[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Senate] [Pages 7653-7654] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]FUELS REGULATORY RELIEF ACT Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I stand in support of S. 880, Fuels Regulatory Relief Act, to provide relief for small businesses and to increase security of information from potential terrorists. This bill will specifically exclude toxic flammable fuels from Section 112 of the Clean Air Act which requires businesses provide public information on stored flammable fuels and how they would respond to emergencies should a disaster occur. When the Clean Air Act was amended in 1990, Congress required the Environmental Protection Agency, under Section 112, to provide public information on a list of 100 substances which might cause injury or death to humans or adverse effects to the environment in an accident. EPA added flammable fuels to this list of 100 substances. This means that people who store and distribute flammable fuels are required to provide public information about their operations and how they would respond to an accident. These Risk Management Plans provide information on hazards associated with the fuels, safety measures and maintenance, and a worst-case scenario with an emergency response plan. This detailed information, although intended to provide citizens near a fuel facility knowledge about their local risks, also provide dangerous information to potential terrorists. The worst-case scenario information especially could provide potential terrorists with valuable information about how to destroy a flammable fuel facility. I recognize the constant struggle between providing public access to and security protections of information about flammable fuels. However, given that public safety is adequately protected through existing federal laws and state building and fire codes, I believe no further requirements are needed. Also people who store flammable fuels are very safety conscious given the unstable nature of the product they work with. The safety record on the storage of flammable fuels is good and demonstrates that current regulatory requirements are adequate. Without [[Page 7654]] any clear problem of the existing framework of protections, I do not see why these substances should be further regulated under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. By regulating flammable fuels under this provision of the Clean Air Act, fuel distributors might be hurt. For example, distributors might reduce their storage capacity of flammable fuels affecting their ability to meet local customer demands. Also if businesses and farmers reduce their stored levels of flammable fuels, fuel switching might be encouraged further adversely affecting distributors. This could limit the flexibility and health of these small businesses and farmers. Basically, it would ensure that the ``Hank Hills'' of the world (a character on the Fox network who is a propane small businessman) are not put out of business. Thus, I trust my colleagues will rise with me to support this bill to provide relief for small businesses and farmers struggling to survive while ensuring security against disclosure of explosive information to potential terrorists. ____________________