[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3187 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3187

  To increase the authorization of the National Transportation Safety 
  Board through fiscal year 2020, to require the NTSB to investigate 
  major oil and other hazardous materials derailments, to expand the 
Secretary of Transportation's emergency order authority, and to require 
the Secretary of Transportation to establish a volatility standard for 
                     crude oil transported by rail.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 13, 2016

Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To increase the authorization of the National Transportation Safety 
  Board through fiscal year 2020, to require the NTSB to investigate 
  major oil and other hazardous materials derailments, to expand the 
Secretary of Transportation's emergency order authority, and to require 
the Secretary of Transportation to establish a volatility standard for 
                     crude oil transported by rail.

    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 ``Mandate Oil Spill Investigations and 
Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD.

    Section 1118(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Amounts.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        $108,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2020 to 
        carry out this chapter.
            ``(2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
        to paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended.
            ``(3) Limitation on use of funds.--Of the amounts 
        appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1), $2,000,000 shall be 
        dedicated to the costs associated with carrying out railroad 
        accident investigations and investigations of significant 
        railroad incidents.''.

SEC. 3. MANDATORY NTSB INVESTIGATIONS FOR MAJOR OIL AND OTHER HAZARDOUS 
              MATERIALS DERAILMENTS.

    Section 1131(a)(1)(C) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ``, or that involves a passenger train'' and inserting ``or 
involves a passenger train or a significant release of hazardous 
materials into the environment within a close proximity to communities, 
personal property, or critical landscapes;''.

SEC. 4. EXPANDED EMERGENCY ORDER AUTHORITY.

    Section 20104(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(a) Ordering Restrictions and Prohibitions.--If the Secretary of 
Transportation, through incident, testing, inspection, investigation, 
or research carried out under this part, determines that an unsafe 
condition, practice, or occurrence, or a combination of unsafe 
conditions, occurrences, and practices, causes (or has the potential to 
cause) an emergency or reoccurring situation involving a hazard of 
death, personal injury, or significant harm to the environment, the 
Secretary may immediately order such restrictions, prohibitions, or 
moratoriums without regard to section 20103(e) that may be necessary to 
abate the situation or prevent accidents of a similar nature or 
result.''.

SEC. 5. VOLATILITY STANDARD FOR CRUDE OIL TRANSPORTED BY RAIL.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 20153 the following:
``Sec. 20154. Maximum crude oil volatility standard
    ``Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of the 
Mandate Oil Spill Investigations and Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act of 
2016, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Energy, shall establish and enforce a national standard 
for the maximum volatility of crude oil to be permitted to be shipped 
by rail based on the safest practicable standard.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 201 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 20153 the following:

``20154. Maximum crude oil volatility standard.''.
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