II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1463 

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to regulate the sale of 

ammonium nitrate to prevent and deter the acquisition of ammonium 

nitrate by terrorists, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2007 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. CHAMBLISS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to regulate 

the sale of ammonium nitrate to prevent and deter the 

acquisition of ammonium nitrate by terrorists, 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 ‘‘Secure Handling of 

5 Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. SECURE HANDLING OF AMMONIUM NITRATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VIII of the Homeland Secu3 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘Subtitle J—Secure Handling of 

6 Ammonium Nitrate 

7 ‘‘SEC. 899A. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

9 ‘‘(1) AMMONIUM NITRATE.—The term ‘ammo10 nium nitrate’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) solid ammonium nitrate that is chief12 ly the ammonium salt of nitric acid and con13 tains not less than 33 percent nitrogen by 

14 weight; and 

15 ‘‘(B) any mixture containing a percentage 

16 of ammonium nitrate that is equal to or greater 

17 than the percentage determined by the Sec18 retary under section 899B(b). 

19 ‘‘(2) AMMONIUM NITRATE FACILITY.—The term 

20 ‘ammonium nitrate facility’ means any entity that 

21 produces, sells or otherwise transfers ownership of, 

22 or provides application services for ammonium ni23 trate. 

24 ‘‘(3) AMMONIUM NITRATE PURCHASER.—The 

25 term ‘ammonium nitrate purchaser’ means any permstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 son who buys and takes possession of ammonium ni2 trate from an ammonium nitrate facility. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 899B. REGULATION OF THE SALE AND TRANSFER OF 

4 AMMONIUM NITRATE. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall regulate the 

6 sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate by an ammonium 

7 nitrate facility in accordance with this subtitle to prevent 

8 the misappropriation or use of ammonium nitrate in an 

9 act of terrorism. 

10 ‘‘(b) AMMONIUM NITRATE MIXTURES.—Not later 

11 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this sub12 title, the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of ap13 propriate Federal departments and agencies (including the 

14 Secretary of Agriculture), shall, after notice and an oppor15 tunity for comment, establish a threshold percentage for 

16 ammonium nitrate in a substance. 

17 ‘‘(c) REGISTRATION OF OWNERS OF AMMONIUM NI18 TRATE FACILITIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish a process by which any person that— 

21 ‘‘(A) owns an ammonium nitrate facility is 

22 required to register with the Department; and 

23 ‘‘(B) registers under subparagraph (A) is 

24 issued a registration number for purposes of 

25 this subtitle. 

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1 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION INFORMATION.—Any per2 son applying to register under paragraph (1) shall 

3 submit to the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and telephone 

5 number of each ammonium nitrate facility 

6 owned by that person; 

7 ‘‘(B) the name of the person designated by 

8 that person as the point of contact for each 

9 such facility, for purposes of this subtitle; and 

10 ‘‘(C) such other information as the Sec11 retary may determine is appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(d) REGISTRATION OF AMMONIUM NITRATE PUR13 CHASERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish a process by which any person that— 

16 ‘‘(A) intends to be an ammonium nitrate 

17 purchaser is required to register with the De18 partment; and 

19 ‘‘(B) registers under subparagraph (A) is 

20 issued a registration number for purposes of 

21 this subtitle. 

22 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION INFORMATION.—Any per23 son applying to register under paragraph (1) as an 

24 ammonium nitrate purchaser shall submit to the 

25 Secretary— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and telephone 

2 number of the applicant; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the intended use of ammonium ni4 trate to be purchased by the applicant. 

5 ‘‘(e) RECORDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—The owner 

7 of an ammonium nitrate facility shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) maintain a record of each sale or 

9 transfer of ammonium nitrate, during the two10 year period beginning on the date of that sale 

11 or transfer; and 

12 ‘‘(B) include in such record the informa13 tion described in paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC INFORMATION REQUIRED.—For 

15 each sale or transfer of ammonium nitrate, the 

16 owner of an ammonium nitrate facility shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) record the name, address, telephone 

18 number, and registration number issued under 

19 subsection (c) or (d) of each person that takes 

20 possession of ammonium nitrate, in a manner 

21 prescribed by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(B) if applicable, record the name, ad23 dress, and telephone number of each individual 

24 who takes possession of the ammonium nitrate 

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1 on behalf of the person described in subpara2 graph (A), at the point of sale; 

3 ‘‘(C) record the date and quantity of am4 monium nitrate sold or transferred; and 

5 ‘‘(D) verify the identity of the persons de6 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B), as appli7 cable, in accordance with a procedure estab8 lished by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—In main10 taining records in accordance with paragraph (1), 

11 the owner of an ammonium nitrate facility shall take 

12 reasonable actions to ensure the protection of the in13 formation included in such records. 

14 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION FOR EXPLOSIVE PURPOSES.—The 

15 Secretary shall exempt from this subtitle a person pro16 ducing, selling, or purchasing ammonium nitrate exclu17 sively for use as an explosive material under a license 

18 issued under chapter 40 of title 18, United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(g) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

20 the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Agri21 culture, States, and appropriate private sector entities, to 

22 ensure that the access of agricultural producers to ammo23 nium nitrate is not unduly burdened. 

24 ‘‘(h) DATA CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

2 552 of title 5, United States Code, or the USA PA3 TRIOT ACT (Public Law 107–56; 115 Stat. 272), 

4 and except as provided in paragraph (2), the Sec5 retary may not disclose to any person any informa6 tion obtained under this subtitle. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may disclose 

8 any information obtained by the Secretary under 

9 this subtitle to— 

10 ‘‘(A) an officer or employee of the United 

11 States, or a person that has entered into a con12 tract with the United States, who has a need to 

13 know the information to perform the duties of 

14 the officer, employee, or person; or 

15 ‘‘(B) to a State agency under section 

16 899D, under appropriate arrangements to en17 sure the protection of the information. 

18 ‘‘(i) REGISTRATION PROCEDURES AND CHECK OF

19 TERRORIST SCREENING DATABASE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION PROCEDURES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) GENERALLY.—The Secretary shall 

22 establish procedures to efficiently receive appli23 cations for registration numbers under this sub24 title, conduct the checks required under paramstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 graph (2), and promptly issue or deny a reg2 istration number. 

3 ‘‘(B) INITIAL SIX-MONTH REGISTRATION

4 PERIOD.—The Secretary shall take steps to 

5 maximize the number of registration applica6 tions that are submitted and processed during 

7 the six-month period described in section 

8 899F(e). 

9 ‘‘(2) CHECK OF TERRORIST SCREENING DATA10 BASE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) CHECK REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

12 shall conduct a check of appropriate identifying 

13 information of any person seeking to register 

14 with the Department under subsection (c) or 

15 (d) against identifying information that appears 

16 in the terrorist screening database of the De17 partment. 

18 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO DENY REGISTRATION

19 NUMBER.—If the identifying information of a 

20 person seeking to register with the Department 

21 under subsection (c) or (d) appears in the ter22 rorist screening database of the Department, 

23 the Secretary may deny issuance of a registra24 tion number under this subtitle. 

25 ‘‘(3) EXPEDITED REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Following the six2 month period described in section 899F(e), the 

3 Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, issue 

4 or deny registration numbers under this subtitle 

5 not later than 72 hours after the time the Sec6 retary receives a complete registration applica7 tion, unless the Secretary determines, in the in8 terest of national security, that additional time 

9 is necessary to review an application. 

10 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF APPLICATION STATUS.— 

11 In all cases, the Secretary shall notify a person 

12 seeking to register with the Department under 

13 subsection (c) or (d) of the status of the appli14 cation of that person not later than 72 hours 

15 after the time the Secretary receives a complete 

16 registration application. 

17 ‘‘(4) EXPEDITED APPEALS PROCESS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) APPEALS PROCESS.—The Sec20 retary shall establish an expedited appeals 

21 process for persons denied a registration 

22 number under this subtitle. 

23 ‘‘(ii) TIME PERIOD FOR RESOLU24 TION.—The Secretary shall, to the extent 

25 practicable, resolve appeals not later than 

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1 72 hours after receiving a complete request 

2 for appeal unless the Secretary determines, 

3 in the interest of national security, that 

4 additional time is necessary to resolve an 

5 appeal. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary, in 

7 developing the appeals process under subpara8 graph (A), shall consult with appropriate stake9 holders. 

10 ‘‘(C) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall pro11 vide guidance regarding the procedures and in12 formation required for an appeal under sub13 paragraph (A) to any person denied a registra14 tion number under this subtitle. 

15 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND MAINTENANCE

16 OF INFORMATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any information con18 stituting grounds for denial of a registration 

19 number under this section shall be maintained 

20 confidentially by the Secretary and may be used 

21 only for making determinations under this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(B) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of this sub25 title, the Secretary may share any such informstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 mation with Federal, State, local, and tribal law 

2 enforcement agencies, as appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(6) REGISTRATION INFORMATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE INFORMA5 TION.—The Secretary may require a person ap6 plying for a registration number under this sub7 title to submit such information as may be nec8 essary to carry out the requirements of this sec9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO UPDATE INFORMA11 TION.—The Secretary may require persons 

12 issued a registration under this subtitle to up13 date registration information submitted to the 

14 Secretary under this subtitle, as appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(7) RE-CHECKS AGAINST TERRORIST SCREEN16 ING DATABASE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) RE-CHECKS.—The Secretary shall, as 

18 appropriate, recheck persons provided a reg19 istration number pursuant to this subtitle 

20 against the terrorist screening database of the 

21 Department, and may revoke such registration 

22 number if the Secretary determines such person 

23 may pose a threat to national security. 

24 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF REVOCATION.—The Sec25 retary shall, as appropriate, provide prior notice 

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1 to a person whose registration number is re2 voked under this section and such person shall 

3 have an opportunity to appeal, as provided in 

4 paragraph (4). 

5 ‘‘SEC. 899C. INSPECTION AND AUDITING OF RECORDS. 

6 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a process for the peri7 odic inspection and auditing of the records maintained by 

8 owners of ammonium nitrate facilities for the purpose of 

9 monitoring compliance with this subtitle or for the purpose 

10 of deterring or preventing the misappropriation or use of 

11 ammonium nitrate in an act of terrorism. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 899D. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(1) may enter into a cooperative agreement 

15 with the Secretary of Agriculture, or the head of any 

16 State department of agriculture or its designee in17 volved in agricultural regulation, in consultation with 

18 the State agency responsible for homeland security, 

19 to carry out the provisions of this subtitle; and 

20 ‘‘(2) wherever possible, shall seek to cooperate 

21 with State agencies or their designees that oversee 

22 ammonium nitrate facility operations when seeking 

23 cooperative agreements to implement the registra24 tion and enforcement provisions of this subtitle. 

25 ‘‘(b) DELEGATION.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may delegate 

2 to a State the authority to assist the Secretary in 

3 the administration and enforcement of this subtitle. 

4 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION REQUIRED.—At the request 

5 of a Governor of a State, the Secretary shall dele6 gate to that State the authority to carry out func7 tions under sections 899B and 899C, if the Sec8 retary determines that the State is capable of satis9 factorily carrying out such functions. 

10 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability of 

11 appropriations, if the Secretary delegates functions 

12 to a State under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

13 provide to that State sufficient funds to carry out 

14 the delegated functions. 

15 ‘‘(c) PROVISION OF GUIDANCE AND NOTIFICATION

16 MATERIALS TO AMMONIUM NITRATE FACILITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall make 

18 available to each owner of an ammonium nitrate fa19 cility registered under section 899B(c)(1) guidance 

20 on— 

21 ‘‘(A) the identification of suspicious ammo22 nium nitrate purchases or transfers or at23 tempted purchases or transfers; 

24 ‘‘(B) the appropriate course of action to be 

25 taken by the ammonium nitrate facility owner 

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1 with respect to such a purchase or transfer or 

2 attempted purchase or transfer, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) exercising the right of the owner 

4 of the ammonium nitrate facility to decline 

5 sale of ammonium nitrate; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) notifying appropriate law en7 forcement entities; and 

8 ‘‘(C) additional subjects determined appro9 priate by to prevent the misappropriation or use 

10 of ammonium nitrate in an act of terrorism. 

11 ‘‘(2) USE OF MATERIALS AND PROGRAMS.—In 

12 providing guidance under this subsection, the Sec13 retary shall, to the extent practicable, leverage any 

14 relevant materials and programs. 

15 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION MATERIALS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 make available materials suitable for posting at 

18 locations where ammonium nitrate is sold. 

19 ‘‘(B) DESIGN OF MATERIALS.—Materials 

20 made available under subparagraph (A) shall be 

21 designed to notify prospective ammonium ni22 trate purchasers of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the record-keeping requirements 

24 under section 899B; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the penalties for violating such 

2 requirements. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 899E. THEFT REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

4 ‘‘Any person who is required to comply with section 

5 899B(e) who has knowledge of the theft or unexplained 

6 loss of ammonium nitrate shall report such theft or loss 

7 to the appropriate Federal law enforcement authorities not 

8 later than 1 calendar day of the date on which the person 

9 becomes aware of such theft or loss. Upon receipt of such 

10 report, the relevant Federal authorities shall inform State, 

11 local, and tribal law enforcement entities, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 899F. PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTY. 

13 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) TAKING POSSESSION.—No person shall 

15 take possession of ammonium nitrate from an am16 monium nitrate facility unless such person is reg17 istered under subsection (c) or (d) of section 899B, 

18 or is an agent of a person registered under sub19 section (c) or (d) of that section. 

20 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERRING POSSESSION.—An owner 

21 of an ammonium nitrate facility shall not transfer 

22 possession of ammonium nitrate from the ammo23 nium nitrate facility to any person who is not reg24 istered under subsection (c) or (d) of section 899B, 

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1 or is not an agent of a person registered under sub2 section (c) or (d) of that section. 

3 ‘‘(3) OTHER PROHIBITIONS.—No person shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) buy and take possession of ammo5 nium nitrate without a registration number re6 quired under subsection (c) or (d) of section 

7 899B; 

8 ‘‘(B) own or operate an ammonium nitrate 

9 facility without a registration number required 

10 under section 899B(c); or 

11 ‘‘(C) fail to comply with any requirement 

12 or violate any other prohibition under this sub13 title. 

14 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person that violates this 

15 subtitle may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary 

16 of not more than $50,000 per violation. 

17 ‘‘(c) PENALTY CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

18 the amount of a civil penalty under this section, the Sec19 retary shall consider— 

20 ‘‘(1) the nature and circumstances of the viola21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(2) with respect to the person who commits 

23 the violation, any history of prior violations, the abil24 ity to pay the penalty, and any effect the penalty is 

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1 likely to have on the ability of such person to do 

2 business; and 

3 ‘‘(3) any other matter that the Secretary deter4 mines that justice requires. 

5 ‘‘(d) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING.— 

6 No civil penalty may be assessed under this subtitle unless 

7 the person liable for the penalty has been given notice and 

8 an opportunity for a hearing on the violation for which 

9 the penalty is to be assessed in the county, parish, or in10 corporated city of residence of that person. 

11 ‘‘(e) DELAY IN APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION.— 

12 Paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall apply on 

13 and after the date that is 6 months after the date that 

14 the Secretary issues of a final rule implementing this sub15 title. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 899G. PROTECTION FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro18 vision of law, an owner of an ammonium nitrate facility 

19 that in good faith refuses to sell or transfer ammonium 

20 nitrate to any person, or that in good faith discloses to 

21 the Department or to appropriate law enforcement au22 thorities an actual or attempted purchase or transfer of 

23 ammonium nitrate, based upon a reasonable belief that 

24 the person seeking purchase or transfer of ammonium ni25 trate may use the ammonium nitrate to create an explosive 

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1 device to be employed in an act of terrorism (as defined 

2 in section 3077 of title 18, United States Code), or to use 

3 ammonium nitrate for any other unlawful purpose, shall 

4 not be liable in any civil action relating to that refusal 

5 to sell ammonium nitrate or that disclosure. 

6 ‘‘(b) REASONABLE BELIEF.—A reasonable belief that 

7 a person may use ammonium nitrate to create an explosive 

8 device to be employed in an act of terrorism under sub9 section (a) may not solely be based on the race, sex, na10 tional origin, creed, religion, status as a veteran, or status 

11 as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States 

12 of that person. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 899H. PREEMPTION OF OTHER LAWS. 

14 ‘‘(a) OTHER FEDERAL REGULATIONS.—Except as 

15 provided in section 899G, nothing in this subtitle affects 

16 any regulation issued by any agency other than an agency 

17 of the Department. 

18 ‘‘(b) STATE LAW.—Subject to section 899G, this sub19 title preempts the laws of any State to the extent that 

20 such laws are inconsistent with this subtitle, except that 

21 this subtitle shall not preempt any State law that provides 

22 additional protection against the acquisition of ammonium 

23 nitrate by terrorists or the use of ammonium nitrate in 

24 explosives in acts of terrorism or for other illicit purposes, 

25 as determined by the Secretary. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 899I. DEADLINES FOR REGULATIONS. 

2 ‘‘The Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(1) shall issue a proposed rule implementing 

4 this subtitle not later than 6 months after the date 

5 of the enactment of this subtitle; and 

6 ‘‘(2) issue a final rule implementing this sub7 title not later than 1 year after such date of enact8 ment. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 899J. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec11 retary such sums as are necessary to carry out this sub12 title for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

14 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 

15 the item relating to section 899 the following: 

‘‘Subtitle J—Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate 

‘‘Sec. 899A. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 899B. Regulation of the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate. 

‘‘Sec. 899C. Inspection and auditing of records. 

‘‘Sec. 899D. Administrative provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 899E. Theft reporting requirement. 

‘‘Sec. 899F. Prohibitions and penalty. 

‘‘Sec. 899G. Protection from civil liability. 

‘‘Sec. 899H. Preemption of other laws. 

‘‘Sec. 899I. Deadlines for regulations. 

‘‘Sec. 899J. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 

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