HF 2950

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; providing for prevention, preparedness, and response to
unauthorized releases of extraordinarily hazardous substances; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115E.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [115E.20] DEFINITIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Scope. new text end

new text begin The definitions in this section apply to sections 115E.20 to
115E.22.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Extraordinarily hazardous substance. new text end

new text begin "Extraordinarily hazardous
substance" means any substance or chemical compound used, manufactured, stored, or
capable of being produced from on-site components in this state in sufficient quantities
at a single site such that its release into the environment would produce a significant
likelihood that persons exposed will suffer acute health effects resulting in death or
permanent disability.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Extraordinarily hazardous substance list. new text end

new text begin "Extraordinarily hazardous
substance list" means the substances or chemical compounds identified in section 115E.21,
subdivision 1, and identified by rule according to section 115E.21, subdivision 3.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Facility. new text end

new text begin "Facility" means a building, equipment, and contiguous area.
Facility includes a research and development laboratory, which means a specially
designated area used primarily for research, development, and testing activity, and
not primarily involved in the production of goods for commercial sale, in which
extraordinarily hazardous substances are used by or under the supervision of a technically
qualified person.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Security measure. new text end

new text begin "Security measure" means an action carried out to
increase the security of a facility, including employee training and background checks,
limitation and prevention of access to controls of the facility, protection of the perimeter
of the facility, installation and operation of an intrusion detection sensor, or a measure to
increase computer or computer network security.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Unauthorized release. new text end

new text begin "Unauthorized release" means a release from a
facility into the environment of an extraordinarily hazardous substance that is caused, in
whole or in part, by a criminal act, a release into the environment of an extraordinarily
hazardous substance that has been removed from a facility, in whole or in part, by a
criminal act, or a release or removal from a facility of an extraordinarily hazardous
substance that is unauthorized by the owner or operator of the facility.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Use of inherently safer technology. new text end

new text begin "Use of inherently safer technology"
means the use of a technology, product, raw material, or practice that, as compared
with the technologies, products, raw materials, or practices currently in use, reduces or
eliminates the possibility of a release of an extraordinarily hazardous substance prior to
secondary containment, control, or mitigation and reduces or eliminates the threats to
public health and the environment associated with an unauthorized release or potential
unauthorized release of an extraordinarily hazardous substance.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [115E.21] EXTRAORDINARILY HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE LIST;
REGISTRATION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Initial list. new text end

new text begin The following chemicals or chemical compounds, in the
quantities indicated, constitute the initial extraordinarily hazardous substance list:
new text end

new text begin (1) hydrogen chloride (HCl) and allyl chloride in quantities of 2,000 pounds or more;
new text end

new text begin (2) hydrogen cyanide (HCN), hydrogen fluoride (HF), chlorine (Cl2), phosphorus
trichloride, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in quantities of 500 pounds or more; and
new text end

new text begin (3) phosgene, bromine, methyl isocyanate (MIC), and toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate
(TDS) in quantities of 100 pounds or more.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Registration. new text end

new text begin Within 60 days of the effective date of this act, the
commissioner of public safety shall develop and issue a registration form to be completed
within 120 days of the effective date of this act by the owner or operator of each facility in
the state that at any time generates, stores, or handles any of the extraordinarily hazardous
substances in the threshold amounts on the initial extraordinarily hazardous substance
list under subdivision 1. The registration form shall provide, in addition to any other
information that may be required by the commissioner, the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) an inventory of the extraordinarily hazardous substance or substances generated,
stored, or handled at the facility and the quantity or quantities of the substances. The
inventory must identify whether the substances are end products, intermediate products,
byproducts, or waste products;
new text end

new text begin (2) a general description of the processes and principal equipment involved in the
management of the substance or substances;
new text end

new text begin (3) a profile of the area in which the facility is situated, including its proximity to
population and water supplies;
new text end

new text begin (4) the extent to which the risks and hazards of the processes, equipment, and
operations have been identified, evaluated, and abated and the expertise and affiliation
of the evaluators and any direct or indirect relationship between the evaluators and the
owner or operator of the facility; and
new text end

new text begin (5) the name or names of all insurance carriers underwriting the facility's
environmental liability and workers' compensation insurance policies and the scope of the
policies, including any limitations and exclusions.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Additions to list by rule. new text end

new text begin Within 18 months of the effective date of
this act, the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency, in consultation with the
commissioner of health, shall develop and adopt as a rule an extraordinarily hazardous
substance list. The list shall correlate the substances or compounds with the quantities
required to produce the potentially catastrophic circumstance. The commissioner may
amend, by rule, the extraordinarily hazardous substance list to accommodate new chemical
compounds that may be developed or reflect new information or scientific data that may
become available to the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Subsequent registration. new text end

new text begin Within 90 days of the adoption of an
extraordinarily hazardous substance list under subdivision 3, the owner or operator of each
facility in the state that generates, stores, or handles any of the extraordinarily hazardous
substances in the threshold amounts on the extraordinarily hazardous substance list, not
registered according to subdivision 2, shall complete the registration form developed
and issued by the commissioner.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [115E.22] UNAUTHORIZED RELEASES; PREVENTION,
PREPAREDNESS, AND RESPONSE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Risk assessment. new text end

new text begin Within one year of the effective date of this act,
the owner or operator of each facility in the state that at any time generates, stores, or
handles any of the extraordinarily hazardous substances in the threshold amounts on the
extraordinarily hazardous substance list adopted under section 115E.21 must:
new text end

new text begin (1) conduct an assessment of the vulnerability of the facility to a terrorist attack or
other unauthorized release;
new text end

new text begin (2) identify and assess hazards, using appropriate hazard assessment techniques, that
may result from an unauthorized release of any extraordinarily hazardous substance; and
new text end

new text begin (3) assess the use of inherently safer technology in reducing or eliminating the
possibility of an unauthorized release.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Prevention, preparedness, and response plan required. new text end

new text begin Within 18
months of the effective date of this act, the owner or operator of each facility in the state
that is required to complete the assessments under subdivision 1 must prepare, and submit
to the commissioner of public safety for review and approval, a prevention, preparedness,
and response plan that incorporates the results of the vulnerability and hazard assessments
conducted under subdivision 1.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Plan requirements. new text end

new text begin The prevention, preparedness, and response plan
under this section must include actions and procedures, including safer design and
maintenance of the facility, use of inherently safer technology, and all appropriate security
measures, undertaken to eliminate or significantly lessen the potential consequences of an
unauthorized release of any extraordinarily hazardous substance.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Required consultation. new text end

new text begin The requirements of subdivisions 1 to 3 must be
completed in consultation with local law enforcement, first responders, and employees
of the facility.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Data privacy. new text end

new text begin The assessments and plan required by this section are
not public data and are not subject to any state or federal freedom of information law,
including but not limited to, chapter 13.
new text end