15 U.S.C. § 3364 — Miscellaneous provisions

Page 2006 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3364 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘(C)’’. tation of natural gas, as he determines nec- essary to carry out any order under subsection (b), (c), or (d). Compensation for the costs of any construction or transportation ordered under this subsection shall be determined under sub- section (g) and shall be paid by the person to whom supplies of natural gas are ordered allo- cated under this section. (i) Monitoring In order to effect the purposes of this part, the President shall monitor the operation of any order made pursuant to this section to assure that natural gas delivered pursuant to this sec- tion is applied to high-priority uses only. (j) Commission study Not later than June 1, 1979, the Commission shall prepare and submit to the Congress a re- port regarding whether authority to allocate natural gas, which is not otherwise subject to allocation under this part, is likely to be nec- essary to meet high-priority uses. (k) ‘‘High-priority use’’ defined For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘high- priority use’’ means any— (1) use of natural gas in a residence; (2) use of natural gas in a commercial estab- lishment in amounts less than 50 Mcf on a peak day; or (3) any use of natural gas the curtailment of which the President determines would endan- ger life, health, or maintenance of physical property. (Pub. L. 95–621, title III, § 303, Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3383.) § 3364. Miscellaneous provisions (a) Information (1) Obtaining of information In order to obtain information to carry out his authority under this part, the President may— (A) sign and issue subpenas for the attend- ance and testimony of witnesses and the pro- duction of books, records, papers, and other documents; (B) require any person, by general or spe- cial order, to submit answers in writing to interrogatories, requests for reports or for other information, and such answers shall be made within such reasonable period, and under oath or otherwise as the President may determine; and (c) 1 secure, upon request, any information from any Federal agency. (2) Enforcement of subpenas and orders The appropriate United States district court may, upon petition of the Attorney General at the request of the President, in the case of re- fusal to obey a subpena or order of the Presi- dent issued under this subsection, issue an order requiring compliance therewith, and any failure to obey an order of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt thereof. (b) Reporting of prices and volumes In issuing any order under section 3362 or 3363 of this title, the President shall require that the prices and volumes of natural gas delivered, transported, or contracted for pursuant to such order shall be reported to him on a weekly basis. Such reports shall be made available to the Con- gress. (c) Presidential reports to Congress The President shall report to the Congress, not later than 90 days following the termination under section 3361(b) of this title of any declara- tion of a natural gas supply emergency (or ex- tension thereof) under section 3361(a) of this title, respecting the exercise of authority under section 3361, 3362, 3363 of this title, or this sec- tion. (d) Delegation of authorities The President may delegate all or any portion of the authority granted to him under section 3361, 3362, 3363 of this title, or this section to such Federal officers or agencies as he deter- mines appropriate, and may authorize such re- delegation as may be appropriate. Except with respect to section 552 of title 5, any Federal offi- cer or agency to which authority is delegated or redelegated under this subsection shall be sub- ject only to such procedural requirements re- specting the exercise of such authority as the President would be subject to if such authority were not so delegated. (e) Antitrust protections (1) Defenses There shall be available as a defense for any person to civil or criminal action brought for violation of the Federal antitrust laws (or any similar law of any State) with respect to any action taken, or meeting held, pursuant to any order of the President under section 3363(b), (c), (d), or (i) of this title, or any meeting held pursuant to a request of the President under section 3363(g) of this title, if— (A) such action was taken or meeting held solely for the purpose of complying with the President’s request or order; (B) such action was not taken for the pur- pose of injuring competition; and (C) any such meeting complied with the re- quirements of paragraph (2). Persons interposing the defense provided by this subsection shall have the burden of proof, except that the burden shall be on the person against whom the defense is asserted with re- spect to whether the actions were taken for the purpose of injuring competition. (2) Requirements of meetings With respect to any meeting held pursuant to a request by the President under section 3363(g) of this title or pursuant to an order under section 3363 of this title— (A) there shall be present at such meeting a full-time Federal employee designated for such purposes by the Attorney General; (B) a full and complete record of such meeting shall be taken and deposited, to- gether with any agreements resulting there- from, with the Attorney General, who shall make it available for public inspection and copying; (C) the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission shall have the oppor- Page 2007 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3371 tunity to participate from the beginning in the development and carrying out of agree- ments and actions under section 3363 of this title, in order to propose any alternative which would avoid or overcome, to the greatest extent practicable, possible anti- competitive effects while achieving substan- tially the purposes of section 3363 of this title and any order thereunder; and (D) such other procedures as may be speci- fied by the President in such request or order shall be complied with. (f) Effect on certain contractual obligations There shall be available as a defense to any ac- tion brought for breach of contract under Fed- eral or State Law arising out of any act or omis- sion that such act was taken or that such omis- sion occurred for purposes of complying with any order issued under section 3363 of this title. (g) Preemption Any order issued pursuant to this subchapter shall preempt any provision of any program for the allocation, emergency delivery, transpor- tation, or purchase of natural gas established by any State or local government if such program is in conflict with any such order. (Pub. L. 95–621, title III, § 304, Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3387.) Executive Documents EX. ORD. NO. 12235. ASSIGNMENT OF MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY IN CASES OF NATURAL GAS EMERGENCIES Ex. Ord. No. 12235, Sept. 3, 1980, 45 F.R. 58803, pro- vided: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Section 304(d) of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (92 Stat. 3387; 15 U.S.C. 3364(d)) and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and in order to assign management responsibility in case of a natural gas supply emergency, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1–101. The functions vested in the President by Sec- tions 301 through 304(c) of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (92 Stat. 3381–3387; 15 U.S.C. 3361–3364(c)) are del- egated to the Secretary of Energy; except for the au- thority to declare, extend, and terminate a natural gas supply emergency pursuant to Section 301 thereof (15 U.S.C. 3361). 1–102. The functions vested in the President by Sec- tion 607 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (92 Stat. 3171; 15 U.S.C. 717z) are delegated to the Secretary of Energy; except for the authority to de- clare, extend, and terminate a natural gas supply emer- gency pursuant to Section 607(a) and (b) thereof (15 U.S.C. 717z(a) and (b)). 1–103. The Secretary shall consult with the Adminis- trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Di- rector [now Administrator] of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the heads of other executive agencies in exercising the functions delegated to him by this Order. 1–104. All functions delegated to the Secretary by this Order may be redelegated, in whole or in part, to the head of any other agency. 1–105. All Executive agencies shall, to the extent per- mitted by law, cooperate with and assist the Secretary in carrying out the functions delegated to him by this Order. JIMMY CARTER. PART B—OTHER AUTHORITIES AND REQUIREMENTS § 3371. Authorization of certain sales and trans- portation (a) Commission approval of transportation (1) Interstate pipelines (A) In general The Commission may, by rule or order, au- thorize any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas on behalf of— (i) any intrastate pipeline; and (ii) any local distribution company. (B) Just and reasonable rates The rates and charges of any interstate pipeline with respect to any transportation authorized under subparagraph (A) shall be just and reasonable (within the meaning of the Natural Gas Act [15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.]). (2) Intrastate pipelines (A) In general The Commission may, by rule or order, au- thorize any intrastate pipeline to transport natural gas on behalf of— (i) any interstate pipeline; and (ii) any local distribution company served by any interstate pipeline. (B) Rates and charges (i) Maximum fair and equitable price The rates and charges of any intrastate pipeline with respect to any transpor- tation authorized under subparagraph (A), including any amount computed in accord- ance with the rule prescribed under clause (ii), shall be fair and equitable and may not exceed an amount which is reasonably comparable to the rates and charges which interstate pipelines would be permitted to charge for providing similar transpor- tation service. (ii) Commission rule The Commission shall, by rule, establish the method for calculating an amount nec- essary to— (I) reasonably compensate any intra- state pipeline for expenses incurred by the pipeline and associated with the pro- viding of any gathering, treatment, proc- essing, transportation, delivery, or simi- lar service provided by such pipeline in connection with any transportation of natural gas authorized under subpara- graph (A); and (II) provide an opportunity for such pipeline to earn a reasonable profit on such services. (b) Commission approval of sales (1) In general The Commission may, by rule or order, au- thorize any intrastate pipeline to sell natural gas to— (A) any interstate pipeline; and (B) any local distribution company served by any interstate pipeline. (2) Rates and charges (A) Maximum fair and equitable price The rates and charges of any intrastate pipeline with respect to any sale of natural