109 HR 2567 RH: Antifreeze Bittering Act of U.S. House of Representatives 2006-12-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IB Union Calendar No. 433 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 2567 [Report No. 109–730, Part I] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 24, 2005 Mr. Ackerman (for himself, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mrs. Wilson of New Mexico, Mr. Upton, Mrs. Bono, and Mr. Tanner) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce December 8, 2006 Additional sponsors: Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Case, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Olver, Mr. Platts, Mr. Etheridge, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Sessions, Ms. Harman, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Calvert, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mrs. McCarthy, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Shays, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Evans, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Simmons, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. LaHood, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Everett, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Rothman, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Foley, Mrs. Northup, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wu, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Towns, Mr. Ross, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Engel, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Campbell of California, Mr. Castle, Mr. Ehlers, Mrs. Lowey, Mrs. Schmidt, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Kline, Mr. Baird, Mr. Weller, and Mr. Neal of Massachusetts Deleted sponsors: Mr. George Miller of California (added June 13, 2005; deleted July 27, 2005), Mr. Farr (added June 15, 2005; deleted June 23, 2005), Mr. Gene Green of Texas (added June 28, 2005; deleted September 13, 2005), Ms. Schakowsky (added June 28, 2005; deleted July 12, 2005), and Ms. Baldwin (added January 31, 2006; deleted May 17, 2006) December 8, 2006 Reported with an amendment and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary for a period ending not later than December 8, 2006, for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(l), rule X. Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for a period ending not later than December 8, 2006, for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(r), rule X Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic December 8, 2006 Committees on the Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 24, 2005 A BILL To amend the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require engine coolant and antifreeze to contain a bittering agent so as to render it unpalatable.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Antifreeze Bittering Act of 2006.

2.

Addition of bittering agent in antifreeze required

The Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 1278) the following new section:

25.

Addition of bittering agent in antifreeze required

(a)

Bittering agent

(1)

Environmental evaluation required

(A)

In general

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall commence an evaluation, in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency and appropriate State health and environmental officials in those States that, as of the date of enactment of this section, have enacted laws requiring a bittering agent in engine coolant or antifreeze, to determine whether there is evidence that the use of the bittering agent denatonium benzoate in engine coolant or antifreeze has an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment. (B)

Certain tests prohibited

The evaluation required under subparagraph (A) may not include any new animal or human testing. (C)

Required date of completion

The Commission shall complete the evaluation within 180 days after the date of enactment of this section and publish its findings in the Federal Register. (2)

Use of bittering agent

(A)

General requirement

Unless the Commission, in its evaluation under paragraph (1), finds there is evidence of an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment, any engine coolant or antifreeze that is manufactured on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of publication of the Commission’s finding in the Federal Register pursuant to paragraph (1)(C), and that contains more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, shall include not less than 30 parts per million, and not more than 50 parts per million, denatonium benzoate as a bittering agent in order to render the coolant or antifreeze unpalatable. (B)

Alternative agent

If the inclusion of denatonium benzoate in engine coolant or antifreeze is required under subparagraph (A) and the Commission finds that— (i)an alternative bittering agent is as effective as denatonium benzoate in rendering coolant or antifreeze unpalatable in terms of both its bittering capacity and its compatibility with motor vehicle engine coolant and antifreeze, and (ii)in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency, there is no evidence that the use of the alternative bittering agent has an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment, the Commission may initiate a rulemaking to permit the use of the alternative bittering agent in lieu of denatonium benzoate.(3)

Unreasonable adverse effect on the environment defined

As used in this subsection, the term unreasonable adverse effect on the environment means an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits. (4)

Failure to comply

Any engine coolant or antifreeze that is required to contain a bittering agent under paragraph (2) that is not in compliance with that paragraph shall be considered to be a banned hazardous substance within the meaning of section 2(q) (15 U.S.C. 1261(q)), and shall be subject to the penalties provided for in section 5 (15 U.S.C. 1264). (b)

Record keeping

(1)

Name and active ingredient

A manufacturer of an engine coolant or antifreeze that is required to contain a bittering agent under subsection (a) shall maintain a record of the trade name, scientific name, and any active ingredients of a bittering agent used in compliance with such subsection. (2)

Availability to the public

Any record maintained under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public on receipt by the manufacturer of a request from any person. (c)

Limitation of liability

(1)

In general

Subject to paragraph (2), a manufacturer, processor, distributor, recycler, or seller of an engine coolant or antifreeze that is required to contain a bittering agent under subsection (a) shall not be liable to a person for any personal injury, death, property damage, damage to the environment (including natural resources), or economic loss that results from the inclusion in the engine coolant or antifreeze of the bittering agent, provided that the bittering agent is present in concentrations mandated by subsection (a)(2)(A) or permitted pursuant to a rulemaking under subsection (a)(2)(B). (2)

Exception

Paragraph (1) shall not apply in any case in which a cause of liability referred to in that paragraph is unrelated to the inclusion in an engine coolant or antifreeze of the bittering agent as required by subsection (a). Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to exempt any manufacturer or distributor of denatonium benzoate, or an alternative bittering agent the use of which is required or permitted under subsection (a)(2), from any liability related to denatonium benzoate or the alternative bittering agent. (d)

Preemption

No State or political subdivision of a State shall establish or continue to enforce with respect to retail containers containing less than 55 gallons of engine coolant or antifreeze any prohibition, limitation, standard or other requirement relating to the inclusion of a bittering agent in engine coolant or antifreeze that is different from, or in addition to, the requirements of this section. (e)

Exemption

This section shall not be construed to apply to— (1)the sale of a motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze; or (2)a wholesale container of engine coolant or antifreeze that contains 55 gallons or more of engine coolant or antifreeze.

.

December 8, 2006 Committees on the Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed