Title: Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act
This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize the Department of Energy (DOE)	to lease underutilized Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage facilities to private entities. Currently, DOE may only lease these storage facilities to foreign governments.
DOE must conduct a pilot program to lease underutilized storage facilities. The program must make available capacity for storage of up to 200 million barrels of petroleum products.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3618 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3618

 To authorize the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program to lease 
underused facilities of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2018

Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program to lease 
underused facilities of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform 
Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF UNDERUSED STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE FACILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 168 of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
Act (42 U.S.C. 6247a) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 168. USE OF UNDERUSED FACILITIES.

    ``(a) Leasing of Facilities.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this title, the Secretary may establish a program (referred to 
        in this section as the `program') under which the Secretary may 
        lease underused storage facilities and related facilities of 
        the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to--
                    ``(A) private entities; and
                    ``(B) foreign governments.
            ``(2) Exclusion from strategic petroleum reserve.--
        Petroleum products stored in a storage facility or related 
        facility leased under the program shall not be part of the 
        Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
    ``(b) Protection of Facilities.--Each lease entered into under the 
program shall contain provisions requiring the lessee to pay fees to 
fully compensate the United States for all costs relating to the 
storage and removal of petroleum products (including the proportionate 
cost of any replacement facility necessitated as a result of any 
withdrawal) incurred by the United States as a result of the lease.
    ``(c) Access to Petroleum Products by the United States.--The 
Secretary shall ensure that each lease entered into under the program 
shall not impair the ability of the United States to withdraw, 
distribute, or sell petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve in response to--
            ``(1) an energy emergency; or
            ``(2) the obligations of the United States under the 
        international energy program.
    ``(d) National Security.--The Secretary shall ensure that any lease 
entered into under the program with a foreign government shall not 
impair national security.
    ``(e) Deposits of Amounts Received.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        amounts received from a lease entered into under the program 
        shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury during 
        the fiscal year in which the amounts are received.
            ``(2) Payment of costs.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the Secretary, without further 
                appropriation, may use amounts received from a lease 
                entered into under the program for the costs described 
                in subsection (b).
                    ``(B) Exception.--The Secretary may not use amounts 
                received from a lease entered into under the program 
                for any cost described in subsection (f).
    ``(f) Preparation of Facilities.--The Secretary may use amounts 
available in the Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund 
established by section 404 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (42 
U.S.C. 6239 note; Public Law 114-74) for costs described in subsection 
(b) that relate to the addition of a facility or changes to a facility 
or facility operations necessary to lease the facility, including costs 
relating to--
            ``(1) the acquisition of land;
            ``(2) the acquisition of any ancillary facility or 
        equipment;
            ``(3) site development; and
            ``(4) other necessary costs relating to capital 
        improvement.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6201) is amended by 
striking the item relating to section 168 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 168. Use of underused facilities.''.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO LEASE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE FACILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Part B of title I of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 170. PILOT PROGRAM TO LEASE STORAGE AND RELATED FACILITIES.

    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act, as part of the 
program established under section 168, the Secretary shall establish a 
pilot program (referred to in this section as the `pilot program') to 
make available for lease--
            ``(1) capacity for storage of not more than 200,000,000 
        barrels of petroleum products at storage facilities of the 
        Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and
            ``(2) related facilities.
    ``(b) Contents.--In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary 
shall--
            ``(1) identify appropriate storage facilities and related 
        facilities of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lease, to make 
        maximum use of those facilities;
            ``(2) identify and implement any changes to facilities or 
        facility operations necessary to lease the facilities 
        identified under paragraph (1), including any changes necessary 
        to ensure the long-term structural viability and use of the 
        facilities for purposes of this part and part C;
            ``(3) make the facilities identified under paragraph (1) 
        available for lease; and
            ``(4) identify environmental effects, including benefits, 
        of leasing storage facilities and related facilities of the 
        Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to Congress a report describing the status of the pilot program.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6201) is amended by adding 
at the end of the items relating to part B of title I the following:

``Sec. 170. Pilot program to lease storage and related facilities.''.
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