HB 259 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7, TITLE 16, AND TITLE 20 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMERGENCY ALERTS.

Lambert HOUSE& OFSen. REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.

1Hansen TOReps. HOUSE BILL NO.

259S. AMEND House Bill No.

259Moore, bySchwartzkopf; deleting lines 8 through 9 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“mannerSens. to all of the following:

(1)Bonini, RadioBrown, andEnnis, televisionGay, stationsHocker, broadcastingLawson, withinLockman, thisLopez, state.Mantzavinos, Paradee, Pettyjohn, Pinkney, Poore, Richardson, Sokola, Sturgeon, Townsend, Walsh, Wilson HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO.

(2)259 WirelessAN devicesACT throughTO theAMEND WirelessTITLE Emergency7, AlertsTITLE or16, subsequentAND systemsTITLE operated20 byOF federalTHE agenciesDELAWARE toCODE provideRELATING authenticatedTO emergencyEMERGENCY andALERTS. life-saving information to the public.”.

FURTHERBE AMENDIT HouseENACTED BillBY No.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

259Section by1. deleting line 27 in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof “extremely hazardous substances that imminently and substantially endangers public health beyond the property boundaries of the facility.”.

FURTHERAmend AMENDChapter House31, BillTitle No.20 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

259§ by3109. deleting lines 35 through 36 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“(7)Emergency “Extremelyalerts. hazardous substance list” (EHSL) or “EHSL” means a compilation of EHS that meets the criteria set forth in regulated substances under § 7707 of this title.

title(a) inAs Regulationpart 1201 of Titlethe 7comprehensive plan and program for emergency management under § 3107 of thethis Delawaretitle, AdministrativeDEMA Code.”.shall develop, establish, and maintain an emergency alert plan and system in accordance with relevant regulations and guidelines promulgated by federal agencies.

FURTHER(b) AMENDThe Houseemergency Billalert No.plan must be designed to rapidly disseminate useful information in a predetermined manner to radio and television stations broadcasting within this state and to wireless devices through the Wireless Emergency Alert system operated by federal agencies.

259(c) byThe deletingemergency linesalert 88plan throughmust 89be activated in theiraccordance entiretywith andpolicies insertingestablished inby lieuthe thereofDepartment theof following:Safety and Homeland Security.

“(c)(d) IfEmergency aalerts catastrophicmust releasebroadcast requires the public to take protective action, the Department shall use emergency alerts underin §Spanish, 3109(b)(2)in ofaddition Title 20 to communicateEnglish, instructions.”.when possible.

SYNOPSISSection This2. Amendment does all of the following:

1.Amend § 7705, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

Provides§ clear7705. authority for emergency alerts to be sent to wireless devices using systems created after the system that is currently in use.

2.Definitions.

RevisesAs theused definition of "catastrophic release" to use the term "extremely hazardous substance" because that term is defined in §For 7705purposes of Titlethis 7,chapter: and to clarify that the risk to public health extends beyond the property boundaries of the facility.

3.(1) “A catastrophic (2) “Catastrophic event” means a sudden release of a sufficient quantity of an EHS, a pressure wave or a thermal exposure beyond the property boundaries of a facility which may cause death or permanent disability to a person because of a single short-term exposure.

RevisesIn thethis definitiondefinition, ofan "extremelyAn hazardousaccidental substancefire list"at toa betternonregulated alignfacility withis Chapterexcluded 77from andconsideration theas regulationsa requiredcatastrophic underevent §not 7707a of“catastrophic Titleevent” 7creating becauseEHS. the regulations use different terminology.

4.

Clarifies that alerts must be sent to wireless devices if the catastrophic release requires the public to take protective action.

CM Page 1 of 14 Released:

03/23/202206/28/2021 09:1311:57 AM 5971510192(2) (1) “Actual quantity” (AQ) or “AQ” means the sum of all the physical quantities of a specific EHS in whatever form at the maximum design capacity of the facility.

(3) “A substance (17) “Substance hazard index” (SHI) or “SHI” means a calculated number which relates the relative danger of a substance considering substance toxicity and ability to disperse in the atmosphere as specified in under § 7707 of this title.

(3) “Catastrophic release” means a major uncontrolled emission, fire, or explosion, involving 1 or more regulated substances that presents imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and the environment.

(4) “Department” means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

(5) “EPA” means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(6) “Extremely hazardous substance” (EHS) or “EHS” means a substance in the form of a gas, liquid, solid, vapor, powder, aerosol aerosol, or mixture of these states which that is listed pursuant to under § 7707 of this title, or any other chemical which may may, as a result of short-term exposures because of releases to the environment environment, cause public death, injury, or property damage due to their the substance’s toxicity, reactivity, volatility volatility, or corrosivity.

(7) “Extremely hazardous substance list” (EHSL) or “EHSL” means a compilation of EHS that meets the criteria set forth in under § 7707 of this title.

(8) “Facility” means an area bounded by a property line where a person has EHS present, or the sum of adjacent such areas separated by less than 100 meters under common management control.

(9) “Inspection notes” means handwritten statements or descriptions made during an inspection used to aid memory when preparing the inspection report.

(10) “OSHA” means the United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

(11) “Person” means a natural person, partnership, limited partnership, trust, estate, corporation, custodian, association nominee association, nominee, or any other individual entity in its own or any representative capacity.

(12) “Release” means the introduction of an EHS into the atmosphere that, by means of atmospheric dispersion under average atmospheric conditions for Delaware, will cause an EHS to be conveyed outside of a facility or the generation of a pressure wave or a thermal exposure beyond the facility’s boundary.

(13) “Responsible person(s)” means:

person” means 1 or more of the following: