Sponsors (2)
The bill creates a Western regional refined-fuel reserve that significantly improves regional fuel security and local resilience but does so at taxpayer cost, by promoting additional fossil-fuel infrastructure and concentrating safety/environmental risks in host communities.
Residents, businesses, and state/local governments in Western states will have stronger fuel supply resilience because a new 10-million-barrel regional refined-fuel reserve (gasoline, diesel, jet) will be established and the Secretary can withdraw product for regional emergencies or needs.
State and local governments (and private storage operators) can store or contract to store product using existing facilities, which can speed deployment, reduce setup costs, and improve local planning and resilience.
Congress and the public will get annual reports on procurement, operations, and recommendations, improving transparency and oversight of the regional reserve.
Taxpayers and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s budget could be tapped to buy, lease, fill, and maintain refined fuels or facilities, increasing federal expenditures or diverting funds from crude-oil SPR priorities.
The bill extends federal support for refined-fuel storage infrastructure, which locks in additional fossil-fuel capacity and can conflict with climate-reduction goals and emissions targets.
Concentrating large refined-fuel stocks (e.g., in salt caverns) in specific Western locations could raise local land-use, safety, and environmental risks for nearby communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a Western salt‑cavern refined fuel reserve holding gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel with set minimum volumes and fill/maintenance rules funded by SPR appropriations and sale revenues.
Introduced December 9, 2025 by John R. Curtis · Last progress December 9, 2025
Creates a new Western Refined Fuel Storage Reserve as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to hold gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel in a salt‑cavern facility in one Western state. The Department of Energy must pick a suitable site within six months, contract with operators where practical, stock specified minimum volumes, and keep the Reserve at no less than 75% of that minimum capacity for five fiscal years using SPR appropriations and certain SPR sale revenues. The Secretary may draw down fuel for emergencies or supply disruptions, may enter storage agreements with state or local governments to hold their product, and must report to Congress within one year and then annually on establishment, operations, procurement/leasing, evaluations, and recommendations.