[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 118 (Sunday, July 26, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5875-S5876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2491. Mr. MENENDEZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 2266 proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill H.R. 22, to
amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt employees with health
coverage under TRICARE or the Veterans Administration from being taken
into account for purposes of determining the employers to which the
employer mandate applies under the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
On page 807, after line 22, insert the following:
PART V--TOXICS BY RAIL ACCOUNTABILITY
SEC. 35451. SHORT TITLE.
This part may be cited as the ``Toxics by Rail
Accountability and Community Knowledge Act of 2015'' or the
``TRACK Act''.
SEC. 35452. CHEMICAL EXPOSURE RIGHT-TO-KNOW.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Long-lasting or irreversible health consequences.--The
term ``long-lasting or irreversible health consequences''
means those health consequences occurring at the exposure
threshold defined in the Acute Exposure Guideline Level AEGL-
2 or AEGL-3, as established by the National Advisory
Committee for the Development of Acute Exposure Guideline
Levels for Hazardous Substances.
(2) Post-accident public health assessment.--The term
``post-accident public health assessment'' means a scientific
assessment of the impacts of a hazardous material release on
public health made by a qualified entity.
(3) Qualified entity.--The term ``qualified entity'' means
a Federal, State, or other governmental entity responsible
for emergency response, public health, chemical safety or
transportation, or environmental protection.
(b) Right-to-Know Protections.--Beginning 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, railroad carriers that
are found to be at fault by an administrative, judicial, or
investigatory process for an accident or incident during
calendar year 2010 or later that led to an unintended release
of hazardous materials shall--
(1) periodically review any post-accident public health
assessments regarding the extent to which individuals exposed
to the hazardous material that was released could experience
long-lasting or irreversible health consequences;
(2) timely inform individuals exposed to the hazardous
material of any health information, including information
regarding long-lasting or irreversible health consequences,
included in such reports; and
(3) offer to renegotiate any legal settlements made to
individuals impacted by a hazardous material release for
which additional information about the potential for long-
lasting or irreversible health consequences has been later
disclosed in a post-accident public health assessment.
(c) Enforcement.--Any railroad carrier violating subsection
(b)(3), or a regulation prescribed pursuant to subsection
(b)(3), shall be liable to the Federal Government for a civil
penalty for each violation or for each day the violation
continues, as follows:
(1) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class I carriers,
as determined by the Surface Transportation Board under
section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,
shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than $100,000
and not more than $1,000,000.
(2) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class II
carriers, as determined by the Surface Transportation Board
under section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less
than $25,000 and not more than $250,000.
(3) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class III
carriers, as determined by the Surface Transportation Board
under section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less
than $10,000 and not more than $100,000.
SEC. 35453. COMMODITY FLOW TRANSPARENCY.
(a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe
regulations requiring a railroad carrier transporting a
hazardous material--
(1) to provide first responders, emergency response
officials, and law enforcement personnel in the communities
through which the hazardous material is transported with
accurate and current commodity flow data; and
(2) to assist with the development of emergency operations
and response plans designed to protect public health and
community safety in the event of a railroad accident or
incident involving the hazardous material.
(b) Considerations.--In prescribing regulations under
subsection (a), the Secretary may consider which hazardous
materials or classes of hazardous materials are most relevant
to be included within commodity flow information based on
factors such as--
(1) the volume of the hazardous material transported; and
(2) the threat to public health and community safety posed
by each hazardous material.
SEC. 35454. MOVEABLE BRIDGE INSPECTION BEFORE TRAIN MOVEMENT.
(a) Procedure Required.--Not later than 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
prescribe regulations establishing a procedure for a railroad
carrier to permit a train to pass a red signal aspect
protecting a moveable bridge.
(b) Training and Qualifications.--
(1) Training program.--The procedure established pursuant
to subsection (a) shall require a railroad carrier that
operates across a moveable bridge to have an active program
to train and qualify its employees to determine whether a
train can safely travel across a moveable bridge when a
signal protecting the bridge is displaying a red signal
aspect.
(2) Required qualifications.--A railroad carrier described
in paragraph (1) shall ensure that only an individual
qualified under the railroad carrier's training program is
given responsibility for determining whether a train can
safely travel across a moveable bridge when a signal
protecting the bridge is displaying a red signal aspect.
(c) Enforcement.--Any railroad carrier violating this
section, or a regulation prescribed pursuant to this section,
shall be liable to the Federal Government for a civil
[[Page S5876]]
penalty for each violation or for each day the violation
continues, as follows:
(1) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class I carriers,
as determined by the Surface Transportation Board under
section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,
shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than $100,000
and not more than $1,000,000.
(2) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class II
carriers, as determined by the Surface Transportation Board
under section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less
than $25,000 and not more than $250,000.
(3) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class III
carriers, as determined by the Surface Transportation Board
under section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less
than $10,000 and not more than $100,000.
SEC. 35455. ROUTE RISK ASSESSMENT.
(a) Route Risk Assessment Tools.--The Secretary, in
collaboration with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, shall
develop a route risk assessment tool for the use of short
line and regional railroad carriers that--
(1) addresses any known limitations of the Rail Corridor
Risk Management Safety software tool for short line and
regional railroad carriers; and
(2) allows for safety and security risk assessments to be
performed by short line and regional railroad carriers when
alternative routes are not available.
(b) Route Risk Assessment Audits.--The Secretary, in
collaboration with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, shall
conduct audits of short line and regional railroads to ensure
that proper route risk assessments that identify safety and
security vulnerabilities are being performed and are
incorporated into a safety management system program.
SEC. 35456. RAILROAD SAFETY RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM
AMENDMENTS.
(a) Safety Management Systems.--Section 20156(d)(1) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) the use of safety management systems and their
associated key principles, including top-down ownership and
policies, analysis of operational incidents and accidents,
and continuous evaluation and improvement programs.''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that,
under the Railroad Safety Risk Reduction Program under
section 20156 of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary
of Transportation should include within the definition of ``a
railroad carrier that has an inadequate safety performance''
any railroad carrier that is at fault for an incident,
accident, or emergency involving hazardous materials that has
led to a fatality or personal injury, an evacuation, or
environmental damage within the last 5 years.
SEC. 35457. FIRST RESPONDER RIGHT-TO-KNOW.
(a) Real-Time Emergency Response Notification.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall prescribe regulations that--
(1) require a railroad carrier transporting a hazardous
material--
(A) to have the capability to generate, maintain, retrieve,
and promptly deliver accurate and real-time consists that
include the identity and location of the hazardous material
on the train; and
(B) to provide such information promptly to first
responders, emergency response officials, and law enforcement
personnel in the event of an incident, accident, or
emergency, or as required by such entities to protect public
health and community safety; and
(2) prohibit a railroad carrier, employee, or agent from
withholding, or a railroad carrier from instructing its
employees or agents to withhold, a train consist or a real-
time train consist from first responders, emergency response
officials, and law enforcement personnel in the event of an
incident, accident, or emergency involving the transportation
of hazardous materials by railroad that threatens public
health or safety.
(b) Emergency Response Standardization.--The Secretary, in
consultation with railroad carriers, shall ensure that
emergency response information carried by train crews
transporting hazardous materials is consistent with, and is
at least as protective as, the emergency response guidance
provided in the Emergency Response Guidebook issued by the
Department.
(c) Enforcement.--Any railroad carrier violating subsection
(a)(2) or a regulation prescribed pursuant to subsection
(a)(2) shall be liable to the Federal Government for a civil
penalty for each violation or each day the violation
continues, as follows:
(1) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class I carriers,
as determined by the Surface Transportation Board under
section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,
shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than $100,000
and not more than $1,000,000.
(2) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class II carriers
as determined by the Surface Transportation Board under
section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,
shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than $25,000
and not more than $250,000.
(3) A railroad carrier that has annual carrier operating
revenues that meet the threshold amount for Class III
carriers as determined by the Surface Transportation Board
under section 1201.1-1 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less
than $10,000 and not more than $100,000.
SEC. 35458. PUBLIC EDUCATION.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations requiring
railroad carriers transporting hazardous materials to
develop, implement, and periodically evaluate a public
education program for the communities along railroad
hazardous materials routes, which may include--
(1) procedures for reporting the release of a hazardous
material;
(2) physical indications of a release of a hazardous
material, including a focus on hazardous materials that are
most commonly transported in or near a given community;
(3) methods of communication that will be used to alert the
community in the event of a railroad incident, accident, or
emergency involving a hazardous material;
(4) steps that should be taken by community residents to
ensure public health and safety in the event of a hazardous
material release; and
(5) a discussion of possible public health and safety
concerns associated with an unintended release of a hazardous
material, including a focus on hazardous materials that are
most commonly transported in or near a given community.
SEC. 35459. INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.
The Secretary shall issue a statement of agency policy
adjusting the penalty schedules for violations outlined in
this part as necessary to account for inflation, each time
the Secretary is required by law to review the minimum and
maximum civil monetary penalty for inflation under the
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-410; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). The Secretary may
subject the statement of agency policy to notice and comment,
as the Secretary considers appropriate.
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