Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§8513 Standby Federal conservation plan

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 93— - EMERGENCY ENERGY CONSERVATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - EMERGENCY ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM › § 8513

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must create a standby Federal emergency conservation plan within 90 days after November 5, 1979, and can change it later if needed, making changes public. The plan must help meet national conservation goals and include ways to cut public and private use of any energy sources that have emergency conservation targets. The President may turn on all or part of the Federal plan for a State if, after a reasonable time (at least 90 days), a State plan is not meeting its conservation target or the State has no approved plan or has failed to carry one out. The President must also find a shortage equal to or greater than 8 percent of projected normal demand for a 60-day period before using the Federal plan. The President’s finding must include supporting information and be shared with Congress and the public. A Governor can submit a State plan anytime. If the Secretary approves it, the Federal plan stops in that State, but past or pending legal actions are not affected. After the Federal plan is in effect, the State can propose substitute measures that save at least as much energy. The Secretary can approve those substitutes, and then the Federal measure ends in that area. If substitutes fail, the Secretary can bring the Federal measure back. At a Governor’s request, the President may let the State run and enforce the Federal plan in that State. Except for that option, the President cannot delegate the authority to act under this law. The plan must, overall, be likely to meet the conservation target, not put an unfair share of limits on any one industry or group, and must not conflict with other federal law, unduly burden interstate commerce, act like a tax, or set up end-user gasoline or diesel purchase rights. The plan generally may not limit retail motor fuel sales from Friday noon to Sunday midnight, unless a rotating daily schedule is used. Violations can bring a civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation; most fines go to the U.S. Treasury, but the Secretary may let a State keep collected amounts to cover its enforcement costs.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §8513

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(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) 11 See References in Text note below. 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)(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;
(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,
(c)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)(1)22 So in original. No par. (2) has been enacted. 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)(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)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)Notwithstanding any other provision of law (other than subsection (f)), the authority vested in the President under this section may not be delegated.
(h)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)(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)(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).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 753 of title 15, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), was omitted from the Code pursuant to section 760g of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, which provided for the expiration of the President’s authority under that section on Sept. 30, 1981. section 6263 of this title, referred to in subsec. (h)(3)(D), was repealed by Pub. L. 106–469, title I, § 104(1), Nov. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 2033.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 8513

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73