[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6165 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6165

 To improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail and 
    provide training and resources for first responders to protect 
 communities from incidents involving the transportation of hazardous 
                               materials.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 25, 2006

  Mr. Barrow introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail and 
    provide training and resources for first responders to protect 
 communities from incidents involving the transportation of hazardous 
                               materials.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Training 
Responders for Accidents and Improving Notification Act'' or the 
``TRAIN Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Railroads move about 1,700,000 carloads of hazardous 
        materials annually, about 6 percent of total freight rail 
        traffic.
            (2) While the vast majority of shipments arrive safely at 
        their destination, serious incidents involving these materials 
        have the potential to cause widespread disruption or injury.
            (3) On January 6, 2005, northbound Norfolk Southern freight 
        train 192, while traveling 47 miles per hour through 
        Graniteville, South Carolina, encountered an improperly lined 
        switch that diverted the train from the main line onto an 
        industry track, where it struck the unoccupied, parked train 
        P22.
            (4) The collision derailed two locomotives and 16 of the 42 
        freight cars of train 192, as well as the locomotive and one of 
        the two cars of train P22.
            (5) Among the derailed cars from train 192 were 3 tank cars 
        containing chlorine, one of which was breached, releasing 
        chlorine gas.
            (6) The train engineer and 8 other people died as a result 
        of chlorine gas inhalation. More than 500 people who suffered 
        from respiratory difficulties were taken to local hospitals. Of 
        these, 75 were admitted for treatment. Because of the chlorine 
        release, about 5,400 people within a 1-mile radius of the 
        derailment site were evacuated for several days. Total damages 
        exceeded $6,900,000.
            (7) The National Transportation Safety Board determined 
        that the probable cause of the collision and derailment was the 
        failure of the crew of train 192 to return a main line switch 
        to the normal position after the crew completed work at an 
        industry track.
            (8) Contributing to the failure was the absence of any 
        feature or mechanism that would have reminded crewmembers of 
        the switch position and thus would have prompted them to 
        complete this final critical task before departing the work 
        site.
            (9) As a result of the accident investigation, the National 
        Transportation Safety Board made safety recommendations to the 
        Federal Railroad Administration.
            (10) It is appropriate for the Federal Railroad 
        Administration to implement the National Transportation Safety 
        Board's recommendations, as improperly lined switches is the 
        leading cause of human factor-caused accidents.

SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS.

    Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Transportation shall issue regulations that implement 
the following recommendations contained in the National Transportation 
Safety Board's railroad accident report entitled ``Collision of Norfolk 
Southern Freight Train 192 With Standing Norfolk Southern Local Train 
P22 With Subsequent Hazardous Materials Release at Graniteville, South 
Carolina'', adopted November 29, 2005:
            (1) Regulations that require, along mail lines in 
        nonsignaled territory, railroads to install an automatically 
        activated device, independent of the switch banner, that will, 
        visually or electronically, compellingly capture the attention 
        of employees involved with switch operations and clearly convey 
        the status of the switch both in daylight and in darkness.
            (2) Regulations that require railroads, in nonsignaled 
        territory and in the absence of switch position indicator 
        lights or other automated systems that provide train crews with 
        advance notice of switch positions, to operate those trains at 
        speeds that will allow them to be safely stopped in advance of 
        misaligned switches.
            (3) Regulations that require railroads to implement 
        operating measures, including positioning tank cars toward the 
        rear of trains and reducing speeds through populated areas, to 
        minimize impact forces from accidents and reduce the 
        vulnerability of tank cars transporting chlorine, anhydrous 
        ammonia, and other liquefied gases designated as poisonous by 
        inhalation.
            (4) Regulations that require railroads to provide emergency 
        escape breathing apparatus for all crewmembers on freight 
        trains carrying hazardous materials, along with appropriate 
        training for such crewmembers on how to use the apparatus.

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY RESPONDER GRANTS.

    (a) Amendment.--Part B of subtitle V of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

               ``CHAPTER 225--EMERGENCY RESPONDER GRANTS

``Sec.
``22501. Emergency responder grants.
``Sec. 22501. Emergency responder grants
    ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary of Transportation shall make grants to 
fire departments for costs incurred in the conduct of activities to 
respond to incidents involving the transportation of hazardous 
materials by rail, including costs of--
            ``(1) airborne chemical detection equipment;
            ``(2) air hazard detection equipment;
            ``(3) chemical identification kits;
            ``(4) fire suppression and decontamination equipment;
            ``(5) hazardous material response vehicles;
            ``(6) patient extraction equipment;
            ``(7) personal protective gear;
            ``(8) radiological response equipment, such as detectors; 
        and
            ``(9) turnout gear and spare turnout gear.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary $20,000,000 to carry out this section. 
Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 
until expended.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for subtitle V of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item 
relating to chapter 223 the following new item:

``225. EMERGENCY RESPONDER GRANTS...........................   22501''.

SEC. 4. EMERGENCY RESPONDER TRAINING STANDARDS.

    Section 5116(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``States and Indian tribes'' and inserting 
        ``States, Indian tribes, and nonprofit public sector employee 
        organizations''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``To the extent 
        that such grants are used to train emergency responders, such 
        training shall ensure that emergency responders have the 
        ability to protect nearby persons, property, and the 
        environment from the effects of accidents or incidents 
        involving the transportation of hazardous material, in 
        accordance with existing regulations.''.

SEC. 5. INFORMATION ON HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SHIPPED.

    Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Transportation shall issue final rules requiring 
railroads to inform local communities through which they transport 
hazardous materials of the types of hazardous materials most frequently 
shipped through those communities on an annual basis to help assist 
those communities in their emergency management planning.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    (a) Reports by the Inspector General.--Not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the 
Department of Transportation shall submit to the Secretary of 
Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad 
Administration a report containing the following:
            (1) A list of each statutory mandate regarding railroad 
        safety that has not been implemented.
            (2) A list of each open safety recommendation made by the 
        National Transportation Safety Board or the Inspector General 
        regarding railroad safety.
    (b) Reports by the Secretary.--
            (1) Statutory mandates.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter 
        until each of the mandates referred to in subsection (a)(1) has 
        been implemented, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee 
        on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate a report on the specific actions taken to implement such 
        mandates.
            (2) NTSB and inspector general recommendations.--Not later 
        than January 1 of each year, the Secretary shall transmit to 
        the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the 
        Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate a report containing the 
        recommendations referred to in section 2 of this Act and 
        subsection (a)(2) of this section and a copy of the Department 
        of Transportation response to each such recommendation.
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