US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

42 U.S.C. § 6239

Development, operation, and maintenance of the Reserve

(a)

Pub. L. 106–469, title I, § 103(13)(A)114 Stat. 2030 to (e) Repealed. , ,

(f)

Powers of Secretary to develop and operate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

In order to develop, operate, or maintain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Secretary may—
(1)
issue rules, regulations, or orders;
(2)
acquire by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, land or interests in land for the location of storage and related facilities;
(3)
construct, purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire storage and related facilities;
(4)
use, lease, maintain, sell or otherwise dispose of land or interests in land, or of storage and related facilities acquired under this part, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers necessary or appropriate;
(5)
section 6240 of this title acquire, subject to the provisions of , by purchase, exchange, or otherwise, petroleum products for storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
(6)
store petroleum products in storage facilities owned and controlled by the United States or in storage facilities owned by others if those facilities are subject to audit by the United States;
(7)
execute any contracts necessary to develop, operate, or maintain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
(8)
bring an action, when the Secretary considers it necessary, in any court having jurisdiction over the proceedings, to acquire by condemnation any real or personal property, including facilities, temporary use of facilities, or other interests in land, together with any personal property located on or used with the land.
(g)

Acquisition of property by negotiation as prerequisite to condemnation

Before any condemnation proceedings are instituted, an effort shall be made to acquire the property involved by negotiation, unless, the effort to acquire such property by negotiation would, in the judgement of the Secretary be futile or so time-consuming as to unreasonably delay the development of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, because of (1) reasonable doubt as to the identity of the owners, (2) the large number of persons with whom it would be necessary to negotiate, or (3) other reasons.

(h)

Pub. L. 106–469, title I, § 103(13)(D)114 Stat. 2031, (i) Repealed. , ,

(j)

Expansion beyond 700,000,000 barrels

If the Secretary determines expansion beyond 700,000,000 barrels of petroleum product inventory is appropriate, the Secretary shall submit a plan for expansion to the Congress.

(k)

Exemption from subtitle IV of title 49

A storage or related facility of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve owned by or leased to the United States is not subject to the Interstate Commerce Act.

(l)

Rulemaking during drawdown and sale

section 553 of title 5section 6393 of this titlesection 7191 of this titleDuring a drawdown and sale of Strategic Petroleum Reserve petroleum products, the Secretary may issue implementing rules, regulations, or orders in accordance with , without regard to rulemaking requirements in , and .

Pub. L. 94–163, title I, § 15989 Stat. 886Pub. L. 95–619, title VI, § 691(b)(2)92 Stat. 3288Pub. L. 97–229, § 4(b)(1)96 Stat. 251Pub. L. 99–58, title I, § 102(a)99 Stat. 102Pub. L. 101–383104 Stat. 728Pub. L. 106–469, title I, § 103(12)114 Stat. 2030(, , ; , , ; , (2)(B), , , 252; , , ; , §§ 4(a), 9, 11, , , 735; , (13), , .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

act Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 10424 Stat. 379Pub. L. 95–473, § 4(b)92 Stat. 1466Section 4(c) of Pub. L. 95–473The Interstate Commerce Act, referred to in subsec. (k), is , , which was classified generally to chapters 1, 8, 12, 13, and 19 (§§ 1 et seq., 301 et seq., 901 et seq., 1001 et seq., and 1231 et seq., respectively) of former Title 49, Transportation. The Act was repealed (subject to an exception) by , , , the first section of which enacted subtitle IV (§ 10101 et seq.) of Title 49. excepted from repeal those provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act that vested functions in the Interstate Commerce Commission, or the chairman or members of the Commission, related to transportation of oil by pipeline and that were transferred to the Secretary of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by sections 7155 and 7172(b) of this title.

Amendments

Pub. L. 106–469, § 103(12)2000—, amended section catchline generally.

Pub. L. 106–469, § 103(13)(A)Subsecs. (a) to (e). , struck out subsecs. (a) to (e) which related to congressional review and effective date of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plan, preparation and transmittal to Congress of proposals for designing, constructing, and filling facilities and of Plan amendments, and 60-day waiting period for effectiveness of amendments.

Pub. L. 106–469, § 103(13)(B)Subsec. (f). , amended subsec. (f) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (f) set out powers of the Secretary to implement the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plan, the Early Storage Reserve Plan, proposals for designing, constructing, and filling facilities, amendments to the Plans, and the storage of petroleum products in interim storage facilities.

Pub. L. 106–469, § 103(13)(C)Subsec. (g). , substituted “development” for “implementation” and struck out “Plan” after “Strategic Petroleum Reserve”.

Pub. L. 106–469, § 103(13)(D)Subsecs. (h), (i). , struck out subsecs. (h) and (i) which related to use of interim storage facilities and environmental considerations for existing facilities, and report to Congress on results of negotiations for enlargement of Strategic Petroleum Reserve to one billion barrels.

Pub. L. 106–469, § 103(13)(E)section 6421 of this titleSubsec. (j). , amended subsec. (j) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (j) read as follows: “No later than 24 months after , the Secretary shall amend the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plan to prescribe plans for completion of storage of one billion barrels of petroleum product in the Reserve. Such amendment shall comply with the provisions of this section and shall detail the Secretary’s plans for the design, construction, leasing or other acquisition, and fill of storage and related facilities of the Reserve to achieve such one billion barrels of storage. Such amendment shall not be subject to the congressional review procedures contained in . In assessing alternatives in the development of such plans, the Secretary shall consider leasing privately owned storage facilities.”

lPub. L. 106–469, § 103(13)(F)llsection 6393 of this titlesection 553 of title 5section 7191 of this titleSubsec. (). , amended subsec. () generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. () read as follows: “Notwithstanding subsection (d) of this section, during any period in which the Distribution Plan is being implemented, the Secretary may amend the plan and promulgate rules, regulations, or orders to implement such amendments in accordance with , without regard to the requirements of and . Such amendments shall be transmitted to the Congress together with a statement explaining the need for such amendments.”

Pub. L. 101–383, § 4(a)1990—Subsecs. (i), (j). , added subsecs. (i) and (j).

Pub. L. 101–383, § 9Subsec. (k). , added subsec. (k).

lPub. L. 101–383, § 11lSubsec. (). , added subsec. ().

Pub. L. 99–58section 6421 of this title1985—Subsec. (e). amended subsec. (e) generally, substituting provisions directing that amendments transmitted pursuant to subsec. (d) of this section not become effective until 60 days after transmittal except in the case of enumerated presidential determinations for provisions which had formerly empowered Congress to disapprove of transmitted proposals and amendments in accordance with the procedures specified in .

Pub. L. 97–229, § 4(b)(1)1982—Subsec. (f)(5). , added par. (5).

Pub. L. 97–229, § 4(b)(2)(B)Subsec. (h). , added subsec. (h).

Pub. L. 95–6191978—Subsecs. (a)(1), (c), (d), (e)(1), (f), (f)(I), (g). substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator”, meaning Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, wherever appearing.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund

Pub. L. 114–74, title IV, § 404129 Stat. 590Pub. L. 116–136, div. B, title IV, § 14002(a)134 Stat. 526

“(a)

Establishment .—

There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund (referred to in this section as the ‘Fund’), consisting of—
“(1)
collections deposited in the Fund under subsection (c); and
“(2)
amounts otherwise appropriated to the Fund.
“(b)

Purpose .—

The purpose of the Fund is to provide for the construction, maintenance, repair, and replacement of Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities.
“(c)

Collection and Deposit of Sale Proceeds in Fund.—

“(1)

Drawdown and sale .—

42 U.S.C. 6241Notwithstanding section 161 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (), to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Secretary of Energy shall draw down and sell crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in amounts as authorized under subsection (e), except as provided in paragraph (2). Amounts received for a sale under this paragraph shall be deposited into the Fund during the fiscal year in which the sale occurs. Such amounts shall remain available in the Fund without fiscal year limitation.
“(2)

Emergency protection .—

42 U.S.C. 6241(h)The Secretary shall not draw down and sell crude oil under this subsection in amounts that would limit the authority to sell petroleum products under section 161(h) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act () in the full amount authorized by that subsection.
“(d)

Authorized Uses of Fund.—

“(1)

In general .—

Amounts in the Fund may be used for, or may be credited as offsetting collections for amounts used for, carrying out the program described in paragraph (2)(B), to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts.
“(2)

Program to modernize the strategic petroleum reserve.—

“(A)

Findings .—

Congress finds the following:
“(i)
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is one of the Nation’s most valuable energy security assets.
“(ii)
The age and condition of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have diminished its value as a Federal energy security asset.
“(iii)
Global oil markets and the location and amount of United States oil production and refining capacity have dramatically changed in the 40 years since the establishment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“(iv)
Maximizing the energy security value of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve requires a modernized infrastructure that meets the drawdown and distribution needs of changed domestic and international oil and refining market conditions.
“(B)

Program .—

The Secretary of Energy shall establish a Strategic Petroleum Reserve modernization program to protect the United States economy from the impacts of emergency product supply disruptions. The program may include—
“(i)
operational improvements to extend the useful life of surface and subsurface infrastructure;
“(ii)
maintenance of cavern storage integrity; and
“(iii)
addition of infrastructure and facilities to optimize the drawdown and incremental distribution capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“(e)

Authorization of Appropriations .—

There are authorized to be appropriated (and drawdowns and sales under subsection (c) in an equal amount are authorized) for carrying out subsection (d)(2)(B), $2,000,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2017 through 2022.
“(f)

Transmission of Department Budget Requests .—

The Secretary of Energy shall prepare and submit in the Department’s annual budget request to Congress—
“(1)
an itemization of the amounts of funds necessary to carry out subsection (d); and
“(2)
a designation of any activities thereunder for which a multiyear budget authority would be appropriate.
“(g)

Sunset .—

The authority of the Secretary to draw down and sell crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve under this section shall expire at the end of fiscal year 2022.”
, , , as amended by , , , provided that: