[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2547 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2547
To establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational
Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Subcommittee under the Federal
Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council to provide
recommendations on emergency responder training and resources relating
to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 26, 2014
Ms. Heitkamp (for herself and Mr. Schumer) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational
Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Subcommittee under the Federal
Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council to provide
recommendations on emergency responder training and resources relating
to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and for other
purposes.
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 ``RESPONSE Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. RAILROAD EMERGENCY SERVICES PREPAREDNESS, OPERATIONAL NEEDS,
AND SAFETY EVALUATION SUBCOMMITTEE.
Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 318) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) RESPONSE Subcommittee.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2014, the Administrator
shall establish, as a subcommittee of the National Advisory
Council, the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness,
Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee (referred
to in this subsection as the `RESPONSE Subcommittee').
``(2) Membership.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), the
RESPONSE Subcommittee shall be composed of the following:
``(A) The Deputy Administrator for Protection and
National Preparedness of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, or designee.
``(B) The Director of the Office of Emergency
Communications of the Department of Homeland Security,
or designee.
``(C) The Director for the Office of Railroad,
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations of the
National Transportation Safety Board, or designee, only
in an advisory capacity.
``(D) The Associate Administrator for Railroad
Safety of the Federal Railroad Administration, or
designee.
``(E) The Assistant Administrator for Security
Policy and Industry Engagement of the Transportation
Security Administration, or designee.
``(F) The Assistant Commandant for Response Policy
of the Coast Guard, or designee.
``(G) The Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response of the Environmental
Protection Agency, or designee.
``(H) The Associate Administrator for Hazardous
Materials Safety of the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration, or designee.
``(I) The Chief Safety Officer and Assistant
Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, or designee.
``(J) Such other qualified individuals as the
Administrator shall appoint as soon as practicable
after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of
2014 from among the following:
``(i) Members of the National Advisory
Council that have the requisite technical
knowledge and expertise to address rail safety
issues, including members from the following
disciplines:
``(I) Emergency management and
emergency response providers, including
fire service, law enforcement,
hazardous materials response, and
emergency medical services.
``(II) State, local, and tribal
government officials with expertise in
preparedness, protection, response,
recovery, and mitigation, including
Adjutants General.
``(III) Elected State, local, and
tribal government executives.
``(IV) Such other individuals as
the Administrator determines to be
appropriate.
``(ii) Individuals who have the requisite
technical knowledge and expertise to serve on
the RESPONSE Subcommittee, including
representatives of--
``(I) the rail industry;
``(II) the oil industry;
``(III) the communications
industry;
``(IV) emergency response
providers, including individuals
nominated by national organizations
representing local governments and
personnel;
``(V) representatives from national
Indian organizations;
``(VI) technical experts; and
``(VII) vendors, developers, and
manufacturers of systems, facilities,
equipment, and capabilities for
emergency responder services.
``(iii) Representatives of such other
stakeholders and interested and affected
parties as the Administrator considers
appropriate.
``(3) Chairperson.--The Deputy Administrator for Protection
and National Preparedness shall serve as the Chairperson of the
RESPONSE Subcommittee, or designee.
``(4) Meetings.--
``(A) Initial meeting.--The initial meeting of the
RESPONSE Subcommittee shall take place not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE
Act of 2014.
``(B) Other meetings.--After the initial meeting,
the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall meet at least twice
annually, with at least 1 meeting conducted in person,
at the call of the Chairperson.
``(5) Consultation with nonmembers.--The RESPONSE
Subcommittee and the program offices for emergency responder
training and resources shall consult with other relevant
agencies and groups, including entities engaged in federally
funded research and academic institutions engaged in relevant
work and research, which are not represented on the RESPONSE
Subcommittee to consider new and developing technologies and
methods that may be beneficial to preparedness and response to
rail incidents.
``(6) Recommendations.--The RESPONSE Subcommittee shall
develop recommendations for improving emergency responder
training and resource allocation, including the following:
``(A) Quality and application of training for local
emergency first responders related to rail hazardous
materials incidents, with a particular focus on local
emergency responders and small communities near
railroads, including the following:
``(i) Ease of access to relevant training
for local emergency first responders, including
an analysis of--
``(I) the number of individuals
being trained;
``(II) the number of individuals
who are applying;
``(III) whether current demand is
being met;
``(IV) current challenges; and
``(V) projected needs.
``(ii) Modernization of course content
related to rail hazardous materials incidents,
with a particular focus on response to the
exponential rise in oil shipments by rail.
``(iii) Evaluation of content across
agencies and the private sector to provide
complementary opportunities for courses and
avoid overlap, including the following:
``(I) Overlap of course content
among agencies.
``(II) Assess the need for
integrated course content through
public-private partnerships.
``(III) Regular and ongoing
evaluation of course opportunities,
adaptation to emerging trends, agency
and private sector outreach,
effectiveness and ease of access for
local emergency responders.
``(iv) Online training platforms, train-
the-trainer and mobile training options.
``(B) Effectiveness of funding levels related to
training local emergency responders for rail hazardous
materials incidents, with a particular focus on local
emergency responders and small communities, including
the following:
``(i) Minimizing overlap in resource
allocation among agencies.
``(ii) Minimizing overlap in resource
allocation among agencies and private sector.
``(iii) Maximizing public-private
partnerships where funding gaps exists for
specific training or cost-saving measures can
be implemented to increase training
opportunities.
``(iv) Adaptation of priority settings for
agency funding allocations in response to
emerging trends.
``(v) Evaluation of historic levels of
funding across agencies and private sector for
rail hazardous materials incidents.
``(vi) Assessment of the need for increase
funding for agencies and specific agencies
where funding would be most effective.
``(C) Strategy for integration of commodity flow
studies, mapping, and access platforms for local
emergency responders and how to increase the rate of
access to the individual responder in existing or
emerging communications technology.
``(D) The lack of emergency response plans for
rail, similar to existing law related to maritime and
stationary facility emergency response plans, including
the following:
``(i) Provisions of law relating to the
Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know
Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.).
``(ii) How the industry would implement
such plans.
``(iii) The thresholds and availability of
emergency plans for each train related to
hazardous materials in its cargo.
``(iv) Gaps in existing regulations across
agencies.
``(E) Development of a train incident database,
including the following:
``(i) An assessment of the appropriate
agency to host the database.
``(ii) A definition of incident that would
constitute the level of reporting from the
industry.
``(iii) The projected cost of such a
database and how that database would be
maintained and enforced.
``(F) Increasing access to relevant, useful, and
timely information for the local emergency responder,
including the following:
``(i) Evaluation of existing information
that the emergency responder can access, what
the current rate of access and usefulness is
for the emergency responder, and what current
information should remain and what should be
reassessed.
``(ii) Utilization of existing technology
in the hands of the first responder to maximize
delivery of useful and timely information for
training or in the event of an incident.
``(iii) Assessment of emerging
communications technology that could assist the
emergency responder in the event of a rail
hazardous materials incident.
``(G) Determination of the most efficient agencies
and offices for the implementation of the
recommendations, including--
``(i) recommendations that can be
implemented without congressional action and
appropriate time frames for such actions; and
``(ii) recommendations that would require
congressional action.
``(7) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2014, the RESPONSE
Subcommittee shall submit a report containing the
recommendations developed under paragraph (6) to the National
Advisory Council for its review and deliberation. After
approving the recommendations of the RESPONSE Subcommittee, the
National Advisory Council shall submit the report to--
``(A) the Administrator;
``(B) the head of each agency represented on the
RESPONSE Subcommittee;
``(C) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
``(D) the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives; and
``(E) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.
``(8) Interim activity.--
``(A) Updates and oversight.--After the submission
of the report by the National Advisory Council under
paragraph (7), the Administrator shall--
``(i) provide quarterly updates to the
National Advisory Council, the RESPONSE
Subcommittee, and the congressional committees
referred to in paragraph (7) regarding the
status of the implementation of the
recommendations developed under paragraph (6);
and
``(ii) oversee the implementation of the
recommendations described in paragraph
(6)(G)(i).
``(B) Additional reports.--After submitting the
report required under paragraph (7), the RESPONSE
Subcommittee shall submit additional reports and
recommendations in the same manner and to the same
entities identified in paragraph (7) if needed or
requested from Congress or from the Administrator.
``(9) Termination.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall
terminate not later than 4 years after the date of the
enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2014.
``(B) Extension.--The Administrator may extend the
duration of the RESPONSE Subcommittee, in 1-year
increments, if the Administrator determines that
additional reports and recommendations are needed from
the RESPONSE Subcommittee after the termination date
set forth in subparagraph (A).''.
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