Chemical Safety Information, Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act
PL 106-40 (S.880), enacted 08/05/1999

PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
113 STAT. 207 
Public Law 106-40 
106th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Clean Air Act to remove flammable luels from the list of substances 
with respect to which reporting and other activities are required under the risk 
management plan program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the "Chemical Safety Information, 
Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act". 
SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF PROPANE SOLD BY RETAILERS AND OTHER 
FLAMMABLE FUELS FROM RISK MANAGEMENT LIST. 
Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (C) of para-
graph (4) as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, and indenting 
appropriately; 
(2) by striking in paragraph (4) "Administrator shall con-
sider each of the following criteria—" and inserting the fol-
lowing: "Administrator— 
"(A) shall consider—"; 
(3) in subparagraph (A)(iii) (as designated by paragraphs 
(1) and (2)), of paragraph (4) by striking the period at the 
end and inserting "; and"; 
(4) by adding at the end of paragraph (4) the following: 
"(B) shall not list a flammable substance when used 
as a fuel or held for sale as a fuel at a retail facility 
under this subsection solely because of the explosive or 
flammable 
properties of the substance, unless a fire or 
explosion caused by the substance will result in acute 
adverse health effects from human exposure to the sub-
stance, including the unburned fuel or its combustion 
byproducts, other than those caused by the heat of the 
fire or impact of the explosion."; and 
(5) by inserting the following new subparagraph at the 
end of paragraph (2): 
"(D) The term 'retail facility' means a stationary source 
at which more than one-half of the income is obtained 
from direct sales to end users or at which more than 
one-half of the fuel sold, by volume, is sold through a 
cylinder exchange program.". 
Aug. 5, 1999 
[S. 880] 
Chemical Sedety 
Information, Site 
Security and 
Fuels Regulatory 
Relief Act. 
42 u s e 7401 
note. 
113 STAT. 208 
PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
SEC. 3. PUBUC ACCESS 
TO OFF-SITE 
CONSEQUENCE 
ANALYSIS 
INFORMATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air Act (42 
U.S.C. 7412(r)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
"(H) PUBLIC ACCESS TO OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANAL-
YSIS INFORMATION.— 
"(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subparagraph: 
"(I) COVERED PERSON.—The term 'covered per-
son' means— 
"(aa) an officer or employee of the United 
States; 
"(bb) an officer or employee of an agent 
or contractor of the Federal Government; 
) 
"(cc) an officer or employee of a State or 
local government; 
"(dd) an officer or employee of an agent 
or contractor of a State or local government; 
"(ee) an individual affiliated with an entity 
that has been given, by a State or local govern-
ment, responsibility for preventing, planning 
for, or responding to accidental releases; 
"(fD an officer or employee or an agent 
or contractor of an entity described in item 
(ee); and 
"(gg) a qualified researcher under clause 
(vii). 
"(II) OFFICIAL USE.—The term 'official use' 
means an action of a Federal, State, or local 
government agency or an entity referred to in sub-
clause (I)(ee) intended to carry out a function rel-
evant to preventing, planning for, or responding 
to accidental releases. 
"(Ill) 
OFF-SITE 
CONSEQUENCE 
ANALYSIS 
INFORMATION.—^The 
term 
'off-site 
consequence 
analysis information' means those portions of a 
risk management plan, excluding the executive 
summary of the plan, consisting of an evaluation 
of 1 or more worst-case release scenarios or alter-
native release scenarios, and any electronic data 
base created by the Administrator from those por-
tions. 
"(IV) RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN.—^The term 'risk 
management plan' means a risk management plan 
submitted to the Administrator by an owner or 
operator of a stationary source under subpara-
graph (B)(iii). 
Deadline. 
"(ii) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 
President. 
the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Presi-
dent shall— 
"(I) assess— 
"(aa) the increased risk of terrorist and 
other criminal activity associated with the 
posting 
of 
off-site 
consequence 
analysis 
information on the Internet; and 
"(bb) the incentives created by public 
disclosure of off-site 
consequence 
analysis 
PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
113 STAT. 209 
information for reduction in the risk of acci-
dental releases; and 
"(11) based on the assessment under subclause 
(I), promulgate regulations governing the distribu-
tion of off-site consequence analysis information 
in a manner that, in the opinion of the President, 
minimizes the likelihood of accidental releases and 
the risk described in subclause (I)(aa) and the 
likelihood of harm to public health and welfare, 
and— 
"(aa) allows access by any member of the 
public to paper copies of off-site consequence 
analysis information for a limited number of 
stationary sources located anywhere in the 
United 
States, 
without any geographical 
restriction; 
"(bb) allows other public access to off-site 
consequence analysis information as appro-
priate; 
"(cc) allows access for official use by a 
covered person described in any of items (cc) 
through (ff) of clause (i)(I) (referred to in this 
subclause as a 'State or local covered person') 
to off-site consequence analysis information 
relating to stationary sources located in the 
person's Statt; 
"(dd) allows a State or local covered person 
to provide, for official use, off-site consequence 
analysis information relating to stationary 
sources located in the person's State to a State 
or local covered person in a contiguous State; 
and 
"(ee) allows a State or local covered person 
to obtain for official use, by request to the 
Administrator, off-site consequence analysis 
information that is not available to the person 
under item (cc). 
"(iii) AVAILABILITY UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMA-
TION ACT.— 
"(I) FIRST YEAR.—Off-site consequence analysis 
information, and any ranking of stationary sources 
derived from the information, shall not be made 
available under section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code, during the 1-year period beginning on the 
date of enactment of this subparagraph. 
"(II) AFTER FIRST YEAR.—If the regulations 
under clause (ii) are promulgated on or before 
the end of the period described in subclause (I), 
off-site consequence analysis information covered 
by the regulations, and any ranking of stationary 
sources derived from the information, shall not 
be made available under section 552 of title 5, 
United States Code, after the end of that period. 
"(Ill) APPLICABILITY.—Subclauses (I) and (II) 
apply to off-site consequence analysis information 
submitted to the Administrator before, on, or after 
the date of enactment of this subparagraph. 
113 STAT. 210 
PUBLIC LAW 10&-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
Effective date. 
Notification. 
"(iv) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION DURING TRANSI-
TION PERIOD.—^The Administrator shall make off-site 
consequence analysis information available to covered 
persons for official use in a manner that meets the 
requirements of items (cc) through (ee) of clause (ii)(II), 
and to the public in a form that does not make avail-
able any information concerning the identity or location 
of stationary sources, during the period— 
"(I) beginning on the date of enactment of 
this subparagraph; and 
"(11) ending on the earlier of the date of 
promulgation of the regulations under clause (ii) 
or the date that is 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this subparagraph, 
"(v) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE 
OF INFORMATION BY COVERED PERSONS.— 
"(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of 
enactment of this subparagraph, a covered person 
shall not disclose to the public off-site consequence 
analysis information in any form, or any statewide 
or national ranking of identified stationary sources 
derived fi*om such information, except as author-
ized by this subparagraph (including the regula-
tions promulgated under clause (ii)). After the end 
of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enact-
ment of this subparagraph, if regulations have 
not been promulgated under clause (ii), the pre-
ceding sentence shall not apply. 
"(II) 
CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Notwithstanding 
section 113, a covered person that willfully violates 
a restriction or prohibition established by this 
subparagraph (including the regulations promul-
gated under clause (ii)) shall, upon conviction, be 
fined for an infraction under section 3571 of title 
18, United States Code, (but shall not be subject 
to imprisonment) for each unauthorized disclosure 
of off-site consequence analysis information, except 
that subsection (d) of such section 3571 shall not 
apply to a case in which the offense results in 
pecuniary loss unless the defendant knew that 
such loss would occur. The disclosure of off-site 
consequence analysis information for each specific 
stationary source shall be considered a separate 
offense. The total of all penalties that may be 
imposed on a single person or organization under 
this item shall not exceed $1,000,000 for violations 
committed during any 1 calendar year. 
"(Ill) APPLICABILITY.—If the owner or operator 
of a stationary source makes off-site consequence 
analysis information relating to that stationary 
source available to the public without restriction— 
"(aa) subclauses (I) and (II) shall not apply 
with respect to the information; and 
"(bb) the owner or operator shall notify 
the Administrator of the public availability 
of the information. 
PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
113 STAT. 211 
"(IV) LIST.—The Administrator shall maintain 
and make publicly available a list of all stationary 
sources that have provided notification under sub-
clause (III)(bb). 
"(vi) NOTICE.—^The Administrator shall provide 
notice of the definition of official use as provided in 
clause (iXIII) and examples of actions that would and 
would not meet that definition, and notice of the 
restrictions on further dissemination and the penalties 
established by this Act to each covered person who 
receives 
off-site 
consequence analysis 
information 
under clause (iv) and each covered person who receives 
off-site consequence analysis information for an official 
use under the regulations promulgated imder clause 
(ii). 
"(vii) QUALIFIED RESEARCHERS.— 
"(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days Deadline, 
after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, 
the 
Administrator, 
in 
consultation 
with 
the 
Attorney General, shall develop and implement 
a system for providing off-site consequence anal-
ysis information, including facility identification, 
to any qualified researcher, including a qualified 
researcher from industry or any public interest 
group. 
"(II) 
LIMITATION 
ON 
DISSEMINATION.—The 
system shall not allow the researcher to dis-
seminate, or make available on the Internet, the 
off-site consequence analysis information, or any 
portion 
of the 
off-site 
consequence 
analysis 
information, received under this clause, 
"(viii) 
READ-ONLY 
INFORMATION 
TECHNOLOGY 
SYSTEM.—In consultation with the Attorney General 
and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 
the Administrator shall establish an information tech-
nology system that provides for the availability to the 
public of off-site consequence analysis information by 
means of a central data base under the control of 
the Federal Government that contains information that 
users may read, but that provides no means by which 
an electronic or mechanical copy of the information 
may be made. 
"(ix) VOLUNTARY INDUSTRY ACCIDENT PREVENTION 
STANDARDS.—^The Environmental Protection Agency, 
the Department of Justice, and other appropriate agen-
cies may provide technical assistance to owners and 
operators of stationary sources and participate in the 
development of voluntary industry standards that will 
help achieve the objectives set forth in paragraph (1). 
"(x) EFFECT ON STATE OR LOCAL LAW.— 
"(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subclause (II), 
this 
subparagraph 
(including 
the 
regulations 
promulgated under this subparagraph) shall super-
sede any provision of State or local law that is 
inconsistent with this subparagraph (including the 
regulations). 
113 STAT. 212 
PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
Deadline. 
Deadline. 
"(11) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION UNDER 
STATE LAW.—^Nothing in this subparagraph pre-
cludes a State from making available data on the 
off-site consequences of chemical releases collected 
in accordance with State law. 
"(xi) REPORT.— 
"(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
Attorney General, in consultation with appropriate 
State, local, and Federal Government agencies, 
affected industry, and the public, shall submit to 
Congress a report that describes the extent to 
which regulations promulgated under this para-
graph have resulted in actions, including the 
design and maintenance of safe facilities, that are 
effective in detecting, preventing, and minimizing 
the consequences of releases of regulated sub-
stances that may be caused by criminal activity. 
As part of this report, the Attorney General, using 
available data to the extent possible, and a sam-
pling of covered stationary sources selected at the 
discretion of the Attorney General, and in consulta-
tion with appropriate State, local, and Federal 
governmental agencies, affected industry, and the 
public, shall review the vulnerability of covered 
stationary 
sources 
to 
criminal 
and 
terrorist 
activity, current industry practices regarding site 
security, and security of transportation of regu-
lated substances. The Attorney General shall 
submit this report, containing the results of the 
review, together with recommendations, if any, for 
reducing 
vulnerability 
of 
covered 
stationary 
sources to criminal and terrorist activity, to the 
Committee on Commerce of the United States 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works of the United 
States Senate and other relevant committees of 
Congress. 
"(II) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 12 
months after the date of enactment of this 
subparagraph, the Attorney Greneral shall submit 
to the Committee on Commerce of the United 
States House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 
United States Senate, and other relevant commit-
tees of Congress, an interim report that includes, 
at a minimum— 
"(aa) the preliminary findings under sub-
clause (I); 
"(bb) the methods used to develop the 
findings; and 
"(cc) an explanation 
of the 
activities 
expected to occur that could cause the findings 
of the report under subclause (I) to be different 
than the preliminary findings. 
PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
113 STAT. 213 
42 use 7412 
note. 
"(Ill) 
AVAILABILITY 
OF 
INFORMATION.— 
Information that is developed by the Attorney Gren-
eral or requested by the Attorney General and 
received from a covered stationary source for the 
purpose of conducting the review under subclauses 
(I) and (II) shall be exempt from disclosure under 
section 552 of title 5, United States Code, if such 
information would pose a threat to national secu-
rity, 
"(xii) SCOPE.—This subparagraph— 
"(I) applies only to covered persons; and 
"(II) does not restrict the dissemination of off-
site consequence analysis information by any cov-
ered person in any manner or form except in the 
form of a risk management plan or an electronic 
data base created by the Administrator from off-
site consequence analysis information, 
"(xiii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—^There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
and the Attorney General such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this subparagraph (including the regula-
tions promulgated under clause (ii)), to remain avail-
able until expended.". 
(b) REPORTS.— 
(1) DEFINITION OF ACCIDENTAL RELEASE.—In this sub-
section, the term "accidental release" has the meaning given 
the term in section 112(r)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7412(r)(2)). 
(2) REPORT ON STATUS OF CERTAIN AMENDMENTS.—Not later Deadline 
than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller (jeneral of the United States shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the status of the development of amendments 
to the National Fire Protection Association Code for Liquefied 
Petroleum Gas that will result in the provision of information 
to local emergency response personnel concerning the off-site 
effects of accidental releases of substances exempted from 
listing under section 112(r)(4)(B) of the Clean Air Act (as added 
by section 3). 
(3) REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN INFORMATION 
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to CJongress a report that— 
(A) describes the level of compliance with Federal and 
State requirements relating to the submission to local 
emergency response personnel of information intended to 
help the local emergency response personnel respond to 
chemical accidents or related environmental or public 
health threats; and 
(B) contains an analysis of the adequacy of the informa-
tion required to be submitted and the efficacy of the 
methods for delivering the information to local emergency 
response personnel. 
(c) 
REEVALUATION OF REGULATIONS.—The President 
shall 
reevaluate the regulations promulgated under this section within 
6 years after the enactment of this Act. If the President determines 
not to modify such regulations, the President shall publish a notice 
in the Federal Register stating that such reevaluation has been 
Deadline. 
President. 
Deadline. 
42 use 7412 
note. 
113 STAT. 214 
PUBLIC LAW 106-40—AUG. 5, 1999 
42 u s e 7412 
note. 
Deadline. 
Certification. 
completed and that a determination has been made not to modify 
the regulations. Such notice shall include an explanation of the 
basis of such decision. 
SEC. 4. PUBUC MEETING DURING MORATORIUM PERIOD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—^Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, each owner or operator of a stationary 
source covered by section 112(r)(7)(B)(ii) of the Clean Air Act shall 
convene a public meeting, after reasonable public notice, in order 
to describe and discuss the local implications of the risk manage-
ment plan submitted by the stationary source pursuant to section 
112(r)(7)(B)(iii) of the Clean Air Act, including a summary of the 
off-site consequence analysis portion of the plan. Two or more 
stationary sources may conduct a joint meeting. In lieu of conducting 
such a meeting, small business stationary sources as defined in 
section 507(c)(1) of the Clean Air Act may comply with this section 
by publicly posting a summary of the off-site consequence analysis 
information for their facility not later than 180 days afler the 
enactment of this Act. Not later than 10 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, each such owner or operator shall send 
a certification to the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
stating that such meeting has been held, or that such summary 
has been posted, within 1 year prior to, or within 6 months after, 
the date of the enactment of this Act. This section shall not apply 
to sources that employ only Program 1 processes within the meaning 
of regulations promulgated under section 112(r)(7)(B)(i) of the Clean 
Air Act. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency may bring an action in the appropriate United 
States district court against any person who fails or refuses to 
comply with the requirements of this section, and such court may 
issue such orders, and take such other actions, as may be necessary 
to require compliance with such requirements. 
Approved Aug. 5, 1999. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY-^. 880: 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-70 (Comm. on Environment and Public Works). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 145 (1999): 
June 23, considered and passed Senate. 
July 21, considered and passed House, amended. 
Aug. 2, Senate concurred in House amendments.