Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the Western Refined Fuel Reserve (WRFR) Act, legislation to establish a dedicated reserve of refined fuels west of the Rocky Mountains. The bill is designed to protect Western communities, military readiness, and regional economies from fuel shortages during emergencies by ensuring secure, strategically-located storage of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
“Families, first responders, farmers, truckers, and small businesses across the West depend on reliable access to refined fuels every day,” said Curtis. “Right now, our emergency tools are outdated for Western realities. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve stores crude oil—not the fuels people actually use—in a crisis, time lost to refining and transporting fuel can mean real hardship. This bill closes that gap and strengthens our region’s resilience.”
Click here for bill text and here for a bill summary.
The bill:
- Requires the Department of Energy to establish the Western Refined Fuel Storage Reserve within six months.
- Sets minimum storage capacity levels of 5 million barrels of gasoline, 3 million barrels of diesel, and 2 million barrels of jet fuel.
- Requires maintaining at least 75% capacity for each product for the first five years.
- Authorizes emergency drawdowns consistent with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- Allows state and local governments to store non-federal products as appropriate.
- Requires annual reports to Congress on operations and recommendations