II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 546 

To establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational 

Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Subcommittee under the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Advisory Council 

to provide recommendations on emergency responder training and resources relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 

Ms. HEITKAMP (for herself, Mr. KING, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, 

Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) 

Subcommittee under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Advisory Council to provide recommendations on emergency responder training and resources relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘RESPONSE Act of 

3 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. RAILROAD EMERGENCY SERVICES PREPAREDNESS, 

5 OPERATIONAL NEEDS, AND SAFETY EVALUA6 TION SUBCOMMITTEE. 

7 Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

8 (6 U.S.C. 318) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub10 section (e); and 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(d) RESPONSE SUBCOMMITTEE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE 

16 Act of 2015, the Administrator shall establish, as a 

17 subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the 

18 Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Oper19 ational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee 

20 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘RESPONSE 

21 Subcommittee’). 

22 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Notwithstanding sub23 section (c), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall be 

24 composed of the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Administrator for Pro26 tection and National Preparedness of the FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Feb 28, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S546.IS S546

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1 eral Emergency Management Agency, or des2 ignee. 

3 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Emer4 gency Communications of the Department of 

5 Homeland Security, or designee. 

6 ‘‘(C) The Director for the Office of Rail7 road, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Inves8 tigations of the National Transportation Safety 

9 Board, or designee, only in an advisory capac10 ity. 

11 ‘‘(D) The Associate Administrator for 

12 Railroad Safety of the Federal Railroad Admin13 istration, or designee. 

14 ‘‘(E) The Assistant Administrator for Se15 curity Policy and Industry Engagement of the 

16 Transportation Security Administration, or des17 ignee. 

18 ‘‘(F) The Assistant Commandant for Re19 sponse Policy of the Coast Guard, or designee. 

20 ‘‘(G) The Assistant Administrator for the 

21 Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

22 of the Environmental Protection Agency, or 

23 designee. 

24 ‘‘(H) The Associate Administrator for 

25 Hazardous Materials Safety of the Pipeline and 


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1 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or 

2 designee. 

3 ‘‘(I) The Chief Safety Officer and Assist4 ant Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier 

5 Safety Administration, or designee. 

6 ‘‘(J) Such other qualified individuals as 

7 the Administrator shall appoint as soon as 

8 practicable after the date of the enactment of 

9 the RESPONSE Act of 2015 from among the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(i) Members of the National Advi12 sory Council that have the requisite tech13 nical knowledge and expertise to address 

14 rail emergency response issues, including 

15 members from the following disciplines: 

16 ‘‘(I) Emergency management and 

17 emergency response providers, includ18 ing fire service, law enforcement, haz19 ardous materials response, and emer20 gency medical services. 

21 ‘‘(II) State, local, and tribal gov22 ernment officials with expertise in 

23 preparedness, protection, response, re24 covery, and mitigation, including Ad25 jutants General. 


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1 ‘‘(III) Elected State, local, and 

2 tribal government executives. 

3 ‘‘(IV) Such other individuals as 

4 the Administrator determines to be 

5 appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Individuals who have the req7 uisite technical knowledge and expertise to 

8 serve on the RESPONSE Subcommittee, 

9 including representatives of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the rail industry; 

11 ‘‘(II) the oil industry; 

12 ‘‘(III) the communications indus13 try; 

14 ‘‘(IV) emergency response pro15 viders, including individuals nomi16 nated by national organizations rep17 resenting local governments and per18 sonnel; 

19 ‘‘(V) representatives from na20 tional Indian organizations; 

21 ‘‘(VI) technical experts; and 

22 ‘‘(VII) vendors, developers, and 

23 manufacturers of systems, facilities, 

24 equipment, and capabilities for emer25 gency responder services. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Representatives of such other 

2 stakeholders and interested and affected 

3 parties as the Administrator considers ap4 propriate. 

5 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Deputy Adminis6 trator for Protection and National Preparedness 

7 shall serve as the Chairperson of the RESPONSE 

8 Subcommittee, or designee. 

9 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet11 ing of the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall 

12 take place not later than 90 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 

14 2015. 

15 ‘‘(B) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial 

16 meeting, the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall 

17 meet at least twice annually, with at least 1 

18 meeting conducted in person during the first 

19 year, at the call of the Chairperson. 

20 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATION WITH NONMEMBERS.—The 

21 RESPONSE Subcommittee and the program offices 

22 for emergency responder training and resources shall 

23 consult with other relevant agencies and groups, in24 cluding entities engaged in federally funded research 

25 and academic institutions engaged in relevant work 


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1 and research, which are not represented on the RE2 SPONSE Subcommittee to consider new and devel3 oping technologies and methods that may be bene4 ficial to preparedness and response to rail incidents. 

5 ‘‘(6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The RESPONSE 

6 Subcommittee shall evaluate the following topics and 

7 develop recommendations, as appropriate, for im8 proving emergency responder training and resource 

9 allocation for hazardous materials incidents involving 

10 railroads: 

11 ‘‘(A) Quality and application of training 

12 for local emergency first responders related to 

13 rail hazardous materials incidents, with a par14 ticular focus on local emergency responders and 

15 small communities near railroads, including the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(i) Ease of access to relevant train18 ing for local emergency first responders, 

19 including an analysis of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the number of individuals 

21 being trained; 

22 ‘‘(II) the number of individuals 

23 who are applying; 

24 ‘‘(III) whether current demand is 

25 being met; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) current challenges; and 

2 ‘‘(V) projected needs. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Modernization of course content 

4 related to rail hazardous materials inci5 dents, with a particular focus on response 

6 to the exponential rise in oil shipments by 

7 rail. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Training content across agencies 

9 and the private sector to provide com10 plementary opportunities for rail haz11 ardous materials incidents courses and ma12 terials to avoid overlap, including the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(I) Overlap of course content 

15 among agencies. 

16 ‘‘(II) Integrated course content 

17 through public-private partnerships. 

18 ‘‘(III) Regular and ongoing eval19 uation of course opportunities, adap20 tation to emerging trends, agency and 

21 private sector outreach, effectiveness 

22 and ease of access for local emergency 

23 responders. 

24 ‘‘(iv) Online training platforms, train25 the-trainer and mobile training options. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Effectiveness of funding levels related 

2 to training local emergency responders for rail 

3 hazardous materials incidents, with a particular 

4 focus on local emergency responders and small 

5 communities, including the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) Minimizing overlap in resource al7 location among agencies. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Minimizing overlap in resource 

9 allocation among agencies and private sec10 tor. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Maximizing public-private part12 nerships where funding gaps exists for spe13 cific training or cost-saving measures can 

14 be implemented to increase training oppor15 tunities. 

16 ‘‘(iv) Adaptation of priority settings 

17 for agency funding allocations in response 

18 to emerging trends. 

19 ‘‘(v) Historic levels of funding across 

20 agencies and private sector for rail haz21 ardous materials incidents. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Current funding resources across 

23 agencies. 

24 ‘‘(C) Strategy for integration of commodity 

25 flow studies, mapping, and access platforms for 


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1 local emergency responders and how to increase 

2 the rate of access to the individual responder in 

3 existing or emerging communications tech4 nology. 

5 ‘‘(D) The need for emergency response 

6 plans for rail, similar to existing law related to 

7 maritime and stationary facility emergency re8 sponse plans for hazardous materials, including 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The requirements of such emer11 gency plans on each train and the format 

12 and availability of such emergency plans to 

13 emergency responders in communities 

14 through which the materials travel. 

15 ‘‘(ii) How the industry would imple16 ment such plans. 

17 ‘‘(iii) The thresholds that require 

18 emergency plans for each train related to 

19 hazardous materials in its cargo. 

20 ‘‘(iv) Gaps in existing regulations 

21 across agencies. 

22 ‘‘(E) The need for a rail hazardous mate23 rials incident database, including the following: 

24 ‘‘(i) An assessment of the appropriate 

25 entity to host the database. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) A definition of ‘rail hazardous 

2 materials incident’ that would constitute 

3 the level of reporting from the industry. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The projected cost of such a 

5 database and how that database would be 

6 maintained and enforced. 

7 ‘‘(F) Increasing access to relevant, useful, 

8 and timely information for the local emergency 

9 responder for training purposes and in the 

10 event of a rail hazardous materials incident, in11 cluding the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Existing information that the 

13 emergency responder can access, what the 

14 current rate of access and usefulness is for 

15 the emergency responder, and what cur16 rent information should remain and what 

17 should be reassessed. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Utilization of existing technology 

19 in the hands of the first responder to 

20 maximize delivery of useful and timely in21 formation for training purposes or in the 

22 event of an incident. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Assessment of emerging commu24 nications technology that could assist the 


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1 emergency responder in the event of an in2 cident. 

3 ‘‘(G) Determination of the most appro4 priate agencies and offices for the implementa5 tion of the recommendations, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) recommendations that can be im7 plemented without congressional action 

8 and appropriate timeframes for such ac9 tions; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) recommendations that would re11 quire congressional action. 

12 ‘‘(7) REPORT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

14 after the date of the enactment of the RE15 SPONSE Act of 2015, the RESPONSE Sub16 committee shall submit a report containing the 

17 recommendations developed under paragraph 

18 (6) to the National Advisory Council. 

19 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—The National Advisory 

20 Council shall take up the RESPONSE Sub21 committee’s report within 30 days for review 

22 and deliberation. The National Advisory Coun23 cil may ask for additional clarification, changes, 

24 or other information from the RESPONSE 


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1 Subcommittee to assist in the approval of the 

2 recommendations. 

3 ‘‘(C) RECOMMENDATION.—Once the Na4 tional Advisory Council approves the rec5 ommendations from the RESPONSE Sub6 committee, the National Advisory Council shall 

7 submit the report to— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Administrator; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the head of each agency rep10 resented on the RESPONSE Sub11 committee; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Homeland Se13 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

14 Senate; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Homeland Se16 curity of the House of Representatives; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(v) the Committee on Transportation 

19 and Infrastructure of the House of Rep20 resentatives. 

21 ‘‘(8) INTERIM ACTIVITY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) UPDATES AND OVERSIGHT.—After 

23 the submission of the report by the National 

24 Advisory Council under paragraph (7), the Ad25 ministrator shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide quarterly updates to the 

2 congressional committees referred to in 

3 paragraph (7) regarding the status of the 

4 implementation of the recommendations 

5 developed under paragraph (6); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) coordinate the implementation of 

7 the recommendations described in para8 graph (6)(G)(i). 

9 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After sub10 mitting the report required under paragraph 

11 (7), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall sub12 mit additional reports and recommendations in 

13 the same manner and to the same entities iden14 tified in paragraph (7) if needed or requested 

15 from Congress or from the Administrator. 

16 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), the RESPONSE Sub19 committee shall terminate not later than 4 

20 years after the date of the enactment of the 

21 RESPONSE Act of 2015. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Administrator 

23 may extend the duration of the RESPONSE 

24 Subcommittee, in 1-year increments, if the Ad25 ministrator determines that additional reports 


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1 and recommendations are needed from the RE2 SPONSE Subcommittee after the termination 

3 date set forth in subparagraph (A).’’. 

Æ 


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