Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “General Duty Clarification Act of 2013”.
General Duty Clarification Act of 2013
A BILL
To amend section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (relating to prevention of accidental releases).
Sec. 2 Prevention of accidental releases
Purpose and general duty— Paragraph (1) of section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)) is amended—
by striking “It shall be the objective” and inserting the following:
“(A) In general—It shall be the objective”
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) Regulations
“(i) Regulations—Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of the General Duty Clarification Act of 2013, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations establishing criteria defining, for purposes of this paragraph, the terms extremely hazardous substance, appropriate hazard assessment techniques, and design and maintain a safe facility.
“(ii) Uniformity—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the General Duty Clarification Act of 2013, the Administrator shall issue guidelines to ensure that enforcement of this paragraph is handled by the regional offices of the Environmental Protection Agency in a uniform and appropriate manner across all regions of the United States.”
Definition of accidental release— Subparagraph (A) of section 112(r)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)(2)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, other than such an emission resulting from an act intended to cause harm”.
Designs, approaches or technologies— Subsection (r) of section 112 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(12) Designs, approaches, or technologies—In exercising any authority under this subsection, the Administrator shall not, directly or indirectly, impose any obligation on any owner or operator of any stationary source to consider or implement particular designs, approaches, or technologies relating to manufacturing, processing, handling, or storage.”