The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of a military department may each contract for storage facilities for, or the storage, handling, or distribution of, liquid fuels or natural gas.

The period of a contract entered into under subsection (a) may not exceed 5 years. However, the contract may provide options for the Secretary to renew the contract for additional periods of not more than 5 years each, but not for more than a total of 30 years.

A contract under this section may contain an option for the purchase by the United States of the facility covered by the contract at the expiration or termination of the contract, without regard to subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of title 31, and before approval of title to the underlying land by the Attorney General.

(Added Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(46), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1457, § 2388; amended Pub. L. 97–214, § 10(a)(3), July 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 175; Pub. L. 97–258, § 3(b)(6), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1063; Pub. L. 97–295, § 1(27), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1291; Pub. L. 98–525, title XIV, § 1405(56)(A), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2626; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XIII, § 1322(a)(6), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1671; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 825, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1711; Pub. L. 103–355, title III, § 3064, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3337; renumbered § 2922, Pub. L. 109–364, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2851(b)(2), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2494; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, § 881(a), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1504.)