Public Law 109-38

PUBLIC LAW 109–58—AUG. 8, 2005

119 STAT. 691

(1) NATURAL GAS ACT.—The Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C.
717 et seq.) is amended—
(A) by redesignating sections 22 through 24 as sections
24 through 26, respectively; and
(B) by inserting after section 21 (15 U.S.C. 717t) the
following:
‘‘CIVIL

15 USC
717u–717w.

PENALTY AUTHORITY

‘‘SEC. 22. (a) Any person that violates this Act, or any rule,
regulation, restriction, condition, or order made or imposed by the
Commission under authority of this Act, shall be subject to a
civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000 per day per violation
for as long as the violation continues.
‘‘(b) The penalty shall be assessed by the Commission after
notice and opportunity for public hearing.
‘‘(c) In determining the amount of a proposed penalty, the
Commission shall take into consideration the nature and seriousness of the violation and the efforts to remedy the violation.’’.
(2) NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978.—Section 504(b)(6)(A)
of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. 3414(b)(6)(A))
is amended—
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$1,000,000’’; and
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$1,000,000’’.

15 USC 717t–1.

SEC. 315. MARKET MANIPULATION.

The Natural Gas Act is amended by inserting after section
4 (15 U.S.C. 717c) the following:
‘‘PROHIBITION

ON MARKET MANIPULATION

‘‘SEC. 4A. It shall be unlawful for any entity, directly or
indirectly, to use or employ, in connection with the purchase or
sale of natural gas or the purchase or sale of transportation services
subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, any manipulative
or deceptive device or contrivance (as those terms are used in
section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.
78j(b))) in contravention of such rules and regulations as the
Commission may prescribe as necessary in the public interest or
for the protection of natural gas ratepayers. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to create a private right of action.’’.

15 USC 717c–1.

SEC. 316. NATURAL GAS MARKET TRANSPARENCY RULES.

The Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 22 the following:
‘‘NATURAL

GAS MARKET TRANSPARENCY RULES

‘‘SEC. 23. (a)(1) The Commission is directed to facilitate price
transparency in markets for the sale or transportation of physical
natural gas in interstate commerce, having due regard for the
public interest, the integrity of those markets, fair competition,
and the protection of consumers.
‘‘(2) The Commission may prescribe such rules as the Commission determines necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes
of this section. The rules shall provide for the dissemination, on
a timely basis, of information about the availability and prices

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06:39 Sep 19, 2005

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15 USC 717t–2.

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119 STAT. 692

Deadline.
Memorandum.

VerDate 14-DEC-2004

10:20 Sep 08, 2005

PUBLIC LAW 109–58—AUG. 8, 2005

of natural gas sold at wholesale and in interstate commerce to
the Commission, State commissions, buyers and sellers of wholesale
natural gas, and the public.
‘‘(3) The Commission may—
‘‘(A) obtain the information described in paragraph (2) from
any market participant; and
‘‘(B) rely on entities other than the Commission to receive
and make public the information, subject to the disclosure
rules in subsection (b).
‘‘(4) In carrying out this section, the Commission shall consider
the degree of price transparency provided by existing price publishers and providers of trade processing services, and shall rely
on such publishers and services to the maximum extent possible.
The Commission may establish an electronic information system
if it determines that existing price publications are not adequately
providing price discovery or market transparency.
‘‘(b)(1) Rules described in subsection (a)(2), if adopted, shall
exempt from disclosure information the Commission determines
would, if disclosed, be detrimental to the operation of an effective
market or jeopardize system security.
‘‘(2) In determining the information to be made available under
this section and the time to make the information available, the
Commission shall seek to ensure that consumers and competitive
markets are protected from the adverse effects of potential collusion
or other anticompetitive behaviors that can be facilitated by
untimely public disclosure of transaction-specific information.
‘‘(c)(1) Within 180 days of enactment of this section, the
Commission shall conclude a memorandum of understanding with
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission relating to information sharing, which shall include, among other things, provisions
ensuring that information requests to markets within the respective
jurisdiction of each agency are properly coordinated to minimize
duplicative information requests, and provisions regarding the
treatment of proprietary trading information.
‘‘(2) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or affect
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et
seq.).
‘‘(d)(1) The Commission shall not condition access to interstate
pipeline transportation on the reporting requirements of this section.
‘‘(2) The Commission shall not require natural gas producers,
processors, or users who have a de minimis market presence to
comply with the reporting requirements of this section.
‘‘(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall
be subject to any civil penalty under this section with respect
to any violation occurring more than 3 years before the date on
which the person is provided notice of the proposed penalty under
section 22(b).
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in any case in which the
Commission finds that a seller that has entered into a contract
for the transportation or sale of natural gas subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission has engaged in fraudulent market manipulation activities materially affecting the contract in violation of section
4A.’’.

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