secretary shall de-
termine procedures governing the release of natural gas
from the Natural Gas Reserve. The procedures shall pro-
vide that—
‘‘(1) the Secretary may—
‘‘(A) sell natural gas from the Reserve
through a competitive process; or
‘‘(B) enter into exchange agreements de-
scribed in section 192(3);
‘‘(2) in all such sales or exchanges, the Sec-
retary shall receive revenue or its equivalent that
provides the Department with fair market value;
‘‘(3) at no time may the natural gas be sold or
exchanged resulting in a loss of revenue or value to
the United States; and
‘‘(4) the Secretary shall only sell or dispose of
the natural gas in the Reserve to entities custom-
arily engaged in the sale and distribution of natural
gas.
‘‘(c) PLAN.—Within 45 days after the date of the en-
actment of this section, the Secretary shall transmit to
the Congress a plan describing—
‘‘(1) the acquisition of storage and related fa-
cilities or storage services for the Natural Gas Re-
serve, including the potential use of storage facilities
not currently in use;
‘‘(2) the acquisition of natural gas for storage
in the Natural Gas Reserve;
‘‘(3) the anticipated methods of disposition of
natural gas from the Natural Gas Reserve;
‘‘(4) the estimated costs of establishment, main-
tenance, and operation of the Natural Gas Reserve;
‘‘(5) efforts the Department will take to mini-
mize any potential need for future drawdowns and
ensure that distributors and importers are not dis-
couraged from maintaining and increasing supplies;
and
‘‘(6) actions to ensure quality of the natural gas
in the Natural Gas Reserve.
‘‘NATURAL GAS RESERVE ACCOUNT
‘‘SEC. 194. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon a decision
of the Secretary of Energy to establish a Natural Gas Re-
serve under this part, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
establish in the Treasury of the United States an account
known as the ‘Natural Gas Reserve Account’ (referred to
in this section as the ‘Account’).
‘‘(b) DEPOSITS.—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 natural gas from the Natural Gas Reserve.
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—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 obli-
gation under this section shall remain available without
fiscal year limitation.
‘‘EXEMPTIONS
‘‘SEC. 195. An action taken under this part is not
subject to the rulemaking requirements of section 523 of
this Act, section 501 of the Department of Energy Organi-
zation Act, or section 553 of title 5, United States Code.’’.
Æ