WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today offered an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would help limit the scope of a new rule that could put an undue burden on family farmers and small business owners across rural America.
Grassley’s amendment would prohibit the use of funds to the Department of Homeland Security to enforce the current regulations for propane when a site has more than 7,500 pounds but less than 100,800 pounds, until it amends the regulations to provide an exemption for rural homesteads, agricultural producers and small business concerns.
Grassley cited the vital job the department has in securing the homeland, which is why the amendment is narrowly focused on the burdensome impact to small businesses and rural communities without exempting large propane containment facilities that house in excess of 100,800 pounds of propane. In doing so, the amendment strikes the proper balance between ensuring the protection of large chemical facilities, while keeping adequate safeguards.
“The Department’s rule may lead many homeowners to limit how full they keep their onsite storage tanks in order to stay under the threshold. As a result, that home may have to increase the number of times its tanks are filled. This, of course, means an increased number of trips made by propane trucks on our highways and country roads,” Grassley said. “A moving truck full of propane is even more of a threat to the public’s safety than a bolted down tank in rural Iowa.”
The April 9 rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security currently lists propane as a “chemical of interest” when kept in quantities greater than 7,500 pounds. Any individual or business that keeps quantities equal to or greater than 7,500 pounds would be required to complete an online survey risk assessment. The Department estimates that the cost incurred by farmers and small businesses to complete the survey would be between $2,300 and $3,500. Once the survey is completed, the Department would then make a determination whether or not the survey participant is “high risk” and thus subject to the more stringent standards imposed by the regulations.
“Propane tanks are used by virtually every farm across the country and by many small businesses in rural areas that are not supplied by natural gas,” Grassley said. “The Department of Homeland Security has a critical job to protect our country and the critical infrastructure of our homeland, but at the same time they should be aware of the consequences some of these rules have on citizens throughout the country.”
In June, Grassley wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff about his concerns. Grassley asked for consideration of an exemption for rural homes, farms and small businesses that store and provide propane in excess of 7,500 pounds. To date, he has only received a response that the Department is considering Grassley’s proposal.
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