Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 482 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1640 [Report No. 116–235] To require compliant flame mitigation devices to be used on portable fuel containers for flammable liquid fuels, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation JUNE 23, 2020 Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require compliant flame mitigation devices to be used on portable fuel containers for flammable liquid fuels, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Portable Fuel Con- 4 tainer Safety Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1640 RS SEC. 2. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS TO PROTECT AGAINST 1 PORTABLE FUEL CONTAINER EXPLOSIONS 2 NEAR OPEN FLAMES OR OTHER IGNITION 3 SOURCES. 4 (a) RULE ON SAFETY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS 5 REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 months after the date of 6 enactment of this section, the Consumer Product Safety 7 Commission (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’) 8 shall promulgate a final rule to require flame mitigation 9 devices in portable fuel containers that impede the propa- 10 gation of flame into the container, except as provided in 11 subsection (c). 12 (b) RULEMAKING; CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 13 STANDARD.—A rule under subsection (a)— 14 (1) shall be promulgated in accordance with 15 section 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 16 (2) shall be treated as a consumer product safe- 17 ty rule promulgated under section 9 of the Con- 18 sumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058). 19 (c) EXCEPTION.— 20 (1) VOLUNTARY STANDARD.—Subsection (a) 21 shall not apply if the Commission determines that— 22 (A) there is a voluntary standard for flame 23 mitigation devices in portable fuel containers 24 that impedes the propagation of flame into the 25 container, or a combination of more than one 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1640 RS voluntary standard which taken together serve 1 such purpose for the full scope of this Act; 2 (B) the voluntary standard or combination 3 of voluntary standards described in subpara- 4 graph (A) is or will be in effect not later than 5 18 months after the date of enactment of this 6 Act; and 7 (C) the voluntary standard or combination 8 of voluntary standards described in subpara- 9 graph (A) is developed by ASTM International 10 or such other standard development organiza- 11 tion that the Commission determines to have 12 met the intent of this Act. 13 (2) DETERMINATION REQUIRED TO BE PUB- 14 LISHED IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER.—Any deter- 15 mination made by the Commission under this sub- 16 section shall be published in the Federal Register. 17 (d) TREATMENT OF VOLUNTARY STANDARD FOR 18 PURPOSE OF ENFORCEMENT.—If the Commission deter- 19 mines that a voluntary standard meets the conditions de- 20 scribed in subsection (c), the requirements of such vol- 21 untary standard shall be treated as a consumer product 22 safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer 23 Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058) beginning on the 24 date which is the later of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1640 RS (1) 180 days after publication of the Commis- 1 sion’s determination under subsection (c); or 2 (2) the effective date contained in the voluntary 3 standard. 4 (e) REVISION OF VOLUNTARY STANDARD.— 5 (1) NOTICE TO COMMISSION.—If the require- 6 ments of a voluntary standard that meet the condi- 7 tions of subsection (c) are subsequently revised, the 8 organization that revised the standard shall notify 9 the Commission after the final approval of the revi- 10 sion. 11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REVISION.—Not later 12 than 180 days after the Commission is notified of a 13 revised voluntary standard described in paragraph 14 (1) (or such later date as the Commission deter- 15 mines appropriate), such revised voluntary standard 16 shall become enforceable as a consumer product 17 safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Con- 18 sumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in 19 place of the prior version, unless within 90 days 20 after receiving the notice the Commission determines 21 that the revised voluntary standard does not meet 22 the requirements described in subsection (c). 23 (f) FUTURE RULEMAKING.—The Commission, at any 24 time after publication of the consumer product safety rule 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1640 RS required by subsection (a), a voluntary standard is treated 1 as a consumer product safety rule under subsection (d), 2 or a revision is enforceable as a consumer product safety 3 rule under subsection (e) may initiate a rulemaking in ac- 4 cordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 5 to modify the requirements or to include any additional 6 provision that the Commission determines is reasonably 7 necessary to protect public health or safety. Any rule pro- 8 mulgated under this subsection shall be treated as a con- 9 sumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of 10 the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058). 11 (g) ACTION REQUIRED.— 12 (1) EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.—Not later than 1 13 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 14 Commission shall undertake a campaign to educate 15 consumers about the dangers associated with using 16 or storing portable fuel containers for flammable liq- 17 uids near an open flame or any other source of igni- 18 tion. 19 (2) SUMMARY OF ACTIONS.—Not later than 2 20 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 21 Commission shall submit to Congress a summary of 22 actions taken by the Commission in such campaign. 23 (h) PORTABLE FUEL CONTAINER DEFINED.—In this 24 section, the term ‘‘portable fuel container’’ means any con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1640 RS tainer or vessel (including any spout, cap, and other clo- 1 sure mechanism or component of such container or vessel 2 or any retrofit or aftermarket spout or component in- 3 tended or reasonably anticipated to be for use with such 4 container)— 5 (1) intended for flammable liquid fuels with a 6 flash point less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit, includ- 7 ing gasoline, kerosene, diesel, ethanol, methanol, de- 8 natured alcohol, or biofuels; 9 (2) that is a consumer product with a capacity 10 of 5 gallons or less; and 11 (3) that the manufacturer knows or reasonably 12 should know is used by consumers for receiving, 13 transporting, storing, and dispensing flammable liq- 14 uid fuels. 15 (i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not 16 be interpreted to conflict with the Children’s Gasoline 17 Burn Prevention Act (Public Law 110–278; 122 Stat. 18 2602). 19 SEC. 3. CHILDREN’S GASOLINE BURN PREVENTION ACT. 20 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 2(c) of the Children’s 21 Gasoline Burn Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 2056 note; Pub- 22 lic Law 110–278) is amended by inserting after ‘‘for use 23 by consumers’’ the following: ‘‘and any receptacle for gaso- 24 line, kerosene, or diesel fuel, including any spout, cap, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1640 RS other closure mechanism and component of such recep- 1 tacle or any retrofit or aftermarket spout or component 2 intended or reasonably anticipated to be for use with such 3 receptacle, produced or distributed for sale to or use by 4 consumers for transport of, or refueling of internal com- 5 bustion engines with, gasoline, kerosene, or diesel fuel’’. 6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub- 7 section (a) shall take effect 6 months after the date of 8 enactment of this section. 9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Portable Fuel Container 11 Safety Act of 2019’’. 12 SEC. 2. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS TO PROTECT AGAINST 13 PORTABLE FUEL CONTAINER EXPLOSIONS 14 NEAR OPEN FLAMES OR OTHER IGNITION 15 SOURCES. 16 (a) RULE ON SAFETY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS RE- 17 QUIRED.—Not later than 30 months after the date of enact- 18 ment of this section, the Consumer Product Safety Commis- 19 sion (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall pro- 20 mulgate a final rule to require flame mitigation devices in 21 portable fuel containers that impede the propagation of 22 flame into the container, except as provided in subsection 23 (c). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1640 RS (b) RULEMAKING; CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 1 STANDARD.—A rule under subsection (a)— 2 (1) shall be promulgated in accordance with sec- 3 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 4 (2) shall be treated as a consumer product safety 5 rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer 6 Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058). 7 (c) EXCEPTION.— 8 (1) VOLUNTARY STANDARD.—Subsection (a) shall 9 not apply for a class of portable fuel containers in the 10 scope of this Act if the Commission determines at any 11 time that— 12 (A) there is a voluntary standard for flame 13 mitigation devices for those containers that im- 14 pedes the propagation of flame into the con- 15 tainer; 16 (B) the voluntary standard described in 17 subparagraph (A) is or will be in effect not later 18 than 18 months after the date of enactment of 19 this Act; and 20 (C) the voluntary standard described in 21 subparagraph (A) is developed by ASTM Inter- 22 national or such other standard development or- 23 ganization that the Commission determines to 24 have met the intent of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1640 RS (2) DETERMINATION REQUIRED TO BE PUB- 1 LISHED IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER.—Any deter- 2 mination made by the Commission under this sub- 3 section shall be published in the Federal Register. 4 (d) TREATMENT OF VOLUNTARY STANDARD FOR PUR- 5 POSE OF ENFORCEMENT.—If the Commission determines 6 that a voluntary standard meets the conditions described 7 in subsection (c), the requirements of such voluntary stand- 8 ard shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule pro- 9 mulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety 10 Act (15 U.S.C. 2058) beginning on the date which is the 11 later of— 12 (1) 180 days after publication of the Commis- 13 sion’s determination under subsection (c); or 14 (2) the effective date contained in the voluntary 15 standard. 16 (e) REVISION OF VOLUNTARY STANDARD.— 17 (1) NOTICE TO COMMISSION.—If the require- 18 ments of a voluntary standard that meet the condi- 19 tions of subsection (c) are subsequently revised, the or- 20 ganization that revised the standard shall notify the 21 Commission after the final approval of the revision. 22 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REVISION.—Not later 23 than 180 days after the Commission is notified of a 24 revised voluntary standard described in paragraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1640 RS (1) (or such later date as the Commission determines 1 appropriate), such revised voluntary standard shall 2 become enforceable as a consumer product safety rule 3 promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product 4 Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in place of the prior 5 version, unless within 90 days after receiving the no- 6 tice the Commission determines that the revised vol- 7 untary standard does not meet the requirements de- 8 scribed in subsection (c). 9 (f) FUTURE RULEMAKING.—The Commission, at any 10 time after publication of the consumer product safety rule 11 required by subsection (a), a voluntary standard is treated 12 as a consumer product safety rule under subsection (d), or 13 a revision is enforceable as a consumer product safety rule 14 under subsection (e), may initiate a rulemaking in accord- 15 ance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to mod- 16 ify the requirements or to include any additional provision 17 that the Commission determines is reasonably necessary to 18 protect the public against flame jetting from a portable fuel 19 container. Any rule promulgated under this subsection shall 20 be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated 21 under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 22 U.S.C. 2058). 23 (g) ACTION REQUIRED.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1640.RS S1640 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1640 RS (1) EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.—Not later than 1 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com- 2 mission shall undertake a campaign to educate con- 3 sumers about the dangers associated with using or 4 storing portable fuel containers for flammable liquids 5 near an open flame or any other source of ignition. 6 (2) SUMMARY OF ACTIONS.—Not later than 2 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com- 8 mission shall submit to Congress a summary of ac- 9 tions taken by the Commission in such campaign. 10 (h) PORTABLE FUEL CONTAINER DEFINED.—In this 11 section, the term ‘‘portable fuel container’’ means any con- 12 tainer or vessel (including any spout, cap, and other closure 13 mechanism or component of such container or vessel or any 14 retrofit or aftermarket spout or component intended or rea- 15 sonably anticipated to be for use with such container)— 16 (1) intended for flammable liquid fuels with a 17 flash point less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit, includ- 18 ing gasoline, kerosene, diesel, ethanol, methanol, dena- 19 tured alcohol, or biofuels; 20 (2) that is a consumer product with a capacity 21 of 5 gallons or less; and 22 (3) that the manufacturer knows or reasonably 23 should know is used by consumers for transporting, 24 storing, and dispensing flammable liquid fuels [Text truncated for display. 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