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 Com-
mittee 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. 
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 ‘‘Gas Price and Refinery 
Capacity Relief Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF REFINERY OUTAGES. 
Section 804 of the Energy Independence and Security 
Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17283) is amended to read as 
follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 804. COORDINATION OF REFINERY OUTAGES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Energy In-
formation Administration. 
‘‘(2) PLANNED REFINERY OUTAGE.—The term 
‘planned refinery outage’ means a removal, sched-
uled before the date on which the removal occurs, of 
a refinery, or any unit of a refinery, from service for 
maintenance, repair, or modification. 
‘‘(3) REFINED
PETROLEUM
PRODUCT.—The 
term ‘refined petroleum product’ means any gaso-
line, diesel fuel, fuel oil, lubricating oil, liquid petro-
leum gas, or other petroleum distillate that is pro-
duced through the refining or processing of crude oil 
or an oil derived from tar sands, shale, or coal. 
‘‘(4) REFINERY.—The term ‘refinery’ means a 
facility used in the production of a refined petroleum 
product through distillation, cracking, or any other 
process. 
‘‘(5) UNPLANNED
REFINERY
OUTAGE.—The 
‘unplanned refinery outage’ means the removal of a 
refinery, or any unit of a refinery, from service that 
is not scheduled in advance. 
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‘‘(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The owner or op-
erator of a refinery shall submit to the Administrator in-
formation describing— 
‘‘(1) the schedule of the refinery for any 
planned refinery outage, including— 
‘‘(A) the dates for the planned refinery 
outage at least 1 year in advance of the date of 
the expected outage or the date the outage is 
scheduled; and 
‘‘(B) the estimated inventories and produc-
tion of refined petroleum products during the 
period described in subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(2) any unplanned refinery outages as soon as 
practicable 
‘‘(c) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF AVAILABLE INFOR-
MATION.—The Administrator shall, on an ongoing basis— 
‘‘(1) review information on planned refinery 
outages and unplanned refinery outages— 
‘‘(A) reported by refineries under sub-
section (b); and 
‘‘(B) that is available from commercial re-
porting services; 
‘‘(2) analyze that information to determine 
whether the scheduling of a planned refinery outage 
or an unplanned refinery outage may nationally or 
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regionally substantially affect the price or supply of 
any refined petroleum product by— 
‘‘(A) decreasing the production of the re-
fined petroleum product; and 
‘‘(B) causing or contributing to a retail or 
wholesale supply shortage or disruption; and 
‘‘(3) alert the Secretary of any refinery outage 
that the Administrator determines may nationally or 
regionally substantially affect the price or supply of 
a refined petroleum product. 
‘‘(d) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—On a determination 
by the Secretary that a refinery outage may affect the 
price or supply of a refined petroleum product, the Sec-
retary shall make available to refinery operators informa-
tion on planned refinery outages or unplanned refinery 
outages to prevent significant market disruptions. 
‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section— 
‘‘(1) alters any existing legal obligation or re-
sponsibility of a refinery operator; 
‘‘(2) creates any legal right of action; or 
‘‘(3) authorizes the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) to prohibit a refinery operator from 
conducting a planned refinery outage; or 
‘‘(B) to require a refinery operator to con-
tinue to operate a refinery. 
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‘‘(f) STUDY ON NATIONAL STRATEGIC REFINED PE-
TROLEUM PRODUCTS RESERVE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall study and submit to Congress a re-
port on the costs and benefits of creating a national 
strategic refined petroleum products reserve for re-
fined petroleum products. 
‘‘(2) 
INFORMATION.—The 
report 
required 
under paragraph (1) shall include information on— 
‘‘(A) the days of existing storage capabili-
ties within the different petroleum administra-
tion defense districts based on normal usage of 
refined petroleum products; 
‘‘(B) the feasibility of increasing storage 
capacity for refined petroleum products on a re-
gional basis; and 
‘‘(C) the impact additional storage capacity 
would have on the retail price of refined petro-
leum products for consumers in the event of a 
supply shortage or market disruption from a 
natural disaster or refinery outage.’’. 
Æ 
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