S. 880

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine

An Act

To amend the Clean Air Act to remove flammable fuels from the list of substances

with respect to which reporting and other activities are required under the risk

management plan program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chemical Safety Information,

Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act’’.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF PROPANE SOLD BY RETAILERS AND OTHER

FLAMMABLE FUELS FROM RISK MANAGEMENT LIST.

Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)) is

amended—

(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (4) as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, and indenting

appropriately;

(2) by striking in paragraph (4) ‘‘Administrator shall consider each of the following criteria—’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘Administrator—

‘‘(A) shall consider—’’;

(3) in subparagraph (A)(iii) (as designated by paragraphs

(1) and (2)), of paragraph (4) by striking the period at the

end and inserting ‘‘; and’’;

(4) by adding at the end of paragraph (4) the following:

‘‘(B) shall not list a flammable substance when used

as a fuel or held for sale as a fuel at a retail facility

under this subsection solely because of the explosive or

flammable properties of the substance, unless a fire or

explosion caused by the substance will result in acute

adverse health effects from human exposure to the substance, including the unburned fuel or its combustion

byproducts, other than those caused by the heat of the

fire or impact of the explosion.’’; and

(5) by inserting the following new subparagraph at the

end of paragraph (2):

‘‘(D) The term ‘retail facility’ means a stationary source

at which more than one-half of the income is obtained

from direct sales to end users or at which more than

one-half of the fuel sold, by volume, is sold through a

cylinder exchange program.’’.
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SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS

INFORMATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air Act (42

U.S.C. 7412(r)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(H) PUBLIC ACCESS TO OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION.—

‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subparagraph:

‘‘(I) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘covered person’ means—

‘‘(aa) an officer or employee of the United

States;

‘‘(bb) an officer or employee of an agent

or contractor of the Federal Government;

‘‘(cc) an officer or employee of a State or

local government;

‘‘(dd) an officer or employee of an agent

or contractor of a State or local government;

‘‘(ee) an individual affiliated with an entity

that has been given, by a State or local government, responsibility for preventing, planning

for, or responding to accidental releases;

‘‘(ff) an officer or employee or an agent

or contractor of an entity described in item

(ee); and

‘‘(gg) a qualified researcher under clause

(vii).

‘‘(II) OFFICIAL USE.—The term ‘official use’

means an action of a Federal, State, or local

government agency or an entity referred to in subclause (I)(ee) intended to carry out a function relevant to preventing, planning for, or responding

to accidental releases.

‘‘(III) OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS

INFORMATION.—The term ‘off-site consequence

analysis information’ means those portions of a

risk management plan, excluding the executive

summary of the plan, consisting of an evaluation

of 1 or more worst-case release scenarios or alternative release scenarios, and any electronic data

base created by the Administrator from those portions.

‘‘(IV) RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘risk

management plan’ means a risk management plan

submitted to the Administrator by an owner or

operator of a stationary source under subparagraph (B)(iii).

‘‘(ii) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after

the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the President shall—

‘‘(I) assess—

‘‘(aa) the increased risk of terrorist and

other criminal activity associated with the

posting of off-site consequence analysis

information on the Internet; and

‘‘(bb) the incentives created by public

disclosure of off-site consequence analysis
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information for reduction in the risk of accidental releases; and

‘‘(II) based on the assessment under subclause

(I), promulgate regulations governing the distribution of off-site consequence analysis information

in a manner that, in the opinion of the President,

minimizes the likelihood of accidental releases and

the risk described in subclause (I)(aa) and the

likelihood of harm to public health and welfare,

and—

‘‘(aa) allows access by any member of the

public to paper copies of off-site consequence

analysis information for a limited number of

stationary sources located anywhere in the

United States, without any geographical

restriction;

‘‘(bb) allows other public access to off-site

consequence analysis information as appropriate;

‘‘(cc) allows access for official use by a

covered person described in any of items (cc)

through (ff) of clause (i)(I) (referred to in this

subclause as a ‘State or local covered person’)

to off-site consequence analysis information

relating to stationary sources located in the

person’s State;

‘‘(dd) allows a State or local covered person

to provide, for official use, off-site consequence

analysis information relating to stationary

sources located in the person’s State to a State

or local covered person in a contiguous State;

and

‘‘(ee) allows a State or local covered person

to obtain for official use, by request to the

Administrator, off-site consequence analysis

information that is not available to the person

under item (cc).

‘‘(iii) AVAILABILITY UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMA- TION ACT.—

‘‘(I) FIRST YEAR.—Off-site consequence analysis

information, and any ranking of stationary sources

derived from the information, shall not be made

available under section 552 of title 5, United States

Code, during the 1-year period beginning on the

date of enactment of this subparagraph.

‘‘(II) AFTER FIRST YEAR.—If the regulations

under clause (ii) are promulgated on or before

the end of the period described in subclause (I),

off-site consequence analysis information covered

by the regulations, and any ranking of stationary

sources derived from the information, shall not

be made available under section 552 of title 5,

United States Code, after the end of that period.

‘‘(III) APPLICABILITY.—Subclauses (I) and (II)

apply to off-site consequence analysis information

submitted to the Administrator before, on, or after

the date of enactment of this subparagraph.
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‘‘(iv) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION DURING TRANSITION PERIOD.—The Administrator shall make off-site

consequence analysis information available to covered

persons for official use in a manner that meets the

requirements of items (cc) through (ee) of clause (ii)(II),

and to the public in a form that does not make available any information concerning the identity or location

of stationary sources, during the period—

‘‘(I) beginning on the date of enactment of

this subparagraph; and

‘‘(II) ending on the earlier of the date of

promulgation of the regulations under clause (ii)

or the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this subparagraph.

‘‘(v) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE

OF INFORMATION BY COVERED PERSONS.—

‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of

enactment of this subparagraph, a covered person

shall not disclose to the public off-site consequence

analysis information in any form, or any statewide

or national ranking of identified stationary sources

derived from such information, except as authorized by this subparagraph (including the regulations promulgated under clause (ii)). After the end

of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this subparagraph, if regulations have

not been promulgated under clause (ii), the preceding sentence shall not apply.

‘‘(II) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Notwithstanding

section 113, a covered person that willfully violates

a restriction or prohibition established by this

subparagraph (including the regulations promulgated under clause (ii)) shall, upon conviction, be

fined for an infraction under section 3571 of title

18, United States Code, (but shall not be subject

to imprisonment) for each unauthorized disclosure

of off-site consequence analysis information, except

that subsection (d) of such section 3571 shall not

apply to a case in which the offense results in

pecuniary loss unless the defendant knew that

such loss would occur. The disclosure of off-site

consequence analysis information for each specific

stationary source shall be considered a separate

offense. The total of all penalties that may be

imposed on a single person or organization under

this item shall not exceed $1,000,000 for violations

committed during any 1 calendar year.

‘‘(III) APPLICABILITY.—If the owner or operator

of a stationary source makes off-site consequence

analysis information relating to that stationary

source available to the public without restriction—

‘‘(aa) subclauses (I) and (II) shall not apply

with respect to the information; and

‘‘(bb) the owner or operator shall notify

the Administrator of the public availability

of the information.
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‘‘(IV) LIST.—The Administrator shall maintain

and make publicly available a list of all stationary

sources that have provided notification under subclause (III)(bb).

‘‘(vi) NOTICE.—The Administrator shall provide

notice of the definition of official use as provided in

clause (i)(III) and examples of actions that would and

would not meet that definition, and notice of the

restrictions on further dissemination and the penalties

established by this Act to each covered person who

receives off-site consequence analysis information

under clause (iv) and each covered person who receives

off-site consequence analysis information for an official

use under the regulations promulgated under clause

(ii).

‘‘(vii) QUALIFIED RESEARCHERS.—

‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

after the date of enactment of this subparagraph,

the Administrator, in consultation with the

Attorney General, shall develop and implement

a system for providing off-site consequence analysis information, including facility identification,

to any qualified researcher, including a qualified

researcher from industry or any public interest

group.

‘‘(II) LIMITATION ON DISSEMINATION.—The

system shall not allow the researcher to disseminate, or make available on the Internet, the

off-site consequence analysis information, or any

portion of the off-site consequence analysis

information, received under this clause.

‘‘(viii) READ-ONLY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

SYSTEM.—In consultation with the Attorney General

and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies,

the Administrator shall establish an information technology system that provides for the availability to the

public of off-site consequence analysis information by

means of a central data base under the control of

the Federal Government that contains information that

users may read, but that provides no means by which

an electronic or mechanical copy of the information

may be made.

‘‘(ix) VOLUNTARY INDUSTRY ACCIDENT PREVENTION

STANDARDS.—The Environmental Protection Agency,

the Department of Justice, and other appropriate agencies may provide technical assistance to owners and

operators of stationary sources and participate in the

development of voluntary industry standards that will

help achieve the objectives set forth in paragraph (1).

‘‘(x) EFFECT ON STATE OR LOCAL LAW.—

‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subclause (II),

this subparagraph (including the regulations

promulgated under this subparagraph) shall supersede any provision of State or local law that is

inconsistent with this subparagraph (including the

regulations).
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‘‘(II) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION UNDER

STATE LAW.—Nothing in this subparagraph precludes a State from making available data on the

off-site consequences of chemical releases collected

in accordance with State law.

‘‘(xi) REPORT.—

‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after

the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the

Attorney General, in consultation with appropriate

State, local, and Federal Government agencies,

affected industry, and the public, shall submit to

Congress a report that describes the extent to

which regulations promulgated under this paragraph have resulted in actions, including the

design and maintenance of safe facilities, that are

effective in detecting, preventing, and minimizing

the consequences of releases of regulated substances that may be caused by criminal activity.

As part of this report, the Attorney General, using

available data to the extent possible, and a sampling of covered stationary sources selected at the

discretion of the Attorney General, and in consultation with appropriate State, local, and Federal

governmental agencies, affected industry, and the

public, shall review the vulnerability of covered

stationary sources to criminal and terrorist

activity, current industry practices regarding site

security, and security of transportation of regulated substances. The Attorney General shall

submit this report, containing the results of the

review, together with recommendations, if any, for

reducing vulnerability of covered stationary

sources to criminal and terrorist activity, to the

Committee on Commerce of the United States

House of Representatives and the Committee on

Environment and Public Works of the United

States Senate and other relevant committees of

Congress.

‘‘(II) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 12

months after the date of enactment of this

subparagraph, the Attorney General shall submit

to the Committee on Commerce of the United

States House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the

United States Senate, and other relevant committees of Congress, an interim report that includes,

at a minimum—

‘‘(aa) the preliminary findings under subclause (I);

‘‘(bb) the methods used to develop the

findings; and

‘‘(cc) an explanation of the activities

expected to occur that could cause the findings

of the report under subclause (I) to be different

than the preliminary findings.
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‘‘(III) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—

Information that is developed by the Attorney General or requested by the Attorney General and

received from a covered stationary source for the

purpose of conducting the review under subclauses

(I) and (II) shall be exempt from disclosure under

section 552 of title 5, United States Code, if such

information would pose a threat to national security.

‘‘(xii) SCOPE.—This subparagraph—

‘‘(I) applies only to covered persons; and

‘‘(II) does not restrict the dissemination of offsite consequence analysis information by any covered person in any manner or form except in the

form of a risk management plan or an electronic

data base created by the Administrator from offsite consequence analysis information.

‘‘(xiii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator

and the Attorney General such sums as are necessary

to carry out this subparagraph (including the regulations promulgated under clause (ii)), to remain available until expended.’’.

(b) REPORTS.—

(1) DEFINITION OF ACCIDENTAL RELEASE.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘accidental release’’ has the meaning given

the term in section 112(r)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

7412(r)(2)).

(2) REPORT ON STATUS OF CERTAIN AMENDMENTS.—Not later

than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the

Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the status of the development of amendments

to the National Fire Protection Association Code for Liquefied

Petroleum Gas that will result in the provision of information

to local emergency response personnel concerning the off-site

effects of accidental releases of substances exempted from

listing under section 112(r)(4)(B) of the Clean Air Act (as added

by section 3).

(3) REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN INFORMATION

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 3 years after the

date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the

United States shall submit to Congress a report that—

(A) describes the level of compliance with Federal and

State requirements relating to the submission to local

emergency response personnel of information intended to

help the local emergency response personnel respond to

chemical accidents or related environmental or public

health threats; and

(B) contains an analysis of the adequacy of the information required to be submitted and the efficacy of the

methods for delivering the information to local emergency

response personnel.

(c) REEVALUATION OF REGULATIONS.—The President shall

reevaluate the regulations promulgated under this section within

6 years after the enactment of this Act. If the President determines

not to modify such regulations, the President shall publish a notice

in the Federal Register stating that such reevaluation has been
S. 880—8

completed and that a determination has been made not to modify

the regulations. Such notice shall include an explanation of the

basis of such decision.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC MEETING DURING MORATORIUM PERIOD.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of

enactment of this Act, each owner or operator of a stationary

source covered by section 112(r)(7)(B)(ii) of the Clean Air Act shall

convene a public meeting, after reasonable public notice, in order

to describe and discuss the local implications of the risk management plan submitted by the stationary source pursuant to section

112(r)(7)(B)(iii) of the Clean Air Act, including a summary of the

off-site consequence analysis portion of the plan. Two or more

stationary sources may conduct a joint meeting. In lieu of conducting

such a meeting, small business stationary sources as defined in

section 507(c)(1) of the Clean Air Act may comply with this section

by publicly posting a summary of the off-site consequence analysis

information for their facility not later than 180 days after the

enactment of this Act. Not later than 10 months after the date

of enactment of this Act, each such owner or operator shall send

a certification to the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

stating that such meeting has been held, or that such summary

has been posted, within 1 year prior to, or within 6 months after,

the date of the enactment of this Act. This section shall not apply

to sources that employ only Program 1 processes within the meaning

of regulations promulgated under section 112(r)(7)(B)(i) of the Clean

Air Act.

(b) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator of the Environmental

Protection Agency may bring an action in the appropriate United

States district court against any person who fails or refuses to

comply with the requirements of this section, and such court may

issue such orders, and take such other actions, as may be necessary

to require compliance with such requirements.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.