retary under this title, of not more than $50,000 for 
each day on which a violation occurs or a failure to 
comply continues. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
PENALTIES.—The Sec-
retary may award an administrative penalty, pursu-
ant to an order issued under this title, of not more 
than $25,000 for each day on which a violation oc-
curs or a failure to comply continues. 
‘‘SEC. 2108. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish and provide information to the public regarding a 
process by which any person may submit a report to the 
Secretary 
regarding 
problems, 
deficiencies, 
or 
vulnerabilities at a covered chemical facility associated 
with the risk of a chemical facility terrorist incident. 
‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall keep 
confidential the identity of a person that submits a report 
under subsection (a) and any such report shall be treated 
as protected information under section 2110 to the extent 
that it does not consist of publicly available information. 
‘‘(c) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT.—If a report 
submitted under subsection (a) identifies the person sub-
mitting the report, the Secretary shall respond promptly 
to such person to acknowledge receipt of the report. 
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‘‘(d) STEPS
TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS.—The Sec-
retary shall review and consider the information provided 
in any report submitted under subsection (a) and shall, 
as necessary, take appropriate steps under this title to ad-
dress any problem, deficiency, or vulnerability identified 
in the report. 
‘‘(e) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—No owner or operator of a 
covered chemical facility, profit or not-for-profit cor-
poration, association, or any contractor, subcon-
tractor or agent thereof, may discharge any em-
ployee or otherwise discriminate against any em-
ployee with respect to his compensation, terms, con-
ditions, or other privileges of employment because 
the employee (or any person acting pursuant to a re-
quest of the employee)— 
‘‘(A) notified the Secretary, the owner or 
operator of a covered chemical facility, or the 
employee’s employer of an alleged violation of 
this title, including communications related to 
carrying out the employee’s job duties; 
‘‘(B) refused to engage in any practice 
made unlawful by this title, if the employee has 
identified the alleged illegality to the employer; 
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‘‘(C) testified before or otherwise provided 
information relevant for Congress or for any 
Federal or State proceeding regarding any pro-
vision (or proposed provision) of this title; 
‘‘(D) commenced, caused to be commenced, 
or is about to commence or cause to be com-
menced a proceeding under this title; 
‘‘(E) testified or is about to testify in any 
such proceeding; or 
‘‘(F) assisted or participated or is about to 
assist or participate in any manner in such a 
proceeding or in any other manner in such a 
proceeding or in any other action to carry out 
the purposes of this title. 
‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT
ACTION.—Any employee 
covered by this section who alleges discrimination by 
an employer in violation of paragraph (1) may bring 
an action governed by the rules and procedures, 
legal burdens of proof, and remedies applicable 
under subsections (d) through (h) of section 20109 
of title 49, United States Code. A party may seek 
district court review as set forth in subsection (d)(4) 
of such section not later than 90 days after receiving 
a written final determination by the Secretary of 
Labor. 
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‘‘(3) PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES AF-
FECTING THE DEPARTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, any individual holding or 
applying for a position within the Department 
shall be covered by— 
‘‘(i) paragraphs (1), (8), and (9) of 
section 2302(b) of title 5, United States 
Code; 
‘‘(ii) any provision of law imple-
menting any of such paragraphs by pro-
viding any right or remedy available to an 
employee or applicant for employment in 
the civil service; and 
‘‘(iii) any rule or regulation prescribed 
under any such paragraph. 
‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph shall be construed to affect 
any rights, apart from those referred to in sub-
paragraph (A), to which an individual described 
in that subparagraph might otherwise be enti-
tled to under law. 
‘‘SEC. 2109. FEDERAL PREEMPTION. 
‘‘This title does not preclude or deny any right of any 
State or political subdivision thereof to adopt or enforce 
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any regulation, requirement, or standard of performance 
with respect to a covered chemical facility that is more 
stringent than a regulation, requirement, or standard of 
performance issued under this title, or otherwise impair 
any right or jurisdiction of any State or political subdivi-
sion thereof with respect to covered chemical facilities 
within that State or political subdivision thereof. 
‘‘SEC. 2110. PROTECTION OF INFORMATION. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF PRO-
TECTED INFORMATION.—Protected information, as de-
scribed in subsection (g), that is provided to the Depart-
ment by the owner or operator of a covered chemical facil-
ity or created by the Department under the requirements 
of this title— 
‘‘(1) is exempt from disclosure under section 
552 of title 5, United States Code; and 
‘‘(2) may not be made available pursuant to 
any State or local law requiring disclosure of infor-
mation or records. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Secretary shall 
facilitate and provide standards for the appropriate shar-
ing of protected information with and between Federal, 
State, local, and tribal governments, emergency response 
providers, law enforcement officials, designated super-
visory and non-supervisory covered chemical facility per-
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sonnel with security, operational, or fiduciary responsi-
bility for the facility, and designated facility employee rep-
resentatives, if any. 
‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF INFORMATION IN ADJUDICA-
TIVE PROCEEDINGS.—In a proceeding under this title, 
protected information described in subsection (g), or re-
lated vulnerability or security information, shall be treated 
in any judicial or administrative action in a manner con-
sistent with the treatment of sensitive security information 
under section 525 of the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 109–295; 120 
Stat. 1321). 
‘‘(d) OTHER OBLIGATIONS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing 
in this section affects any obligation of the owner or oper-
ator of a chemical facility under any other law to submit 
or make available information required by such other law 
to facility employees, employee organizations, or a Fed-
eral, State, tribal, or local government. 
‘‘(e) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO CONGRESS.— 
Nothing in this title shall permit or authorize the with-
holding of information from Congress or any committee 
or subcommittee thereof. 
‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE OF INDEPENDENTLY FURNISHED 
INFORMATION.—Nothing in this title shall affect any au-
thority or obligation of a Federal, State, or local agency 
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to protect or disclose any record or information that the 
Federal, State, or local government agency obtains from 
a chemical facility under any other law. 
‘‘(g) PROTECTED INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, 
protected information is the following: 
‘‘(A) Security vulnerability assessments 
and site security plans submitted to the Sec-
retary under this title. 
‘‘(B) Portions of the following documents, 
records, orders, notices, or letters that the Sec-
retary determines would be detrimental to 
chemical facility security if disclosed and that 
are developed by the Secretary or the owner or 
operator of a covered chemical facility exclu-
sively for the purposes of this title: 
‘‘(i) Documents directly related to the 
Secretary’s review and approval or dis-
approval of vulnerability assessments and 
site security plans under this title. 
‘‘(ii) Documents directly related to in-
spections and audits under this title. 
‘‘(iii) Orders, notices, or letters re-
garding the compliance of a covered chem-
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ical facility with the requirements of this 
title. 
‘‘(iv) Information provided to or cre-
ated by the Secretary under section sub-
section (b) or (c) of section 2102. 
‘‘(C) Other information developed exclu-
sively for the purposes of this title that the Sec-
retary determines, if disclosed, would be detri-
mental to chemical facility security. 
‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, protected information does not include— 
‘‘(A) information that is otherwise publicly 
available, including information that is required 
to be made publicly available under any law; 
‘‘(B) information that a chemical facility 
has lawfully disclosed other than in accordance 
with this title; or 
‘‘(C) information that, if disclosed, would 
not be detrimental to the security of a chemical 
facility, including aggregate regulatory data 
that the Secretary determines is appropriate to 
describe facility compliance with the require-
ments of this title and the Secretary’s imple-
mentation of such requirements. 
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‘‘SEC. 2111. METHODS TO REDUCE THE CONSEQUENCES OF 
A TERRORIST ATTACK. 
‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The owner or oper-
ator of a covered chemical facility shall include in the site 
security plan conducted pursuant to section 2103, an as-
sessment of methods to reduce the consequences of a ter-
rorist attack on that chemical facility, including— 
‘‘(1) a description of the methods to reduce the 
consequences of a terrorist attack assessed by the 
covered chemical facility; 
‘‘(2) the degree to which each method to reduce 
the consequences of a terrorist attack could, if ap-
plied, reduce the potential extent of death, injury, or 
serious adverse effects to human health resulting 
from a terrorist release; 
‘‘(3) the technical viability, costs, avoided costs 
(including liabilities), savings, and applicability of 
implementing each method to reduce the con-
sequences of a terrorist attack; and 
‘‘(4) any other information that the owner or 
operator of the covered chemical facility considered 
in conducting the assessment. 
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The owner or oper-
ator of a covered chemical facility assigned to tier 1 
or tier 2 that is required to conduct an assessment 
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under subsection (a) shall implement methods to re-
duce the consequences of a terrorist attack on the 
chemical facility if the Secretary determines, based 
on an assessment in subsection (a), that the imple-
mentation of such methods at the facility— 
‘‘(A) would significantly reduce the risk of 
death, injury, or serious adverse effects to 
human health resulting from a chemical facility 
terrorist incident but would not increase the in-
terim storage of a substance of concern outside 
the facility or directly result in the creation of 
a new covered chemical facility assigned to tier 
1 or tier 2 or the elevation of an existing cov-
ered chemical facility to tier 1 or tier 2; 
‘‘(B) can feasibly be incorporated into the 
operation of the covered chemical facility; and 
‘‘(C) would not significantly and demon-
strably impair the ability of the owner or oper-
ator of the covered chemical facility to continue 
the business of the facility at its location. 
‘‘(2) REVIEW OF INABILITY TO COMPLY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An owner or operator 
of a covered chemical facility who is unable to 
comply with the Secretary’s determination 
under paragraph (1) shall, within 60 days of re-
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ceipt of the Secretary’s determination, provide 
to the Secretary a written explanation that in-
cludes the reasons therefor. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days 
after the receipt of an explanation submitted 
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, after 
consulting with the owner or operator of the 
covered chemical facility who submitted such 
explanation, shall provide to the owner or oper-
ator a written determination of whether imple-
mentation shall be required pursuant to para-
graph (1). If the Secretary determines that im-
plementation is required, the facility shall be re-
quired to begin implementation within 180 days 
of that determination. 
‘‘(c) PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON ALTERNATIVE 
APPROACHES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
available information to chemical facilities on the use 
and availability of methods to reduce the con-
sequences of a chemical facility terrorist incident. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.—The in-
formation under paragraph (1) may include informa-
tion about— 
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‘‘(H) the administrative penalties assessed 
by the Secretary for non-compliance with the 
requirements of this title; 
‘‘(I) the civil penalties assessed by the 
court for non-compliance with the requirements 
of this title; and 
‘‘(J) any other regulatory data the Sec-
retary deems appropriate to describe facility 
compliance with the requirements of this title 
and the Secretary’s implementation of such re-
quirements. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—A report submitted 
under this section shall be made publicly available. 
‘‘SEC. 2118. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security to carry out this title— 
‘‘(1) $325,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of 
which $100,000,000 shall be made available to pro-
vide funding for methods to reduce the consequences 
of a terrorist attack; 
‘‘(2) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, of 
which $75,000,000 shall be made available to pro-
vide funding for methods to reduce the consequences 
of a terrorist attack; and 
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