II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 773 

To ensure the safe and secure transportation by rail of extremely hazardous 

materials. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 13, 2005 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To ensure the safe and secure transportation by rail of 

extremely hazardous materials.

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 ‘‘Extremely Hazardous 

5 Materials Rail Transportation Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF PRECAUTIONS AND RESPONSE 

7 EFFORTS RELATED TO THE TRANSPOR8 TATION BY RAIL OF EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS 

9 MATERIALS. 

10 (a) REGULATIONS.— 
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1 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR REGULATIONS.—Not 

2 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

4 shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Trans5 portation and the heads of other Federal, State, and 

6 local agencies, prescribe regulations for the coordina7 tion of efforts of Federal, State, and local agencies 

8 aimed at preventing terrorist acts and responding to 

9 emergencies that may occur in connection with the 

10 transportation by rail of extremely hazardous mate11 rials. 

12 (2) CONTENT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations re14 quired under paragraph (1) shall— 

15 (i) require, and establish standards 

16 for, the training of individuals described in 

17 subparagraph (B) on safety precautions 

18 and best practices for responding to emer19 gencies occurring in connection with the 

20 transportation by rail of extremely haz21 ardous materials, including incidents in22 volving acts of terrorism; and 

23 (ii) establish a coordinated system for 

24 notifying appropriate Federal, State, and 

25 local law enforcement authorities (includ-
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1 ing, if applicable, transit, railroad, or port 

2 authority police agencies) and first re3 sponders of the transportation by rail of 

4 extremely hazardous materials through 

5 communities designated as area of concern 

6 communities by the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security under subsection (b)(1). 

8 (B) INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY TRAIN9 ING.—The individuals described in subpara10 graph (A)(i) are first responders, law enforce11 ment personnel, and individuals who transport, 

12 load, unload, or are otherwise involved in the 

13 transportation by rail of extremely hazardous 

14 materials or who are responsible for the repair 

15 of related equipment and facilities in the event 

16 of an emergency, including an incident involving 

17 terrorism. 

18 (b) AREA OF CONCERN COMMUNITIES.— 

19 (1) DESIGNATION OF AREA OF CONCERN COM20 MUNITIES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—In prescribing regula22 tions under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security shall compile a list of area 

24 of concern communities. 
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1 (B) CRITERIA.—The Secretary of Home2 land Security shall include on such list commu3 nities through or near which the transportation 

4 by rail of extremely hazardous materials poses 

5 a serious risk to the public health and safety. 

6 In making such determination, the Secretary 

7 shall consider— 

8 (i) the severity of harm that could be 

9 caused in a community by the release of 

10 the transported extremely hazardous mate11 rials; 

12 (ii) the proximity of a community to 

13 major population centers; 

14 (iii) the threat posed by such trans15 portation to national security, including 

16 the safety and security of Federal and 

17 State government offices; 

18 (iv) the vulnerability of a community 

19 to acts of terrorism; 

20 (v) the threat posed by such transpor21 tation to critical infrastructure; 

22 (vi) the threshold quantities of par23 ticular extremely hazardous materials that 

24 pose a serious threat to the public health 

25 and safety; and 
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1 (vii) such other safety or security fac2 tors that the Secretary determines appro3 priate to consider. 

4 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATE ROUTES.—

5 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall conduct a 

6 study to consider the possibility of reducing, through 

7 the use of alternate routes involving lower security 

8 risks, the security risks posed by the transportation 

9 by rail of extremely hazardous materials through or 

10 near communities designated as area of concern 

11 communities under paragraph (1), except in the case 

12 of emergencies or where such alternatives do not 

13 exist or are prohibitively expensive. 

14 SEC. 3. PRESSURIZED RAILROAD CARS. 

15 (a) NEW SAFETY STANDARDS.— 

16 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR STANDARDS.—Not later 

17 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

18 this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation 

20 and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

21 prescribe by regulations standards for ensuring the 

22 safety and physical integrity of pressurized tank cars 

23 that are used in the transportation by rail of ex24 tremely hazardous materials. 
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1 (2) CONSIDERATION OF SPECIFIC RISKS.—In 

2 prescribing regulations under paragraph (1), the 

3 Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider the 

4 risks posed to such pressurized tank cars by acts of 

5 terrorism, accidents, severe impacts, and other ac6 tions potentially threatening to the structural integ7 rity of the cars or to the safe containment of the 

8 materials carried by such cars. 

9 (b) REPORT ON IMPACT RESISTANCE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary of Homeland Security shall, in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Transportation and the heads 

14 of other relevant Federal agencies, submit to the ap15 propriate congressional committees a report on the 

16 safety and physical integrity of pressurized tank cars 

17 that are used in the transportation by rail of ex18 tremely hazardous materials, including with respect 

19 to the risks considered under subsection (a)(2). 

20 (2) CONTENT.—The report required under 

21 paragraph (1) shall include— 

22 (A) the results of a study on the impact 

23 resistance of such pressurized tank cars, includ24 ing a comparison of the relative impact resist25 ance of tank cars manufactured before and 
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1 after the implementation by the Administrator 

2 of the Federal Railroad Administration in 1989 

3 of Federal standards on the impact resistance 

4 of such tank cars; and 

5 (B) an assessment of whether tank cars 

6 manufactured before the implementation of the 

7 1989 impact resistence standards and tank cars 

8 manufactured after the implementation of such 

9 standards conform with the standards pre10 scribed under subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 4. REPORT ON EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 

12 TRANSPORT SAFETY. 

13 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—Not later than 

14 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security shall, in consultation with 

16 the Secretary of Transportation, submit to the appropriate 

17 congressional committees a report on the safety and secu18 rity of the transportation by rail of extremely hazardous 

19 materials, including the threat posed to the security of 

20 such transportation by acts of terrorism. 

21 (b) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection 

22 (a) shall include, in a form that does not compromise na23 tional security— 

24 (1) information specifying— 
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1 (A) the Federal and State agencies that 

2 are responsible for the oversight of the trans3 portation by rail of extremely hazardous mate4 rials; and 

5 (B) the particular authorities and respon6 sibilities of the heads of each such agency; 

7 (2) an assessment of the operational risks asso8 ciated with the transportation by rail of extremely 

9 hazardous materials, with consideration given to the 

10 safety and security of the railroad infrastructure in 

11 the United States, including railroad bridges and 

12 rail switching areas; 

13 (3) an assessment of the vulnerability of rail14 road cars to acts of terrorism while being used to 

15 transport extremely hazardous materials; 

16 (4) an assessment of the ability of individuals 

17 who transport, load, unload, or are otherwise in18 volved in the transportation by rail of extremely haz19 ardous materials or who are responsible for the re20 pair of related equipment and facilities in the event 

21 of an emergency, including an incident involving ter22 rorism, to respond to an incident involving ter23 rorism, including an assessment of whether such in24 dividuals are adequately trained or prepared to re25 spond to such incidents; 
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1 (5) a description of the study conducted under 

2 section 2(b)(2), including the conclusions reached by 

3 the Secretary of Homeland Security as a result of 

4 such study and any recommendations of the Sec5 retary for reducing, through the use of alternate 

6 routes involving lower security risks, the security 

7 risks posed by the transportation by rail of ex8 tremely hazardous materials through or near area of 

9 concern communities; 

10 (6) other recommendations for improving the 

11 safety and security of the transportation by rail of 

12 extremely hazardous materials; and 

13 (7) an analysis of the anticipated economic im14 pact and effect on interstate commerce of the regu15 lations prescribed under this Act. 

16 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

17 shall be in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 

18 annex. 

19 SEC. 5. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—No person involved in the trans21 portation by rail of extremely hazardous materials may be 

22 discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or 

23 in any other manner discriminated against because of any 

24 lawful act done by the person— 
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1 (1) to provide information, cause information to 

2 be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation 

3 regarding any conduct which the person reasonably 

4 believes constitutes a violation of any law, rule, or 

5 regulation related to the security of shipments of ex6 tremely hazardous materials, or any other threat to 

7 the security of shipments of extremely hazardous 

8 materials, when the information or assistance is pro9 vided to or the investigation is conducted by— 

10 (A) a Federal regulatory or law enforce11 ment agency; 

12 (B) any Member of Congress or any com13 mittee of Congress; or 

14 (C) a person with supervisory authority 

15 over the person (or such other person who has 

16 the authority to investigate, discover, or termi17 nate misconduct); 

18 (2) to file, cause to be filed, testify, participate 

19 in, or otherwise assist in a proceeding or action filed 

20 or about to be filed relating to a violation of any 

21 law, rule, or regulation related to the security of 

22 shipments of extremely hazardous materials or any 

23 other threat to the security of shipments of ex24 tremely hazardous materials; or 
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1 (3) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

2 of any law, rule, or regulation related to the security 

3 of shipments of extremely hazardous materials. 

4 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who alleges dis6 charge or other discrimination by any person in vio7 lation of subsection (a) may seek relief under sub8 section (c)— 

9 (A) by filing a complaint with the Sec10 retary of Labor; and 

11 (B) if the Secretary has not issued a final 

12 decision within 180 days after the filing of the 

13 complaint and there is no showing that such 

14 delay is due to the bad faith of the claimant, 

15 by commencing a civil action in the appropriate 

16 district court of the United States, which shall 

17 have jurisdiction over such an action without 

18 regard to the amount in controversy. 

19 (2) PROCEDURE.— 

20 (A) COMPLAINT TO DEPARTMENT OF

21 LABOR.—An action under paragraph (1)(A) 

22 shall be governed under the rules and proce23 dures set forth in subsection (b) of section 

24 42121 of title 49, United States Code, except 

25 that notification made under such subsection 
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1 shall be made to the person named in the com2 plaint and to the person’s employer. 

3 (B) COURT ACTION.—An action com4 menced under paragraph (1)(B) shall be gov5 erned by the legal burdens of proof set forth in 

6 section 42121(b)(2)(B) of title 49, United 

7 States Code. 

8 (C) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be commenced not 

10 later than 180 days after the date on which the 

11 violation occurs. 

12 (c) REMEDIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person prevailing in any 

14 action under subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled to all 

15 relief necessary to make the person whole. 

16 (2) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for any 

17 action under paragraph (1) shall include— 

18 (A) in the case of a termination of, or 

19 other discriminatory act regarding the person’s 

20 employment— 

21 (i) reinstatement with the same se22 niority status that the person would have 

23 had, but for the discrimination; and 

24 (ii) payment of the amount of any 

25 back pay, with interest, computed retro-
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1 actively to the date of the discriminatory 

2 act; and 

3 (B) compensation for any special damages 

4 sustained as a result of the discrimination, in5 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

6 reasonable attorney fees. 

7 (d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY PERSON.—Nothing in this 

8 section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, 

9 or remedies of any person under any Federal or State law, 

10 or under any collective bargaining agreement. 

11 SEC. 6. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

14 prescribe regulations providing for the imposition of civil 

15 penalties for violations of— 

16 (1) regulations prescribed under this Act; and 

17 (2) the prohibition against discriminatory treat18 ment under section 5(a). 

19 SEC. 7. NO FEDERAL PREEMPTION. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preempting 

21 any State law, except that no such law may relieve any 

22 person of a requirement otherwise applicable under this 

23 Act. 

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 
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1 (1) EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS MATERIAL.—The 

2 term ‘‘extremely hazardous material’’ means— 

3 (A) a material that is toxic by inhalation; 

4 (B) a material that is extremely flam5 mable; 

6 (C) a material that is highly explosive; 

7 (D) high-level radioactive waste; and 

8 (E) any other material designated by the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security as being ex10 tremely hazardous. 

11 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

17 the Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

19 and the Committee on Transportation and In20 frastructure of the House of Representatives.

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