Reveiw - HR 10108 Introduced – Hazmat Transparency Act

Earlier this month, Rep Tran (D,CA) introduced HR 10108, the Hazardous Materials Transparency Act. The bill would require DOD to establish guidance governing community engagement and emergency preparedness practices for covered defense industrial facilities. A periodic report to Congress would also be required. No new funding is authorized in this legislation. 

I can find no legislation in the 118th Congress that is similar to HR 10108. A press release from Tran’s office reports that:  

“U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) introduced new legislation to require additional transparency and accountability measures for industrial facilities that handle hazardous materials. H.R. 10108, the Hazardous Materials Transparency Act, mandates that these facilities properly and regularly notify the communities they operate in about the safety measures that are taken to avoid danger to residents and small businesses. The bill also requires facilities working with hazardous materials to establish a coordination plan with first responders and to have a community liaison able to provide timely information in the case of an emergency. This legislation was introduced in response to the chemical crisis at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove that displaced over 50,000 residents and shuttered 5,000 small businesses over Memorial Day Weekend.” 

Moving Forward  

Tran is a member of the House Armed Services Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered by that Committee. There will be some level of opposition to the requirements of this bill from Republican members, being concerned about the national security implications about information sharing. I suspect, however, that there may be sufficient support to see the bill move forward out of committee. There will not, however, be sufficient backing to see the bill move to the full House under the suspension of the rules process. 

For more information on the provision of this bill, including a commentary on potential accident investigations, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-10108-introduced-hazmat-transparency - subscription required.