II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1175 

To improve the safety of hazardous materials rail transportation, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

CASEY, Mr. WARNER, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To improve the safety of hazardous materials rail 

transportation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety Im6 provement Act of 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—CREATION AND FUNDING OF HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS 

RAIL SPILL LIABILITY ACCOUNT 

Sec. 101. Establishment of a Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account 

within the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. 

Sec. 102. Hazardous substances discharges. 

Sec. 103. Fee on certain hazardous flammable liquids transported by rail. 

Sec. 104. Qualified tank car conversion expenses. 

TITLE II—PREPAREDNESS 

Sec. 201. High hazard rail shipments preparedness training standards. 

Sec. 202. High hazard rail shipments preparedness grants. 

Sec. 203. High hazard rail shipments training grants. 

Sec. 204. Track relocation and railroad inspection safety grants. 

Sec. 205. Implementing recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. 

TITLE III—DATA COLLECTION 

Sec. 301. National preparedness survey. 

Sec. 302. Hazardous materials rail car census. 

Sec. 303. Energy train data collection. 

Sec. 304. Train length study. 

TITLE IV—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 TITLE I—CREATION AND FUND2 ING OF HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS 

3 RAIL SPILL LIABILITY AC4 COUNT 

5 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF A HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS RAIL 

6 SPILL LIABILITY ACCOUNT WITHIN THE OIL 

7 SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9509 of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(g) ESTABLISHMENT OF HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS RAIL

12 SPILL LIABILITY ACCOUNT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CREATION OF ACCOUNT.—There is estab2 lished in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund a sepa3 rate account to be known as the ‘Hazardous Liquids 

4 Rail Spill Liability Account’ consisting of such 

5 amounts as may be transferred or credited to the 

6 Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account as 

7 provided in this section or section 9602(b). 

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERS TO HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS RAIL

9 SPILL LIABILITY ACCOUNT.—The Secretary of the 

10 Treasury shall transfer to the Hazardous Liquids 

11 Rail Spill Liability Account the following amounts: 

12 ‘‘(A) Amounts received after the date of 

13 the enactment of this subsection in the Oil Spill 

14 Liability Trust fund under paragraphs (2), (3), 

15 and (8) of subsection (b) and which are attrib16 utable to discharges of oil (within the meaning 

17 of section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution 

18 Control Act) resulting from rail transportation 

19 of such oil. 

20 ‘‘(B) Amounts recovered on behalf of the 

21 Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account 

22 under the Comprehensive Environmental Re23 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

24 1980. 

25 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM ACCOUNT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Haz2 ardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account 

3 shall be available, as provided in appropriations 

4 Acts or section 6002(b) of the Oil Pollution Act 

5 of 1990, for making expenditures only for the 

6 following purposes: 

7 ‘‘(i) Any purpose which is described in 

8 subparagraph (A) or (D) of subsection 

9 (c)(1) and which are attributable to dis10 charges of oil (within the meaning of sec11 tion 311 of the Federal Water Pollution 

12 Control Act) resulting from rail transpor13 tation of such oil. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Any response action for which 

15 there is an authorization under section 104 

16 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re17 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

18 1980 (as in effect on the date of the enact19 ment of this subsection) and which is at20 tributable to releases of hazardous sub21 stances (within the meaning of section 101 

22 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re23 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

24 1980) resulting from rail transportation of 

25 such hazardous substances. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TRANSFERS FOR CERTAIN GRANTS, 

2 SURVEYS, STUDIES, AND REPORTS.—The Sec3 retary shall pay from time to time from the 

4 Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account 

5 into the general fund of the Treasury amounts 

6 equivalent to amounts appropriated for pur7 poses of— 

8 ‘‘(i) awarding grants authorized under 

9 subsections (a)(1)(C) and (b)(1)(B) of sec10 tion 5116 of title 49, United States Code, 

11 ‘‘(ii) awarding grants authorized 

12 under section 205 of the Hazardous Mate13 rials Rail Transportation Safety Improve14 ment Act of 2015, 

15 ‘‘(iii) carrying out the national pre16 paredness survey conducted under section 

17 301 of the Hazardous Materials Rail 

18 Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 

19 2015, 

20 ‘‘(iv) carrying out energy train data 

21 collection under section 303 of the Haz22 ardous Materials Rail Transportation Safe23 ty Improvement Act of 2015, 

24 ‘‘(v) carrying out the crude oil train 

25 study conducted under section 304 of the 


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1 Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation 

2 Safety Improvement Act of 2015, and 

3 ‘‘(vi) carrying out the train length 

4 study under section 305 of the Hazardous 

5 Materials Rail Transportation Safety Im6 provement Act of 2015. 

7 ‘‘(C) TRANSFERS RELATED TO QUALIFIED

8 TANK CAR CONVERSION CREDIT.—The Sec9 retary shall pay from time to time from the 

10 Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account 

11 into the general fund of the Treasury amounts 

12 (as determined by the Secretary) equivalent to 

13 the gross amount of credits determined under 

14 section 45S(a), as estimated by the Secretary.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) Section 9509(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

17 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘Amounts’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (g), 

19 amounts’’. 

20 (2) Section 9509(c)(2) of such Code is amended 

21 by inserting ‘‘(determined without regard to any 

22 amount in the Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liabil23 ity Account)’’ after ‘‘in such Trust Fund’’. 

24 (3) Section 9509(f) of such Code is amended by 

25 inserting ‘‘or (g)(3)’’ after ‘‘(c)(1)’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES DISCHARGES. 

2 (a) ELEMENTS OF LIABILITY.—Section 1002(a) of 

3 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2702(a)) is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘or a discharge of oil posing a sub5 stantial threat to public health or welfare as described in 

6 section 311(c)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

7 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2)) and resulting from rail trans8 portation of such oil’’ after ‘‘economic zone’’. 

9 (b) DESIGNATION OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES.— 

10 Section 311(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Con11 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘The Adminis13 trator’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(ii) RAIL TRANSPORTATION MATERIALS.—For 

16 purposes of this section and section 101(14) of the 

17 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa18 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

19 9601(14)), the Administrator shall designate as a 

20 hazardous substance any hazardous material de21 scribed in section 172.101 of title 49, Code of Fed22 eral Regulations (or a successor regulation), that is 

23 designated as a Class 3 material in packing group 

24 I, II, or III and discharged due to rail transpor25 tation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. FEE ON CERTAIN HAZARDOUS FLAMMABLE LIQ2 UIDS TRANSPORTED BY RAIL. 

3 (a) IMPOSITION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 38 of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subchapter: 

7 ‘‘Subchapter E—Hazardous Flammable 

8 Liquids Transported by Rail 

‘‘Sec. 4691. Imposition. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4691. IMPOSITION. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed a fee 

11 at the rate specified in subsection (b) on— 

12 ‘‘(1) the placement of any hazardous flammable 

13 liquids into a DOT–111 tank car at any location in 

14 the United States, and 

15 ‘‘(2) the entry into the United States of any 

16 DOT–111 tank car carrying any hazardous flam17 mable liquids. 

18 ‘‘(b) RATE.—The rate imposed by this section is— 

19 ‘‘(1) $175 in the case of any placement or entry 

20 before January 1, 2017, 

21 ‘‘(2) $350 in the case of any placement or entry 

22 after December 31, 2016, and before January 1, 

23 2018, 


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1 ‘‘(3) $700 in the case of any placement or entry 

2 after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 

3 2019, and 

4 ‘‘(4) $1,400 in the case of any placement or 

5 entry after December 31, 2018. 

6 ‘‘(c) PERSONS LIABLE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PLACEMENT INTO TANK CAR.—The fee 

8 imposed by subsection (a)(1) shall be paid by the 

9 person who offers the hazardous flammable liquid 

10 for transportation in the DOT–111 tank car into 

11 which such hazardous flammable liquid is placed. 

12 ‘‘(2) ENTRY OF TANK CAR INTO UNITED

13 STATES.—The fee imposed by subsection (a)(2) shall 

14 be paid by the person entering the hazardous flam15 mable liquid contained in a DOT–111 tank car into 

16 the United States. 

17 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE PLACE19 MENTS.—No fee shall be imposed under subsection 

20 (a)(1) with respect to any placement of hazardous 

21 flammable liquids into a DOT–111 tank car if— 

22 ‘‘(A) a fee has already been imposed with 

23 respect to hazardous flammable liquids in such 

24 tank car under subsection (a), and 


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1 ‘‘(B) no hazardous flammable liquid has 

2 been removed from such tank car after the first 

3 imposition of such fee. 

4 Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, this 

5 paragraph shall not apply to any placement made 

6 for the purposes of avoiding the fee under this sub7 chapter. 

8 ‘‘(2) ONLY 1 FEE IMPOSED WITH RESPECT TO

9 ANY PRODUCT.—No fee shall be imposed under sub10 section (a) with respect to any hazardous flammable 

11 liquid if the person who would be liable for such fee 

12 establishes that a prior fee imposed by such sub13 section has been imposed with respect to the same 

14 such hazardous flammable liquid. For purposes of 

15 the preceding sentence, any hazardous flammable 

16 liquid which has been substantially changed into an17 other hazardous flammable liquid shall not be treat18 ed as the same hazardous flammable liquid. 

19 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS AND OTHER RULES.—For pur20 poses of this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) HAZARDOUS FLAMMABLE LIQUID.—The 

22 term ‘hazardous flammable liquid’ means any liquid 

23 which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is listed in the hazardous materials 

2 table contained in section 172.101 of title 49, 

3 Code of Federal Regulations, 

4 ‘‘(B) is identified on such table as hazard 

5 class or division 3, and 

6 ‘‘(C) is assigned on such table to packing 

7 group I, II, or III. 

8 ‘‘(2) DOT–111 TANK CAR.—The term ‘DOT– 

9 111 Tank Car’ means a rail tank car that— 

10 ‘‘(A) meets the specifications for Class 

11 DOT–111 tank cars set forth in subpart D of 

12 part 179 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula13 tions, as in effect on the date of the enactment 

14 of this section, and 

15 ‘‘(B) does not meet the requirements of— 

16 ‘‘(i) in the case of any placement or 

17 entry during a period in which the en18 hanced tank car final rule is in effect, such 

19 enhanced tank car final rule (as in effect 

20 on the date of such placement or entry), 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other place23 ment or entry, the requirements of Cas24 ualty Prevention Circular 1232, as issued 


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1 by the Association of American Railroads 

2 on August 31, 2011. 

3 ‘‘(3) PERSON WHO OFFERS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘person who 

5 offers’ means any person who tenders or makes 

6 the hazardous flammable liquid available to a 

7 carrier for transportation in commerce. 

8 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—A carrier is not a 

9 person who offers when it transfers a hazardous 

10 material to another carrier for continued trans11 portation in commerce. 

12 ‘‘(C) TERMS.—Any term used in this para13 graph which is defined in section 171.8 of title 

14 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall have the 

15 meaning given such term under such section. 

16 ‘‘(4) ENHANCED TANK CAR FINAL RULE.—The 

17 term ‘enhanced tank car final rule’ means any final 

18 rule promulgated by the Pipeline and Hazardous 

19 Materials Safety Administration that is a successor 

20 to the proposed rule entitled ‘Enhanced Tank Car 

21 Standards and Operational Controls for High-Haz22 ard Flammable Trains’, published by such Adminis23 tration in the Federal Register on August 1, 2014 

24 (79 Fed. Reg. 45015; Docket No. PHMSA–2012– 

25 0082 (HM–251)). 


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1 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF FEE.—The fee imposed 

2 under this section shall be paid upon notice and de3 mand, and shall be assessed, collected, and paid in 

4 the same manner as taxes. Any reference in this title 

5 (except subchapter B of chapter 63) to any tax im6 posed by this title shall be deemed to also refer to 

7 the fee imposed by this section.’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub9 chapters for chapter 38 of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER E. HAZARDOUS FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS TRANSPORTED BY RAIL’’. 

12 (b) DEPOSIT OF AMOUNTS INTO OIL SPILL LIABIL13 ITY TRUST FUND.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9509(b) of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (7), by striking the 

17 period at the end of paragraph (8) and inserting ‘‘, 

18 and’’, and by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(9) amounts received in the Treasury under 

21 section 4691.’’. 

22 (2) TRANSFER TO HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS RAIL

23 SPILL LIABILITY ACCOUNT.—Paragraph (2) of sec24 tion 9509(g) of such Code, as added by section 101, 


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1 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) Amounts received in the Oil Spill Li4 ability Trust fund under subsection (b)(9).’’. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply to placements and entries occur7 ring in calendar quarters beginning more than 60 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 104. QUALIFIED TANK CAR CONVERSION EXPENSES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub11 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

12 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 45S. CREDIT QUALIFIED TANK CAR CONVERSION EX15 PENSES. 

16 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of section 38, 

17 the qualified tank car conversion credit determined under 

18 this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 

19 15 percent of the qualified tank car conversion expenses 

20 paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount of credit 

22 allowed under subsection (a) with respect to a taxpayer 

23 for any taxable year shall not exceed $10,000,000 reduced 

24 by the amount of credit allowed under subsection (a) to 


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1 the taxpayer (or any predecessor) for all prior taxable 

2 years. 

3 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED TANK CAR CONVERSION EX4 PENSES.—For purposes of this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified tank 

6 car conversion expenses’ means any expenditures 

7 paid or incurred by the taxpayer in converting a 

8 qualified CPC-1232 tank car into a tank car that 

9 meets the requirements and standards under the en10 hanced tank car final rule (as defined in section 

11 4691(e)(4)) (as in effect on the date such expendi12 tures are paid or incurred). 

13 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED CPC-1232 TANK CAR.—The 

14 term ‘qualified CPC-1232 tank car’ means any tank 

15 car that meets the requirements of Casualty Preven16 tion Circular 1232, as issued by the Association of 

17 American Railroads on August 31, 2011, which— 

18 ‘‘(A) is owned or leased by the taxpayer, 

19 ‘‘(B) was placed in service by the taxpayer 

20 or leased by the lessee before the date of the 

21 enactment of this section, and 

22 ‘‘(C) was operated in the United States— 

23 ‘‘(i) for more than 180 days during 

24 the 12-month period ending on the date of 

25 the enactment of this section, or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a tank car first 

2 placed in service during the 12-month pe3 riod described in clause (i), for more than 

4 the number of days prescribed by the Sec5 retary in regulations. 

6 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATION RULES.—For purposes of 

8 this section, all persons treated as a single employer 

9 under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52, or sub10 section (m) or (o) of section 414, shall be treated as 

11 one person. 

12 ‘‘(2) BASIS ADJUSTMENT.—For purposes of 

13 this subtitle, if a credit is allowed under this section 

14 for an expenditure related to property of a character 

15 subject to an allowance for depreciation, the basis of 

16 such property shall be reduced by the amount of 

17 such credit. 

18 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) BONUS DEPRECIATION.—A credit 

20 shall not be allowed under this section for any 

21 investment for which bonus depreciation is al22 lowed under section 168(k), 1400L(b)(1), or 

23 1400N(d)(1). 

24 ‘‘(B) DEDUCTIONS.—No deduction under 

25 this subtitle shall be allowed for the portion of 


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1 the expenses otherwise allowable as a deduction 

2 taken into account in determining the credit 

3 under this section for the taxable year which is 

4 equal to the amount of the credit determined 

5 for such taxable year under subsection (a) at6 tributable to such portion. This subparagraph 

7 shall not apply to expenses related to property 

8 of a character subject to an allowance for de9 preciation the basis of which is reduced under 

10 paragraph (1), or which are described in section 

11 280C(j). 

12 ‘‘(C) CONSISTENT TREATMENT BY LESSOR

13 AND LESSEE.—In the case of a lease of a quali14 fied CPC-1232 tank car, the qualified tank car 

15 conversion credit may only be claimed by the 

16 party who is the tax owner of any tangible per17 sonal property for which the qualified tank car 

18 conversion expenses are paid or incurred. 

19 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

20 expenses paid or incurred after December 31, 2018.’’. 

21 (b) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

22 CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

23 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para24 graph (35), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 


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1 (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the 

2 following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(37) the qualified tank car conversion credit 

4 determined under section 45S(a).’’. 

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) Section 280C is amended by redesignating 

7 the subsection following subsection (h) (relating to 

8 qualifying therapeutic discovery project credit) as 

9 subsection (i) and by adding at the end the following 

10 new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(j) QUALIFIED TANK CAR CONVERSION CREDIT.— 

12 No deduction shall be allowed for that portion of the quali13 fied tank car conversion expenses (as defined in section 

14 45S(c)) otherwise allowable as a deduction for the taxable 

15 year which is equal to the amount of the credit determined 

16 for such taxable year under section 45S(a), reduced by— 

17 ‘‘(1) the amount disallowed as a deduction by 

18 reason of section 45S(d)(3)(B), and 

19 ‘‘(2) the amount of any basis reduction under 

20 section 45S(d)(2).’’. 

21 (2) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

22 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following new 

24 item: 

‘‘Sec. 45S. Credit qualified tank car conversion expenses.’’. 


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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, in taxable years 

4 ending after such date. 

5 TITLE II—PREPAREDNESS 

6 SEC. 201. HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS PREPAREDNESS 

7 TRAINING STANDARDS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 5102 of title 49, United 

9 States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

11 (14) as paragraphs (3) through (15), respectively; 

12 and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(2) ‘flammable liquids or gases’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) any ‘flammable liquid’ (as defined in 

17 section 173.120 of title 49, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations); and 

19 ‘‘(B) any ‘flammable gas (Division 2.1)’ 

20 (as defined in section 173.115 of title 49, Code 

21 of Federal Regulations).’’. 

22 (b) TRAINING STANDARDS.—Section 5115(b)(1) of 

23 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

25 (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(B) a recommended course of study to 

4 train public sector employees to respond to an 

5 accident or incident involving trains trans6 porting at least 20 tank cars of flammable liq7 uids or gases;’’. 

8 SEC. 202. HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS PREPAREDNESS 

9 GRANTS. 

10 Section 5116(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

16 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) to develop, improve, and carry out emer19 gency plans for communities through which railroads 

20 transport a train or trains transporting at least 20 

21 tank cars of flammable liquids or gases.’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘the Act’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘the Emergency Planning and Community 

3 Right-To-Know Act of 1986’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘under paragraph (1) 

7 of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘received 

8 to carry out the purposes described in sub9 paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)’’; 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘the Act’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘such Act’’; and 

12 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

13 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) the State or Indian tribe agrees to make 

16 available— 

17 ‘‘(i) at least 90 percent of the amount of 

18 the grant received to carry out the purpose de19 scribed in paragraph (1)(C) in fiscal years 

20 2016, 2017, and 2018 to local emergency plan21 ning committees established under such section 

22 301(c) to develop emergency plans under such 

23 Act; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) at least 75 percent of the amount of 

25 the grant received to carry out the purpose deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 May 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1175.IS S1175

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1 scribed in paragraph (1)(C) in fiscal year 2019, 

2 and in each subsequent fiscal year, to local 

3 emergency planning committees established 

4 under such section 301(c) to develop emergency 

5 plans under such Act.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS TRAINING 

7 GRANTS. 

8 Section 5116 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 

12 and (4) as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respec13 tively; 

14 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘tribes to train’’ and 

16 inserting the following: ‘‘tribes— 

17 ‘‘(A) to train’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘material.’’ and all 

19 that follows and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘material; and 

21 ‘‘(B) to train public sector employees to re22 spond to accidents and incidents involving trains 

23 transporting at least 20 tank cars of flammable liq24 uids or gases.’’; 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) To the extent that a grant under paragraph (1) 

4 is used to train emergency responders, the State or Indian 

5 tribe shall provide written certification to the Secretary 

6 that the emergency responders who receive training under 

7 the grant will have the ability to protect nearby persons, 

8 property, and the environment from the effects of acci9 dents or incidents involving the transportation of flam10 mable liquids or gases in accordance with existing regula11 tions or National Fire Protection Association standards 

12 for competence of responders to accidents and incidents 

13 involving flammable liquids or gases.’’; and 

14 (D) in paragraph (3), as redesignated— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘under paragraph 

19 (1) of this subsection’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘received to carry out the purpose de21 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)’’; and 

22 (II) by striking the period at the 

23 end, and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(D) to a State or Indian tribe that agrees to 

2 make available— 

3 ‘‘(i) at least 90 percent of the amount of 

4 the grant received to carry out the purpose de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) in fiscal years 

6 2016, 2017, and 2018 to local emergency plan7 ning committees established under section 

8 301(c) of the Emergency Planning and Commu9 nity Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 

10 1101(c)) to develop emergency plans under 

11 such Act; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) at least 75 percent of the amount of 

13 the grant received to carry out the purpose de14 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) in fiscal year 2019, 

15 and in each subsequent fiscal year, to local 

16 emergency planning committees established 

17 under such section 301(c) to develop emergency 

18 plans under such Act.’’; 

19 (2) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h), 

20 (i), (j), and (k) as subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), 

21 and (l) respectively; and 

22 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE OF COSTS FOR HIGH HAZARD

2 TRAIN GRANTS.—The Federal share of each grant award3 ed under subsections (a)(1)(C) and (b)(1)(B) shall be— 

4 ‘‘(1) 100 percent of the eligible costs incurred 

5 by the State or Indian tribe in fiscal years 2015, 

6 2016, and 2017; and 

7 ‘‘(2) 80 percent of the eligible costs incurred by 

8 the State or Indian tribe in fiscal year 2018 and 

9 each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

10 SEC. 204. TRACK RELOCATION AND RAILROAD INSPECTION 

11 SAFETY GRANTS. 

12 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term 

13 ‘‘flammable liquids or gases’’ means— 

14 (1) any ‘‘flammable liquid’’ (as defined in sec15 tion 173.120 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula16 tions); and 

17 (2) any ‘‘flammable gas (Division 2.1)’’ (as de18 fined in section 173.115 of title 49, Code of Federal 

19 Regulations). 

20 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

21 of Transportation shall carry out a grant program to pro22 vide financial assistance for local projects, activities, and 

23 personnel that mitigate the impacts of, and public health 

24 or environmental risks associated with, the transport of 

25 flammable liquids or gases by rail. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or political subdivision of 

2 a State is eligible to receive a grant under this section, 

3 to the extent the project or activity is consistent with the 

4 goals under subsection (b), for— 

5 (1) projects eligible for assistance under section 

6 20154 of title 49, United States Code; or 

7 (2) State rail safety participation under section 

8 20105 of title 49, United States Code. 

9 (d) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—In determining 

10 whether to award a grant to an eligible recipient under 

11 this section, the Secretary shall consider— 

12 (1) the volume of flammable liquids or gases 

13 being transported by rail through a relevant State or 

14 community; and 

15 (2) the extent to which the project or activity 

16 will mitigate risk factors associated with rail trans17 portation of flammable liquids or gases, including re18 ducing risks to— 

19 (A) public safety; 

20 (B) the environment; and 

21 (C) public or private property. 

22 (e) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

23 (1) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith24 standing the limitation set forth in section 20105(e) 

25 of title 49, United States Code, the Federal share of 


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1 project costs under this section may be up to 90 per2 cent. 

3 (2) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The non-Federal 

4 share of project costs under this section may be paid 

5 in cash or in kind from a grantee or a private entity 

6 involved with the project. 

7 (f) AGREEMENTS.—As a condition of awarding any 

8 grant under this section for a project that uses rights-of9 way owned by a railroad, the Secretary shall require that 

10 a written agreement exist between the applicant and the 

11 railroad regarding such use. 

12 SEC. 205. IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NA13 TIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD. 

14 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN NTSB REC15 OMMENDATIONS BY THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINIS16 TRATION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the en17 actment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Rail18 road Administration shall implement the following rec19 ommendations of the National Transportation Safety 

20 Board: 

21 (1) Recommendation R–7–2, dated April 25, 

22 2007 (relating to real-time information regarding 

23 the identity and location of all hazardous materials 

24 on a train). 


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1 (2) Recommendation R–14–14, dated August 

2 22, 2014 (relating to railroads providing commu3 nities and States with current commodity flow data 

4 and assisting with development of emergency oper5 ation and response plans). 

6 (3) Recommendation R–14–18, dated August 

7 22, 2014 (relating to ensuring that emergency re8 sponse information carried by train crews is con9 sistent with the Emergency Response Guidebook). 

10 (4) Recommendations R–14–75 and R–14–76, 

11 dated December 30, 2014 (relating to allowable lim12 its for track conditions). 

13 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF NTSB RECOMMENDATION

14 BY THE PIPELINES AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY

15 ADMINISTRATION.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

17 Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 

18 shall implement National Transportation Safety Board 

19 Recommendation R–14–19, dated August 22, 2014 (relat20 ing to developing, implementing and periodically evalu21 ating requirements for railroads that transport hazardous 

22 materials to conduct public education programs for com23 munities along railroad hazardous materials routes). 

24 (c) DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO PENDING

25 RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 


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1 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

2 until the recommendations described in subsections (a) 

3 and (b) have been implemented, the Administrator of the 

4 Federal Railroad Administration and the Administrator of 

5 the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administra6 tion shall submit a report to the congressional committees 

7 referred to in section 301(2) that describes— 

8 (1) the progress made in implementing each 

9 recommendation required under subsection (a) or 

10 (b), as applicable; and 

11 (2) if any of the required recommendations 

12 have not been fully implemented, the reasons for 

13 such failure. 

14 TITLE III—DATA COLLECTION 

15 SEC. 301. NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS SURVEY. 

16 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

18 (1) conduct a study of— 

19 (A) the routes of trains transporting at 

20 least 20 tank cars of flammable liquids or 

21 gases; and 

22 (B) the availability of equipment and fire23 fighting materials appropriate for a large-scale 

24 release of flammable liquids or gases along the 

25 routes described in subparagraph (A); 


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1 (2) submit a report containing the results of 

2 the study conducted under paragraph (1) to— 

3 (A) the Committee on Finance of the Sen4 ate; 

5 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

6 Public Works of the Senate; 

7 (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

8 Resources of the Senate; 

9 (D) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate; 

11 (E) the Committee on Ways and Means of 

12 the House of Representatives; 

13 (F) the Committee on Energy and Com14 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

15 (G) the Committee on Transportation and 

16 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

17 and 

18 (3) make the results of the study conducted 

19 under paragraph (1) available to the public, includ20 ing on an Internet website. 

21 SEC. 302. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RAIL CAR CENSUS. 

22 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—As part of the 2017, 2022, 

23 and 2027 quinquennial Commodity Flow Surveys author24 ized under section 131 of title 13, United States Code, 

25 the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 May 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1175.IS S1175

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1 retary of Transportation, shall determine the number and 

2 types of rail tank cars used to carry Class 3 hazardous 

3 materials (as defined in section 172.101 of title 49, Code 

4 of Federal Regulations). 

5 (b) REPORTING.—Not later than June 30 of the year 

6 immediately following the year in which a survey described 

7 in subsection (a) is conducted, the Secretary of Commerce 

8 shall— 

9 (1) submit a report containing the information 

10 described in subsection (a) to the congressional com11 mittees referred to in section 301(2); and 

12 (2) make the information described in sub13 section (a) available to the public, including on an 

14 Internet website. 

15 SEC. 303. ENERGY TRAIN DATA COLLECTION. 

16 Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act, the Energy Information Adminis18 trator, in coordination with the Secretary of Transpor19 tation, shall— 

20 (1) conduct a quarterly survey to collect infor21 mation regarding— 

22 (A) the volume of flammable energy prod23 ucts transported by rail, including— 

24 (i) petroleum crude oil; 

25 (ii) ethanol; 


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1 (iii) liquefied natural gas; and 

2 (iv) other petroleum products; and 

3 (B) the origins and destinations of the 

4 products described in subparagraph (A); 

5 (2) submit a quarterly report containing the re6 sults of the surveys conducted under paragraph (1) 

7 to the congressional committees referred to in sec8 tion 301(2); and 

9 (3) make the information described in para10 graph (1) available to the public, including on an 

11 Internet website. 

12 SEC. 304. TRAIN LENGTH STUDY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

14 shall conduct a study to determine whether train length 

15 correlates with the severity and frequency of train 

16 derailments. 

17 (b) STUDY COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the study 

18 required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

19 (1) analyze the risks to public health, public 

20 safety, the environment, and property that are asso21 ciated with transporting large volumes of hazardous 

22 materials in unit trains; 

23 (2) compile a list of all train accidents involving 

24 unit trains of hazardous materials; and 


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1 (3) identify best practices to mitigate or reduce 

2 the frequency and severity of accidents involving 

3 unit trains. 

4 (c) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans6 portation shall— 

7 (1) submit a report containing the results of 

8 the study conducted under this section to the con9 gressional committees referred to in section 301(2); 

10 and 

11 (2) make the results of the study available to 

12 the public. 

13 TITLE IV—AUTHORIZATION OF 

14 APPROPRIATIONS 

15 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS PREPAREDNESS

17 AND TRAINING GRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated $15,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 

20 2016, 2017, and 2018 for grants authorized under 

21 subsections (a)(1)(C) and (b)(1)(B) of section 5116 

22 of title 49, United States Code, as added by sections 

23 202 and 203. 

24 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Of the amounts appro25 priated pursuant to paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) the amounts appropriated for fiscal 

2 year 2016 shall remain available until Sep3 tember 30, 2017; and 

4 (B) the amounts appropriated for fiscal 

5 year 2017 shall remain available until Sep6 tember 30, 2018. 

7 (b) TRACK RELOCATION AND RAILROAD INSPECTION

8 SAFETY GRANTS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

9 $25,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018, 

10 and 2019 for grants authorized under section 204. 

11 (c) DATA COLLECTION.— 

12 (1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS STUDY.—There 

13 is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry 

14 out section 301. 

15 (2) ENERGY TRAIN DATA COLLECTION.—There 

16 is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry 

17 out section 303. 

18 (3) TRAIN LENGTH STUDY.—There is author19 ized $5,000,000 to carry out section 304. 

20 (d) CERCLA.—There is authorized to be appro21 priated $100,000,000 to carry out section 104 of the Com22 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

23 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604) only with respect 

24 to actions attributable to releases of hazardous substances 

25 (within the meaning of section 101 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 9601)) resulting from rail transportation of such haz2 ardous substances. Any sums so appropriated shall remain 

3 available until expended. 

Æ 


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