PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 7, 2015
General Duty Clarification Act of 2015
This bill amends the Clean Air Act to revise the general duty clause, which addresses the prevention of accidental releases of hazardous air substances. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must: (1) promulgate regulations defining the terms "extremely hazardous substance," "appropriate hazard assessment techniques," and "design and maintain a safe facility"; and (2) issue guidelines to ensure enforcement of those provisions by EPA's regional offices in a uniform and appropriate manner across all regions of the United States. (The general duty clause requires owners and operators of stationary sources that produce, process, handle, or store hazardous substances to identify those substances at their facilities and take the necessary steps to prevent and minimize accidental releases of those substances.)
This bill excludes an emission resulting from an act intended to cause harm from the definition of "accidental release." Under the revised definition, the EPA may not use the general duty clause to regulate accidental release due to terrorist attacks.
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In exercising its authority under the clause, the EPA is prohibited from requiring a stationary source to consider or implement particular designs, approaches, or technologies relating to manufacturing, processing, handling, or storage of hazardous substances.
People & committees
Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · R–LA
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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