103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2178

AN ACT

To amend the Hazardous Materials Transportation

poses.1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997, and for other purAct to authorize appropriations for fiscal years
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2178

AN ACT

To amend the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act to

authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1994, 1995,

1996, and 1997, 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 AND REFERENCE.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Hazardous Materials Transportation Act Amendments of

6 1993’’.
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1 (b) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act an amend2 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment

3 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference

4 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi5 sion of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act.

6 SEC. 2. REGISTRATION.

7 Section 106(c) (49 U.S.C. App. 1805(c)) is amended

8 by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(16) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO WAIVE

10 MANDATORY FILING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary

11 may waive the filing of a registration statement, or

12 the payment of a fee, required under this subsection,

13 or both, for any person not domiciled in the United

14 States who solely offers hazardous materials for

15 transportation to the United States from a place

16 outside the United States if the country of which

17 such person is a domiciliary does not require persons

18 domiciled in the United States who solely offer haz19 ardous materials for transportation to the foreign

20 country from places in the United States to file reg21 istration statements, or to pay fees, for making such

22 an offer.’’.

23 SEC. 3. TIME FOR SECRETARIAL ACTION.

24 (a) SECTION 107.—Section 107(a) (49 U.S.C. App.

25 1806(a)) is amended by inserting at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘The Secretary shall issue or renew the exemption for

2 which an application was filed or deny such issuance or

3 renewal within 180 days of the first day of the month fol4 lowing the date of the filing of such application or the

5 Secretary shall publish a statement in the Federal Reg6 ister of the reason why the Secretary’s decision on the ex7 emption is delayed with an estimate of the additional time

8 necessary before the decision is made.’’

9 (b) SECTION 112.—Section 112(c)(1) (49 U.S.C.

10 App. 1811(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after the second

11 sentence the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall issue a deci12 sion on an application for a determination within 180 days

13 of the date of the publication of the notice of having re14 ceived such application or the Secretary shall publish a

15 statement in the Federal Register of the reason why the

16 Secretary’s decision on the application is delayed with an

17 estimate of the additional time necessary before the deci18 sion is made.’’

19 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 Section 115(a) (49 U.S.C. App. 1812(a)) is amended

21 to read as follows:

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro23 priated for carrying out this title (other than sections 117,

24 117A, 118, and 121) not to exceed $18,000,000 for fiscal

25 year 1994, $18,540,000 for fiscal year 1995, $19,100,000
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1 for fiscal year 1996, and $19,670,000 for fiscal year

2 1997.’’.

3 SEC. 5. TRAINING.

4 (a) SUPPLEMENTAL PUBLIC SECTOR TRAINING

5 GRANTS.—Section 117A (49 U.S.C. App. 1815) is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(j) SUPPLEMENTAL TRAINING GRANTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to further the pur9 poses of subsection (b), relating to training public

10 sector employees to respond to accidents and inci11 dents involving hazardous materials, the Secretary

12 shall make grants to national nonprofit employee or13 ganizations engaged solely in fighting fires for the

14 purpose of training individuals with statutory re15 sponsibility to respond to hazardous materials acci16 dents and incidents.

17 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds granted to an or18 ganization under this subsection may be used—

19 ‘‘(A) to identify regions or locations in

20 which fire departments are in need of hazard21 ous materials training;

22 ‘‘(B) to prioritize such needs and develop

23 a means for evaluating specific training needs;

24 ‘‘(C) to train instructors to conduct haz25 ardous materials response training programs
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1 and evaluate the efficacy of such training pro2 grams;

3 ‘‘(D) to purchase training equipment for

4 such training programs; and

5 ‘‘(E) to disseminate on a nationwide basis

6 the data developed, and the findings derived

7 from projects carried out, under this subsection.

8 ‘‘(3) USE OF TRAINING COURSES.—The Sec9 retary may only make a grant to an organization

10 under this subsection in a fiscal year if the organiza11 tion enters into an agreement with the Secretary to

12 use in such fiscal year—

13 ‘‘(A) a course or courses developed or iden14 tified under section 117A(g); or

15 ‘‘(B) other courses which the Secretary de16 termines are consistent with the objectives of

17 this subsection;

18 for training individuals with statutory responsibility

19 to respond to accidents and incidents involving haz20 ardous materials.

21 ‘‘(4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary

22 may impose such additional terms and conditions on

23 grants to be made under this subsection as the Sec24 retary determines are necessary to protect the inter-
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1 ests of the United States and to carry out the objec2 tives of this subsection.

3 ‘‘(k) REPORTS.—Not later than September 30, 1997,

4 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the

5 allocation and uses of training grants authorized under

6 subsection (b) for fiscal years 1993 through fiscal year

7 1996 and grants authorized under subsection (j) and sec8 tion 118 for fiscal years 1995 and 1996. Such report shall

9 identify the ultimate recipients of training grants and in10 clude a detailed accounting of all grant expenditures by

11 grant recipients, the number of employees trained under

12 the grant programs, and an evaluation of the efficacy of

13 training programs carried out.’’.

14 (b) FUNDING.—Section 117A(i)(2) is amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A) GENERAL PROGRAM.—’’

16 before ‘‘There’’;

17 (2) by indenting subparagraph (A), as so des18 ignated, and moving subparagraph (A) 2 ems to the

19 right; and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL PROGRAM.—

23 ‘‘(i) FROM FEES.—There shall be

24 available to the Secretary for carrying out

25 subsection (j), from amounts in the ac-
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1 count established pursuant to subsection

2 (h), $250,000 per fiscal year for each of

3 fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

4 ‘‘(ii) FROM GENERAL REVENUES.—In

5 addition to amounts made available under

6 clause (i), there is authorized to be appro7 priated to the Secretary for carrying out

8 subsection (j) $1,000,000 per fiscal year

9 for each of fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997,

10 and 1998.’’.

11 (c) HAZMAT EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAM.—Sec12 tion 118 is amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘may’’ and in14 serting ‘‘shall, subject to the availability of funds

15 under subsection (d),’’;

16 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘National’’ and

17 all that follows through ‘‘Labor’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec18 retary’’;

19 (3) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘hazmat em20 ployee’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’; and

21 (4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the

22 following:

23 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro24 priated to the Secretary to carry out this section
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1 $3,000,000 per fiscal year for each of fiscal years 1995,

2 1996, 1997, and 1998.’’.

3 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 117A(h)

4 is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (2)(H) by striking ‘‘and sec6 tion 118’’;

7 (2) in paragraph (6)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘and sec8 tion 118’’; and

9 (3) in paragraph (6)(B)(iii) by striking ‘‘and

10 section 118’’.

11 SEC. 6. COMPUTERIZED TELECOMMUNICATION DATA CEN12 TER PILOT PROJECTS.

13 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Transportation may

14 make grants to 1 or more persons, including a State or

15 local government or department, agency, or instrumental16 ity thereof, to carry out a pilot project to demonstrate the

17 feasibility of establishing and operating computerized tele18 communications emergency response information tech19 nologies that are used—

20 (1) to identify the contents of shipments of haz21 ardous materials transported by motor carriers;

22 (2) to permit retrieval of data on shipments of

23 hazardous materials transported by motor carriers;

24 (3) to link systems that identify, store, and

25 allow the retrieval of data for emergency response to
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1 incidents and accidents involving transportation of

2 hazardous materials by motor carrier; and

3 (4) to provide information to facilitate re4 sponses to accidents and incidents involving hazard5 ous materials shipments by motor carriers either di6 rectly or through linkage with other systems.

7 (b) SELECTION OF CARRIERS.—The pilot project to

8 be carried out under this section must involve 2 or more

9 motor carriers of property. One of the motor carriers se10 lected to participate in the project must be a carrier that

11 transports mostly hazardous materials. The other motor

12 carrier selected must be a regular-route common carrier

13 that specializes in transporting less than truck-load ship14 ments. The motor carriers selected may be engaged in

15 multimodal movements of hazardous materials with other

16 motor carriers, rail carriers, or water carriers.

17 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may

18 impose such terms and conditions on grants to be made

19 under this section as the Secretary determines are nec20 essary to protect the interests of the United States and

21 to carry out the objectives of this section.

22 (d) COORDINATION.—To the maximum extent prac23 ticable, the Secretary of Transportation shall coordinate

24 a pilot project to be carried out under this section with

25 any existing Federal, State, and local government projects
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1 and private projects which are similar to the pilot project

2 to be carried out under this section. The Secretary may

3 require that a pilot project under this section be carried

4 out in conjunction with such similar Federal, State, and

5 local government projects and private projects.

6 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost

7 of a pilot project carried out under this section shall be

8 100 percent, unless the grantee selected to carry out such

9 project agrees to a lower Federal share.

10 (f) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 1997, the

11 Secretary of Transportation shall transmit to Congress a

12 report on the results of pilot projects carried out under

13 this section.

14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

16 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 and 1996. Such

17 sums shall remain available until expended.

18 SEC. 7. STUDY OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRANSPOR19 TATION BY MOTOR CARRIERS NEAR FED20 ERAL PRISONS.

21 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

22 conduct a study to determine the safety considerations of

23 transporting hazardous materials by motor carriers in

24 close proximity to Federal prisons, particularly those hous25 ing maximum security prisoners. Such study shall include
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1 an evaluation of the ability of such facilities and the des2 ignated local planning agencies to safely evacuate such

3 prisoners in the event of an emergency and any special

4 training, equipment, or personnel that would be required

5 by such facility and the designated local emergency plan6 ning agencies to carry out such evacuation. Such study

7 shall not apply to or address issues concerning rail trans8 portation of hazardous materials.

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor11 tation shall transmit to Congress a report on the results

12 of the study conducted under this section, along with the

13 Secretary’s recommendations for any legislative or regu14 latory changes to enhance the safety regarding the trans15 portation of hazardous materials by motor carriers near

16 Federal prisons.

17 SEC. 8. USE OF FIBRE DRUM PACKAGING.

18 (a) INITIATION OF RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—Not

19 later than the 60th day following the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall

21 initiate a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether the

22 requirements of section 105(a) of the Hazardous Materials

23 Transportation Act as they pertain to openhead fiber

24 drum packaging can be met for the domestic transpor25 tation of liquid hazardous materials (with respect to those
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1 classifications of liquid hazardous materials transported

2 by such drums pursuant to regulations in effect on Sep3 tember 30, 1991) with standards other than the perform4 ance oriented packaging standards adopted under docket

5 number HM–181 contained in part 178 of title 49, Code

6 of Federal Regulations.

7 (b) ISSUANCE OF STANDARDS.—If the Secretary of

8 Transportation determines, as a result of the rulemaking

9 proceeding initiated under subsection (a), that a packag10 ing standard other than the performance oriented packag11 ing standards referred to in subsection (a) will provide an

12 equal or greater level of safety for the domestic transpor13 tation of liquid hazardous materials than would be pro14 vided if such performance oriented packaging standards

15 were in effect, the Secretary shall issue regulations which

16 implement such other standard and which take effect be17 fore October 1, 1996.

18 (c) COMPLETION OF RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—

19 The rulemaking proceeding initiated under subsection (a)

20 shall be completed before October 1, 1995.

21 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

22 (1) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.—The pro23 visions of subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall not

24 apply to packaging for those hazardous materials

25 regulated by the Department of Transportation as
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1 poisonous by inhalation under the Hazardous Mate2 rials Transportation Act.

3 (2) LIMITATION OF STATUTORY CONSTRUC4 TION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to

5 prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from issu6 ing or enforcing regulations for the international

7 transportation of hazardous materials.

8 SEC. 9. BUY AMERICA.

9 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.—None

10 of the funds made available under this Act may be ex11 pended in violation of sections 2 through 4 of the Act of

12 March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a–10c; popularly known as

13 the ‘‘Buy American Act’’), which are applicable to those

14 funds.

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS; REQUIREMENT REGARD16 ING NOTICE.—

17 (1) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT

18 AND PRODUCTS.—In the case of any equipment or

19 products that may be authorized to be purchased

20 with financial assistance provided under this Act, it

21 is the sense of Congress that entities receiving such

22 assistance should, in expending such assistance, pur23 chase only American-made equipment and products.

24 (2) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—

25 In providing financial assistance under this Act, the
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1 Secretary of Transportation shall provide to each re2 cipient of the assistance a notice describing the

3 statement made in paragraph (1) by Congress.

4 (c) PROHIBITION OF CONTRACTS.—If it has been fi5 nally determined by a court or Federal agency that any

6 person intentionally affixed a label bearing a ‘‘Made In

7 America’’ inscription, or any inscription with the same

8 meaning, to any product sold in or shipped to the United

9 States that is not made in the United States, such person

10 shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract

11 made with funds provided pursuant to this Act, pursuant

12 to the debarment, suspension, and ineligibility procedures

13 described in sections 9.400 through 9.409 of title 48, Code

14 of Federal Regulations.

15 (d) RECIPROCITY.—

16 (1) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided in

17 paragraph (2), no contract or subcontract may be

18 made with funds authorized under this Act to a

19 company organized under the laws of a foreign coun20 try unless the Secretary of Transportation finds that

21 such country affords comparable opportunities to

22 companies organized under laws of the United

23 States.

24 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—
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1 (A) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary

2 of Transportation may waive the provisions of

3 paragraph (1) if the products or services re4 quired are not reasonably available from compa5 nies organized under the laws of the United

6 States. Any such waiver shall be reported to

7 Congress.

8 (B) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.—

9 Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the extent that

10 to do so would violate the General Agreement

11 on Tariffs and Trade or any other international

12 agreement to which the United States is a

13 party.

14 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

15 (a) PACKAGING.—

16 (1) Sections 103(5)(B), 103(6)(A)(iii), and

17 109(c) (49 U.S.C. App. 1802(5)(B), 1802(6)(A)(iii),

18 1808(c)) are each amended by striking ‘‘packages’’

19 and inserting ‘‘packaging’’.

20 (2) Sections 105(a)(3), 105(a)(4)(B)(v),

21 110(a)(1), and 120 (49 U.S.C. App. 1804(a)(3),

22 1804(a)(4)(B)(v), 1809(a)(1), 1818) are each

23 amended by striking ‘‘a package or container’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘packaging and a container’’.
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1 (3) Section 106(c)(1)(B) (49 U.S.C. App.

2 1805(c)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘a bulk pack3 age’’ and inserting ‘‘bulk packaging’’ and by striking

4 ‘‘the package’’ and inserting ‘‘the bulk packaging’’.

5 (b) OTHER.—Section 105(a)(3) (49 U.S.C. App.

6 1804(a)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘hazardous mate7 rials’’ after ‘‘shipped’’ and section 105(e)(1) (49 U.S.C

8 App. 1804(e)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or a compo9 nent of a container or package,’’ after ‘‘package’’.

Passed the House of Representatives November 21,

1993.

Attest:

Clerk.

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