Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975

Fracking in the U.S.
Energy use in the U.S.
Energy policy in the U.S.
Environmental policy
State fracking policy
State environmental policy
Glossary of energy terms
Public policy news
Energy on the ballot Local fracking on the ballot Statewide fracking on the ballot

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) was passed by the 94th United States Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford (R) in December 1975. The act created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established vehicle fuel economy standards, and prohibited the export of U.S. crude oil (with a few limited exceptions).

Background

Because the United States supported Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) instituted an oil embargo against the U.S. As a result of the embargo and diminishing production at home, the United States suffered a shortage in oil and gasoline, as well as increasing prices.

According to the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the embargo, which was lifted in March 1974, "propelled energy issues to the top of the national agenda and ultimately led to the creation of a separate agency for energy." In 1974, Congress created the Federal Energy Administration (which was subsumed by the U.S. Department of Energy upon its establishment in 1977). President Gerald Ford discussed U.S. energy independence in his first State of the Union address in January 1975:

“	I am proposing a program which will begin to restore our country's surplus capacity in total energy. In this way, we will be able to assure ourselves reliable and adequate energy and help foster a new world energy stability for other major consuming nations. But this Nation and, in fact, the world must face the prospect of energy difficulties between now and 1985. This program will impose burdens on all of us with the aim of reducing our consumption of energy and increasing our production. Great attention has been paid to the considerations of fairness, and I can assure you that the burdens will not fall more harshly on those less able to bear them. I am recommending a plan to make us invulnerable to cutoffs of foreign oil. It will require sacrifices, but it--and this is most important--it will work. I have set the following national energy goals to assure that our future is as secure and as productive as our past: First, we must reduce oil imports by 1 million barrels per day by the end of this year and by 2 million barrels per day by the end of 1977. Second, we must end vulnerability to economic disruption by foreign suppliers by 1985. Third, we must develop our energy technology and resources so that the United States has the ability to supply a significant share of the energy needs of the free world by the end of this century.	”
—President Gerald Ford

Legislative history

See bill: Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975

Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975
United States Congress
Introduced: February 7, 1975
House vote: 255-148; September 23, 1975
Senate vote: 60-25; April 10, 1975
Conference: December 9, 1975
Conference vote (House): 300-103; December 15, 1975
Conference vote (Senate): 58-40; December 17, 1975
President: Gerald Ford
Signed: December 22, 1975

EPCA was introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Henry M. Jackson (D) on February 7, 1975. The bill passed the Senate on April 10, 1975 by a vote of 60-25. The United States House of Representatives passed its version of the bill on September 23, 1975 by a vote of 255-148. A joint conference committee was convened to reconcile differences between the two bills. The conference committee submitted its report on December 9, 1975. On December 15, 1975, the House voted to accept the conference committee report by a vote of 300-103. On December 17, 1975, the Senate voted to accept the conference committee report by a vote of 58-40.

On December 22, 1975, President Gerald Ford (R) signed the bill into law. In a prepared statement, Ford said, "This legislation is by no means perfect. It does not provide all the essential measures that the Nation needs to achieve energy independence as quickly as I would like. However, after balancing the inadequacies and the merits, I have concluded that this bill is in the national interest and should be enacted into law."

Components

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

EPCA established as federal policy the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), a crude oil reserve totaling up to one billion barrels of petroleum.

“	The Congress finds that the storage of substantial quantities of petroleum products will diminish the vulnerability of the United States to the effects of a severe energy supply interruption, and provide limited protection from the short term consequences of interruptions in supplies of petroleum products. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to provide for the creation of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the storage of up to 1 billion barrels of petroleum products, but not less than 150 million barrels of petroleum products by the end of the 3-year period which begins on the date of enactment of this Act, for the purpose of reducing the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products or to carry out obligations of the United States under the international energy program.	”
—Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975

Storage sites along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico were selected due to their proximity to salt domes (which can be used for petroleum storage) and existing refineries and distribution points. Construction of facilities began in June 1977. On July 21, 1977, the first oil deliveries were made to SPR. As of 2013, the reserves held nearly 696 million barrels of crude oil.

Fuel economy standards

EPCA created Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars starting in model year 1978 (i.e., cars produced in calendar year 1977). These standards mandated the average fuel economy (weighted by sales) that a manufacturer's fleet must meet. EPCA also vested the Secretary of Transportation with the authority to establish fuel economy standards for other vehicles (e.g., light trucks, SUVs, etc.).

From 1990 through 2010, CAFE standards remained steady at 27.5 miles per gallon. In 2007, President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which raised fuel economy standards for passenger cars, light trucks, and SUVs through 2030. In 2009, the federal government, state regulators, and the automotive industry agreed to a program for ensuring that these new standards are met.

The table below details CAFE standards for passenger cars from 1978 (the first year of enforcement under EPCA) through 2013.

CAFE standards; 1978 - 2013
Model year	CAFE standard (miles per gallon)
1978	18.0
1979	19.0
1980	20.0
1981	22.0
1982	24.0
1983	26.0
1984	27.0
1985	27.5
1986	26.0
1987	26.0
1988	26.0
1989	26.5
1990	27.5
1991	27.5
1992	27.5
1993	27.5
1994	27.5
1995	27.5
1996	27.5
1997	27.5
1998	27.5
1999	27.5
2000	27.5
2001	27.5
2002	27.5
2003	27.5
2004	27.5
2005	27.5
2006	27.5
2007	27.5
2008	27.5
2009	27.5
2010	27.5
2011	30.2
2012	33.0
2013	33.4
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "Summary of Fuel Economy Performance," June 26, 2014

Prohibition on crude oil exports

EPCA also prohibited the export of U.S. crude oil in an effort to limit future oil supply disruptions (such as those caused by the 1973-1974 oil embargo). In May 2014, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz indicated that the ban could be lifted. A month earlier, a potential rescission of the ban was discussed in a House subcommittee meeting.

See also

• Energy policy in the United States
• Energy use in the United States
• Energy terms and definitions

External links

• Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, "President Gerald R. Ford's Address Before a Joint Session of Congress Reporting on the State of the Union," January 15, 1975