§ 3803. — Duties of Secretary of Energy.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC3803]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 64--METHANE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND
DEMONSTRATION
Sec. 3803. Duties of Secretary of Energy
(a) Designation of management entity for program
The Secretary shall designate prior to February 1, 1981, an
appropriate organizational entity within the Department of Energy to
manage the methane vehicle research, development, and demonstration
program.
(b) Monitoring and management of program; agreements with other Federal
departments and agencies
The Secretary shall have the responsibility for monitoring and
assuring proper management of the program. The Secretary may enter into
agreements or arrangements with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental
Protection Agency, or any other Federal department or agency, pursuant
to which such department or agency shall conduct specified parts or
aspects of the program as the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate
and within the particular competence of such agency, to the extent that
such agency has capabilities which would enable it to contribute to the
success of the program and attainment of the purposes of this chapter.
(c) Assurances respecting scope of program activities
In assuring the effective management of this program, the Secretary
shall have specific responsibility to ascertain that the program
includes activities to--
(1) promote basic and applied research on methane-fueled vehicle
construction, modification, and safety;
(2) conduct research and development on optimum overall
specifications for methane-fueled vehicles;
(3) determine appropriate means and facilities for safely and
economically storing, transporting, and dispensing methane for use
as a vehicular fuel;
(4) conduct demonstration projects with respect to the
feasibility of methane-fueled vehicles and methane transmission,
storage and dispensing facilities (A) by providing necessary
financial or technical assistance for the construction,
modification, or operation of motor vehicles to be methane-fueled
for practical use or of methane transmission, storage and dispensing
facilities, and (B) by entering into agreements or arrangements with
other entities, governmental and nongovernmental, for the
demonstration of such vehicles and facilities;
(5) gather performance data, including but not limited to
emissions data, on methane-fueled vehicles and related transmission
and storage facilities;
(6) determine that the participants in each demonstration
assisted under this chapter have made satisfactory arrangements to
obtain an adequate supply of methane for vehicular use in the
project;
(7) ascertain the need for modifications in available methane-
fueled vehicles to improve their efficiency and performance and to
facilitate their widespread use by fleet owners; and
(8) ascertain any changes in fuel supply patterns, tax policies,
and standards governing the manufacture of vehicles which are needed
to facilitate the manufacture and use of methane-fueled vehicles.
(d) Implementation of program; administrative procedures, etc.,
applicable
(1) The Secretary of Energy shall insure that the conduct of the
research and development program of this chapter--
(A) supplements the automotive propulsion system research and
development efforts of industry;
(B) is not formulated in a manner that will supplant private
industry research and development or displace or lessen industry's
research and development; and
(C) avoids duplication of private research and development.
(2) To that end, the Secretary of Energy shall issue administrative
regulations, within 60 days after December 12, 1980, which shall specify
procedures, standards, and criteria for the timely review for compliance
of each new contract, grant, Department of Energy project, or other
agency project funded or to be funded under the authority of this
chapter. Such regulations shall require that the Secretary of Energy or
his designee shall certify that each such contract, grant, or project
satisfies the requirement of this subsection, and shall include in such
certification a discussion of the relationship of any related or
comparable industry research and development, in terms of this
subsection, to the proposed research and development under the authority
of this chapter. The discussion shall also address related issues, such
as cost sharing and patent rights.
(3) Such certifications shall be available to the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The provisions
of chapter 5 of title 5 shall not apply to such certifications and no
court shall have any jurisdiction to review the preparation or adequacy
of such certifications; but section 553 of title 5 and section 5916 of
title 42 shall apply to public disclosure of such certifications.
(4) The Secretary of Energy also shall include in the report
required by section 3808 \1\ of this title a detailed discussion of how
each research and development contract, grant, or project funded under
the authority of this chapter satisfies the requirement of this
subsection.
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\1\ See References in Text note below.
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(5) Further, the Secretary of Energy in each annual budget
submission to the Congress, or amendment thereto, for the programs
authorized by this chapter shall describe how each identified research
and development effort in such submission satisfies the requirements of
this subsection.
(6) The provisions and requirements of this subsection shall not
apply with respect to any contract, grant, or project which was entered
into, made, or formally approved and initiated prior to the enactment of
this chapter, or with respect to any renewal or extension thereof.
(Pub. L. 96-512, Sec. 4, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2828; Pub. L. 97-375,
title I, Sec. 106(c), Dec. 21, 1982, 96 Stat. 1820; Pub. L. 103-437,
Sec. 5(b)(5), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4582.)
References in Text
Section 3808 of this title, referred to in subsec. (d)(4), was
repealed by Pub. L. 104-66, title I, Sec. 1051(p), Dec. 21, 1995, 109
Stat. 717.
Amendments
1994--Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 103-437 substituted ``Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology'' for ``Committee on Science and
Technology''.
1982--Subsec. (c)(8). Pub. L. 97-375 struck out ``and report to the
Congress on'' after ``ascertain''.
Change of Name
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of House of
Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Science of House of
Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104-14, set out as a note
preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 3804 of this title.
