II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2402 

To enhance the safety of Class 3 flammable liquid transportation by rail, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2019 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To enhance the safety of Class 3 flammable liquid 

transportation by rail, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crude Oil Advance 

5 Tracking Act’’ or ‘‘COAT Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF CLASS 3 FLAMMABLE 

7 LIQUID TRANSPORTATION. 

8 (a) RAILROAD TANK CARS.—Section 20155 of title 

9 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Any railroad 

2 carrier transporting Class 3 flammable liquids in tank cars 

3 shall notify all State and tribal emergency response com4 missions with jurisdiction along the path through which 

5 such liquids will be transported of such transportation not 

6 later than 24 hours after the shipment is tendered, includ7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(1) the number of gallons of each Class 3 

9 flammable liquid, identified by Standard Transpor10 tation Commodity Code or United Nations or North 

11 American number; 

12 ‘‘(2) the city and State from which the tank 

13 cars departed and the date and time of such depar14 ture, in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); 

15 ‘‘(3) the city and State to which the tank cars 

16 will arrive and the date and time of such anticipated 

17 arrival, in Coordinated Universal time (UTC); and 

18 ‘‘(4) the location, date, and time of all crew 

19 changes between the location described in paragraph 

20 (2) and the location described in paragraph (3).’’. 

21 (b) USE OF INFORMATION.— 

22 (1) COMMODITY FLOW RISK REPORT.—The 

23 Hazardous Materials Division of the Office of Rail24 road Safety of the Federal Railroad Administration 

25 shall compile information submitted by the State 


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1 emergency response commissions and publicly pub2 lish an annual report that identifies, for the most re3 cent 12-month period— 

4 (A) the total volume of Class 3 hazardous 

5 materials that passed through each State; 

6 (B) the top 10 commodities, by volume, 

7 transported by rail in each State; and 

8 (C) a list and associated volume of all 

9 spills or releases of Class 3 hazardous materials 

10 by rail in each State. 

11 (2) EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES.—The 

12 Hazardous Materials Division and the Pipeline and 

13 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shall 

14 share information received under section 20155(c) or 

15 60108(f) of title 49, United States Code, with Fed16 eral, State, and local government emergency re17 sponse agencies. 

18 SEC. 3. ADEQUATE INSURANCE FOR RAIL CARS CARRYING 

19 CLASS 3 FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS. 

20 Section 20901 of title 49, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any railroad carrier that 

24 transports Class 3 flammable liquids shall include, 

25 in each annual report, information regarding the 


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1 ability of the railroad carrier, through insurance 

2 payments or other assets, to pay all costs of cleaning 

3 up a reasonable, worst-case spill, which shall be cal4 culated by multiplying the reasonable anticipated 

5 per-barrel cleanup costs by the reasonable worst case 

6 spill volume. 

7 ‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—Information pro8 vided pursuant to paragraph (1) may not be used by 

9 the Federal Railroad Administration or by any other 

10 Federal department or agency to economically regu11 late or penalize a railroad.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS PREPAREDNESS 

13 TRAINING STANDARDS. 

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

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

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

18 and 

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol20 lowing: 

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

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

23 section 173.120 of title 49, Code of Federal 

24 Regulations); and 


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

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

3 of Federal Regulations).’’. 

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

5 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

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

8 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(B) a recommended course of study and 

11 emergency supplies to train public sector em12 ployees and contractors to respond to an acci13 dent or incident involving trains transporting at 

14 least 20 tank cars of flammable liquids or 

15 gases;’’. 

16 SEC. 5. HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS PREPAREDNESS 

17 GRANTS. 

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

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(D) to develop, improve, and carry out emer2 gency plans for communities through which railroads 

3 transport a train or trains transporting flammable 

4 liquids or gases.’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

7 (A), by striking ‘‘under paragraph (1) of this 

8 subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘received to carry out 

9 the purposes described in subparagraph (A) or 

10 (B) of paragraph (1)’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

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

15 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

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

17 available— 

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

19 the grant received to carry out the purpose de20 scribed in paragraph (1)(D) in fiscal years 

21 2020, 2021, and 2022 to local emergency plan22 ning committees established under section 

23 301(c) of the Emergency Planning and Commu24 nity Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 11001(c)) to develop emergency plans under 

2 such Act; and 

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

4 the grant received to carry out the purpose de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(D) in fiscal year 2023, 

6 and in each subsequent fiscal year, to local 

7 emergency planning committees established 

8 under such section 301(c) to develop emergency 

9 plans under such Act.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. HIGH HAZARD RAIL SHIPMENTS TRAINING GRANTS. 

11 Section 5116 of title 49, United States Code, as 

12 amended by section 5, is further amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting ‘‘, in15 cluding accidents or incidents involving trains 

16 transporting at least 20 tank cars of flammable 

17 liquids or gases’’ before the period at the end; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, in19 cluding flammable liquids or gases’’ before the 

20 period at the end; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 the period at the end, and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

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

7 available— 

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

9 the grant received to carry out the purpose de10 scribed in subparagraph (B) in fiscal years 

11 2020, 2021, and 2022 to local emergency plan12 ning committees established under section 

13 301(c) of the Emergency Planning and Commu14 nity Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1101(c)) to develop emergency plans under 

16 such Act; and 

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

18 the grant received to carry out the purpose de19 scribed in paragraph (1)(C) in fiscal year 2023, 

20 and in each subsequent fiscal year, to local 

21 emergency planning committees established 

22 under such section 301(c) to develop emergency 

23 plans under such Act.’’; and 

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


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

2 TRAIN GRANTS.—The Federal share of each grant award3 ed under subsection (a), for the purposes described in 

4 paragraph (1)(D) of such subsection, shall be— 

5 ‘‘(1) 100 percent of the eligible costs incurred 

6 by the State or Indian tribe in fiscal years 2020, 

7 2021, and 2022; and 

8 ‘‘(2) 80 percent of the eligible costs incurred by 

9 the State or Indian tribe in fiscal year 2023 and 

10 each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

11 SEC. 7. TRACK RELOCATION AND RAILROAD INSPECTION 

12 SAFETY GRANTS. 

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

14 ‘‘flammable liquids or gases’’ means— 

15 (1) any ‘‘flammable liquid’’ (as defined in sec16 tion 173.120 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula17 tions); and 

18 (2) any ‘‘flammable gas (Division 2.1)’’ (as de19 fined in section 173.115 of title 49, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations). 

21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

22 of Transportation shall carry out a grant program to pro23 vide financial assistance for local projects, activities, and 

24 personnel that mitigate the impacts of, and public health 


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1 or environmental risks associated with, the transport of 

2 flammable liquids or gases by rail. 

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

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

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

6 goals under subsection (b), for— 

7 (1) projects eligible for assistance under section 

8 20154 of title 49, United States Code; or 

9 (2) State rail safety participation under section 

10 20105 of title 49, United States Code. 

11 (d) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—In determining 

12 whether to award a grant to an eligible recipient under 

13 this section, the Secretary shall consider— 

14 (1) the volume of flammable liquids or gases 

15 being transported by rail through a relevant State or 

16 community; and 

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

18 will mitigate risk factors associated with rail trans19 portation of flammable liquids or gases, including re20 ducing risks to— 

21 (A) public safety; 

22 (B) the environment; and 

23 (C) public or private property. 

24 (e) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 (1) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith2 standing the limitation set forth in section 20105(e) 

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

4 project costs under this section may be up to 90 per5 cent. 

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

7 share of project costs under this section may be paid 

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

9 involved with the project. 

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

11 grant under this section for a project that uses rights-of12 way owned by a railroad, the Secretary shall require that 

13 a written agreement exist between the applicant and the 

14 railroad regarding such use. 

15 SEC. 8. 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 2020, 2021, and 2022 for grants authorized under 

21 section 5116(a) of title 49, United States Code, for 

22 the purposes described in paragraph (1)(D) of such 

23 subsection. 

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 2020 shall remain available until Sep3 tember 30, 2021; and 

4 (B) the amounts appropriated for fiscal 

5 year 2021 shall remain available until Sep6 tember 30, 2022. 

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 2020, 2021, 2022, 

10 and 2023 for grants authorized under section 7. 

Æ 


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