It is declared to be the policy of Congress to protect interstate and foreign commerce from the diversion and obstruction of, and the burden and harmful effect upon, such commerce caused by contraband oil as herein defined, and to encourage the conservation of deposits of crude oil situated within the United States.

The shipment or transportation in interstate commerce from any State of contraband oil produced in such State is prohibited. For the purposes of this section contraband oil shall not be deemed to have been produced in a State if none of the petroleum constituting such contraband oil, or from which it was produced or derived, was produced, transported, or withdrawn from storage in excess of the amounts permitted to be produced, transported, or withdrawn from storage under the laws of such State or under any regulation or order prescribed thereunder by any board, commission, officer, or other duly authorized agency of such State.

Whenever the President finds that the amount of petroleum and petroleum products moving in interstate commerce is so limited as to be the cause, in whole or in part, of a lack of parity between supply (including imports and reasonable withdrawals from storage) and consumptive demand (including exports and reasonable additions to storage) resulting in an undue burden on or restriction of interstate commerce in petroleum and petroleum products, he shall by proclamation declare such finding, and thereupon the provisions of section 715b of this title shall be inoperative until such time as the President shall find and by proclamation declare that the conditions which gave rise to the suspension of the operation of the provisions of such section no longer exist. If any provision of this section or the application thereof shall be held to be invalid, the validity of application of section 715b of this title shall not be affected thereby.

Any person knowingly violating any provision of this chapter or any regulation prescribed thereunder shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not to exceed $2,000 or by imprisonment for not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

No common carrier who shall refuse to accept petroleum or petroleum products from any area in which certificates of clearance are required under authority of this chapter, by reason of the failure of the shipper to deliver such a certificate to such carrier, or who shall refuse to accept any petroleum or petroleum products when having reasonable ground for believing that such petroleum or petroleum products constitute contraband oil, shall be liable on account of such refusal for any penalties or damages. No common carrier shall be subject to any penalty under section 715e of this title in any case where (1) such carrier has a certificate of clearance which on its face appears to be valid and to have been issued by a board created under authority of section 715d of this title, certifying that the shipment in question is not contraband oil, and such carrier had no reasonable ground for believing such certificate to be invalid or to have been issued as a result of fraud or misrepresentation of fact, or (2) such carrier, as respects any shipment originating in any area where certificates of clearance are not required under authority of this chapter, had no reasonable ground for believing such petroleum or petroleum products to constitute contraband oil.

Wherever reference is made in this chapter to the President such reference shall be held to include, in addition to the President, any agency, officer, or employee who may be designated by the President for the execution of any of the powers and functions vested in the President under this chapter.

If any provision of this chapter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the chapter and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

The Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the Act of February 22, 1935, as amended (15 U.S.C., ch. 15A), is authorized to cooperate with Federal and State authorities.