42 U.S.C. § 8513 — Standby Federal conservation plan

submitted 47 years ago by Pub. L. 96-102 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 1,397 words · no verdicts yet

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The Secretary must create a standby federal conservation plan for states that miss their targets. The President can activate parts of it after talking with a struggling state's Governor. States can later submit their own plan to replace it, and violations bring a penalty up to $1,000.

(a) Establishment of standby conservation plan: Within 90 days of November 5, 1979, the Secretary must set up a standby federal emergency conservation plan, following section 7191 of this title. The Secretary can amend it anytime and must make any changes public once adopted. The plan must fit with the goals of the related energy law and must provide for cutting public and private use of any energy source that has, or might have, a target under section 8511. (b) Implementation of standby conservation plan: The President can activate all or part of this federal plan in a state, after talking with its Governor, in either of two situations. First: after at least 90 days of a state's own approved plan not substantially meeting its target — and it looks like it will keep missing — plus a projected shortage over the next 60 days that's at least 8 percent of normal demand for that energy source. Second: when a state's target isn't being substantially met and either the state has no approved plan, or the President finds the state has largely failed to do what its plan promised. (c) Basis for findings: Any finding under (b) must come with the supporting information and analysis, and must be shared with Congress and the public. (d) Submission of State emergency conservation plan: A Governor of a state under all or part of the federal standby plan can submit a state plan at any time; once the Secretary approves it, the federal plan (or that part of it) stops applying in that state. This doesn't undo ongoing legal proceedings or cases based on conduct that happened before the plan stopped applying. (e) State substitute emergency conservation measures: Once part of the federal standby plan takes effect in a state or locality, the Secretary must let that state or locality submit its own measures, under its own laws, to replace specific federal measures — possibly including options for people to conserve energy in alternative ways, with effective state or local enforcement. The Secretary can approve these substitute measures if they'll conserve at least as much energy as the federal measure, meet the requirements of this subsection, and would qualify for approval the way a full state plan would under related standards in section 8512(c). Once approved, the federal measure stops applying there (without undoing pending legal proceedings). If the Secretary later finds the substitute measures aren't working as required, the Secretary can reimpose the federal measure. (f) State authority to administer plan: At a Governor's request, the President can let the state administer and enforce all or part of the activated federal plan, using the same authority-delegation rules that apply to approved state plans. (g) Presidential authority not to be delegated: Except as allowed under (f), the President cannot hand off this section's powers to anyone else. (h) Requirements of plan: Taken as a whole, the standby plan must be designed to likely reach the relevant target, and must avoid placing an unfairly heavy burden on any one industry or business type. It cannot include any measure the Secretary finds conflicts with other federal law, unduly burdens interstate commerce, amounts to an unauthorized tax, tariff, or fee, or is a rationing program for gasoline or diesel described elsewhere in this title. (i) Plan may not authorize weekend closings of retail gasoline stations: Except for a rotating daily-closure program, the plan can't restrict gas-station sale hours between Friday noon and Sunday midnight. (j) Civil penalties: Violating a plan measure activated under (b) brings a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, which a court can assess. Collected penalties usually go to the Treasury's general fund, unless the Secretary has agreed to let the state keep the money to help cover its costs of administering the delegated part of the plan.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a) Establishment of standby conservation plan

(1)

Within 90 days after November 5, 1979, the Secretary, in accordance with section 7191 of this title, shall establish a standby Federal emergency conservation plan. The Secretary may amend such plan at any time, and shall make such amendments public upon their adoption.

(2)

The plan under this section shall be consistent with the attainment of the objectives of section 753(b)(1) 1 of title 15, and shall provide for the emergency reduction in the public and private use of each energy source for which an emergency conservation target is in effect or may be in effect under section 8511 of this title.

(b) Implementation of standby conservation plan

(1)

If the President finds—

(A)

after a reasonable period of operation, but not less than 90 days, that a State emergency conservation plan approved and implemented under section 8512 of this title is not substantially meeting a conservation target established under section 8511(a) of this title for such State and it is likely that such target will continue to be unmet; and

(B)

a shortage exists or is likely to exist in such State for the 60-day period beginning after such finding that is equal to or greater than 8 percent of the projected normal demand, as determined by the President, for an energy source for which such conservation target has been established under section 8511(a) of this title;

then the President shall, after consultation with the Governor of such State, make effective in such State all or any part of the standby Federal conservation plan established under subsection (a) for such period or periods as the President determines appropriate to achieve the target in that State.

(2)

If the President finds after a reasonable period of time, that the conservation target established under section 8511(a) of this title is not being substantially met and it is likely that such target will continue to be unmet in a State which—

(A)

has no emergency conservation plan approved under section 8512 of this title; or

(B)

the President finds has substantially failed to carry out the assurances regarding implementation set forth in the plan approved under section 8512 of this title,

Any finding under subsection (b) shall be accompanied by such information and analysis as is necessary to provide a basis therefor and shall be available to the Congress and the public.

(d) Submission of State emergency conservation plan

(1)

2 The Governor of a State in which all or any portion of the standby Federal conservation plan is or will be in effect may submit at any time a State emergency conservation plan, and if it is approved under section 8512(c) of this title, all or such portion of the standby Federal conservation plan shall cease to be effective in that State. Nothing in this paragraph shall affect any action or pending proceedings, administrative or civil, not finally determined on such date, nor any administrative or civil action or proceeding, whether or not pending, based upon any act committed or liability incurred prior to such cessation of effectiveness.

(e) State substitute emergency conservation measures

(1)

After the President makes all or any part of the standby Federal conservation plan effective in any State or political subdivision under subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide procedures whereby such State or any political subdivision thereof may submit to the Secretary for approval one or more measures under authority of State or local law to be implemented by such State or political subdivision and to be substituted for any Federal measure in the Federal plan. The measures may include provisions whereby persons affected by such Federal measure are permitted to use alternative means of conserving at least as much energy as would be conserved by such Federal measure. Such measures shall provide effective procedures, as determined by the Secretary, for the approval and enforcement of such alternative means by such State or by any political subdivision thereof.

(2)

The Secretary may approve the measures under paragraph (1) if he finds—

(A)

that such measures when in effect will conserve at least as much energy as would be conserved by such Federal measure which would have otherwise been in effect in such State or political subdivision;

(B)

such measures otherwise meet the requirements of this paragraph; and

(C)

such measures would be approved under section 8512(c)(1)(B), (C), and (D) of this title.

(3)

If the Secretary approves measures under this subsection such Federal measure shall cease to be effective in that State or political subdivision. Nothing in this paragraph shall affect any action or pending proceedings, administrative or civil, not finally determined on the date the Federal measure ceases to be effective in that State or political subdivision, nor any administrative or civil action or proceeding, whether or not pending, based upon any act committed or liability incurred prior to such cessation of effectiveness.

(4)

If the Secretary finds after a reasonable period of time that the requirements of this subsection are not being met under the measures in effect under this subsection he may reimpose the Federal measure referred to in paragraph (1).

(f) State authority to administer plan

At the request of the Governor of any State, the President may provide that the administration and enforcement of all or a portion of the standby Federal conservation plan made effective in that State under subsection (b) be in accordance with section 8512(d)(1), (2), and (4) of this title.

(g) Presidential authority not to be delegated

Notwithstanding any other provision of law (other than subsection (f)), the authority vested in the President under this section may not be delegated.

(h) Requirements of plan

The plan established under subsection (a) shall—

(1)

taken as a whole, be designed so that the plan, if implemented, would be likely to achieve the emergency conservation target under section 8511 of this title for which it would be implemented,

(2)

taken as a whole, be designed so as not to impose an unreasonably disproportionate share of the burden of restrictions on energy use on any specific class of industry, business, or commercial enterprise, or any individual segment thereof, and

(3)

not contain any measure which the Secretary finds—

(A)

is inconsistent with any otherwise applicable Federal law (including any rule or regulation under such law),

(B)

is an undue burden on interstate commerce,

(C)

is a tax, tariff, or user fee, or

(D)

is a program for the assignment of rights for end-user purchases of gasoline or diesel fuel, as described in section 6263(a)(1)(A) and (B) ¹ of this title.

(i) Plan may not authorize weekend closings of retail gasoline stations

(1)

Except as provided in paragraph (2), the plan established under subsection (a) may not provide for the restriction of hours of sale of motor fuel at retail at any time between Friday noon and Sunday midnight.

(2)

Paragraph (1) shall not preclude the restriction on such hours of sale if that restriction occurs in connection with a program for restricting hours of sale of motor fuel each day of the week on a rotating basis.

(j) Civil penalties

(1)

Whoever violates the requirements of such a plan implemented under subsection (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation.

(2)

Any penalty under paragraph (1) may be assessed by the court in any action brought in any appropriate United States district court or any other court of competent jurisdiction. Except to the extent provided under paragraph (3), any such penalty collected shall be deposited into the general fund of the United States Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

(3)

The Secretary may enter into an agreement with the Governor of any State under which amounts collected pursuant to this subsection may be collected and retained by the State to the extent necessary to cover costs incurred by that State in connection with the administration and enforcement of that portion of the standby Federal conservation plan for which authority is delegated to that State under subsection (f).

Source credit: (Pub. L. 96–102, title II, § 213, Nov. 5, 1979, 93 Stat. 762.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1979Enacted · Pub. L. 96-102 · 93 Stat. 762

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 96-102 on 1979-11-05.

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