II 

Calendar No. 155 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 546 

[Report No. 114–85] 

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, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. CASEY, and Mrs. ERNST) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

JULY 21, 2015 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, without amendment 

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. 


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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 ‘‘RESPONSE Act of 

5 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RAILROAD EMERGENCY SERVICES PREPAREDNESS, 

7 OPERATIONAL NEEDS, AND SAFETY EVALUA8 TION SUBCOMMITTEE. 

9 Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

10 (6 U.S.C. 318) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub12 section (e); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(d) RESPONSE SUBCOMMITTEE.— 

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

17 after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE 

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

19 subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the 

20 Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Oper21 ational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee 

22 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘RESPONSE 

23 Subcommittee’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Notwithstanding sub2 section (c), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall be 

3 composed of the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Administrator for Pro5 tection and National Preparedness of the Fed6 eral Emergency Management Agency, or des7 ignee. 

8 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Emer9 gency Communications of the Department of 

10 Homeland Security, or designee. 

11 ‘‘(C) The Director for the Office of Rail12 road, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Inves13 tigations of the National Transportation Safety 

14 Board, or designee, only in an advisory capac15 ity. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Associate Administrator for 

17 Railroad Safety of the Federal Railroad Admin18 istration, or designee. 

19 ‘‘(E) The Assistant Administrator for Se20 curity Policy and Industry Engagement of the 

21 Transportation Security Administration, or des22 ignee. 

23 ‘‘(F) The Assistant Commandant for Re24 sponse Policy of the Coast Guard, or designee. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The Assistant Administrator for the 

2 Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

3 of the Environmental Protection Agency, or 

4 designee. 

5 ‘‘(H) The Associate Administrator for 

6 Hazardous Materials Safety of the Pipeline and 

7 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or 

8 designee. 

9 ‘‘(I) The Chief Safety Officer and Assist10 ant Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier 

11 Safety Administration, or designee. 

12 ‘‘(J) Such other qualified individuals as 

13 the Administrator shall appoint as soon as 

14 practicable after the date of the enactment of 

15 the RESPONSE Act of 2015 from among the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(i) Members of the National Advi18 sory Council that have the requisite tech19 nical knowledge and expertise to address 

20 rail emergency response issues, including 

21 members from the following disciplines: 

22 ‘‘(I) Emergency management and 

23 emergency response providers, includ24 ing fire service, law enforcement, hazVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S546.RS S546

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1 ardous materials response, and emer2 gency medical services. 

3 ‘‘(II) State, local, and tribal gov4 ernment officials with expertise in 

5 preparedness, protection, response, re6 covery, and mitigation, including Ad7 jutants General. 

8 ‘‘(III) Elected State, local, and 

9 tribal government executives. 

10 ‘‘(IV) Such other individuals as 

11 the Administrator determines to be 

12 appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Individuals who have the req14 uisite technical knowledge and expertise to 

15 serve on the RESPONSE Subcommittee, 

16 including representatives of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the rail industry; 

18 ‘‘(II) the oil industry; 

19 ‘‘(III) the communications indus20 try; 

21 ‘‘(IV) emergency response pro22 viders, including individuals nomi23 nated by national organizations rep24 resenting local governments and per25 sonnel; 


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1 ‘‘(V) representatives from na2 tional Indian organizations; 

3 ‘‘(VI) technical experts; and 

4 ‘‘(VII) vendors, developers, and 

5 manufacturers of systems, facilities, 

6 equipment, and capabilities for emer7 gency responder services. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Representatives of such other 

9 stakeholders and interested and affected 

10 parties as the Administrator considers ap11 propriate. 

12 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Deputy Adminis13 trator for Protection and National Preparedness 

14 shall serve as the Chairperson of the RESPONSE 

15 Subcommittee, or designee. 

16 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet18 ing of the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall 

19 take place not later than 90 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 

21 2015. 

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

23 meeting, the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall 

24 meet at least twice annually, with at least 1 


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1 meeting conducted in person during the first 

2 year, at the call of the Chairperson. 

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

4 RESPONSE Subcommittee and the program offices 

5 for emergency responder training and resources shall 

6 consult with other relevant agencies and groups, in7 cluding entities engaged in federally funded research 

8 and academic institutions engaged in relevant work 

9 and research, which are not represented on the RE10 SPONSE Subcommittee to consider new and devel11 oping technologies and methods that may be bene12 ficial to preparedness and response to rail incidents. 

13 ‘‘(6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The RESPONSE 

14 Subcommittee shall evaluate the following topics and 

15 develop recommendations, as appropriate, for im16 proving emergency responder training and resource 

17 allocation for hazardous materials incidents involving 

18 railroads: 

19 ‘‘(A) Quality and application of training 

20 for local emergency first responders related to 

21 rail hazardous materials incidents, with a par22 ticular focus on local emergency responders and 

23 small communities near railroads, including the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Ease of access to relevant train2 ing for local emergency first responders, 

3 including an analysis of— 

4 ‘‘(I) the number of individuals 

5 being trained; 

6 ‘‘(II) the number of individuals 

7 who are applying; 

8 ‘‘(III) whether current demand is 

9 being met; 

10 ‘‘(IV) current challenges; and 

11 ‘‘(V) projected needs. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Modernization of course content 

13 related to rail hazardous materials inci14 dents, with a particular focus on response 

15 to the exponential rise in oil shipments by 

16 rail. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Training content across agencies 

18 and the private sector to provide com19 plementary opportunities for rail haz20 ardous materials incidents courses and ma21 terials to avoid overlap, including the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(I) Overlap of course content 

24 among agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(II) Integrated course content 

2 through public-private partnerships. 

3 ‘‘(III) Regular and ongoing eval4 uation of course opportunities, adap5 tation to emerging trends, agency and 

6 private sector outreach, effectiveness 

7 and ease of access for local emergency 

8 responders. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Online training platforms, train10 the-trainer and mobile training options. 

11 ‘‘(B) Effectiveness of funding levels related 

12 to training local emergency responders for rail 

13 hazardous materials incidents, with a particular 

14 focus on local emergency responders and small 

15 communities, including the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) Minimizing overlap in resource al17 location among agencies. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Minimizing overlap in resource 

19 allocation among agencies and private sec20 tor. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Maximizing public-private part22 nerships where funding gaps exists for spe23 cific training or cost-saving measures can 

24 be implemented to increase training oppor25 tunities. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Adaptation of priority settings 

2 for agency funding allocations in response 

3 to emerging trends. 

4 ‘‘(v) Historic levels of funding across 

5 agencies and private sector for rail haz6 ardous materials incidents. 

7 ‘‘(vi) Current funding resources across 

8 agencies. 

9 ‘‘(C) Strategy for integration of commodity 

10 flow studies, mapping, and access platforms for 

11 local emergency responders and how to increase 

12 the rate of access to the individual responder in 

13 existing or emerging communications tech14 nology. 

15 ‘‘(D) The need for emergency response 

16 plans for rail, similar to existing law related to 

17 maritime and stationary facility emergency re18 sponse plans for hazardous materials, including 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) The requirements of such emer21 gency plans on each train and the format 

22 and availability of such emergency plans to 

23 emergency responders in communities 

24 through which the materials travel. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) How the industry would imple2 ment such plans. 

3 ‘‘(iii) The thresholds that require 

4 emergency plans for each train related to 

5 hazardous materials in its cargo. 

6 ‘‘(iv) Gaps in existing regulations 

7 across agencies. 

8 ‘‘(E) The need for a rail hazardous mate9 rials incident database, including the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) An assessment of the appropriate 

11 entity to host the database. 

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

13 materials incident’ that would constitute 

14 the level of reporting from the industry. 

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

16 database and how that database would be 

17 maintained and enforced. 

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

19 and timely information for the local emergency 

20 responder for training purposes and in the 

21 event of a rail hazardous materials incident, in22 cluding the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) Existing information that the 

24 emergency responder can access, what the 

25 current rate of access and usefulness is for 


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1 the emergency responder, and what cur2 rent information should remain and what 

3 should be reassessed. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Utilization of existing technology 

5 in the hands of the first responder to 

6 maximize delivery of useful and timely in7 formation for training purposes or in the 

8 event of an incident. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Assessment of emerging commu10 nications technology that could assist the 

11 emergency responder in the event of an in12 cident. 

13 ‘‘(G) Determination of the most appro14 priate agencies and offices for the implementa15 tion of the recommendations, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) recommendations that can be im17 plemented without congressional action 

18 and appropriate timeframes for such ac19 tions; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) recommendations that would re21 quire congressional action. 

22 ‘‘(7) REPORT.— 

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

24 after the date of the enactment of the RE25 SPONSE Act of 2015, the RESPONSE SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S546.RS S546

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1 committee shall submit a report containing the 

2 recommendations developed under paragraph 

3 (6) to the National Advisory Council. 

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

5 Council shall take up the RESPONSE Sub6 committee’s report within 30 days for review 

7 and deliberation. The National Advisory Coun8 cil may ask for additional clarification, changes, 

9 or other information from the RESPONSE 

10 Subcommittee to assist in the approval of the 

11 recommendations. 

12 ‘‘(C) RECOMMENDATION.—Once the Na13 tional Advisory Council approves the rec14 ommendations from the RESPONSE Sub15 committee, the National Advisory Council shall 

16 submit the report to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Administrator; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the head of each agency rep19 resented on the RESPONSE Sub20 committee; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Homeland Se22 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

23 Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Homeland Se2 curity of the House of Representatives; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(v) the Committee on Transportation 

5 and Infrastructure of the House of Rep6 resentatives. 

7 ‘‘(8) INTERIM ACTIVITY.— 

8 ‘‘(A) UPDATES AND OVERSIGHT.—After 

9 the submission of the report by the National 

10 Advisory Council under paragraph (7), the Ad11 ministrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) provide quarterly updates to the 

13 congressional committees referred to in 

14 paragraph (7) regarding the status of the 

15 implementation of the recommendations 

16 developed under paragraph (6); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) coordinate the implementation of 

18 the recommendations described in para19 graph (6)(G)(i). 

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After sub21 mitting the report required under paragraph 

22 (7), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall sub23 mit additional reports and recommendations in 

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1 tified in paragraph (7) if needed or requested 

2 from Congress or from the Administrator. 

3 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION.— 

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

5 subparagraph (B), the RESPONSE Sub6 committee shall terminate not later than 4 

7 years after the date of the enactment of the 

8 RESPONSE Act of 2015. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Administrator 

10 may extend the duration of the RESPONSE 

11 Subcommittee, in 1-year increments, if the Ad12 ministrator determines that additional reports 

13 and recommendations are needed from the RE14 SPONSE Subcommittee after the termination 

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


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Calendar No. 155 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 546 

[Report No. 114–85] 

A BILL 

To establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preinvolving railroads, and for other purposes. sources relating to hazardous materials incidents tions on emergency responder training and re- tional Advisory Council to provide recommenda- Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Na- uation (RESPONSE) Subcommittee under the paredness, Operational Needs, and Safety EvalJULY 21, 2015 

Reported without amendment 


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